Physical Media might not be dead, but Physical Media in Retail Stores are accelerating the death (1 Viewer)

[jcroy]

As to whether the already existing dvd player/drive manufacturers will redesign their drives/players with no-patents in mind, at this point I doubt they will do much of anything. No point in hiring somebody to redesign/reprogram everything, when the old bog standard designs are "good enough".

Going back further in time for a precedent, nobody seemed to bother doing much of anything further, once all the audio cd patents expired. (IIRC, just about all of the audio cd patents expired around 1999-2000).

 

[TJPC]

Isn’t the lack of CD progress a shame? We bought a new car recently with features I only used to dream of. You put in a CD, and a screen on the dashboard not only shows the name of the artists and tracks, but also shows a picture of the CD cover.

I also recently purchased what Sony used to call a “discman” at Walmart. It was very inexpensive. It plays about 5 discs on one AA battery, and you would have to swing it around your head or stomp on it before it would skip.

 

[TJPC]

Isn’t the lack of CD progress a shame? We bought a new car recently with features I only used to dream of. You put in a CD, and a screen on the dashboard not only shows the name of the artists and tracks, but also shows a picture of the CD cover.

I also recently purchased what Sony used to call a “discman” at Walmart. It was very inexpensive. It plays about 5 discs on one AA battery, and you would have to swing it around your head or stomp on it before it would skip.

 

[JQuintana]

Isn’t the lack of CD progress a shame? We bought a new car recently with features I only used to dream of. You put in a CD, and a screen on the dashboard not only shows the name of the artists and tracks, but also shows a picture of the CD cover.

I also recently purchased what Sony used to call a “discman” at Walmart. It was very inexpensive. It plays about 5 discs on one AA battery, and you would have to swing it around your head or stomp on it before it would skip.

I vote no, no it isn't a shame. I'll be glad when it's gone. Anyone who's paying $10++ for ONE cd that has maybe 1 or 2 songs they like are crazy IMO. $10 can get you a month's worth of a high quality sounding catalog of all KINDS of music/albums. I mean a TON of old and new music at your fingertips.

 

[TJPC]

The point I was making was that it is a shame that the CD format has been brought to near perfection and then it is being abandoned by so many.

It reminds me of the turntable that was developed that played LP records with a laser. This mean no wear and tear for records. It was too late, people had moved to CD by then.

By the way, the CD format is best for me still. I play mostly original cast recordings, which are played as a unit. I never have played random tracks picked by somebody else no matter how inexpensive. That I reserve for elevators, restaurants, and Walmart.

 

[JQuintana]

The point I was making was that it is a shame that the CD format has been brought to near perfection and then it is being abandoned by so many.

It reminds me of the turntable that was developed that played LP records with a laser. This mean no wear and tear for records. It was too late, people had moved to CD by then.

By the way, the CD format is best for me still. I play mostly original cast recordings, which are played as a unit. I never have played random tracks picked by somebody else no matter how inexpensive. That I reserve for elevators, restaurants, and Walmart.

What are you talking about?

You do realize that with Pandora, Spotify, Google Play, and all the other streaming services you can play any album you want in full. These services aren't just jukeboxes playing random songs. I have a ton of albums in my "favorites" that I can play at any time, 100% like a CD. I think you're idea of what streaming music is all about is outdated.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

I wish I could get all the music I have on CD via the streaming services, but it's not available.

 

[TJPC]

What are you talking about?

You do realize that with Pandora, Spotify, Google Play, and all the other streaming services you can play any album you want in full. These services aren't just jukeboxes playing random songs. I have a ton of albums in my "favorites" that I can play at any time, 100% like a CD. I think you're idea of what streaming music is all about is outdated.

We have none of these services in Canada.

 

[Worth]

We have none of these services in Canada.

Actually we do, except for Pandora. Plus we have Apple Music.

 

[John*Wells]

I was thinking about this a few days ago. I was searching I tunes for the original Star Trek film soundtracks. I was able to find the ones for Star Trek 2,4,5 and 6. But not the original motion picture or the search for Spock. They don’t appear to be licensed for I tunes so I cannot download and burn cds of them. Conversely, I went into Best Buy recently and noticed the physical media section had been reduced to the point that they had a few formats in a corner. It’s sad

 

[Bryan^H]

There are so many music recordings, tv shows, and movies not available to stream/buy digitally it isn't even funny. In the millions combined. This is the real reason physical is vastly superior concerning myself.

 

[JQuintana]

I'm sure in fairly rapid pace that will change. Physical media is becoming less and less prominent B&M stores. Pricing is still too high after all these years. And really, how many average everyday folks are clambering to find all the obscure stuff that is hanging on by a thread on physical media? Slim to near none at this point.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

There are so many music recordings, tv shows, and movies not available to stream/buy digitally it isn't even funny. In the millions combined. This is the real reason physical is vastly superior concerning myself.

I think, simultaneously to the change in formats that people use to consume media, we're also seeing a change in how people seek to consume media. It's becoming more disposable, with large numbers of people enjoying whatever the popular thing in the moment is, but not necessary becoming devoted the way people did in the past.

When being able to listen to music or watch a movie required purchasing an expensive physical object, you had better be sure that you liked the artist or the film, because you didn't want to get stuck paying $10-20 for something that ended up being a coaster.

But I think most customers don't want to be hardcore fans of specific movies or music. They want some entertainment at the end of the day, something to distract from work, or to share with friends, or to enjoy with family. And I think having a specific library of specific titles that have been selected and curated to revisit time and again is not what the average listener and the average viewer is looking for most of the time. So the idea that a specific song might not be available on a streaming service is far less of a dealbreaker to the average listener than it might be for someone who is an enthusiast like us.

I think it's all part of what I informally call "The Godfather Principle." My dad wasn't a big collector of movies, but I recall with clarity even today the time that he bought The Godfather on VHS. This seemed like a good idea since it's a film that my dad watches multiple times during the year. Basically, if he's channel surfing and he comes upon The Godfather, that's it for the next three hours. Doesn't matter if it's uncut on premium cable or edited for television, doesn't matter if it's loaded with commercials or playing without interruption, if it's on TV, he'll watch it. But I never saw him watch that VHS set once. When the movie came out on DVD, I bought him the DVD. Never watched it once. When the movie came out on Blu-ray, I bought that for him too, and you guessed it, he hasn't watched that either. But he's seen the film countless times over those years. I've observed this numerous times and I've pointed out again and again that rather than watching it edited for television or with commercials, or rather than stumbling onto it on HBO when its halfway over, that he could just put it on and watch it from start to finish in a quality better than what he's seeing on cable. He always agrees that would be a good idea, but never does it. And I think that's actually how most people are when it comes to most media. They'll enjoy what's right in front of them, but the desire to actually posses that content isn't there in the way it is for us.

edit: The only thing I'd like to add to this is that just because those who enjoy seeking out and enjoying specific works of art and entertainment are in a minority of total entertainment consumers does not mean that their preferences are wrong or that there is only one correct way to consume media. When I make posts like this, I am not endorsing the decline of physical media, but rather, trying to put a face onto a phenomenon that I know is strange and foreign to many of us here. I'm trying to offer perspective without judgment. And I do think there's a certain tone of among a minority of posters that seems at times to border on glee, and I don't think that's right. We shouldn't be taking joy in people losing their hobbies, who are losing sources of joy in their lives. I would like to believe it's possible to both understand the current media landscape while having sympathy for people who are experiencing losses as a result of it.

 

[JQuintana]

My parents were the same. Back when DVD hit, dad wanted a new player so we got that and a big new LCD TV before LCD was a big thing. He was all set. For Xmas I'd get his a couple of movies he liked to watch. But as years would go by I noticed the player had a layer of dust on it and the closet that had knick knacks stored in it still had unopened DVD's sitting on the shelf unwatched. They were basically like your dad. If a cable channel had the movie on it, they MAY stop to watch, but that was also rare.

Fast forward to 2019 and my 17 year old is all about streaming her music to her car or on her phone. Wants to watch a movie? streams it all via Netflix or if I have it on Google Play Movies. The idea of actually BUYING a disc of any kind is totally foreign to her and her friends. They just don't want them nor care at all about owning movies or music. Instant...gratification is the world we live in now.

Only the old troopers from days gone by still feel the need to own everything so they can see it sitting on a shelf "just in case" they want to watch it someday, which usually never comes along.

I found it quite refreshing getting out from under the "must collect" mindset and moving to the future vs. hanging onto the past.

 

[bmasters9]

I think it's all part of what I informally call "The Godfather Principle." My dad wasn't a big collector of movies, but I recall with clarity even today the time that he bought The Godfather on VHS. This seemed like a good idea since it's a film that my dad watches multiple times during the year. Basically, if he's channel surfing and he comes upon The Godfather, that's it for the next three hours. Doesn't matter if it's uncut on premium cable or edited for television, doesn't matter if it's loaded with commercials or playing without interruption, if it's on TV, he'll watch it. But I never saw him watch that VHS set once. When the movie came out on DVD, I bought him the DVD. Never watched it once. When the movie came out on Blu-ray, I bought that for him too, and you guessed it, he hasn't watched that either. But he's seen the film countless times over those years. I've observed this numerous times and I've pointed out again and again that rather than watching it edited for television or with commercials, or rather than stumbling onto it on HBO when its halfway over, that he could just put it on and watch it from start to finish in a quality better than what he's seeing on cable. He always agrees that would be a good idea, but never does it. And I think that's actually how most people are when it comes to most media. They'll enjoy what's right in front of them, but the desire to actually posses that content isn't there in the way it is for us.

It is/has been his choice, I'll grant you, how he sees/has seen that classic Godfather film-- I just thought that, based on how offensive/otherwise objectionable many commercials are today, he'd want to see/have seen it in such a manner as to not have/have had to deal with those commercials.

Then again, this is just how I see it.

 

[John*Wells]

This entire discussion again demonstrates a serious issue with instant gratification also. What happens if the internet or a cellphone doesn’t work for some length of time? My Dad always told me to know how to do something the original way before using the technology expedited method

 

[JQuintana]

Read a book, take a walk, write in a diary, draw, do a puzzle, take a road trip, sit and relax. I have NO tie to media at this point in my life. If my net died for a day, it wouldn't bother me one bit. I don't have any ties to movies or TV to the point I'd panic that I couldn't watch say The Matrix that afternoon.

 

[JQuintana]

One other aspect of this physical media obsession with some "collectors" is the sheer amount of cash that is sitting idle on a shelf for YEARS never to be seen, or at best seen once. I've read of some folks around have almost literally a pile of discs that when totaled up would pay for 1 or 2 kids college!! That to me is insane.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It is/has been his choice, I'll grant you, how he sees/has seen that classic Godfather film-- I just thought that, based on how offensive/otherwise objectionable many commercials are today, he'd want to see/have seen it in such a manner as to not have/have had to deal with those commercials.

I would have thought so too. The Godfather is three hours without commercials; who knows how long it is with them!

There's a certain kind of psychology in effect here. I think it's the difference between people who are looking at watching a movie as the ultimate plan, the ultimate destination, and people who are looking to movies as a way to pass the time. If you're just looking for something to do for a couple hours, maybe you don't care as much about the details and maybe you're not looking to make a commitment. I'm not sure I'll ever fully understand it; but by the same token, my dad (who watches The Godfather multiple times in a year) doesn't understand why I'd watch any other movie twice.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

One other aspect of this physical media obsession with some "collectors" is the sheer amount of cash that is sitting idle on a shelf for YEARS never to be seen, or at best seen once. I've read of some folks around have almost literally a pile of discs that when totaled up would pay for 1 or 2 kids college!! That to me is insane.

I've never concerned myself with how other people spend their money.