Is it Time to Dump the Silver Disc?

[panteragstk]

I'm happy with my current cd player dac included. I'm not sure I will always have a dvd player but plan on having a dedicated cd player for the foreseeable.

My daughter got a CD yesterday with Christmas songs or something on it in a book she got as a gift. I then realized I haven't used a true CD player in about a decade. My discs get ripped and stored pretty much the day I get them.

I suppose the game consoles I have count as CD players though. The PS3 was one of the first truly universal players. Mine still works.

 

[lovinthehd]

My daughter got a CD yesterday with Christmas songs or something on it in a book she got as a gift. I then realized I haven't used a true CD player in about a decade. My discs get ripped and stored pretty much the day I get them.

I suppose the game consoles I have count as CD players though. The PS3 was one of the first truly universal players. Mine still works.

I still own a cd player (a multi disc one, too!) but haven't hooked it up in years....have lots of optical disc players that can play more than cds around, tho....does ripping work for your daughter, too? Seems modern kids would like it....

 

[panteragstk]

I still own a cd player (a multi disc one, too!) but haven't hooked it up in years....have lots of optical disc players that can play more than cds around, tho....does ripping work for your daughter, too? Seems modern kids would like it....

Yeah. I just rip whatever she's wanting to listen to on the rare occasion she gets a disc. They're already used to just using the streaming services I give them access to.

 

[MrBoat]

CD will be back and I think conversations like this one helps this happen. I think that other than hipster trends, those who are still using them still have a heck of a lot of them. I have probably 10x as many CDs to LPs. I don't add many more vinyl records because many new releases don't sound the same to me and I already have a collection of originals that had been my mainstay for years. My old vinyl is like old friends. My old CDs are the same. When I find new music now I like, I prefer CD.

I really like going to Sound Exchange and finding old vinyl and 'non'-remastered CDs, though. Mostly I search for gems there. Found a perfect copy of Boston's first album when Epic first put it to CD. I have had my copy since it became available but after seeing this same one for years at SE in like new condition, I finally bought it for $8.

Have tried streaming repeatedly but I lose interest in it and I'd rather save the parasitic costs, and put that towards new to me gear and DIY speaker kits.

 

[rsharp]

I embraced optical discs starting in 1989: CD and Laserdisc.

For audio... I still have my original CDs I bought and ensured I ripped them to my Macs before Apple stopped including built-in optical drives. I haven't purchased a CD in about 7 years now.

For video... I still much prefer disc (though I will grumble with some that force you to sit through previews). Prior to about six months ago, we didn't have unlimited internet, so streaming was a concern. We set our Disney+ to use the more compressed format. And, for content where we'd know we'd watch it over and over, we either played the DVD/Blu-ray, or purchased the content (e.g. iTunes to be put onto my Mac). Thus, we tried to minimize the quantity of times content was downloaded.

Today, while we do have unlimited internet (well, 100 TB per month; effectively unlimited), we at least set all the streaming content to use least amount of compression.

My wife & son are not purists like I am, so for cases where they want to watch something that we own on disc, they will typically just stream it due to the convenience.

Having said all of that, I reserve purchasing discs for only the most rewatched of movies.

e.g. James Bond. I owned all 16 titles at the time on Laserdisc. Then repurchased all later on DVD. Then now have the full Blu-ray set. Same for many of the original Disney animated classics. As of this writing though, only the newer Bond titles are available on 4K and none of the Disney classics are on 4K.

But history tends to repeat itself. There are many DVDs we have where we never bothered getting the Blu-ray version. I was cautious to only do this if the studios spent the time to say clean up the footage. Some studios are now simply doing upscaled 4K content for their 4K Blu-rays. I take a hard pass on these. If the studios will later do the right thing, I may update more titles. As of now, there's only around 15 to 20 titles I'd be upgrading to 4K.

Currently, I only own two 4K blu-ray discs; Matrix Ressurection and Interstellar. There are other titles I'll definitely upgrade such as "The Wizard of Oz" and the original Matrix trilogy as they are all properly done (not upscaled).

As an aside, I always thought that the industry would move towards say SD-card-like media. Would be kinda cool to have multiple movies on single cards.

 

[MrBoat]

I am starting to see articles here and there about CD gaining popularity again. Of course that could be due to me buying one off scamazon recently and the ad bots got me.

Just picked up this one mostly by the non-original LRB. It's a good CD with a lot of good vocal harmonies. To me it's like Eagles and Crosby, Stills and Nash had a child. Not everyone's flavor but I found a mood for it.

 

[cpp]

Still own a CD player and I stream but I have No plans at 70 to give up anything audio.

 

[3db]

The problem with streaming is that you as the listener (CDs) or viewer (DVDs etc ) have no control over when the streaming service will discontinue the item you are listening to or watching. Thats why I will never give up on the shiny disc. They will have to pry it from my cold dead body!!!

 

[panteragstk]

The problem with streaming is that you as the listener (CDs) or viewer (DVDs etc ) have no control over when the streaming service will discontinue the item you are listening to or watching. Thats why I will never give up on the shiny disc. They will have to pry it from my cold dead body!!!

This is exactly why "purchasing" movies from any of these services isn't a good idea either. The service loses the rights to the movie, your purchase is no longer valid.

Are you going to get a refund? Nope.

 

[rsharp]

This is exactly why "purchasing" movies from any of these services isn't a good idea either. The service loses the rights to the movie, your purchase is no longer valid.

This isn't true for at least iTunes (music, movies, TV shows, etc.). e.g. many many years ago, I got a few episodes of the first season of Miami Vice to include Episode 21 (Evan). But you can no longer purchase that episode at all (music rights issue with Peter Gabriel? not sure). It still plays a-ok. i.e. the license I have to play it is still valid.

Now, if I delete that file and its backup, same as losing a disc that is is no longer available for purchase.

 

[MrBoat]

In light of all the remasters I see now, I am glad I still have many of my original CDs and records. Of all the formats available today, the most impactful experience for me is when I come across a familiar recording that is not compressed very much, if at all. It's almost as if a missing dimension has reappeared.

 

[Beerman43]

There is no competition between Movie Streaming and 4k blu ray. Watching "The Batman" and "Man of Steel" on HBO Max is an insult to those movies. "Man of Steel" must be watched at near reference levels to truely understand the genius of Zack Synder and Hans Zimmer. The sound quality is non-existent in streaming services at this time.

 

[fmw]

Movie watching has changed over the years. Some people go every day, while others wouldn't be caught dead in a commercial theater. How we watch movies, and how many times poses an interesting question. Is it time to dump the silver disc and embrace streaming? We give our thoughts on the subject.

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Read: How Many Movies Do you Watch More than 5 Times?

Not an option for me. I have slow metered internet service so I can't stream. Fast unlimited internet is not available out here in the boonies. Save some of those discs for me to rent. I have never watched a movie 5 times. But I don't buy DVD's either. I rent them.

The last time I went to movie theater was to watch Red Tails when it first released. Great movie but I had to go to the bathroom to get some toilet paper to make ear plugs. The sound was deafening. Almost painful. I like that I can control the volume at home. I'm actually amazed that people still go to commercial theaters to watch movies. I'm patient enough that I can wait until they are released on disc.

I guess I'm just not a typical consumer of recorded entertainment.