DVDs are Obsolete

[glend (Glen)]

I finally decided to get rid of them, being most of my DVD collection. Built up over decades, they were just collecting dust on my shelves. My young grandkids love to pull them out and scatter them on the floor like big Uno cards. I cannot recall the last time I actually played one.
The Council Clean up was on, and they explained how to recycle them ( plastic cases in the Yellow recycle bin, DVDs left for the Egoods collection truck).
I kept, of course, privately made DVDs and CDs, which contain things that are non-commercial, family related video, weddings, graduations, etc. But I wonder what will become of these when I am gone.
Most movie related content is now available via streaming, and frankly it is easier to push a button or two on the remote, rather than digging out a DVD (even through I had them organised by genre).
And don't get me started on printed books, and my even older film sildes and negative collection.

[Allan_L (Allan)]

I still prefer DVDs to streaming.
I think better quality audio and video content.
and no drop outs.
But its getting harder to find rental stores (or vending machines).
Like you I have a very nice collection that seldom gets aired, except when my 3 year old grandson visits and he demands to watch Apollo 11,

I too have been wondering what to do with the collection.

[castor]

Wow, we didn't even buy a VCR player until DVDs were in vogue. But luckily my dad still had a favourite place to rent videos.

[sharpiel]

I still like to have my favourite movies on disc (Blu-ray where possible) so I can watch them anytime easily. But I do take your point.

Unless you have every streaming service you can't guarantee finding any particular content upon demand. As an example, last week I decided to filter my Netflix by Tom Cruise movies. Netflix had only four movies available at that date. Stan have others etc.

I remember when I only had a foxtel subscription and as such almost everything was found there. And I paid a single subscription fee. Now I need a fox subscription (price hasn't reduced) Stan, Disney, Netflix, binge etc. All with subscription fees. The sum totalling more than I paid before.

Do you remember when ATM fees were $0.20 cents..? Then the Reserve Bank decided to allow marketplace competition to drive prices down. Private ownership of atm's was encouraged. Almost overnight fees rose to $2.

I've noticed that competition often encourages prices to rise, in the end costing the consumer more.

Anyway back to topic; whenever I want to watch the entire Star Wars Saga etc I watch from my own library... Anytime. No hassle.

[alpal]

I gave all my DVDs away.
I couldn't compete with Youtube.
There are 120 billion videos on Youtube.


http://www.howmanyarethere.net/how-m...re-on-youtube/

People wonder about how many videos are on Youtube and more. Youtube is a daily developing company so it’s hard to say the exact number of Youtube videos. But Google says they are over 120 billion now. Moreover 200,000 videos are uploading daily by 300,000,000 users.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Streaming entertainment and movies is the worst thing that has happened over the years IMHO. I don't understand the logic in having a massive infrastructure on stand by 24/7 spread all over the world so people can have the convenience of watching anything anytime anywhere and usually the same thing again and again. The cost in energy is a massive chunk of what we use globally every year and you have to ask yourself if we really need it when we're supposed to be heading the other way. 5G is going to be a real headache for our emission targets. Sobriety is the key here. So you'd think old school bluray or dvds would make a lot more sense. All you need is a player at home and a collection of a few discs. I have collected 100s of discs at home of movies I'm interested in. Never sreamed anything. On principle.

[alpal]

Originally Posted by multiweb

Streaming entertainment and movies is the worst thing that has happened over the years IMHO. I don't understand the logic in having a massive infrastructure on stand by 24/7 spread all over the world so people can have the convenience of watching anything anytime anywhere and usually the same thing again and again. The cost in energy is a massive chunk of what we use globally every year and you have to ask yourself if we really need it when we're supposed to be heading the other way. 5G is going to be a real headache for our emission targets. Sobriety is the key here. So you'd think old school bluray or dvds would make a lot more sense. All you need is a player at home and a collection of a few discs. I have collected 100s of discs at home of movies I'm interested in. Never sreamed anything. On principle.

Then you're missing out on your choice of 120 billion videos.

[DarkArts]

Originally Posted by alpal

Then you're missing out on your choice of 120 billion videos.

There are indeed 120 billion videos on YouTube (Google's estimate) ... But what streaming service, that carries DVD/BluRay-quality productions, has 120 billion titles? That comparison is absurd.

There are many good but rare films you just can't find on streaming services - I wouldn't blame anyone for establishing and maintaining a disc collection if only for that reason. And then there's the splintering of content across different services with exclusive arrangements, and no guarantee that even movies bought and stored online will remain available due to shifting license arrangements.

DVDs and BluRay purchases may be declining (due to the allure of convenience - read laziness - over quality) but discs still have many years left in them.

[alpal]

Originally Posted by DarkArts

There are indeed 120 billion videos on YouTube (Google's estimate) ... But what streaming service, that carries DVD/BluRay-quality productions, has 120 billion titles? That comparison is absurd.

There are many good but rare films you just can't find on streaming services - I wouldn't blame anyone for establishing and maintaining a disc collection if only for that reason. And then there's the splintering of content across different services with exclusive arrangements, and no guarantee that even movies bought and stored online will remain available due to shifting license arrangements.

DVDs and BluRay purchases may be declining (due to the allure of convenience - read laziness - over quality) but discs still have many years left in them.

If you want to watch movies then yes maybe DVD is better for you.
How many times do you want to watch the same movie or
do you just watch it once and then the DVD becomes junk?


How about channels like this?
601K subscribers
Time ghost format told in the present tense week by week
of the history of WW2.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP1...DA7jYkZAELRhHQ


chess games narrated 1.07M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5...FD8dLIegT5QAbA




PBS Space Time 2.26M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7_...ThXybpVgjHZ_7g


Fermilab
506K subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD5...41fJ-IW8Wrhz9A




You can't get content like that on a DVD -
it's made for Youtube.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

You'll just have to wait now, until the year 802, 701 for the next recording medium

Mike

[DarkArts]

Originally Posted by alpal

If you want to watch movies then yes maybe DVD is better for you.
How many times do you want to watch the same movie or
do you just watch it once and then the DVD becomes junk?

How about channels like this?
601K subscribers
Time ghost format told in the present tense week by week
of the history of WW2.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP1...DA7jYkZAELRhHQ

chess games narrated 1.07M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5...FD8dLIegT5QAbA


PBS Space Time 2.26M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7_...ThXybpVgjHZ_7g

Fermilab
506K subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD5...41fJ-IW8Wrhz9A


You can't get content like that on a DVD -
it's made for Youtube.

Who the heck said that I haven't watched YouTube (I do, almost daily) or don't watch commercial streaming content (I do that too)? Who the heck said I (or anyone) can't have a disc collection and enjoy online videos as well?

The OP posed the argument that DVDs (by context, commercial disc content) are/is obsolete - that is clearly not the case.

And for what it's worth, I'll watch the items from my collection whenever the heck I want, no matter what licensing, restricted distribution or re-editing (a la George Lucas) ensues in online versions. They'll be junk when *I* say they are and not a moment before - that's a large part of the point of having a collection - to not be beholden to the vagaries of some distant curator or shifting commercial pressures.

[alpal]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

You'll just have to wait now, until the year 802, 701 for the next recording medium

Mike

I'd forgotten that - it's a great scene.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Originally Posted by alpal

chess games narrated 1.07M subscribers
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5...FD8dLIegT5QAbA

Probably my favourite YouTube channel. But I can't seem to watch them as quick as he posts them.

BTW I ripped my DVDs and now play them from the nas. Same for CDs. Vinyls are still played the old way.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by alpal

Then you're missing out on your choice of 120 billion videos.

Not sure missing out is the word. I just don't care for that much. There are more enjoyable things in life. Like going outside.

[Zuts]

Originally Posted by multiweb

Not sure missing out is the word. I just don't care for that much. There are more enjoyable things in life. Like going outside.

I hear if you go outside and look up, you can see stars

[Astronovice (Calvin)]

Originally Posted by AstralTraveller

Probably my favourite YouTube channel. But I can't seem to watch them as quick as he posts them.

BTW I ripped my DVDs and now play them from the nas. Same for CDs. Vinyls are still played the old way.

I’ve ripped my favourite vinyls too using Audiacity - lets me play them in the car now

[AdamJL]

Well, yeah... DVDs are obsolete. Who buys them?

If you're going to buy discs, you buy 4K UHD.
Still better than streaming. I rip all of mine to a Plex server. Got 44TB on the server, with about 35TB in use.

Streaming quality is very good. Better than Blu-ray in some instances, but not better than 4K Discs.

[sutekh (M)]

There's another reason why DVD's are obsolete: you create them by burning layers of a dye, which degrades in just a few years!

Thinking of archiving your astro data with external mechanical hard drives? Nope, they fail in a few short years as well.

What about solid-state drives? Sorry, mate, they're actually your worst choice: they all have bad blocks from the moment you buy them and these grow exponentially with time. The data loss accumulates much faster in this type of drive.

So, how are you supposed to archive data? Currently, the only quasi-permanent methods are burning onto M-DISC (look for the M-DISC logo on the drive) or Blu-Ray HTL (not LTH). You can read more here:

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2984...your-data.html

-- sutekh

[glend (Glen)]

How will you insure the information you wish to save, on drives, solid state, etc, will survive the inevitable EMP? Do you store everything in a well grounded Faraday Cage?
As a storage medium, DVDs at least were EMP proof, although you still need to protect the reader player device, PC, TV etc..
I wonder how the CDs that NASA sent up on various satellites are going? All that radiation is it breaking down the plastic? I found it very amusing that there was an assumption that some alien who came across the probe in the future, might have a CD player with them.

[raymo]

Well. sutek, I have and use many hundreds of CDs and DVDs, some of which date back to when these discs were first marketed, and all still work just fine,
although some of my VHS tapes have degraded enough to be unwatchable.
I still love my vinyl, and I don't own a mobile phone, and I don't know how to add an attachment or image to an email, so I must be a dinosaur.
raymo