Since my vcr,dvd, cable box or satellite box all output a analog video signal, whats going to happen to all of this equipment when we switch to all digital in the near fuure? Is it worth buying a dvd recorder with a tuner that may be of no use in 4 years?

I think analog video outputs and inputs are going to be available on consumer equipment for a long, long time. Even after the transition is made to DVI & friends, you'll still have lots of "legacy ports." Look at how long ISA and PCI coexisted in the same chassis, before ISA disappeared.

Even after stuff stops being manufactured with legacy ports, I'm sure you'll still have dongles and converters and things like that for a long time.

There'll be a reduction in quality, of course, but no more than you're already seeing with all-analog rigs.

I agree with Matthew on everything he says. Here's another example: CDs and DVDs are far more common than cassette tapes nowadays, at least around me, but the components to play the cassettes is still available.

I don't think the switch will be overnight either. The only issue with the DVD recorders now is the format. Prices are coming down. I expect there will be models under $500 by next year. And so on with any product type you choose.

Like Matthew and Benjamin, I expect to see analog audio and video I/O in living rooms for a long time to come. A DVD recorder that you pick up today will still connect to brand new TV's five years from now, even though video fed to the TV over DVI from an HDTV decoder or progressive scan DVD player (or HD-DVD player) will look better.

------------------
gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Another example: DVI is available on many new computer graphic cards, but nearly all of these include a converter to connect to a CRT monitor. Devices will probably have both analog and digital connections available for quite awhile too. Analog will have to be very gradually phased out.

The thing to worry about with something like a DVD recorder is that the format has not been specified yet. There are still issues about "+", "-" and "ram" disks. Once that gets settled I would feel very secure with a recorder that has the features I want.

A bit of trivia, in case you're interested:

The thing that lets you hook up an analog VGA monitor to a DVI port isn't really a "converter" because it's not converting or altering the signal in any way. Its pins are wired straight through from the VGA side to the DVI port; the only thing it lets you do is make the connection.

DVI ports, despite the name, are capable of outputting both digital and analog signals. Both, in fact, at the same time. They use different pins for the one or the other.

It's up to the card manufacturer to decide whether to include analog circuitry (DACs and such) on the card or not. It's possible that the analog out pins on the connector not be connected to anything. Most all card makers, however, still make cards capable of analog output.

And yes, the +/-/RAM thing with DVD disks bothers me, too. It's starting to look less and less like VHS/Betamax, though, and more like all (6? 7?) formats will hang around for a long time. We'll see.

------------------
Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net