Whether books or DVDs - there are good ones and bad ones

I could not agree more. I think that while you get more material for your money from books, there is 1 thing that DVD's are better at. And that is showing you the timing of certain sleights. I have J. B. Bobo's Modern Coin Magic. , I also Have David Roth's Expert Coin magic on VHS. I learn more from Roth than from Bobo.

Can you imagine trying to in written form explain the intricacies of a good retention vanish, that is as good as just watching Roth do a Retention vanish? Or how about explaining a Vernon-Mora wand spin vanish? Is it better to read it? or to watch Michael Ammar, with all the subtleties, that he teaches on his Cups and Balls DVD set? Also, How do you explain in a book How to do stuff like XCM... ( for those that like that kinda stuff, I myself find it kinda meh...) better than watching Jeff McBride explain it?

I think that a lot of what is happening is, some " old timers" only had books and instruction sheets to learn from. They learned " The hard way". Now there are younger magicians learning from DVD's. And maybe they feel that they have not " paid their dues."

Also, a lot of old timers spent a lot of time, and money, and energy looking for the best techniques, and material. Now some kid with a CC can order DVD's that teach perfect handlings of the same. I sense an almost " But they are not REAL magicians" kinda vibe here...

When I started learning card magic, I had a choice...i could buy Card College, or I could buy Michael Ammar's "Easy to master card Miracles" DVD's... At the time I chose the DVD's. And now i am working my way through Card College. I have to be honest. if i had started with Card College, I might not be doing magic now... it's a big investment in time and energy. YES it makes you a better magician...But the DVD's had me amazing people almost immediately. The DVD gave me stuff that got me Excited about Performing.... Now Card College is helping me be a better magician.

A lot of new magicians want material they can use right away... and maybe ITBTWC and BTPCM is right for them...it gets them all hot about magic, then later they can go onto Card College and Bobo.

Someone even asked " What DVD did Houdini watch or Blackstone? " to which I answer. " What Online Forum did Houdini belong to? ( By the way i heard he was a terrible magician...not a good example. ) or Blackstone?

We should all avail ourselves of the advantages that technology affords us. If you do not like DVD's don't use them, but I do not see the advantages of panning them. If you think that a book teaches better say that... But some go overboard...

I consider DVD's one of two things. First, as seen with BTP, it is a crash course on the basics of magic. Someone who has been doing magic for 15 years will never pick up the DVD because it teaches stuff he already knows. Oz did not go over the pass for good reason, the sleight is too advanced for the card magic 101 DVD that he put out. If you were interested in the move, a simple google search would have given all of the answers to the questions you were asking.

The second reason that DVD's are valuable, is that they can give you a window into the performer's mind as he is doing certain routines. I do not advise stealing patter, but it does help to see where a performer is coming from in a particular routine. You could have the absolutely most amazing card trick in the world, but if it lacks volume and excitement, it is just a trick. DVD's let you explore the fourth wall, where books tend to not illustrate.

I think Dvds are a much easier format to learn from (assuming they're well thought out) but books can convey alot more effects and cost less. For example I bought 22 blows to the head and Sankey unleashed, same person, yet I learned more sleights from the Dvd and more effects from the book. In the end, experienced magicians will prefer books because they can get more for their money seeing as they already know the sleights that go with the tricks.