creativejuice Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Unearthing a well-produced ballet DVD at a reasonable price is very much like panning for gold! You almost need a Web Bloodhound to sniff out the gems from all the over-priced lemons! I can only comment on finding ballet DVDs from Canada. I try to buy from Canadian venues because of shipping costs ($3 to $8) per DVD and the cost of failing to sneak a ballet through Canada Customs (add 20 to 40% to price). So that Swan Lake DVD you thought was a steal at $20 (Canadian dollars), all of sudden shoots up to $39 with shipping and Customs! Egad! My favorite Canadian website is http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/tg/browse...6832136-8115244 Amazon offers the best value, free shipping (if your order tops $39), and good reviews by Amazon reviewers and customers. My least favorite website is :green: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/default.asp?...A611C44EDFB1304 :green: Most of the titles are out of stock, offer just a brief description, and are overpriced. For example http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/item.asp?N=3...40B51A8739A2504 Compared to http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000...6832136-8115244 Other sources include ballet companies (often $10 more than priced in stores) and http://www.ebay.ca/ or http://www.ebay.com In Toronto, you can sometimes find bargains at HMV (especially on Boxing Day) and the World’s Biggest Bookstore (which also carries DVDs). Tip #1: Shop, shop, shop, shop AROUND!!! Of course, the best deal of all is TV! :grinning: PBS and CBC will show full-length ballets from time to time. The only problem here is VHS tapes don’t last forever and don’t offer the same quality as DVD. I can’t afford a DVD recorder. When I do buy DVD ballets I look for Royal Ballet productions, which have never disappointed. Be careful when buying abroad. You want to ensure the format matches yours. * Ballet Alert should rename this topic DVDophiles because Videophiles will soon be extinct! Unfortunately, many ballet companies have yet to make the conversion of offering ballets in DVD format. I would dearly love to purchase Balanchine ballets but unfortunately they are only available in video format http://www.nycballet.com/nycballet/balvid.asp Link to comment
Giannina Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 Remember laser discs? I have ballets on laserdiscs and am having a hard time finding some of them on other formats without paying a fortune. For a while I couldn't find Royal Ballet's "Manon", and now that I have it's very costly. Even more costly is "Prince of the Pagodas"; for a ballet that generally gets negative reviews it certainly comes at a hefty price. Does anyone know of a means of converting laser disc recordings to tapes or DVD's? Can you go to a VHS/DVD store and have it done? Giannina Link to comment
creativejuice Posted August 4, 2003 Author Share Posted August 4, 2003 Below is a link on how to convert from VHS to DVD: http://www.post-gazette.com/interact/20020...829lindich5.asp Most of the websites I researched charge between $10 to $25 to convert from VHS to DVD: The cost sometimes of a DVD. http://www.videoscreams.com/DVDVHSCONVERSIONS.htm Below is information on converting laser discs to DVD: http://www.xpmce.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-t7215-f-.html FYI: I also own The Prince of the Pagodas – only in video format. Link to comment
opvidfan Posted August 4, 2003 Share Posted August 4, 2003 It is very simple to convert/copy laser disc to DVD. A DVD +R, I have the Philips 985 and will probably get the Sony RDR GX7. Your DVD R must have RW capabilities as the shorter lengths of the LD means that you have to usually edit and splice onto a RW DVD disc and you cannot do that on R only burners unless you use the hard drive. The Philips will record whatever signal goes into them. Either a tuner or external sources, they have 5 different variants of inputs. They will also copy in PAL, SECAM or NTSC but will not convert from one system to another. Ray Link to comment
creativejuice Posted August 4, 2003 Author Share Posted August 4, 2003 Thanks, I found one Philips 985 priced at about $570 Canadian. Not too bad. When dubbing from VHS to DVD, how do you find the quality? How much is lost in the transfer? Link to comment
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