Every so often people will tell you that size doesn't matter, but it does. Sometimes bigger is better, sometimes smaller.
I was thinking about that the other day while browsing the shelves of my local DVD store.

I used to call it my local video store, but video tape, VHS, has long gone. Now I notice that the blu-ray section has moved. It had to because it's expanding at such a rate.
DVDs cases are, of course, smaller than video cases. If you see an old VHS tape now it looks big and clunky compared to the small sleek look of DVD. But now DVDs are being replaced. It'll happen much more slowly than the radical improvement of VHS to DVD, but it's definitely happening.
And, once again, the boxes are getting smaller. Blu-rays, presumably to show that they're even better than DVD, come in even smaller cases. It makes sense: you can fit more of them on the shelves.
But the problem for the shop must come when people are at the point of being evenly split between the two formats – you can't take DVDs off the shelves, but you need everything on blu-ray as well for your blu-ray customers. Where do you actually put all the stock? It could take years before some of the more specialist DVDs make it to blu-ray (if ever),
so you've got to have both formats.
This is about to become an even more complicated conundrum since, very soon, a whole pile of blu-rays are about to come out in 3D format. It's started already: there are about half a dozen titles for those who happen to have Sony Playstations and have invested in 3D TVs. I say ‘Playstations' because they are upgradeable to 3D, while standalone 3D blu-ray players are still quite pricey.
By the way, I'm talking here about ‘real' 3D, the sort that Avatar started, not the thing with red and green-lensed glasses.
The thing you'll probably notice first if you try it at home is that your ‘old' 46 inch television probably isn't enough. 46 inches may look big in 2D but something about having that 3D image makes it suddenly look very small.
If you want 3D at home you'll want at least
a 50 inch TV. Bigger here is definitely better.
So the time is coming (again) when we're all expected to replace our entire audio visual equipment with another set that costs more and is even bigger. Thus the human race continues its mad spiral towards consumer overload.
And, talking of small versus large, I went over to Rotorua last weekend for their annual Blues Festival, and a splendid event it was too. It reminded me, in a way, of how the jazz festival here was when it first moved downtown: music in eight or nine bars, a couple of concerts, and it was great! It rained (of course) but there was a real community atmosphere and a closeness to the artists – the guests from overseas sat in and jammed with bands and the whole thing was friendly and informal.
I know Tauranga can't be like that again, but it made me wonder a little about the things I keep reading, about the National Jazz Festival wanting to hold a really big concert to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
I do understand the idea. And the 50th is – make no mistake – a Big Deal, a fantastic achievement and part of a lasting heritage for Tauranga. But is the best way to celebrate it by bringing an even bigger overseas artist to the Bay, one who would – could? – attract at least five thousand people? I have difficulty even imagining who in the jazz world would be that kind of draw here.
And I say ‘here' deliberately. Tauranga is Tauranga and, without wanting to sound offensive or patronising, the audience at the jazz festival is not largely a jazz-educated one. Sure there are jazz buffs in the crowds, but the vast majority of punters just want to have a good time and take in a few sounds.
As with the economy, sometimes growth isn't everything; as with blu-rays, sometimes higher quality comes in smaller packages.