Sure, the name of the site may be Create Digital Motion, but don’t get me wrong — we know digital is evil. Or, specifically, digital gets real evil at certain times. There are the latency-inducing, problem-causing HDMI cables when VGA or S-Video or Composite would do the job, the “look at our brand, new storage format” trend that turns out to be “look at the hideously onerous, new copy protection method we’ve just invented.”

We know a little bit of our soul died when we brought in all this digital tech to our work. (Happy side note, though: my eyes now glow red. It’s totally awesome at parties.) So, we now proudly present The Battle for Analog, a completely nonsensical look at the analog world we might leave behind. (Well, unless you carry some mobile VHS decks to a gig, which could be a great idea … a little magnetic distortion live, anyone?)

And to kick things off, we’ve got a look back at VHS’ stand against the puppy-killing DVD, via our friends at the All Retro, All The Time, Retro Thing. So, at the risk of “boneheaded nostalgia” as someone described this in comments on RT, I present this mock VHS PSA from musclebeaver, with music from the Transformers music proudly playing in the background:

And, uh, yeah, it does appear to have been crafted in After Effects. Where is that Export to VHS option in CS3, anyway?

PS - I think Blu-Ray winning out over HD-DVD is finally Sony’s revenge for losing on superior Betamax.

Computers are wonderful for making live visuals. But there’s something to be said for 2-channel video mixing on DVD, even if it’s just as a backup system for your computer rig. Via the Japanese site envol! VJ, we find this lovely gem from Kawasaki: dual 7″ displays, integrated dual DVDs with dedicated outputs, and dual audio. If this doesn’t scream portable 2-channel audiovisual mixing, nothing does:

Kawasaki Mobile Video System with 2 DVD Players and Monitors - PVS297OS [Amazon.com info in English FYI, though they have no stock]
envol! VJ audiovisual knowledge database

10 lbs. total, so it’d be easy to add to an existing laptop / SFF rig. Unknowns: reliability, how to buy one, if there are better options out there.

There’s an additional blurb on another Japanese site for those of you who read Japanese. I don’t, but I see GameCube, N64, PS2? Do they just mean that you can hook these up to the display (as with any analog input)?

Any other tips on these kinds of players? A lot of the cheap portable players I’ve seen were of, ahem, questionable quality.

Sony have released an update to their Movie Studio line. Doting grandparents, soccer mums, beginner vidcasters, and mobile visualists rejoice! Notable updates from the previous Vegas Movie Studio include:

• HDV support/Capture
• 77 new effects
• 50+ more transitions
• Primary colour correction (anyone know what that means?)
• 5.1 surround sound mixing
• Limited edition Sony Pictures Sound Effects CD
• Import directly from Sony DVD Camcorder
• Export to PSP and iPod compatible formats
• Vegas Movie Studio training DVD

If like me you’re already well-cemented in your NLE of choice then this may not be of interest, but at US$120 it’s definitely worth a look for a light mobile edit system, and the included training DVD could make it perfect for the video editing beginner in your life. I’m not sure I’m dedicated enough to check out the trial, but if Vegas Big Kids Edition is anything to go by this should be friendly to use and fast as anything.