# Spectacularly lame rant: Don't say "VIDEO" when you mean "VHS"! DVD IS VIDEO TOO **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 16, 2002, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031 "2002-11-16T15:54:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/21 "2002-11-17T19:30:17Z")
What about, as they call it, themselves: **DisneyDVD**? ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/22 "2002-11-17T19:46:46Z")
Actually, the one that really bugs me is when people refer to them as DVD discs. How redundant redundant can you get get? ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/23 "2002-11-17T20:46:28Z")
**hazel-rah** , will you marry me? ---
**Author:** ![Manatee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/24 "2002-11-17T20:55:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dread Pirate Jimbo \* > \*\*Actually, the one that really bugs me is when people refer to them as DVD discs. How redundant redundant can you get get? \*\* Oh, you can get a lot more redundant: ATM machine. PIN number. And the one I always get from my students: “The reason is because…” ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/25 "2002-11-17T22:33:31Z")
Yeah, **Manatee** , I know. I was just trying to stay on topic. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/26 "2002-11-17T22:38:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squink \* > “I’ve scratched my BVDs, and now they won’t play.” It’s not nice to scratch your BVDs in public. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/27 "2002-11-17T23:48:55Z")
I’m thinking **Revtim** is plain wrong and **KneadtoKnow** is right. This is the definition of “video” from American Heritage via [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com):[ol][li]The visual portion of a televised broadcast. [/li][li]Television: _a star of stage, screen, and video_. [/li][li]A videocassette or videotape, especially one containing a recording of a movie, music performance, or television program. [/li][li]A music video. [/li]_Computer Science_. The appearance of text and graphics on a video display.[/ol]“Video” in this sense does not mean definition #1, i.e., video as opposed to audio. It could mean #2, but that definition is too broad - it could refer to any showing of the movie on TV. In this context, “video” clearly refers to #3. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/28 "2002-11-18T00:58:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hazel-rah \* > \*\*Call the President! The word “video” now refers chiefly to VHS tapes! Blockbuster is going to change us into a nation of gibbering monkeys incapable of speech!.. \*\* [imortalized.](http://fathom.org/teemingmillions/pofunnies.adp) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/29 "2002-11-18T00:59:42Z")
(To make a spectacularly lame rant even lamer) Dammit, they’re not just **video** tapes, they’re **audio** and video tapes. “Video” referring to the part you can see, “audio” referring to the part you can hear. If I went out and rented me a “video” and it didn’t have any sound, I would be indignant. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/30 "2002-11-18T01:18:14Z")
Geeze, and I though _I_ had given this way too much thought… You people scare me. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/31 "2002-11-18T06:27:46Z")
> [@](#): > > _originally posted by Squink_ If you’re going to get all nitpicky about DVD’s being video too, please keep in mind that video disks are actually a BINARY (1:0) rather than a DIGITAL technology. Binary- Video-Disk. The correct abbreviation is BVD, as in: “I’ve scratched my BVDs, and now they won’t play.” Well, they _are_ BINARY (depending on how you look at it), but they are _also_ DIGITAL. The two terms are not mutually exclusive. Binary is the number base in which the data is stored. Digital is the opposite of analog, meaning that the signals are stored as discrete samples rather than as continuous measurements. Anything that stores signals in a binary form is necessarily digital, but digital signals could be stored in any base. Furthermore, the fact that the disk is binary, as opposed to encoded in hex, makes absolutely no difference to the viewer. There is, however, a difference to the viewer between digital and analog. The reason that the base can be a matter of perspective is that you could argue that each pit on a DVD (do they use pits like on CDs?) is either there or not, a 0 or a 1. But if the laser reads in bursts of, say, 4 bits, then isn’t that really hexadecimal, rather than binary. When you start dealing with multi-layer DVDs, the line is blurred even more. ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/32 "2002-11-18T06:39:35Z")
> [@](#): > > **Revive Elvis and have him shoot my television because I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO SAY!** I’m going to steal this line and use it as soon and as often as possible. And I say that with the greatest respect. ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/33 "2002-11-18T07:47:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Geeze, and I though _I_ had given this way too much thought… You people scare me. _Too much_ thought? What a strange concept… you’ll never get marriage proposals or be immortalized with _that_ attitude. -fh 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kirkland1244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kirkland1244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kirkland1244)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/34 "2002-11-18T08:28:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dread Pirate Jimbo \* > \*\*Actually, the one that really bugs me is when people refer to them as DVD discs. How redundant redundant can you get get? \*\* Technically, it’s not redundant since the acronym DVD doesn’t actually stand for anything. It originally stood for “Digital Video Disc,” but then decided to put data and audio and whatnot onto them, so they switched the acronym to mean Digital Versatile Disc… except that that was a copyrighted term, so in the end it just became “DVD” with the letters not standing for anything, like the “S” in “Harry S Truman.” Kirk ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/35 "2002-11-18T08:48:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dread Pirate Jimbo \* > \*\*Actually, the one that really bugs me is when people refer to them as DVD discs. How redundant redundant can you get get? \*\* There’s a DVD player/recorder that bills itself as the **Digital** DVD. ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/36 "2002-11-18T16:51:52Z")
Mumble. It’s actually not Digital Video Disc, as most people think. It’s Digital _Versatile_ Disc. You see, the manufacturers didn’t want people thinking DVD was entertainment media only.\* Oh, and I think UPC Code is the commercial redundancy that drives me nuttiest. \*Yes, I know far too much about this subject. I work for a DVD magazine. We just ran a series on DVD history. Shoot me now. ---
**Author:** ![chula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@chula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chula)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/37 "2002-11-18T22:20:05Z")
**Kirkland** , don’t you hate it when someone makes the same point you did a couple posts later? ---
**Author:** ![SisterCoyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@SisterCoyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SisterCoyote)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/38 "2002-11-19T00:33:49Z")
What’s very odd is that Kirkland’s post was NOT there when I made my post, or I would not have made it. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/39 "2002-11-19T00:50:59Z")
This thread is giving me a headache. I need an aspirin. I mean some acetylsalicylic acid. ---
**Author:** ![Kirkland1244](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dc4da7/32.png) [@Kirkland1244](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kirkland1244)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031/40 "2002-11-19T00:59:51Z")
Digital Versatile Disc is a copyrighted term, and so the DVD Consortium could not use that as the name of their format. But since Digital Video Disc was already scrapped, they ended up with an acronym that meant nothing at all. Most people still use the term “Digital Versatile Disc,” but that cannot be official, because it would infringe upon a copyright. Unless the DVD Forum has purchased the rights to that term. I’m kicking myself now. I used to know the name of the company that owned the copyright on the term “Digital Versatile Disc,” back in the fun fun days of the Divx Wars, but I’ve since forgotten. It was some two-bit operation that made multimedia CD-ROMs for computers. Damn it all. The DVD Consortium (now the DVD Forum) may use the term Digital Versatile Dics, but that is not legally what the acronym stands for, unless they have bought the copyright. Ah well, it doesn’t really matter at this point. DVD is DVD. Accept no substitutes (ESPECIALLY D-VHS!) Kirk [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spectacularly-lame-rant-dont-say-video-when-you-mean-vhs-dvd-is-video-too/137031.md?page=3)