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Finally, optical disks are more expensive than HDDs - at least in cost per GB. A 4TB NAS branded HDD costs ~AU$160, which is ~4c/GB. My last BluRay purchase was

Finally, optical disks are more expensive than HDDs - at least in cost per GB. A 4TB NAS branded HDD costs ~AU$160, which is ~4c/GB. My last BluRay purchase was for 3 x 50 spindles of 25GB disks costing AU$330, which works out to be ~9c/GB. For anybody with deep knowledge of the industry, is the price of discs an accurate reflection of costs or is it inflated by secondary factors such as attempts to make the media more expensive to deter piracy or Sony's desire for high profit margins on data storage? I well remember Sony's shenanigans from the 2000s when they made great hardware and then only accepted MemoryStick instead of SD cards while charging much more for their flash format. I was so excited for BluRay and then prices just never came down enough to be practical.

29083011397778 5y ago
I thought BluRay was subject to the blank media levy in Australia, but apparently not! [0] Note that not every country got off without though - just a few lines down, the article notes the levy is present on BluRay discs in Finland, among others. As an aside, I'm of the impression not enough people know about this levy. It feels to me like the kind of thing that fouls up the "nothing to hide" arguments regarding privacy; that is, a law few know about, but one that affects lots of people that wouldn't necessarily agree with being charged for something they may not be doing. While I'm sure some people still pirate and rip to BluRay, I'd assume they're just as likely used for things such as home movies, format shifting (which is legal in Canada [1]), or just plain backups (which I use for important files like a keepass database or 2FA codes). While this has drifted off-course slightly, it may at least have given you an answer regarding why BluRay discs didn't fall too far in price - at least if you're based in Finland. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_copying_levy#Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_copying_levy#Australia [1] https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2012/11/c-11-impact/ https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2012/11/c-11-impact/
- causality0 5y ago
  It's bizarre to me that lawmakers can get away with corruption that blatant.

29083011397778 5y ago

I thought BluRay was subject to the blank media levy in Australia, but apparently not! [0] Note that not every country got off without though - just a few lines down, the article notes the levy is present on BluRay discs in Finland, among others. As an aside, I'm of the impression not enough people know about this levy. It feels to me like the kind of thing that fouls up the "nothing to hide" arguments regarding privacy; that is, a law few know about, but one that affects lots of people that wouldn't necessarily agree with being charged for something they may not be doing. While I'm sure some people still pirate and rip to BluRay, I'd assume they're just as likely used for things such as home movies, format shifting (which is legal in Canada [1]), or just plain backups (which I use for important files like a keepass database or 2FA codes). While this has drifted off-course slightly, it may at least have given you an answer regarding why BluRay discs didn't fall too far in price - at least if you're based in Finland. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_copying_levy#Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_copying_levy#Australia [1] https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2012/11/c-11-impact/ https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2012/11/c-11-impact/

causality0 5y ago
It's bizarre to me that lawmakers can get away with corruption that blatant.