Ask John: Will High Definition DVD Devalue Current DVDs?

Question:
I have a huge DVD collection of anime, and I’m beginning to get worried about them. With the upcoming release of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray technology, will these new DVD formats phase out the old DVD format? Anime is an expensive habit and one I was already bitten by when DVDs came out. I’d hate to see that happen yet again only a few short years later.

Answer:
I’m honestly not a real technophile, so my familiarity with the forthcoming high definition digital video disc technology is limited. Based on my knowledge of HD and Blu-Ray technology, the anime industry, and some speculation, I don’t believe that today’s anime fans have cause to be hesitant about purchasing current generation anime DVDs. Undoubtedly many of today’s anime DVDs will be re-released on a next generation format, but I don’t believe that currently existing DVDs will entirely lose their value to serious anime fans.

The current generation DVD replaced VHS and the laserdisc format, however there are countless anime titles available on laserdisc and VHS that have never been released on DVD. There are even many anime titles in America, including Battle Angel, Spirit of Wonder, Nadesico, Gasaraki, Haunted Junction, Vampire Miyu TV, and Eatman ’98 that have been released on DVD but are no longer available. I have no doubt that there will likewise be anime available today that will not be available on future home video formats. DVD is not just a contemporary home video format. It’s also an archive useful to anime collectors who value owning anime. While collectors on a budget may be hesitant about buying contemporary DVDs only to find them replaced by next generation discs a year later, there’s also a chance that anime commonly available today won’t be available a year from now.

The HD and Blu-Ray formats are exciting partially because of their massive increase in storage space over standard DVDs. The idea of being able to purchase an entire season of anime on a single disc is exciting. However, there’s still no certainty that anime will be released in that format. At the present time the only titles announced for planned HD or Blu-Ray release have all been single feature length films. The fact that an HD or Blu-Ray disc can hold an entire season of anime doesn’t mean that Japanese or American distributors will actually release high density HD or Blu-Ray discs. In fact, since Japan and America will be in the same territorial region for HD and Blu-Ray encoding, it’s possible that the episode counts on American next generation discs will decrease to match Japanese average episode counts. It’s also possible that Japan will begin to increase episode counts per disc to match American averages, but considering that Japan ultimately controls anime distribution, it’s probably more likely for American distributors to decrease to Japanese 2-3 episodes per disc averages. Rather than include more episodes on each disc, the anime industry may instead utilize HD and Blu-Ray technology to provide superior audio and visual quality and enhanced supplemental features. At this point in time there’s no way for average fans to predict how anime will be distributed on HD and/or Blu-Ray media.

Ultimately anime fans should prioritize purchasing anime, not physical containers for anime. I’m very well aware that anime collecting is an expensive hobby, and it’s frustrating to purchase an item only to have it superceded by a cheaper or better version shortly later. But purchasing anime on current standard DVD isn’t just a way to build a collection. Purchasing anime DVDs contributes directly to the support of the anime industry and its artists. Titles that don’t sell well on standard DVD are less likely to be re-released on more expensive HD and Blu-Ray formats. And if a significant number of consumers stop buying current anime DVDs in anticipation of future formats, today’s distributors may not be able to survive long enough to release discs for next generation systems. Finally, within all the anticipation over high definition media, I think it’s often forgotten that standard DVD is a high quality, archival format for anime. High definition promises unrivaled image quality, but extra sharp resolution means little to vintage anime that was never designed for such visual clarity. I suspect that with many existing anime titles, the image quality available on home video now is as good as the source material allows. In fact, some of the charm of vintage hand made anime is in its nicks, scratches, and flaws.

From preserving anime that may not be re-released on high definition media to supporting the anime industry, I think there are several reasons to continue purchasing current generation DVDs. The standard DVD format is well enough established that current generation DVDs will always remain useful and collectable. High definition disc players are expected to be backwards compatible with current, standard definition DVD media, so current DVDs won’t become extinct. In fact, even now, the VHS format isn’t yet extinct, and VHS is a far less archival and collectable media than DVD. I know that it’s tempting for fans to hesitate in favor of speculation about future re-releases, but I believe that there are more reasons to buy current anime DVDs than reasons not to. Ultimately, even if anime that’s available on standard DVD gets re-released on HD or Blu-Ray, it’s preferable to have duplicate copies rather than no copies. Money can always be replaced, but anime that’s common now but not available in the future may be very difficult to acquire later on.

Article revised April 14, 2006