General Discussion Why the DVD Just Won't Die

[Kelly Hartman]

I love DVDs. DVDs are resilient, they let me skip right to where I want, and I can hoard many more DVD titles in the same space than with VHS. But not everyone shares my feelings.

It's obvious by the recent trends in new high tech goodies that someone wants the DVD to die. New Macbooks and Minis...

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[Kelly Hartman]

My first article. Feel free to throw as much feedback my way as you like.

 

[bknight]

There are still a lot of users going for the DVD approach when it comes to film picking, not everyone has a blu-ray reader / recorder at home so I can feel the need to still do some things using DVD as media, I think that if DL DVDs weren't available they've should disappeared a long time ago, but with the DL's price decreasing from time to time, I can see them standing still in the market for at least a couple more years, and as cloud storage/usb pens, are becoming the main media carriers around, I bet in some years there won't be nothing similar to a DVD or a blu-ray.

 

[Jellyfish]

Wrong way of thinking. You just told it yourself, there was something before the DVD, it was the VHS. And there will be something after the DVD. It's just a normal process.

 

[Kelly Hartman]

USB storage doesn't have the ubiquity of the DVD, though. Every player can play a DVD, whether you bought a Sony or a Magnavox. With digital media, you're kind of stuck. Like when I bought my smartphone, I had to get an Android because Japanese phone carriers don't like subsidizing foreigners' iPhones. However, I buy a lot of TV shows from iTunes, so I'll have to keep using my iPod.

 

[zlemune]

I rather like having the physical copies, sort of like books on the shelf. But I think I would own a lot more of them if they got rid of region restrictions.

 

[rastergrafx]

I like DVDs, but I have an issue with them where I didn't have the same problem as VHS: They're a total crapshoot. They can glitch or break at a moment's notice.

The first thing you have to deal with when opening the DVD case is all that infuriating packaging. After you've worn out your scissors just getting those stickers off, now you have to open it and pray that you don't accidentally scratch the disc when you press your thumb on the ring to pop it out. Remember how much easier it was with VHS? You just cut off the cellophane and BOOM! You're ready to slip it into your VCR without risk.

Nowadays, VHS and VCRs are a dead breed, and it's kind of unfortunate. Thankfully, digital downloads and streams are alleviating most of the problems with our current physical media.

 

[Jellyfish]

USB storage doesn't have the ubiquity of the DVD, though. Every player can play a DVD, whether you bought a Sony or a Magnavox. With digital media, you're kind of stuck. Like when I bought my smartphone, I had to get an Android because Japanese phone carriers don't like subsidizing foreigners' iPhones. However, I buy a lot of TV shows from iTunes, so I'll have to keep using my iPod.

Yeah, digital copies are the ones that are not known for being playable on most devices.

But whatever, the "sequel" of the DVD is not USB sotrage but blue rays.