Having been born in 1960, a baby-boomer, I've witnessed the evolution of both analog and digital media in the marketplace. Younger people can't seem to appreciate these advances in technology. I'm talking about the people who were born after the 1970s. Digital media comes in all shapes and styles, but the basic media (the stuff the digital media is put on) is very inexpensive. Expense comes into play when you start adding computers and assorted computer peripherals to the equation.

Audio Formats

It's safe to assume that I remember standard AM radios and record players as the first devices to listen to music and other audio programs. I don't know exactly when they were invented, but I was using cassette tapes and cassette tape players as late as the mid-1980s. Somewhere along the line, 8-track players and tapes came and went as a failed format. I can't forget to mention vinyl records (and the material they were made of before that). They've been around a long time (some still exist), but their popularity has waned a great deal since the time it was the only format available for playing music at home.

Those were all analog. Nothing digital came along until technology advanced in the 1980s. Before I started seeing audio CDs, I saw other devices and media for video. The compact disc is the most popular audio format today and as far as pricing goes, audio CDs are no more expensive today than cassette tapes were in the 80s and they're a whole lot better.

I hear people complain about scratches and other problems with CDs, but I'm thinking those people never dealt with stretched or broken tape from cassette tapes. Fishing tape from car cassette players was always a fun thing to do. I'm not familiar with the newer digital audio tape (DAT) format, but I would have to assume the same ordeal exists.

Video Formats

Video technology has probably progressed much faster and further than audio technology. In the early 80s, I had experiences with Laserdiscs (the same size as the vinyl records), compact electronic disks (a failed technology — they used needles for audio and lasers for video), and video tape players. Amazingly, the video tape players (VHS format) are still available yet disappearing rapidly in favor of DVD players of all kinds.

Of course, video tape media still exists. I see it still being used in cheap digital cameras as well as other devices including video surveillance systems. I don't see movies on tape anymore although I'm sure they're still available in video rental stores.

I bought a DVD player during the first wave of sales. It was expensive, but the video itself was nice compared to what I'd seen on VHS over the years. Later on, the 9 GB DVDs became available while the 5 GB DVDs were still around. Other than for movies you can buy, I haven't seen that the 9 GB format has taken off. I have some favorite movies on DVD stashed away for rainy days (including "Evolution", for when I need to brush up on how to destroy alien species with Head&Shoulders shampoo).

The latest video format is Blu-ray. I'm not sure of the sizes but 25 GB sounds like something I remember reading. I don't have a Blu-ray player for either my computer or a stand-alone unit yet, but I plan to get one. I've seen what Blu-ray has to offer and I like it. I can imagine having multiple Blu ray movies and movie collections, like the entire collection of "Lord of the Rings" and the "Planet of the Apes" series of movies on one disc each.

The Crossover of Video and Audio Formats

While intended for one use or the other, the formats can be used for both. Digital video media (like DivX, AVI, and MP4) finds its way onto CDs, while music collections find their way onto DVDs. One thing I've overlooked is the use of the media for video games. Various PlayStation consoles have used CD, DVD and Blu-ray media, I just can't remember which is which. I believe the X-Box consoles have used DVD and HD-DVD (Blu-ray won out, but some devices still call for the HD-DVD format).

Audio and video technology has advanced a great deal in the last 40 years. I just wish the younger people could appreciate it more, take care of their media and quit complaining all the time.

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