11 ms·

I've returned to buying physical media. Its really awesome. Things I like dont just dissapear anymore. And the 10 movies or so I watch per year is cheaper than

by nih0 5y ago

I've returned to buying physical media. Its really awesome. Things I like dont just dissapear anymore. And the 10 movies or so I watch per year is cheaper than a subscription service.

blueridge 5y ago
Yes, this is it. For me what matters is ownership—physical media, objects, artwork. I like owning things that bring me joy day after day. It's about being able to experience them whenever I want, on my terms. We rent, and lease, and license almost everything—books, software, cars, apartments, music, movies, furniture. Everything is offered "as a service". I get that a lot of people are drawn to the "flexibility" and ease of use that comes with rentals, with subscriptions, but not me. I'm not giving up on ownership.
- z3c0 5y ago
  One benefit of physical media that I don't see mentioned here: if you like underground music, the rarity of the CD/Vinyl can cause it to greatly appreciate in value over time. It's a great reward for dedicated fans who are willing to jump on a release early. A lot of my CD's double in value within months (eg this album[1] came out only 2 years ago* and has already tripled in value) [1]: https://www.discogs.com/master/1701108-Spectral-Lore-Mare-Cognitum-Wanderers-Astrology-Of-The-Nine https://www.discogs.com/master/1701108-Spectral-Lore-Mare-Co... *edit: I forgot what year it is
albertzeyer 5y ago
But you will not be able to read the CD anymore after some years.
- egypturnash 5y ago
  Rip. Mix. Burn.
- at_a_remove 5y ago
  I have CDs from the 1980s that read just fine. In any case, I plan on backing them up at some point.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    I do, too. Not one suffers from "CD rot". I usually prefer CDs from the 80s, before they were "remastered", dynamically compressed, etc.
    - midnightclubbed 5y ago
      They were always mastered, there was just the 90s-2000s race for loudness that changed how they were mastered. There are some genre's that benefitted from that loudness war (pop music sonics changed dramatically) but yeah anything which should have had subtlety got squashed to oblivion. How do you feel about more recent re-masters where they have been more sensitive to over-compression and in some cases re-re-mastered to address the appalling re-masters? I have some issue with re-masters that attempt to fix problems with the source material. I'm not a huge fan of artists tinkering with the original material, adding elements that got lost in the mix due to overdubs/noise, were not technically possible, or just re-mixing for their taste. At least Taylor Swift is up-front about re-recording her albums. My gut is that music recorded/mastered to tape is going to sound 'as intended' on vinyl and everything recorded digitally (the old DDD label on CDs) targeted CD. I have nothing scientific to back that up though.
      - WalterBright 5y ago
        > How do you feel about ... I don't trust them enough to risk spending money on more re-masters. I always go for the original. Interestingly, I've grown to dislike music that is too perfectly produced. I like that the singing isn't perfect, there's some background noise picked up by the mikes, etc. For example, listen to some of the Jefferson Airplane albums from the 60s. Those albums would never be produced today, because the band is a bit of a mess. The harmonies are out of sync, the pitch is imperfect, the timing erratic, everything is off kilter. But that rawness is, strangely enough, what makes the albums so endearing and a treasure. It's like the band has come by your house and is just having fun in your living room. So much better than the antiseptically perfect modern productions, along with that awful ubiquitous autotuning. Barf. C'mon, dare to have a sour note here and there.
- zacwest 5y ago
  Burned CDs degrade because their method of writing is a chemical change. Pressed CDs do not suffer the same problem.
  - TonyTrapp 5y ago
    Some bad pressings do - but it's true that the majority of pressed CDs remain readable.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - mark-r 5y ago
    Pressed CDs decay because the reflective aluminum layer oxidizes. The bottom of a CD is a pretty impenetrable plastic, but the top is just painted on.
- LinuxBender 5y ago
  Many of my CD's are from the 1980's. I am listening to one right now. It sounds just like it did when I bought it. I have several hundred CDs and to my knowledge none of them are unreadable. The only issue I have run into is using really cheap CD players. Some of the earliest CD's were manufactured using sub-optimal material and manufacturing processes and have always had a very slight warp to them even from the day I bought them. The really cheap CD players most notably Wonnie have trouble compensating for this.
symlinkk 5y ago
You’re confusing physical formats with the advantages of ownership. You can own DRM free digital files and have all of the same advantages, plus also enjoy the ease of use of digital. The only problem is there is no legal way of obtaining DRM free digital copies of movies or tv shows. For music you have Bandcamp and (I think) iTunes.
- Groxx 5y ago
  I don't think they're confusing the two, it's more that sellers are forcibly combining the two. Nobody likes it, but they keep doing it, except in a couple sections where massively rampant piracy has essentially forced them to provide less user-hostile options.
- aparks517 5y ago
  > The only problem is there is no legal way of obtaining DRM free digital copies of movies or tv shows. I think that depends on where you are. Maybe someone will correct me, but I was under the impression that here in the US you can "format-shift" a DVD or BD you legally own by ripping it to an unencrypted format so you can watch it on your tablet or what-have-you. Isn't that the legal leg iTunes stood on (before ITMS) for ripping CDs to listen to on your computer or iPod?
  - symlinkk 5y ago
    It is pretty hard to rip Blu Rays, from my surface level understanding only one piece of software supports it (MakeMKV), and only certain Blu Ray drives with specific versions of firmware support it.
    - jerf 5y ago
      mpv can be convinced to rip most blurays, but getting the requisite magic files can be a bit of a trip. You're looking for the latest "KEYDB.cfg". There's also still a chunk of blurays that it just won't rip because they're too sophisticated, although shocking few releases seem to be releasing those. (Must be a lot more expensive to make them.) You also run the risk that if you're not careful about what you put in your drive, you can have the latest Bluray disk revoke your drive simply by it spinning up and doing the initial read before you even ask for anything, from what I gather. I'm not sure if this is a current risk, but it's always changing. I've also found there's some confusion about what constitutes a 'track number'. DVD only has one, Bluray seems to have two. Most releases keep both in sync, but not all of them. The STTNG Blurays were a bit tricky to get the right shows off in the right order.
brimble 5y ago
> And the 10 movies or so I watch per year is cheaper than a subscription service. Libraries (and the free-if-you-have-a-participating-library-card Kanopy streaming service) exist, too.
- kjkjadksj 5y ago
  Back in like 2005 or so, I would get all my music and movies from the library and just make rips to blanks to grow the collection at home. I did that with netflix dvd service too.
2ion 5y ago
For me, it was the trouble of inadquate losless download offerings by so many labels / distributors. Even if you just want a digital library, getting the physical medium and making your private digital copy is a so much more stress-free variant, and it also doesn't limit your choice, because almost all music is available on CD and a much smaller fraction as well-produced losless audio downloads. I'm not paying CD price for a mp3, it's not the 2000s anymore, I can afford to download 700M of data for an album --- data saving was the original purpose of lossy audio codecs to begin with.
Xavdidtheshadow 5y ago
> the 10 movies or so I watch per year is cheaper than a subscription service. I think the value here _really_ depends on your usage patterns. For you, it sounds like individual discs make a ton of sense. But, many people watch more movies than that (during the height of lockdown, we were watching 1-2 movies _daily_), so streaming services made the most sense. Sure, it's annoying that movies come and go, but the price is certainly right. Once size won't fit all here, so it's definitely great that discs are still an option. I'm glad it works for you!

by nih0 5y ago

I've returned to buying physical media. Its really awesome. Things I like dont just dissapear anymore. And the 10 movies or so I watch per year is cheaper than a subscription service.

blueridge 5y ago

Yes, this is it. For me what matters is ownership—physical media, objects, artwork. I like owning things that bring me joy day after day. It's about being able to experience them whenever I want, on my terms. We rent, and lease, and license almost everything—books, software, cars, apartments, music, movies, furniture. Everything is offered "as a service". I get that a lot of people are drawn to the "flexibility" and ease of use that comes with rentals, with subscriptions, but not me. I'm not giving up on ownership.

z3c0 5y ago
One benefit of physical media that I don't see mentioned here: if you like underground music, the rarity of the CD/Vinyl can cause it to greatly appreciate in value over time. It's a great reward for dedicated fans who are willing to jump on a release early. A lot of my CD's double in value within months (eg this album[1] came out only 2 years ago* and has already tripled in value) [1]: https://www.discogs.com/master/1701108-Spectral-Lore-Mare-Cognitum-Wanderers-Astrology-Of-The-Nine https://www.discogs.com/master/1701108-Spectral-Lore-Mare-Co... *edit: I forgot what year it is

albertzeyer 5y ago

But you will not be able to read the CD anymore after some years.

egypturnash 5y ago
Rip. Mix. Burn.
at_a_remove 5y ago
I have CDs from the 1980s that read just fine. In any case, I plan on backing them up at some point.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  I do, too. Not one suffers from "CD rot". I usually prefer CDs from the 80s, before they were "remastered", dynamically compressed, etc.
  - midnightclubbed 5y ago
    They were always mastered, there was just the 90s-2000s race for loudness that changed how they were mastered. There are some genre's that benefitted from that loudness war (pop music sonics changed dramatically) but yeah anything which should have had subtlety got squashed to oblivion. How do you feel about more recent re-masters where they have been more sensitive to over-compression and in some cases re-re-mastered to address the appalling re-masters? I have some issue with re-masters that attempt to fix problems with the source material. I'm not a huge fan of artists tinkering with the original material, adding elements that got lost in the mix due to overdubs/noise, were not technically possible, or just re-mixing for their taste. At least Taylor Swift is up-front about re-recording her albums. My gut is that music recorded/mastered to tape is going to sound 'as intended' on vinyl and everything recorded digitally (the old DDD label on CDs) targeted CD. I have nothing scientific to back that up though.
    - WalterBright 5y ago
      > How do you feel about ... I don't trust them enough to risk spending money on more re-masters. I always go for the original. Interestingly, I've grown to dislike music that is too perfectly produced. I like that the singing isn't perfect, there's some background noise picked up by the mikes, etc. For example, listen to some of the Jefferson Airplane albums from the 60s. Those albums would never be produced today, because the band is a bit of a mess. The harmonies are out of sync, the pitch is imperfect, the timing erratic, everything is off kilter. But that rawness is, strangely enough, what makes the albums so endearing and a treasure. It's like the band has come by your house and is just having fun in your living room. So much better than the antiseptically perfect modern productions, along with that awful ubiquitous autotuning. Barf. C'mon, dare to have a sour note here and there.
zacwest 5y ago
Burned CDs degrade because their method of writing is a chemical change. Pressed CDs do not suffer the same problem.
- TonyTrapp 5y ago
  Some bad pressings do - but it's true that the majority of pressed CDs remain readable.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- mark-r 5y ago
  Pressed CDs decay because the reflective aluminum layer oxidizes. The bottom of a CD is a pretty impenetrable plastic, but the top is just painted on.
LinuxBender 5y ago
Many of my CD's are from the 1980's. I am listening to one right now. It sounds just like it did when I bought it. I have several hundred CDs and to my knowledge none of them are unreadable. The only issue I have run into is using really cheap CD players. Some of the earliest CD's were manufactured using sub-optimal material and manufacturing processes and have always had a very slight warp to them even from the day I bought them. The really cheap CD players most notably Wonnie have trouble compensating for this.

symlinkk 5y ago

You’re confusing physical formats with the advantages of ownership. You can own DRM free digital files and have all of the same advantages, plus also enjoy the ease of use of digital. The only problem is there is no legal way of obtaining DRM free digital copies of movies or tv shows. For music you have Bandcamp and (I think) iTunes.

Groxx 5y ago
I don't think they're confusing the two, it's more that sellers are forcibly combining the two. Nobody likes it, but they keep doing it, except in a couple sections where massively rampant piracy has essentially forced them to provide less user-hostile options.
aparks517 5y ago
> The only problem is there is no legal way of obtaining DRM free digital copies of movies or tv shows. I think that depends on where you are. Maybe someone will correct me, but I was under the impression that here in the US you can "format-shift" a DVD or BD you legally own by ripping it to an unencrypted format so you can watch it on your tablet or what-have-you. Isn't that the legal leg iTunes stood on (before ITMS) for ripping CDs to listen to on your computer or iPod?
- symlinkk 5y ago
  It is pretty hard to rip Blu Rays, from my surface level understanding only one piece of software supports it (MakeMKV), and only certain Blu Ray drives with specific versions of firmware support it.
  - jerf 5y ago
    mpv can be convinced to rip most blurays, but getting the requisite magic files can be a bit of a trip. You're looking for the latest "KEYDB.cfg". There's also still a chunk of blurays that it just won't rip because they're too sophisticated, although shocking few releases seem to be releasing those. (Must be a lot more expensive to make them.) You also run the risk that if you're not careful about what you put in your drive, you can have the latest Bluray disk revoke your drive simply by it spinning up and doing the initial read before you even ask for anything, from what I gather. I'm not sure if this is a current risk, but it's always changing. I've also found there's some confusion about what constitutes a 'track number'. DVD only has one, Bluray seems to have two. Most releases keep both in sync, but not all of them. The STTNG Blurays were a bit tricky to get the right shows off in the right order.

brimble 5y ago

> And the 10 movies or so I watch per year is cheaper than a subscription service. Libraries (and the free-if-you-have-a-participating-library-card Kanopy streaming service) exist, too.

kjkjadksj 5y ago
Back in like 2005 or so, I would get all my music and movies from the library and just make rips to blanks to grow the collection at home. I did that with netflix dvd service too.

2ion 5y ago

For me, it was the trouble of inadquate losless download offerings by so many labels / distributors. Even if you just want a digital library, getting the physical medium and making your private digital copy is a so much more stress-free variant, and it also doesn't limit your choice, because almost all music is available on CD and a much smaller fraction as well-produced losless audio downloads. I'm not paying CD price for a mp3, it's not the 2000s anymore, I can afford to download 700M of data for an album --- data saving was the original purpose of lossy audio codecs to begin with.

Xavdidtheshadow 5y ago

> the 10 movies or so I watch per year is cheaper than a subscription service. I think the value here _really_ depends on your usage patterns. For you, it sounds like individual discs make a ton of sense. But, many people watch more movies than that (during the height of lockdown, we were watching 1-2 movies _daily_), so streaming services made the most sense. Sure, it's annoying that movies come and go, but the price is certainly right. Once size won't fit all here, so it's definitely great that discs are still an option. I'm glad it works for you!