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The article fails to mention the reasons I love VHS: it’s so resilient: the gentle degradation (instead of brittle digital media), doesn't require the internet,

The article fails to mention the reasons I love VHS: it’s so resilient: the gentle degradation (instead of brittle digital media), doesn't require the internet, doesn’t have distracting notifications/social integrations built in. It’s easier to pick what to watch. It feels nice to physically hold an object.

ddingus 6y ago
All solid analog observations. People will express similar sentiments for cassette, vinyl, books.
eru 6y ago
We could totally make digital codes that degrade gently. It's just usually not worth it for a number of reasons. Chief among them is that the code would probably need to be domain specific.
- foobar33333 6y ago
  Its not worth it because backups make infinitely more sense.
  - eru 6y ago
    Oh, coding isn't just for data at rest. It's also for transmission.
- artificial 6y ago
  Just keep re-encoding, like JPEGs that get passed around on social media.
  - eru 6y ago
    That's a different issue mathematically, even though it looks somewhat similar visually.
m463 6y ago
I was about to say, what about dvd and blu-ray? I don't plug in to the network... But then I remembered pausing a blu-ray the other day, and it had this popup showing a thumbnail and the chapter name, something like "Point of No Return". Gah. It pulled me out of the movie.
- TheRealSteel 6y ago
  Blu-Ray is unforgivable. It is a straight-up anti-consumer technology. The Stranger Things season 1 Blu-Ray contains an unskippable, 5 minute long trailer for season 2 which contains spoilers for season 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/crqx8r/the_stranger_things_s1_blu_ray_has_an_unskippable/ https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/crqx8r/the_s...
  - mixmastamyk 6y ago
    What happened to reddit? Nothing is viewable over there for me. Says post is archived.
    - InvisibleUp 6y ago
      Try https://old.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/crqx8r/the_stranger_things_s1_blu_ray_has_an_unskippable https://old.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/crqx8r/the_s... FYI, an archived post on Reddit means that it's older than 6 months and can't be commented on.
      - mixmastamyk 6y ago
        Thanks. None of the discussion showed on the other page however.
  - fock 6y ago
    Generally I'd consider any pre-MKBv68 Bluray pretty userfriendly if it doesn't use BD+. Fully liberated playback thanks to the internet. Don't throw in a newer disc though, it will chain your drive again. Unfortunately I think AACS 2.0 has moved to always online. That's a shame because it basically means you're getting sold a disc of bytes noone can use ever again, once the servers go down...
C19is20 6y ago
Under 'Distracting notifications' I'd put that FBI copy infringement notice. The UK had "you wouldn't steal a car....", preaching similar.
- crtasm 6y ago
  The car one is still giving great mileage: https://torrentfreak.com/uk-govt-parodies-you-wouldnt-steal-anti-piracy-ad-to-deter-covid-spreaders-210219/ https://torrentfreak.com/uk-govt-parodies-you-wouldnt-steal-...
lc9er 6y ago
The biggest hurdle became finding a good quality VHS player. My dad had one that worked flawlessly for about 20 years. I gave up on VHS because everything brand off the shelf kept destroying tapes, within months of purchase.
Dirlewanger 6y ago
What is brittle about 0s and 1s? Do you think bit rot is a real thing?

ddingus 6y ago

All solid analog observations. People will express similar sentiments for cassette, vinyl, books.

eru 6y ago

We could totally make digital codes that degrade gently. It's just usually not worth it for a number of reasons. Chief among them is that the code would probably need to be domain specific.

foobar33333 6y ago
Its not worth it because backups make infinitely more sense.
- eru 6y ago
  Oh, coding isn't just for data at rest. It's also for transmission.
artificial 6y ago
Just keep re-encoding, like JPEGs that get passed around on social media.
- eru 6y ago
  That's a different issue mathematically, even though it looks somewhat similar visually.

m463 6y ago

I was about to say, what about dvd and blu-ray? I don't plug in to the network... But then I remembered pausing a blu-ray the other day, and it had this popup showing a thumbnail and the chapter name, something like "Point of No Return". Gah. It pulled me out of the movie.

TheRealSteel 6y ago
Blu-Ray is unforgivable. It is a straight-up anti-consumer technology. The Stranger Things season 1 Blu-Ray contains an unskippable, 5 minute long trailer for season 2 which contains spoilers for season 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/crqx8r/the_stranger_things_s1_blu_ray_has_an_unskippable/ https://www.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/crqx8r/the_s...
- mixmastamyk 6y ago
  What happened to reddit? Nothing is viewable over there for me. Says post is archived.
  - InvisibleUp 6y ago
    Try https://old.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/crqx8r/the_stranger_things_s1_blu_ray_has_an_unskippable https://old.reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/crqx8r/the_s... FYI, an archived post on Reddit means that it's older than 6 months and can't be commented on.
    - mixmastamyk 6y ago
      Thanks. None of the discussion showed on the other page however.
- fock 6y ago
  Generally I'd consider any pre-MKBv68 Bluray pretty userfriendly if it doesn't use BD+. Fully liberated playback thanks to the internet. Don't throw in a newer disc though, it will chain your drive again. Unfortunately I think AACS 2.0 has moved to always online. That's a shame because it basically means you're getting sold a disc of bytes noone can use ever again, once the servers go down...

C19is20 6y ago

Under 'Distracting notifications' I'd put that FBI copy infringement notice. The UK had "you wouldn't steal a car....", preaching similar.

crtasm 6y ago
The car one is still giving great mileage: https://torrentfreak.com/uk-govt-parodies-you-wouldnt-steal-anti-piracy-ad-to-deter-covid-spreaders-210219/ https://torrentfreak.com/uk-govt-parodies-you-wouldnt-steal-...

lc9er 6y ago

The biggest hurdle became finding a good quality VHS player. My dad had one that worked flawlessly for about 20 years. I gave up on VHS because everything brand off the shelf kept destroying tapes, within months of purchase.

Dirlewanger 6y ago

What is brittle about 0s and 1s? Do you think bit rot is a real thing?