Downloads vs. Discs - An Analysis

admin · #1 06-24-2009, 01:05 PM

There seem to be two camps in the AV field in regards to content - downloads or physical media. The download camp says that physical media is quickly becoming a thing of the past. The other side holds their discs up high and scream, "You'll take my disc from my cold dead hands!" So, who will be right? An analysis.

Discuss "Downloads vs. Discs - An Analysis" here. Read the article.

Djizasse · #2 06-24-2009, 09:21 PM

Good article.

Quote:

But Blu-ray may be digging it's own grave by relying on people to be willing to pay more for quality. In times like these, it may be better to take the financial hit just to make sure that your base doesn't try the competition and realize that your advantage isn't as great as you make it out to be.

I don't think they're hearing you (us).

I don't understand their business model. They would make more money if they just lowered the disc's prices. More discs sold for less make more profit than less discs for more money.

As for CDs, they don't fit into any cellphone I know

DTS · #3 06-24-2009, 09:42 PM

I like cold hard discs. I like knowing its the best quality possible. I like going to the shelf and picking out a movie to watch. And besides, do they just assume everyone has the means or access to screamin' internet? We have Wild Blue with a relatively fast { for satellite } download speed, but there is always the F.A.P. to consider. Even if we were ever to get cable out here in the "sticks", I wood be tempted do get it for the high speed internet for gaming reasons and faster downloads and such, but I will keep my DISH for TV and keep buying the neat little discs.

skizzerflake · #4 06-24-2009, 11:58 PM

Physical media still have a few good years left in them. Not everybody has broadband and if you do, you might have one of those companies that sticks you with a fee for heavy downloading. When they do, it's dubious whether it's cheaper to stream or download a movie, especially in HD. Personally, I like owning some, but not a large number of disks, so I can watch them when I please rather than on Comcast's schedule. In the long run, however, on-demand selections will grow, connections will get better and the balance might shift.

sperho · #5 06-26-2009, 01:32 AM

Does anyone know what percent of revenues of Blu-ray and/or DVD physical disc sales are for the majority of companies? I rarely buy a disc and have only a very, very small collection of discs, yet I love to watch movies and I probably enjoy the whole hi-fi AV experience more than the average Joe. In other words, does the fact that not purchasing to own vis a vis renting physical media really matter to the success of a format? I remember a time when VHS releases were truly cost prohibitive and was like that for many years. It didn't seem to matter much then, did it? Or maybe I'm just living under a rock and my perception is skewed as a result.

Wayde Robson · #6 06-26-2009, 08:10 AM

I'm in between.

For music I'm streaming radio (SomaFM is my fav while I work) and my computer is connected to a Denon receiver and an NHT 5.1 speaker system in my "office". I download/stream TV shows I don't get with my basic cable subscription.

I use the Squeezebox to send my digital music collection to my main a/v system in the living room. But I still have a Cambridge Audio disc player that is seldom used. Occasionally (usually when it's late and I've had a couple of gin and tonics) I'll pop in an old DVD-Audio discs. It blows me away!

I have long since ripped all my CDs to Apple Lossless (I regret not having done FLAK or something else but it's done) - and sold my CDs.

Movies

I couldn't be a bigger evangelist for Blu-ray. I'm all about the lossless audio codecs and the quality. That includes music on Blu-ray which IMHO even has DVD-Audio beat. We just need more made.

I totally agree they're too expensive right now. I'll be gosh darned if I'm going to pay $30 for a movie... although I have done it the odd time. I've even spent up to $50 for a box set of a TV show or movie collection.

Here's the principle at work I believe is most important to any media... how it was put together at the studio.

As much as I've loved the audio quality of an uncompressed CD or DVD-Audio disc, SACD - I've bought a few discs online in recent months and found they sound crappy! No dynamics in the sound - lazy separation - no immersion factor whatsoever. A CD, although uncompressed, isn’t always what it used to be!

So, it's not always the 'format' per-se. Sadly as compressed digital crap becomes the norm I think studios might be inclined to get a bit lazy.

However - Blu-ray is the total antithesis to that. I'm seeing multi-channel lossless audio, not just movies but concerts, that sound AMAZING. It's as if there is this hive of audiophilism still working for these studios cranking out Blu-ray discs.

I'm loving that fact and I hope it stays around a long-long time. Blu-ray may be the final hope for the Audioholic.

GlocksRock · #7 06-26-2009, 09:41 AM

I'm still all about physical media, especially for movies. Music, I like having a disc so I can rip it to my hard drive however I see fit, but I do generally only listen to music via my ipod in my car, but at least I'm not using the headphone jack, my Alpine CDA-9887 has a high speed ipod cable that uses the balanced connector.

MidnightSensi · #8 06-26-2009, 10:09 AM

I like the digital realm. I don't really see much of a benefit to physical media anymore. Just seems like a wasted middle-man to me now. Get the material, press it, ship it, stock it, store it, buy it, drive home, upwrap it, throw away the plastic ... the case, the media... I'm not even that "Green", but, physical media is something I could for sure do without. Apple TV I can rent a movie in HD and it downloads while I watch it. I have NetFlix, but, truthfully, that's kind of a waste too.

I love vinyl and have a ton of it, but when I buy something on vinyl I listen to it digitally and then just call the distributor or record label to buy it. That's how CDs should be. If you really want something physical, then you can buy it direct. But, since CDs are digital, I don't see any advantage to it other than having something to touch and feel...which, is important to a lot of people.

To me, having the ability to search my record collection and pull anything up from a 4tb collection in a few seconds, is bloody awesome. I have so much stuff in Lossless now too, that I've either gotten in lossless or ripped from my vinyl.

rnatalli · #9 06-26-2009, 10:34 AM

Provide me with DRM-free lossless, downloads and I'll never buy a disc again.

GlocksRock · #10 06-26-2009, 12:54 PM

The thing with downloads, is you eventually run out of storage space on your device, and the next time you want to watch/listen to whatever, you have to download it again. And with some high def movies, this could be a very large file and take a while to download, and what if you have internet issues, then you are out of luck. But if you have a disc, just pop it in and you are off. Both mediums have their place, but I think physical media will still be here for a while. But I am interested in seeing how will this thing xbox live has coming up with supposed no wait streaming movies in 1080p, but even that will likely still only have standard dolby digital 5.1 and no lossless TrueHD or dts-hd master audio.