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Disappearing Act: Is Demise of CDs, DVDs a Good Thing?
Kirk Baird, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
Alas, poor CDs and DVDs, we hardly knew ye.
After an all-too-brief relationship, your shiny-silver, coaster-size discs are being replaced by an invisible stream of numbers hidden away on some faceless hard drive.
Tangible is giving way to convenience.
And yes, there is something to be said for that.
It’s great to have access to most of your music collection while on a six-hour cross-country flight. And the ability to stream thousands of movies and TV shows through content providers like Netflix and Amazon.com without leaving the comfort of your living room or office is the bee’s knees, so to speak.
But does the evolution of the digital revolution, as we embrace mp3 and mp4 files, really mean the end of physical media?
The sales numbers, particularly for CDs, would strongly indicate yes.
In 2008, CD sales dropped almost 25 percent from the previous year, while album downloads was up nearly 34 percent from 2007, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
Meanwhile, according to an article in Variety, sales of DVDs continue to decline, down 9 percent in 2008 from the year before; however, sales of Blu-ray discs, the superior successor to DVDs, grew to $750 million last year, or three times what it was in 2007.
But missing in all the decreasing sales percentages and dire pronouncements of physical media are the advantages to owning a physical copy of your favorite album or movie, like the ego-stroking self-satisfaction of showing off your CD and/or DVD library to others. Collecting the discs is akin to the theory that the more books you own, the better read you are.
But try that with two terabyte hard drives filled with mp3s and mp4s, and gauge the reaction of friends, family members, and neighbors. It’s just not the same. Hard drives packed with media files will never be as impressive, visually speaking, as owning the entire CD catalogs of Miles Davis and Bob Dylan, or the DVD box set of the uber-massive and uber-expensive United Artists 90th Anniversary Prestige Collection.
Redhead52
5 months ago
64 comments
What's to miss? I'm still plugged in to my 8-track player.
The1Fazz
5 months ago
42 comments
I was nervous when I saw the headline/title. But after reading the second page, I was rather relieved. We all know only too painfully well (literally, even) what can happen when there is no "paper trail." (oops! There goes 8 years!) Physical evidence always triumphs. You can hold it, you can see it; it is there. Think of "proof."
Regardless, one ALWAYS needs a back up. This generally includes physical, and "non" physical. One or the other could go. Ever since I have engaged in this practice, I have been saved several times. copies would be gone. One such copy, is something that could NOT be replaced. I have a one-of-a-kind CD recording of an indie band before they made it to iTunes. ("I'm not telling!") One time, somehow it became scratched. Luckily I uploaded it to my computer.
Yes, clearly I wanted to listen to it on the go- advancing the theory of computer favoritism, but what about when someone brings over a CD for me to burn or rip? I do not have a physical copy in that case. I will burn a copy for myself. I think I have inadvertently deleted some files before. I have yet to have my computer totally break, or something related.
Another thing that this article failed to mention, is that sharing with others last minute is much easier - and in some cases, only possible - when you can grab a hard copy and bring with. Many cars do not have AUX jacks anymore because they think you are going to "listen with headphones" while driving. That is nuts! If anything, it is safer, because it means less fumbling. And can you upload music files from your MP3 player to your friend's computer when over at their house? Not likely. At least not that I have seen.
There are many other reasons that involve mostly funds and personal situations, but we are talking advancement of technology here. So the scientific arguments are only what we are going for.