Poll: Are dvds going the way of the video cassette?
- Thread starter Dar70
- Start date
I'm thinking a lot of the drop off is because people have as much extra income to spend on disks. AND because dvd's has been out so long, most everyone already has all their favorite movies/tv shows.
I've noticed that I'm actively avoiding DVDs where possible in favor of Blu-rays ever since I got my PS3. I just can't go back to watching movies in standard definition, it hurts my eyes 
As for physical media in general, well, I'm 25, so I grew up with them - I'll keep using them as long as they are available. I like to have stuff on my shelves.
To answer the question from the poll, I don't see DVDs becoming completely obsolete within the next 3-4 years. The adoption rate of competing formats and distribution models (Blu-ray, digital distribution) is not growing rapidly enough - yet.
As for physical media in general, well, I'm 25, so I grew up with them - I'll keep using them as long as they are available. I like to have stuff on my shelves.
To answer the question from the poll, I don't see DVDs becoming completely obsolete within the next 3-4 years. The adoption rate of competing formats and distribution models (Blu-ray, digital distribution) is not growing rapidly enough - yet.
I agree. Factor in too other means for people to see their favorite movies and programs (online, video on demand, buying inexpensive--but curiously obtained--copies from that slightly shady guy at work, etc.), it's to be expected that sales of DVDs would drop off from what they once were, IMO...
I've personally been thinking about canceling cable and switching entirely to permanent media like DVDs and Blu-rays. The shows I watch on cable I usually end up buying on DVD anyway, so it's like I'm paying for it twice.
I enjoy owning the physical media rather than renting or watching it once. The act of collecting itself is very appealing to me. Also a DVD is an asset that can be liquidated whereas cable is just money down the tubes.
I would still use Netflix to watch the latest movies though. I don't necessarily want to own a copy of every movie. If I'm interested in a TV show though I probably want to own at least one season of it.
I enjoy owning the physical media rather than renting or watching it once. The act of collecting itself is very appealing to me. Also a DVD is an asset that can be liquidated whereas cable is just money down the tubes.
I would still use Netflix to watch the latest movies though. I don't necessarily want to own a copy of every movie. If I'm interested in a TV show though I probably want to own at least one season of it.
I did... if I want to watch something i just download it (if it's a tv show) or get the DVD. I mostly buy blu-rays though.
I agree. I mostly rent from Netflix, but I really like having my own copies of favorites. Same w/ CD's -- I'm gradually uploading most of my music to iTunes, but keeping the CD's of my favorites.
And books! I mostly use the library, but I own a lot of books, too. And I refuse to buy e-books. I like the feel of a real book or magazine in my hand.
To me, a house is less homey w/o shelves of books, DVD's and CD's that reflect the personality of the owner.
I'm more concerned about the potential death of permanent physical non-volatile media in toto than the fate of DVDs. DVDs on their own are safe: Blu-ray players are backwards-compatible, and as long as there's a market for older TV series on DVD (and by older I mean from today on back as there are still plenty of shows not being produced in HD, but certainly anything 5 years old or more) and older movies that would require expensive remastering, the format is safe. I still buy far more DVDs than I do Blu-ray, because the product I want primarily is not being issued on Blu-ray, and likely never will be, such as classic Doctor Who.
Making everything online is just stupid. It's good as a compliment, and I get the fact a lot of people live in little boxes without room to have property. Or they can't afford physical media and have no choice put to pay (or not) for downloads. But as a replacement for permanent media - it's going to kick us all in the ass bigtime in the not-so-distant future. In fact I heard on guy say the move away from physical to downloads is going to have the same long-term impact as the BBC deleting years worth of Doctor Who episodes from 1963 to 1969 - only multiplied by a factor of a million.
Alex
Making everything online is just stupid. It's good as a compliment, and I get the fact a lot of people live in little boxes without room to have property. Or they can't afford physical media and have no choice put to pay (or not) for downloads. But as a replacement for permanent media - it's going to kick us all in the ass bigtime in the not-so-distant future. In fact I heard on guy say the move away from physical to downloads is going to have the same long-term impact as the BBC deleting years worth of Doctor Who episodes from 1963 to 1969 - only multiplied by a factor of a million.
Alex
I consider BLu-Ray and standard DVDs as the same. I do believe that they will go the way of the video cassette eventually. I have been very selective since 2001 of what I buy on dvd. I have about 50 total items bought on dvd. I still have the original dvd player I bought in 2001.
(still see absolutely no reason to get bluray)
I rarely buy any dvds now. I bought farscape the complete series NOV. of 2009 and Buffy the Complete series a year later. Oh and a couple of $3 John Wayne films from Big Lots last summer. So 4 purchases in about 15 months.
I do think that less and less people are going to collect. There will be a time when Netflix or some other digital download will have just about everything you can buy physically. I think it is appealing for those who dont want to store all of their dvds.
I personally know people who bought dozens of dvds they still have not opened from several years ago. The collecting craze has definitely ended. Either because many people have them or there easier, cheaper means of obtaining the material or people simply just got bored of it.
Im just happy that I obstained for the most part from over purchasing these last 10 years. 95% of what I have purchased will get watched at least 2 or 3 more times before I die.
My buddy who had at least 300 dvds 6 years ago probably wont even take the cellophane off most of them.
(still see absolutely no reason to get bluray)I rarely buy any dvds now. I bought farscape the complete series NOV. of 2009 and Buffy the Complete series a year later. Oh and a couple of $3 John Wayne films from Big Lots last summer. So 4 purchases in about 15 months.
I do think that less and less people are going to collect. There will be a time when Netflix or some other digital download will have just about everything you can buy physically. I think it is appealing for those who dont want to store all of their dvds.
I personally know people who bought dozens of dvds they still have not opened from several years ago. The collecting craze has definitely ended. Either because many people have them or there easier, cheaper means of obtaining the material or people simply just got bored of it.
Im just happy that I obstained for the most part from over purchasing these last 10 years. 95% of what I have purchased will get watched at least 2 or 3 more times before I die.
My buddy who had at least 300 dvds 6 years ago probably wont even take the cellophane off most of them.
My DVD collection consists of 1,121 DVDs there's no way I'm going to stop now especially when it's cheaper to buy them my vision doesn't allow me to distinguish the difference between regular D and HD. Considering the prices of both, the lack of anything revolutionary about the BD format, and fact that the BD players are backwards comparable I don't see them going anywhere.
I only have one Blu-Ray title, technically 8 since it's a movie series boxset, and currently will be the only exception since it was a limited edition, must own, collector's item and was only available on the BD format. It sold out in Pre-Orders too so I was damn lucky to get one.
I only have one Blu-Ray title, technically 8 since it's a movie series boxset, and currently will be the only exception since it was a limited edition, must own, collector's item and was only available on the BD format. It sold out in Pre-Orders too so I was damn lucky to get one.
A
Amaris
Guest
I consider BLu-Ray and standard DVDs as the same. I do believe that they will go the way of the video cassette eventually. I have been very selective since 2001 of what I buy on dvd. I have about 50 total items bought on dvd. I still have the original dvd player I bought in 2001.
I rarely buy any dvds now. I bought farscape the complete series NOV. of 2009 and Buffy the Complete series a year later. Oh and a couple of $3 John Wayne films from Big Lots last summer. So 4 purchases in about 15 months.
I do think that less and less people are going to collect. There will be a time when Netflix or some other digital download will have just about everything you can buy physically. I think it is appealing for those who dont want to store all of their dvds.
I personally know people who bought dozens of dvds they still have not opened from several years ago. The collecting craze has definitely ended. Either because many people have them or there easier, cheaper means of obtaining the material or people simply just got bored of it.
Im just happy that I obstained for the most part from over purchasing these last 10 years. 95% of what I have purchased will get watched at least 2 or 3 more times before I die.
I think part of it, in my opinion of course, is that collecting DVDs doesn't really hold any fun or excitement anymore. I remember buying a DVD and you'd open the case, and there's the DVD on the right side, and on the left, inside, are little coupons and flyers, the movie/tv series DVD chapter listing, neat little extras, and the case had weight, you felt like you were buying something worthwhile.
Now, when you buy a DVD, the case is practically see through thin and cheap, it bends and folds when you open it, you can cut your fingers on the plastic trying to get the DVD out without getting it scratched, there's nothing with it. It doesn't feel like you've purchased anything. I realize that it's more tactile than practical, since you're still getting the movie, but it's the whole experience of the purchase. Something fun, something exciting, something worth buying, and now it just feels mundane.
I don't rent. I buy. So it's all DVDs and blu-rays.
Rental/licensing models of digital data is so much cheaper than physical media and distribution chains though. It works for both consumers (they can access a wider variety of titles at lower cost) and publishers (their volume will be larger given the lower entry cost, and the lack of a complex logistic chain means lower production/supply costs), so it's very much likely to be the outcome. More people would be able to get what they want, so it adds to net happiness. The psychological difference between buying and renting would shrink dramatically.
Those concerned about archiving for the sake of posterity would be better suited trying to raise funds to preserve what they wish to preserve, rather than expending energy/resources railing against model that's increasingly likely to be adopted regardless of their concerns.
In the end, society as a whole will preserve what it chooses to value enough to preserve. 95% (probably more) of what we produce is disposable in the extreme, valuable only inasmuch as it informs the creation of the next iteration of product, rather than having permanent intrinsic value of its own.
Of course, in an abstract historical sense even the disposable has value, in the same way that knowing exactly what a Roman slave ate during a typical day would have value. It adds to the sum total of human knowledge, and so may inform understanding. But a quest for a totality of knowledge isn't - and IMO shouldn't be - the final arbiter of how a society values things. Far more important is delivering as good an experience right now for as many people as possible. To a large extent, the future (and posterity) has to fend for itself. I'm sure it will; humanity has a highly innovative streak that will manage that.
It's not just a storage issue; it's an ease of access and efficiency issue too. We're not quite at the point when bandwidth is vast, pervasive, and cheap enough to facilitate this model completely. But we're not far off, I think, in some parts of the developed world at least, and business models are responding to this. Give it 5 years or so and the costs of accessing a movie, game, book or even artwork digitally will fall even further.
I don't think DVDs are going anywhere any time soon. I think that there are still many people out there who like to own physical media. I, myself, am one of them. I do not trust "the cloud". I don't really trust having only digital, file-based media that can easily be erased or corrupted by a computer glitch. And I don't like the idea of having media that I cannot readily share with others. I frequently loan DVDs to friends, or go over to someone's house and bring a movie or TV show that they've never seen before. If everything was file-based and/or stored remotely, they might not be able to access that media.
Is there a shift towards new platforms and formats of media? Yes, absolutely. New Media is becoming an important part of the landscape. Consumers want more options and more flexibility to access content. People still go to the movie theater. They still watch broadcast television. But they also want to own content on DVD. Or, at lealst, rent it on DVD (via RedBox or Netflix). Or they want to download content from iTunes. Or watch something on-demand (either on their TV or online via sites like Amazon). Or stream it via Hulu or Netflix. It isn't so much one specific platform that everyone is using. It's the increase in the number of platforms that are now available to consumers. There are so many more ways to access content.
Is there a shift towards new platforms and formats of media? Yes, absolutely. New Media is becoming an important part of the landscape. Consumers want more options and more flexibility to access content. People still go to the movie theater. They still watch broadcast television. But they also want to own content on DVD. Or, at lealst, rent it on DVD (via RedBox or Netflix). Or they want to download content from iTunes. Or watch something on-demand (either on their TV or online via sites like Amazon). Or stream it via Hulu or Netflix. It isn't so much one specific platform that everyone is using. It's the increase in the number of platforms that are now available to consumers. There are so many more ways to access content.
I haven't watched a dvd in three years, ever since I got into blu-ray, which is the format I've been waiting for my whole life. 
now that Blu-Ray is becoming more established, DVDs seem to be becoming more affordable and less prominently displayed in stores (Best Buy in particular) but b/c of the economy and Blu-Rays still being slightly higher than some people can easily afford, DVDs will still persist, particularly with the sheer volume of content currently available. I would note too that Blu-Rays are not as great a leap beyond DVDs technologically as DVDs were to video cassettes. Still, I have to admit that ever since we got our Blu-Ray player, I've found it harder to buy DVDs, at least those movies/shows that are also available on Blu-Ray. I know logically DVD isn't much inferior to Blu-Ray but it still feels like I'm settling for an inferior product. I don't know why? I still haven't run out to "upgrade" a lot of my DVDs, however.
I still buy DVDs, but fewer than I used to. Not because of newer media or waning interest. There are simply fewer older movies and TV shows being released these days that I want to buy. Even just a few years ago, there were still lots of titles you couldn't get on DVD. Now there are just a handful. Personally, most of what's left to get is just episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which will eventually run out. I buy new stuff as it is released, of course, but I never find more than one or two movies or seasons of TV shows that I want to get in any given year.
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