Phosphor Dot Fossils: The DVD now available!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Those of you who have been to OVGE/OKGE anytime since 2004 have probably seen this in passing, and after years of people asking if it would ever be for sale, it's now available, in a newly-expanded form with new footage, new factoids, and plenty of fun - nearly three hours total!

http://www.thelogbook.com/pdfmedia/pdf-full.jpg

See The Games In Action
Actual video clips of dozens of games in action, from 1971's "Computer Space" through the dawn of the NES era, accompanied by fascinating game-by-game historical notes. A detailed menu system lets you search year-by-year to jump directly to whichever game you want to see. It's a "video book" and a celebration of the sights and sounds of video gaming's history all in one.

Vintage Commercials
Including Apple's famous "1984" Macintosh ad, the "Have You Played Atari Today?"campaign, William Shatner beaming into a VIC-20 commercial, and ultra-rarities such as the "Dig Dug" ad that appeared in theaters, not seen since 1982! This will be the first time you've ever been happy to see advertisements on a DVD.

Rare Hardware, Iconic Controllers
From the Magnavox Odyssey's light gun to the Atari 2600 joystick to Intellivision's keypads to the Famicom D-pad controllers, see how keeping your fingers on the pulse of the game has evolved. Also glimpse rare hardware such as Adventurevision, Puppy Pong and the pre-2600 Atari console that never hit the stores, along with long-lost specimens of video game toys and memorabilia.

Over four years in the making, Phosphor Dot Fossils is an audiovisual celebration of the evolution and innovation of arcade games, home video games and computer games. If you missed the early all-time greats and haven't found them for your collection, don't worry - PDF puts it all at your fingertips, with a fast pace, a retro-circuit-tastic look and an original musical score.

Copies will be available at OVGE 2008 (http://www.ovge.com) in August, but if you just can't wait or can't make it to that event, you can also order online here (http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/pdf-dvd/). More than half of the "OEGE 2008" hand-labeled copies have gone out the door now, and I'm working on lining up a duplicator for the next print run.

To do away with one misconception I had to spend a lot of time clearing up for folks at the OKC show: this is a video DVD only, containing no ROMs, emulators, software or playable games of any kind. If that's what you're looking for...well, that's not what this is.
Thanks to everyone who's ordered so far just on the post-show word-of-mouth - since it's gotten a couple of mentions in other threads, I thought I'd go ahead and squeak about it out in the open. For those wondering about the CGE DVDs: they're still in progress, but since a lot of this material had been "pre-produced" for quite some time, it was a relatively easy project to get it ready in time for the Oklahoma City show in April. I'm aiming to have the CGE project finished editing by early July, so those of you who are pining away for the show in August can relive it in the comfort of your own home. 8-)

[kurtori]

Just made my PayPal payment! :D

[Viraneth]

Wow that is really cool.

I gotta pick that up.

[YoshiM]

I saw your link in your sig so I ordered mine yesterday. Can't wait to see it.

[lendelin]

Ordered mine. It looks very promising, and I've been looking for someone like this from a very knowledgeable game enthusiast for some time now.

[digitalpress]

Got one. Can't wait to see it!

[dave2236]

Just ordered mine, look forward to seeing it.

Thanks !

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

All orders received before 10am today have shipped out - be on the lookout!

Thanks everyone for your orders. I'm working on ensuring that there isn't a "gap" in between when I run out of the hand-labeled copies (which is gonna happen pretty soon at this rate...!) and when I have professionally duplicated copies on hand to ship out. I gotta admit, I wasn't quite expecting this to take off so fast. :eek 2:

[Rogmeister]

I must be blind...I couldn't see a link on that page to click on to order this. I don't have a PayPal account anymore so maybe I can't anyway? :(

[kainemaxwell]

Sounds like a great dvd to order!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I must be blind...I couldn't see a link on that page to click on to order this. I don't have a PayPal account anymore so maybe I can't anyway? :(
Honestly, I just hadn't gotten around to adding non-Paypal ordering info as yet, and I'm literally going to go do that right now - check back in about an hour. \\^_^/

[lendelin]

Thanks for the fast shipping! I got mine today already.

Although I wished at times the pic quality to be better, this is a WONDERFUL TOUR DE FORCE about videogame history. The best part: I've seen so many games I only read about in action, and the written comments were informative, concise and very helpful; and to have a lot of TV ads of classic gaming systems on one DVD is more than nice.

It is a graphical encyclopedia about the origins of gaming. While strictly following timelines, the role of the arcade for game debvelopment and the branching out into different genres becomes clear and trackable.

The DVD is worthwhile the entrance free. Thanks for the good work, great job. I highly recommend it.

(Olivia the cat is the cutest enthusisastic game player I've seen. :) )

[Felixthegamer]

Wonderful dvd and worth picking up!

[chuckwalla]

Just ordered through Paypal!
Thanks, and for a great website too!

[namzep]

I picked this up at the Oklahoma City con last month and have throughly enjoyed what I've watched of it (probably about a third of the way through or so). The vintage commercials are by far the best part. :)

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

We're now officially into the second print run of the PDF DVD!

http://www.thelogbook.com/earl/hizzouse/q2-08/pdflabel.jpg

Pretty, isn't it? Thanks to everyone who's picked it up so far - glad you've enjoyed it. :D

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I wish I'd had the Lightscribe discs for the first run of 50, but those first 50 copies were done on such a low budget it's almost embarrassing. Now the whole thing looks kinda like a Real Product. After this first disc, I even fixed it so that the "P" in Phosphor doesn't get cut off. :evil:

[YoshiM]

Not to kick this thread into a major tangent but how the heck did you get your Lightscribe disc to look that sharp? With my old Samsung drive the first pass was a mere shadow. The third pass was recognizable as a label but the data got screwed up from the heat. Is it a software thing, the brand of discs the drive or all of the above?

To smack this back on track: I'm enjoying the disc so far. Lots of neat things I didn't really know or haven't seen before. Video quality on the commercials is pretty good-a hint of compression but nothing like the KNURDZ attempt. I'm only about 20 minutes into it but I'll do a formal review when I'm done.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Stonic may be the Lightscribe expert here - I just had a friend slap the drive into the machine, I coughed up the label design in about 10 minutes, put a disc in there, and it came out like that. Contrast in your design may be the key though - even though the thing says it'll do X shades of grey, I kept it so that the only thing that had any greyscaling whatsoever was the "Fossils" part of the logo, and even then I had maxed out the contrast ahead of time.

[Vectorman0]

I've been saving my money for the CGE DVD, but I guess this will do while I wait. It better be good! ;)

[boatofcar]

PDF, I'll be ordering my copy in a few days (thank you for overseas shipping) but I wonder, do you have any concerns about possible copyright violations? I'm not accusing you of anything of course, I just wonder if that ever crossed your mind...

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Actually, that's a decent question which bears addressing. There are huge differences between the original version which was shown (but not sold) at OKGE/OVGE for several years, and this one, ranging from some clips (i.e. movie trailers for Tron, WarGames, etc.) to music (8-Bit Weapon and Tony Fox) that had to be removed before I could sell the DVD. (Don't get me wrong, Tony and 8BW gave me permission to use their music before I ever put it in the old version, and I loved having it in there, but their permission was based on the assumption that it would just be shown and not sold.)

The commercials are in a bit of a gray area, but they're of little commercial interest (pun not intended but required) now - i.e. they're not being represented as a current product. Game footage and logos fall under fair use - as I've said before, the best term I can think of to describe the PDF DVD is a "video book," as my own on-screen text accompanies what you see much of the time, adding some critical and historical perspective to what you're seeing. If it was just a DVD of commercials, that might be a darker gray area, but I think I'm on fairly safe ground here based on my own copyright experience. (And even if there was a DVD of just commercials, tapes of those have been going around for ages with nary a peep from the copyright holders, unless I'm very much mistaken.)

The music issue was resolved by me getting my groove on and coming up with my own music, plain and simple. :guitar: LOL (The neat thing there is, and I'm not sure if anyone's noticed this, when Atari Video Music comes up, it is in fact responding to the music that you're hearing at that very moment.)

So it's a pretty valid question. I put most of these commercials through the same remastering process that I did the stuff on PackratVG.com's Odyssey2 DVD, sometimes vastly improving things and sometimes winding up with an "ah f*** it", so think of it this way: you're not paying for the commercials, nor am I laying claim to them as intellectual property. But you are paying for some decent restoration that's been done on them. ;)

[boatofcar]

Thanks for the answer :) I was planning on purchasing one either way, but I'm glad you thought about all that stuff :)

[vespertillio]

Payment sent. Cant wait to see this.

[chuckwalla]

I received it on Monday and it's excellent.
Spent part of the last two nights watching.
Even though I was tired, I was so motivated to play some games from watching the DVD I broke out Pitfall and Super Breakout (2600), and Mouse Trap and Venture (Colecovision) for a few quick games - man I suck at video games when i'm tired!

[Coldguy]

Congradulations you were mentioned on Retro Gaming Radio!
http://www.retrogamingradio.com/theshow/listen.php?current=1

[Gapporin]

Congradulations you were mentioned on Retro Gaming Radio!
http://www.retrogamingradio.com/theshow/listen.php?current=1

The segment starts right at 160:04, for those of you, like me, who just want to skip straight to that part. ;)

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

The rest of the show is usually worth listening to. I got a chuckle out of how impressed Shane seemed by it, and I got a big laugh from him thinking it was a book (sorry, the book is a 2009-2010 project...whoa, did I say that out loud?). :p

BTW - there's a little delay in shipping this week due to the Memorial Day holiday; orders accrued since Friday morning will ship out this coming Wednesday. Again, huge thanks to everyone who's ordered so far, has thought about ordering, or has thought about thinking about considering the slightest possibility of ordering. :rocker:

[Sothy]

Can I get it on beta?

PDF rocks yer mom btw.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Quick question: someone ordering from the UK said that clicking on the "outside of North America" order button took them to Paypal...in German. :embarrassed: Is this happening to anyone else? If it is, I evidently need to fix something.

[p_b]

Just checked it, it isn't German, it's Dutch. (at least for me...)

[RetroYoungen]

Just got my copy in the mail yesterday, popped it in and watched it through... nicely enough, on my XBox 360 (which I felt was highly appropriate). Right after I had to go play some Pac-Man Championship... the wave of nostalgia was too strong to ignore. :D

Very nicely put together, and the way it's pieced, easy to follow and have fun with!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Couple of notes real quick:

I've had a hell of a time with my site's hosting provider recently, as they don't seem to be able to keep their database servers up to save their lives; if you tried to order a copy of the PDF DVD about a month ago and couldn't get through, try again - I have replaced the ordering page (http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/pdf-dvd/) with an "old school" HTML page so it shouldn't be affected by the ongoing server errors.

Also, regretfully I have had to back out of OVGE this year; my not showing has nothing to do with the show itself, and I hope everyone who's planning on going will stick to their plans and go, if only so there's an OVGE for us all to go to next year. Several things yanked the rug out from under me this year, from finances to babysitting, so for the first time I'm going to be on the sidelines. I'm trying to see about getting a few copies together to send with someone else to sell at their tables, but I may not be able to get it together in time for the show. In the meantime, the DVD is entering its third print run and will still be available, both before and after the show, if anyone's still wanting to pick up a copy.

I'm bummed about missing OVGE, but I'm sure the other dads out there will attest that taking care of the kiddo always comes first.

In the meantime, thanks again for the orders and the kind words - I'm glad everyone seems to like it so far!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Just wanted to let everyone know that a follow-up to the PDF DVD, Phosphor Dot Fossils: Level 2, is in the works and should be available in spring 2009. It will cover more games, more commercials, and more trivia and factoids from roughly the same period (1971-1986), with all-new stuff that will not overlap with the original DVD. It will also take a step further into the future, covering some pivotal titles from 1987. Otherwise, it will be in much the same format as the first one; no idea on the running time yet. I mean, I've got a rough idea, but there's an old saying that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy, so I prefer not to spill those particular beans yet.

In the meantime, between now and then, a certain other gaming-related DVD project I've been working on will finally be available by the end of this year. :o Stay tuned!

[jcalder8]

Sweet I can't wait for the second one and whatever the one coming up is.

[kevates]

cge dvd by the end of the year? that would be a nice xmas present. :)

[Raedon]

labors of love always take time! I'll check it out when I can.

[Raedon]

... and can I get a Girl Gamers Gone Wild! DVD?

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Just a quick note for anyone going to CCAG this weekend: there will be a few copies of the PDF DVD for sale at Sniderman's table. Go watch the preview and get a copy in person before they're all eaten by a hideous grue! (BIG thanks to Tim for joining the ranks of those who are hawking my wares at the various shows that I can't make it to this year.)

I'm also working on making DVDs available at Too Many Games the following weekend - stay tuned for that announcement...

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Black Friday? Pffffft! Why wait?

Through this Sunday night, you can get a holiday discount on the Phosphor Dot Fossils DVD at this page (http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/pdf-dvd/comeonturkeyhitit.htm) - over 10% off for folks in the US and Canada, and almost a 10% discount for folks in the rest of the world. If you haven't picked up a copy of PDF just yet, or want to give one as a gift, this is your chance. This link will disappear - kinda like the discount will too! - late this Sunday night.

As an added bonus, you can see some very early preview shots from Phosphor Dot Fossils Level 2, coming next spring, at the above link. Y'know...while it's there. ;)

[kainemaxwell]

I should buy this.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I certainly won't disagree with you there. LOL

[scooterb23]

Well that's a deal I can't refuse...well I could, but then it would be pointless to mention it.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

This came up on another forum, so I thought I'd mention it here: anyone who doesn't have Paypal can get the discount so long as their payment is postmarked before Sunday night (basically, today or tomorrow).

Thanks to those who have placed their orders already - I'm taking a small stack of DVDs to the post office today to send out!

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

http://www.thelogbook.com/pdfmedia/level2logo.jpg
Phosphor Dot Fossils Level 2, the follow-up to the successful Phosphor Dot Fossils (http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/pdf-dvd/) documentary timeline DVD released in 2008, will make its debut on Saturday, April 11th at the Oklahoma Electronic Game Expo (http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/), on the Oklahoma City Community College (http://www.occc.edu/) campus in OKC.

Like the original, Level 2 will cover a wide swath of video game history, including arcade, home console and computer games, from 1972 through 1987, with shots of the games in action, historical notes for every game shown, other trivia, and even vintage commercials from that era. Also like the original, Level 2 has an easy-to-follow visual design, a concise menu system to allow instant access to any clip on the entire DVD (which is once again estimated to have a running time of around 3 hours), and an original music score.

Level 2 will cover games not featured in the first Phosphor Dot Fossils DVD, from Atari’s early post-Pong arcade efforts and blasts from the vector graphics past, through the era when the Nintendo Entertainment System revitalized the American video game scene after an industry-stalling crash in the early 1980s.

Phosphor Dot Fossils Level 2 will be released at the 2009 OEGE event at a special “show price” of $15; orders will be taken via theLogBook.com Media (http://www.thelogbook.com/media/) the same day for those unable to attend the show, at a price of $20 (shipping inclusive) in North America, and $25 for the rest of the world. DVD specs: NTSC DVD, 4:3 standard definition aspect ratio, running time: approx. 3 hours.

The original Phosphor Dot Fossils DVD is still available (http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/pdf-dvd/), and will also be available in a 2-disc bundle with Phosphor Dot Fossils Level 2 in April. Phosphor Dot Fossils is also available from the Digital Press store in Clifton, NJ.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Pre-orders are now being taken for Phosphor Dot Fossils Level 2! (http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/level-2-dvd/)

http://www.thelogbook.com/earl/hizzouse/q1-09/dvds.jpg

PDF Level 2 is three hours of all-new material, covering games from 1972-87, including more systems, more vintage commercials, and more stuff that you might not have known or seen before. Even the video and sound quality are significantly improved from the original, using some of what I've learned from both the first volume of PDF and the CGE DVDs.

The Brown Box is simply a double-pack of the original PDF and PDF Level 2, for those who haven't taken the plunge yet. Content on both volumes is exactly the same, for a total of six hours of classic gaming historical goodness in action. (Go back to earlier pages in this thread to see what folks have been saying about the first DVD, in fact.)

Both Level 2 and the Brown Box will debut at OEGE in Oklahoma City on April 11th (see this thread for details (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127634)), and pre-ordered copies will ship at around the same time. If you're already going to OEGE, go ahead and wait to pick your copy up in person - that way you're not paying shipping (well, aside from having shipped yourself there!), and the pre-ordered copies probably won't ship until right around the day of OEGE itself. (I'll have CGE DVDs there too, for anyone who hasn't picked those up.)

Level 2 covers a lot of ground that some folks thought was missing from the first PDF DVD - more NES, more Commodore 64, and more systems overall, including Channel F, Studio II, Astrocade, SMS, and Atari 8-bits. I think everyone who thought that PDF 1 was okay but needed more cowbell will be pleased with the new model. \\^_^/

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

After PDF Level 2's debut at OEGE last weekend, the floodgates are now open for general orders, and several have already been shipped! Click here to order Level 2 or the Brown Box collection (http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/level-2-dvd/); I've also revised the page for the original PDF DVD (http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/pdf-dvd/) so there's no confusion as to which you're ordering.

Several people have asked if Level 2 will be a presence at any other shows this year, and the answer is...I'm looking at the possibilities. Unless there's anything right in my back yard, I won't be personally making it to any shows this year, but if I've nailed down a distributor for the DVDs for a specific show, I'll announce it here.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Just a heads-up - we're giving away a complete PDF Brown Box 2-DVD set. All you have to do is become a PDF fan on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Phosphor-Dot-Fossils/52373180265), and then find the recently-posted 700th review on the Phosphor Dot Fossils web archive (http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/). Post your guess as a reply to the CONTEST! status update. There's already one hint posted.