Except, apparently, they didn't have any in stock. Hmmm.
Back over to the electronics section I went, to find someone to pester about this, since the checkout lady seemed a tadge busy at the time. Normally wandering around a store and looking quizically at expensive items will bring salesthings leaping over to your aid (or, alternately, attract the attention of security guards, depending on your age, mode of dress, and skin tone).
But this was the south, after all, and we apparently pride ourselves on being laid back. And sometimes we actually are laid back, and not just pretending to be. So I milled around absently for a bit before finally migrating to one of the counters and looking bored. And then I discovered where all the salesthings in this area were; helping some guy buy his kid a portable CD player.
This should not have been a particularly difficult task. It certainly shouldn't have required multiple salesthings. So I looked bemused as this transaction sucked up time and the attentions of several salesthings. It's a good thing I wasn't in any particular rush, or I would have looked surly instead of bemused.
Eventually, however, this incredibly complex transaction was completed (there was another lady before me, but she just wanted to get at the packing list of some item for which she had lost the screws, so that she could buy new ones). Surprise, surprise, when the people who knew what they were doing took a look, they did indeed locate the mystical DVD player, thought lost in the sands of time.
Soemone was sent back to get it. Simple, I thoght. Of course, there were other people who wanted stuff retrieved for them, so this salesthing quickly accumulated a baggage train of salesminions following along up to the counter.
After no further complications than a wait in line (as people before me attempted incredibly complex transactions), I was at last in possession of the magical power of digital video. And, with extended warranty and tax, for only around $400, to boot. I guess that money will have to come from somewhere. Probably I'll just not go into the dealer's room at the next Anime convention I'm at.
Took it home, unpacked, plugged it into the inputs of my VCR (after swapping out the wimpy little cables provided for that purpose for real, hefty, gold cables o' doom that I'd just had lying around). On it came. Interface worked... Now to try a DVD. Yes, I bought DVDs before I bought a player. They were on sale!
Our sample DVD was the first disc of the Record of Lodoss War collection. A good one to try, if you don't know wether your player will scream in horror at being subjected to more sub-Tolkein pap. Flawless. Not an artifact in sight in the video (artifacts are those icky little spots that manifest due to the trickiness of MPEG encoding and decoding). Sound was a bit odd in a few places, but I think that might have been a problem on the manufacturing end. I have the VHS tapes, too (until I finally purge the hated analog medium from my collection) so I'll have to compare and contrast. Try the menus... works fine. Still frames... forwarding... yowza.
I'll never be buying another VHS movie again, that's for damn certain. DVD is pretty damn awe-inspiring. And being digital means none of that darn wearing out or getting consumed by a rogue VCR.
I can see why the movie companies fear it so.
And anything that scares them is peachy-keen with me.
The Morning Weather: Cool and adequate.
Rant 'o the day contains no additives, preservatives or small woodland creatures of any kind. Use only as directed. Do not expose to direct sunlight. Do not fold, spindle, multilate or remove identifying tags. Handle with care. Contains less than 3% milk fat by weight, not by volume. Squeeze the lemon.
THIS SPACE FOR RENT