My dad watches his first movie outside of VHS or movie theater.

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

So, my dad was finally convinced to watch movies from a disc lol. I bought him a blu-ray player today. It's going along side his 10 year old Panny. Now, he's had Dish Network for a good bit. A little back story.. when we visit my dad, or family gets together, the tv isn't on. We do family stuff, not just sit and watch tv. So... today I go over there to hook up his new blu-ray player, since he didn't know what to do. He's 67, and never heard of HDMI. Granted, he used to fix and fly 40 million dollar jets lol.

Anyways... I get there, unbox the player, hook it up. Fix his dish remote to control the tv inputs, as well as the br player. Next thing I notice, is that his Dish receiver was connected to his tv via COMPOSITE!!!! WTF! So, it looked like he was watching old rabbit ear ota broadcasts. Luckily I brought two hdmi cables over, different lengths. So, I got his Dish Network receiver connected to the tv via hdmi, and he was SHOCKED I tell ya. SHOCKED lol.

He flipped through all his sports channels, and he teared up. He had been thinking the entire time that he had bad eyesight. He was smiling so much, over the quality of the picture, it's just so heartfelt. He hugged me and gave me such an emotional thank you.

Here's the movies I brought him to start off with:
First three Jurassic Park movies
The Patriot
The Departed
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Those are what he's had on VHS. He put The Patriot in and again, blown away! Such a great day to see him happy.

PawPrints · Sep 16, 2019

You're a good man!

Dougald · Sep 16, 2019

I'm glad to hear your dad took it so well

When we hooked my fathers tv up via HDMI instead of composite, he called my brother up furious and yelled at him for 'breaking the picture' and forced us to change it back to the blurry mess it was before

Aaron · Sep 16, 2019

That's awesome, good for him. Technology really is incredible. The first time I watched a movie on my Blu-ray player (back in 2010, and it had to be hooked up via composite!) - the animated Beauty and the Beast - I was floored.

Your story about his Dish being hooked up by composite reminds me of my Xbox 360, which I originally had hooked up to my parents' plasma TV via composite (even though it came with component). It wasn't until my cousin visited and checked out BioShock that he pointed this out, and I went from being mildly unimpressed to blown away.

Deleted member 9330 · Sep 16, 2019

Dougald said:
I'm glad to hear your dad took it so well

When we hooked my fathers tv up via HDMI instead of composite, he called my brother up furious and yelled at him for 'breaking the picture' and forced us to change it back to the blurry mess it was before

My parents did the same thing when I turned off motion smoothing. I refused to turn it back on and they didn't know where to go for the setting so it's still off to this day

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

Dougald said:
I'm glad to hear your dad took it so well

When we hooked my fathers tv up via HDMI instead of composite, he called my brother up furious and yelled at him for 'breaking the picture' and forced us to change it back to the blurry mess it was before

Lol, oh goodness!

Aaron said:
That's awesome, good for him. Technology really is incredible. The first time I watched a movie on my Blu-ray player (back in 2010, and it had to be hooked up via composite!) - the animated Beauty and the Beast - I was floored.

Your story about his Dish being hooked up by composite reminds me of my Xbox 360, which I originally had hooked up to my parents' plasma TV via composite (even though it came with component). It wasn't until my cousin visited and checked out BioShock that he pointed this out, and I went from being mildly unimpressed to blown away.

Yeah, he was so impressed. It was like a new child was born today for him lol. I dunno, he was super happy. Talked about how blurry text always was, couldn't even see what scores were, and so on. He asked why the movies had black bars on top and bottom lol.

astro · Sep 16, 2019

Dougald said:
I'm glad to hear your dad took it so well

When we hooked my fathers tv up via HDMI instead of composite, he called my brother up furious and yelled at him for 'breaking the picture' and forced us to change it back to the blurry mess it was before

Zeyphersan said:
My parents did the same thing when I turned off motion smoothing. I refused to turn it back on and they didn't know where to go for the setting so it's still off to this day

OT but relevant: my mother told me to bring back her "pop up adverts" when I cleaned her laptop of malware. She kept insisting and I refused and tried to explain. She hasn't let me touch her laptop since.

Deception · Sep 16, 2019

This thread is making me wish I had a dad to do this for 😭😭😭

astro · Sep 16, 2019

Deception said:
This thread is making me wish I had a dad to do this for 😭😭😭

I am happy for people who have good dads. I'm with you dadless.

NoRéN · Sep 16, 2019

Wholesome thread of the day! Awesome!

thediamondage · Sep 16, 2019

you are a good son

my dad accidentally turns on deaf mode on the TV by accident somehow, it "reads" out every click as you do it (pressed volume up, pressed channel up, etc). It doesn't bother him at all but it drives my mom nuts and she has to call one of us to turn it off. We still have no idea how he accidentally turns it on but everyone finds it funny

this christmas me and my bros are getting my dad an oculus quest (wireless) and VR camera, dad's a camera nut and we expect filming in VR and then putting on a headset and watching it will blow his mind

Bakercat · Sep 16, 2019

Nice to hear a sweet story for once.

I can't wait until you show him how far gaming has come since Super Mario World tbh.

Deception · Sep 16, 2019

astro said:
I am happy for people who have good dads. I'm with you dadless.

Mood

Lylo · Sep 16, 2019

F34R said:
So, my dad was finally convinced to watch movies from a disc lol. I bought him a blu-ray player today. It's going along side his 10 year old Panny. Now, he's had Dish Network for a good bit. A little back story.. when we visit my dad, or family gets together, the tv isn't on. We do family stuff, not just sit and watch tv. So... today I go over there to hook up his new blu-ray player, since he didn't know what to do. He's 67, and never heard of HDMI. Granted, he used to fix and fly 40 million dollar jets lol.

Anyways... I get there, unbox the player, hook it up. Fix his dish remote to control the tv inputs, as well as the br player. Next thing I notice, is that his Dish receiver was connected to his tv via COMPOSITE!!!! WTF! So, it looked like he was watching old rabbit ear ota broadcasts. Luckily I brought two hdmi cables over, different lengths. So, I got his Dish Network receiver connected to the tv via hdmi, and he was SHOCKED I tell ya. SHOCKED lol.

He flipped through all his sports channels, and he teared up. He had been thinking the entire time that he had bad eyesight. He was smiling so much, over the quality of the picture, it's just so heartfelt. He hugged me and gave me such an emotional thank you.

Here's the movies I brought him to start off with:
First three Jurassic Park movies
The Patriot
The Departed
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Those are what he's had on VHS. He put The Patriot in and again, blown away! Such a great day to see him happy.

This part reminded of Rambo, for some reason...

kai3345 · Sep 16, 2019

F34R said:
He flipped through all his sports channels, and he teared up. He had been thinking the entire time that he had bad eyesight.

bro this shit made ME cry 😭

Zutrax · Sep 16, 2019

While this is wholesome and you're a really good person for doing this for him OP, did your dad just never process how display TV's looked so crisp at various department stores, or just anywhere really? I feel like avoiding seeing an HD screen/signal in this day and age takes talent. I mostly ask because he thought he had bad eyesight, which would make sense if everything looked bad, but it was just his TV.

Pilgrimzero · Sep 16, 2019

My grandparents still record shows onto VHS to watch later.

Radiophonic · Sep 16, 2019

astro said:
OT but relevant: my mother told me to bring back her "pop up adverts" when I cleaned her laptop of malware. She kept insisting and I refused and tried to explain. She hasn't let me touch her laptop since.

ughhhhhhhhhh

Joni · Sep 16, 2019

I always follow a simple method. I buy a new television, my father is jealous of the picture and he buys one as well 4 months later.

DrEvil · Sep 16, 2019

You should get upgrade him to 4K for christmas to become the favourite child :D

Deleted member 10908 · Sep 16, 2019

Around 10 years ago i had a friend that had his Xbox 360 hooked up to his HDTV via composite...he always thought all the trailers he saw were false advertisement lol

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

thediamondage said:
you are a good son

my dad accidentally turns on deaf mode on the TV by accident somehow, it "reads" out every click as you do it (pressed volume up, pressed channel up, etc). It doesn't bother him at all but it drives my mom nuts and she has to call one of us to turn it off. We still have no idea how he accidentally turns it on but everyone finds it funny

this christmas me and my bros are getting my dad an oculus quest (wireless) and VR camera, dad's a camera nut and we expect filming in VR and then putting on a headset and watching it will blow his mind

I wanted him to try the Rift S and DCS World to fly the A-10 and F-16, that's what he flew, and an F1 11, but I don't have it on DCS... he really wants to try it and see how it feels lol. Also, VR Paradise lol. (demo)

Bakercat said:
Nice to hear a sweet story for once.

I can't wait until you show him how far gaming has come since Super Mario World tbh.

I showed him this:

He couldn't believe it was a game lol. He loves NASCAR (go figure).

Lylo said:
This part reminded of Rambo, for some reason...

IKR lol.

kai3345 said:
bro this shit made ME cry 😭

I was so close to it, sooo close.

plngsplsh · Sep 16, 2019

I love these stories. You improved your dad's life - however small that change may seem. You are a better son than others may ever be. Judging from that story, keep doing what you do, I guess.

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

plngsplsh said:
I love these stories. You improved your dad's life - however small that change may seem. You are a better son than others may ever be. Judging from that story, keep doing what you do, I guess.

Over the years we had our issues, no doubt. Bad ones in my teens. I still respect him and want him to have a good life, and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that happens. We only have so many years on Earth, and I want him to live out the rest of his in the best way possible. Who knew hd tv would be one of those lol.

NaturalHigh · Sep 16, 2019

If there is one thing I've learned from being a cable technician the last 4 years it's that old people dont know shit about TVs or HDMI.

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

NaturalHigh said:
If there is one thing I've learned from being a cable technician the last 4 years it's that old people dont know shit about TVs or HDMI.

He wanted to be able to talk to the remote to tell it to change inputs, devices, etc lol. I told him it's working now, and watching him talk to the remote reminded me of Star Trek IV lol. Scotty talks to the mouse at the computer... priceless. If I had recorded it, I would put it up here for sure lol.

Hoodbury · Sep 16, 2019

I always wanted to do this with my in-laws but they simply refused to care about the quality of the picture.

maximumzero · Sep 16, 2019

So nice to read a story where a parent appreciates new technology, my reactions are usually "There isn't anything wrong with what we have now." even though the technology in question is 10 years old and on its last legs.

NaturalHigh · Sep 16, 2019

I could beat a blind playthrough of the game The Witness before people over 55 figure out how to fix a TV when it says no signal.

Stephen Home · Sep 16, 2019

Lightning Fast VCR Repair lost their last client.

The Albatross · Sep 16, 2019

Get ready to field calls from your dad complaining about everything being too small on the TV, now.

Learned that lesson once when I was working on my mom's computer for her and she had the resolution set to 640x480, low-fidelity mode, maybe even lower like 400x300, and I changed it to 1024x768 which ... y'know, I was like, everything will look better now and you can fit more on your screen!! And she just... complained endlessly about how small everything was. So I was like, fuck it, if you want it at 640x480 mom... go for it.

Thankfully my parents service provider, Charter Spectrum, their cable box UI is still in standard def 😭

My dad was pretty frustrated with the move to digital... there's some stuff that's tough to replicate and explain. So he's a college basketball nut and as kids, he'd tape just about every college basketball game in the tournament, at least from the sweet 16 on, going back to the 1980s (we got a VCR very early specifically for this). And while he likes DVR, he misses the flexibility of cassette tapes, and with th emove to digital and encrypted television, it locks out most modern equipment from recording off of a TV without aa really complex setup. Back in the 2000s, I got him a DVD burner, but after about 1 or 2 years basically everything got locked out from copy protection. It's one of those things that he's just right, in the old days, it was easier to do some things like ... record every college basketball game ...

SwampBastard · Sep 16, 2019

astro said:
OT but relevant: my mother told me to bring back her "pop up adverts" when I cleaned her laptop of malware. She kept insisting and I refused and tried to explain. She hasn't let me touch her laptop since.

What? Why? I don't understand. My dad asks me ALL THE TIME if I have seen this commercial or that commercial, but I can't imagine someone being like this with web ads.

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

The Albatross said:
Get ready to field calls from your dad complaining about everything being too small on the TV, now.

Learned that lesson once when I was working on my mom's computer for her and she had the resolution set to 640x480, low-fidelity mode, maybe even lower like 400x300, and I changed it to 1024x768 which ... y'know, I was like, everything will look better now and you can fit more on your screen!! And she just... complained endlessly about how small everything was. So I was like, fuck it, if you want it at 640x480 mom... go for it.

Thankfully my parents service provider, Charter Spectrum, their cable box UI is still in standard def 😭

My dad was pretty frustrated with the move to digital... there's some stuff that's tough to replicate and explain. So he's a college basketball nut and as kids, he'd tape just about every college basketball game in the tournament, at least from the sweet 16 on, going back to the 1980s (we got a VCR very early specifically for this). And while he likes DVR, he misses the flexibility of cassette tapes, and with th emove to digital and encrypted television, it locks out most modern equipment from recording off of a TV without aa really complex setup. Back in the 2000s, I got him a DVD burner, but after about 1 or 2 years basically everything got locked out from copy protection. It's one of those things that he's just right, in the old days, it was easier to do some things like ... record every college basketball game ...

He already called!!! LOL Dad, you're going to have to adjust. He wasn't complaining. Just wanted to make sure he hadn't done something wrong lol.

aisback · Sep 16, 2019

This thread is so wholesome.
My mom still uses a VHS Player but can't use it since hardly any TVs over here have scart anymore (4K set)

looks like I'm going to need an adaptor.

OP you rock

FernandoRocker · Sep 16, 2019

1080p Blu-ray and not UHD 4K? Why are you such a bad son?

Of course I'm joking.

Static · Sep 16, 2019

F34R said:
So, I got his Dish Network receiver connected to the tv via hdmi, and he was SHOCKED I tell ya. SHOCKED lol.

He flipped through all his sports channels, and he teared up. He had been thinking the entire time that he had bad eyesight. He was smiling so much, over the quality of the picture, it's just so heartfelt. He hugged me and gave me such an emotional thank you.

He put The Patriot in and again, blown away! Such a great day to see him happy.

That must be a super good feeling. Good on you F34R . Thanks for sharing.

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

FernandoRocker said:
1080p Blu-ray and not UHD 4K? Why are you such a bad son?

Of course I'm joking.

Baby steps lol. I also put youtube tv on his phone so he can watch football games, nascar races, etc., while he's at dr offices, in deer stand lol, etc. He didn't know you could watch movies on the phone! He was like "WTF!!" LOL

Static said:
That must be a super good feeling. Good on you F34R . Thanks for sharing.

Thanks a bunch.

shaneo632 · Sep 16, 2019

Imagine watching potato quality TV all your life and then someone showing you Blade Runner 2049 in 4K:

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

shaneo632 said:
Imagine watching potato quality TV all your life and then someone showing you Blade Runner 2049 in 4K:

This is how he felt lol. Honestly, it was something special to see.

The Albatross · Sep 16, 2019

F34R said:
He already called!!! LOL Dad, you're going to have to adjust. He wasn't complaining. Just wanted to make sure he hadn't done something wrong lol.

Hahahaha I knew it!

ZackieChan · Sep 16, 2019

TBF I'd probably disown you if you bought me Jurassic Park 3

Dan-o · Sep 16, 2019

OP's story made my damn day.

tokkun · Sep 16, 2019

Is your dad unable to leave the house or something?

I would think it would be kind of difficult not to learn about the existence of higher quality video. Just walking down the main aisle at my local Target I can big displays of 4K TVs. And they are in the waiting rooms and lobbies of a lot of businesses these days.

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

ZackieChan said:
TBF I'd probably disown you if you bought me Jurassic Park 3

It just happened to be in the LE circle tin. I didn't buy it separately lol.

tokkun said:
Is your dad unable to leave the house or something?

I would think it would be kind of difficult not to learn about the existence of higher quality video. Just walking down the main aisle at my local Target I can big displays of 4K TVs. And they are in the waiting rooms and lobbies of a lot of businesses these days.

No, he's just not a tech person at all. Beyond 8 track tapes he still plays, LP's, and basics of using the tv with dish network.

DrBo42 · Sep 16, 2019

shaneo632 said:
Imagine watching potato quality TV all your life and then someone showing you Blade Runner 2049 in 4K:

Ana de Armas in 4K is revelatory. Rest of the movie looks good too.

Bor Gullet · Sep 16, 2019

ZackieChan said:
TBF I'd probably disown you if you bought me Jurassic Park 3

Lmao

Sulik2 · Sep 16, 2019

Why would you buy Temple of Doom and not last crusade?

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

Sulik2 said:
Why would you buy Temple of Doom and not last crusade?

These were on my shelf at home already. I just grabbed a few that I know he'd like.

tokkun · Sep 16, 2019

F34R said:
No, he's just not a tech person at all. Beyond 8 track tapes he still plays, LP's, and basics of using the tv with dish network.

Sure I get that. I'm just wondering what was going through his mind when he saw a TV showing CNN in HD at an airport or in a doctor's waiting room. It didn't occur to him to wonder why his own TV didn't look that sharp?

F34R · Sep 16, 2019

tokkun said:
Sure I get that. I'm just wondering what was going through his mind when he saw a TV showing CNN in HD at an airport or in a doctor's waiting room. It didn't occur to him to wonder why his own TV didn't look that sharp?

He hasn't been to an airport in God knows how long, definitely not since CRT's were removed lol. None of his dr. offices have tv's in them like that.

My dad watches his first movie outside of VHS or movie theater.

I’m seeing double here!

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