How many people buy travel videos before they go somewhere?
#1
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How many people buy travel videos before they go somewhere?
I was just wondering about this. I know whenever the DW and I are planning to go somewhere for the first time we will often buy one or more videos to try to get more of a feel for the place. The problem we have found is, like with most travel TV shows, they only focus on bars, restaurants and hotels. Yes, I love Bourdain. Yes, I hate Samantha Brown. And yes Zimmerman food just makes me nauseous.
I hate reading guidebooks, even though I write them. So I usually focus on videos. What about you guys?
dave
I hate reading guidebooks, even though I write them. So I usually focus on videos. What about you guys?
dave
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I dont think anybody buys travel videos now though they still do buy books and magazines. most people just head out to sites like youtube or tripfilms etc to check videos. One more site which you could check for travel videos is www.city.vi , a network of 68,000 city specific video sites, where you can share videos about cities and regions across the world. like for Paris videos you can visit http://Paris.vi .
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There are so many videos available free on the web that I wouldn't buy one.
Exception: I would love to get my hands on the Christmas in Germany (Christmas Calendar) video narrated by Loretta Swit. It was fantastic. I had taped it, but my husband taped over it. Although it wasn't a high resolution video, it would probably look not so great on HDTV.
Exception: I would love to get my hands on the Christmas in Germany (Christmas Calendar) video narrated by Loretta Swit. It was fantastic. I had taped it, but my husband taped over it. Although it wasn't a high resolution video, it would probably look not so great on HDTV.
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I wouldn't consider buying a travel video/DVD. Although I recently took out videos for Egypt and Jordan from my library I'm usually disappointed by the quality of travel videos and the lack of depth in them.
A couple of months ago I checked out a DVD on Pisa, got a glass of iced tea, sat down to watch for what I thought would be an enjoyable half hour (or more). The video only lasted 10 minutes and wasn't even pretty. I told the library to stop wasting their money on junk like this.
I particularly hate the aerial view videos (these are often shown on PBS).
A couple of months ago I checked out a DVD on Pisa, got a glass of iced tea, sat down to watch for what I thought would be an enjoyable half hour (or more). The video only lasted 10 minutes and wasn't even pretty. I told the library to stop wasting their money on junk like this.
I particularly hate the aerial view videos (these are often shown on PBS).
#13
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I have borrowed one or two from my library but they are often poor. There are much better ways of checking out a destination and I recommend the following TV programs, History Channel (for ancient places), HGTV's International House Hunters and Anthony Bourdain.
My preferred method of research usually starts with a map or globe though and I do like guide books and travel websites like this one and Tripadvisor.
My preferred method of research usually starts with a map or globe though and I do like guide books and travel websites like this one and Tripadvisor.
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I like to watch favorite movies set in Italy that put me in the right mood before I travel there: "A Room with a View", "Summertime", "Don't Look Now", Branagh's "Much Ado About Nothing". I'll even watch again a turkey like "Rome Adventure" (Troy Donahue, Suzanne Pleshette, Angie Dickinson) if it happens to pop up on TCM. I endured "Letters to Juliette" only because of the moments in Siena and the Tuscan countryside. I'll look over my Rick Steves Italy videos, not for information, but again to get psyched. (Steves gets knocked about on the Fodor Forum by many, but I appreciate his passion.)
I'll do the same movie-and-Steves viewing, but to a lesser extent, when I head for Paris.
I'll do the same movie-and-Steves viewing, but to a lesser extent, when I head for Paris.
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