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Brits pine for old and analogue tech

Vinyl, CD and VHS all still popular

Blu-ray and MP3 may be conquering the world, but vinyl, CD and VHS still hold a special place in the hearts of UK adults, according to survey into so-called graveyard-bound technology.

A survey of just over 2000 people by Moneysupermarket.com discovered that the three aging media formats would each be a top ‘resurrection’ choice for most Blighty adults, should they have a chance to revive a technology that’s either been consigned to the dustbin or that's on its way there.

Surprisingly, the humble telegram fell into fifth place – perhaps because some people like the idea of waiting several days for a message to arrive, instead of the near-instant delivery that email offers.

Cassettes were also popular and claimed seventh place - although one manufacturer has already cottoned onto our love of reel-to-reel and mix tapes by launching the MP3 Cassette. Digital cameras may not to be to everyone’s taste either, with the 35mm camera making its presence felt in the survey.

Rob Barnes, head of broadband and mobiles at Moneysupermarket.com, said that although people are “embracing the digital age,” there are clearly still some technologies and storage formats revered from yesteryear.

The horizon is always plentiful with new technologies though, so in decades to come people may look back and wish they could resurrect everything from the iPod to the digital camera and SD card.

Latest Comments

How about the good old CRT TV?

I pine for a HD ready, old display technology, CRT TV so that I can watch HD at its full capabilities. LCD and Plasma display technologies only allow you to watch stationary and slow moving images in High Definition because of the poor refresh rates (that's why HD is usually demonstrated on a LCD and Plasma display by showing fish swimming around). It is ironic that HD was introduced at the same time as the only display technology capable of reproducing it properly was being phased out. I am totally fed up with watching tennis on LCD when the ball looks more like Halleys' Comet than a tennis ball! Maybe OLED or SED will eventually reach a stage when they can take over from LCD and Plasma if current production problems can be ironed out. We may then, once again, have a display technology that can faithfully reproduce moving images (which, after all, is what TV is all about). Oh, by the way, CRT has another big advantage that is rarely championed, i.e. CRT TV's are so heavy that no thief is capable of stealing them!

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CD on the outs?

I'm sorry, I didn't realise they'd come up with a suitable like-for-like replacement.

SACD? Kind of a non-starter. I think I own 1 hybrid disc album.

DVD-A? Another non-starter. Again, I think I own 1 dual disc album.

MP3 etc? You've got to be shi**ing me!

FLAC? A fraction better, but I begrudge parting with cash for an intangible; and I'm fairly confident that a good chunk of people feel the same way...

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Reports of death of CD exaggerated, surely?

CDs aren't going anywhere in a hurry. Sure, sales are a little bit down, but hardly within an order of magnitude of the replacement HD formats that were stillborn.

Can I have my HD-DVD back? No? Oh well.

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Anonymous Coward

Analogue?

Hello, Mister Dummy here thought CD was actually digital!

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