Is the CD/DVD player now obsolete?

[giddyup]

I remember first reading about the introduction of a player that used a laser to read tracks on a disc and being totally blown away by the concept. However, fast forward 20 years and that amazing invention no longer has a place next to my TV. It sat there, forlorn and unused for the better part of nearly 2 years before I callously removed it to a cupboard, where it will probably join the ranks of the VCR and Cassette player, never to be used again. I do still have one CD/DVD player in the lounge room because it has a USB port and I play music through that. Sad to see the demise of the CD/DVD player, it gave me many hours of listening and viewing pleasure.

[KC 71]

Yes it does seem to be very quiet on that front these days.although they do seem to be still selling cds and dvds here

Im not sure how many people are buying though

[SoiBiker]

I haven't played anything from a shiny disk for many years now.

[worgeordie]

Mine is,its so easy to find anything you want to watch on line,

for free,laser disc,VHS tapes all gone the same way.

regards worgeordie

[terminatorchiangmai]

I found out that the sound of a cd is much better then the sound of a usb stick in the car , so i am back to cd's

[robblok]

I found out that the sound of a cd is much better then the sound of a usb stick in the car , so i am back to cd's

That just depends on the quality of your original file. Often CD is better quality but the bigger files that go on a stick are of real good quality too. It just depends on the compression and stuff like that.

Most people (like me) dont hear the difference.

[Elfin]

I use a CD player to play Listening tracks in my classroom though this player also has a USB port which I also use.

After a long search last year, I think I bought the last remaining DVD player in Beijing which was heavily discounted. I use this to play my Seinfeld collection as well as House, Yes Minister and Mr Bean.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Elfin

[wump]

I found out that the sound of a cd is much better then the sound of a usb stick in the car , so i am back to cd's

You do know that you can also put the data of a CD uncompressed onto a USB stick?

On a 128 GB stick you could put some 200 CDs with the exact same data, therefore no loss of quality at all.

[SoiBiker]

Or just use a lossless codec like FLAC.

[emilymat]

Funny thing technology.

I have a DVD/VCR player circa 1998.

Last night I watched a couple of the original StarTreck VHS tapes from 1988.(That's when the tapes were made not when the series was on the box). The only thing I had to get was a Scart lead converter to the red/black/yellow pins.

Worked perfectly and really good picture.

[SoiBiker]

If you think vhs offers a really good picture by modern standards, you need an eye test.

[perdido]

...old technology never dies....

[emilymat]

If you think vhs offers a really good picture by modern standards, you need an eye test.

I'm sure you're correct. Side by side with my HD stream on TV there is asignifcant difference in quality. But, my VHS tapes are perfectly watchable. Where else canI get the "Third Man' etc.

However, I was just making the point that the continual striving to throw away 'old' stuff and get the very latest just is not my cup of tea.

[GinBoy2]

CD/DVD's dead? Interesting question. I personally haven't bought any hard media for years, and gave away or sold along the way my 45's, LP's, laserdiscs, CD's and eventually my DVD's & Blurays, and yes I even owned some HDDVD's.

But are they dead, well the example of the vinyl market would suggest that at some point they will assume cult status and never die....completely

[The Deerhunter]

CDS are no problem but if you have DVD'S of different regional coding you might want to hang on to your DVD player as Blue Ray players do not necessarily play all DVD regional codes. I dumped Tapes years ago but have hundreds of DVD'S back home

However I downloaded all my fave movies over here on PB. Only thing I miss is the subtitles as hearing is not so hot any more & I find subs handy when watching Frasier MASH and Cheers for the subtleties in the dialogue. All my Big Bang Theory downloads have Subs. Don't know where this is going with 4k and now 8k TVS and no software for them. Hmmmm!!!

[Mudcrab]

I found out that the sound of a cd is much better then the sound of a usb stick in the car , so i am back to cd's

You do know that you can also put the data of a CD uncompressed onto a USB stick?

On a 128 GB stick you could put some 200 CDs with the exact same data, therefore no loss of quality at all.

Unless you lose the USB stick or it becomes corrupted.

[GinBoy2]

I found out that the sound of a cd is much better then the sound of a usb stick in the car , so i am back to cd's

You do know that you can also put the data of a CD uncompressed onto a USB stick?

On a 128 GB stick you could put some 200 CDs with the exact same data, therefore no loss of quality at all.

Unless you lose the USB stick or it becomes corrupted.

I've long since lost my desire to actually possess my media on my own hard drive. I'm fine with the Amazon's iTunes of this world holding my purchases on their servers. By the time they implode I'll be long gone and my as yet unborn family can fight to recover my 'Spice Girls, The Movie' purchases LOL

Edited October 31, 2015 by GinBoy2

[seancbk]

Yes it does seem to be very quiet on that front these days.although they do seem to be still selling cds and dvds here

Im not sure how many people are buying though

The fact that they still sell them is a pretty good sign lots of people still use them.

If you are not using them then its a pretty safe bet you are stealing the movies and TV shows instead of buying them.... and if you are buying them off the street you are also stealing the content.

I'm not judging of course, just pointing out for the OP that millions of people do still buy CDs and DVDs, legal or otherwise.

My question is this..... why do people post these random questions instead of just looking around and coming to their own conclusions?

[seancbk]

If you think vhs offers a really good picture by modern standards, you need an eye test.

I'm sure you're correct. Side by side with my HD stream on TV there is asignifcant difference in quality. But, my VHS tapes are perfectly watchable. Where else canI get the "Third Man' etc.

However, I was just making the point that the continual striving to throw away 'old' stuff and get the very latest just is not my cup of tea.

The Third Man (1949) is available on torrent sites in HD format.

[SoiBiker]

If you think vhs offers a really good picture by modern standards, you need an eye test.

I'm sure you're correct. Side by side with my HD stream on TV there is asignifcant difference in quality. But, my VHS tapes are perfectly watchable. Where else canI get the "Third Man' etc.

However, I was just making the point that the continual striving to throw away 'old' stuff and get the very latest just is not my cup of tea.

The Third Man (1949) is available on torrent sites in HD format.

It's also on Netflix, if you know how to access the Canadian version.

[TheCruncher]

If you think vhs offers a really good picture by modern standards, you need an eye test.

I'm sure you're correct. Side by side with my HD stream on TV there is asignifcant difference in quality. But, my VHS tapes are perfectly watchable. Where else canI get the "Third Man' etc.

However, I was just making the point that the continual striving to throw away 'old' stuff and get the very latest just is not my cup of tea.

I'm surprised that your vhs tape is still works, because it must be almost 20 years old and be stored under optimal conditions, which isn't Thai climate.

[jacko45k]

Since I figured how to play my media from my laptop and phone via the Smart TV I think you may well be right.

[xen]

The thing that concerns me with (legal) downloads is that you never own them , you only lease them and as such the lease can be withdrawn at any-time . At least with hard discs , whether vinyl , or plastic CDs, DVDs or Blue Ray you own them . You can play them for your own entertainment anyway you choose and can even use them as drink coasters or frisbees if you so choose.

[giddyup]

Yes it does seem to be very quiet on that front these days.although they do seem to be still selling cds and dvds here

Im not sure how many people are buying though

The fact that they still sell them is a pretty good sign lots of people still use them.

If you are not using them then its a pretty safe bet you are stealing the movies and TV shows instead of buying them.... and if you are buying them off the street you are also stealing the content.

I'm not judging of course, just pointing out for the OP that millions of people do still buy CDs and DVDs, legal or otherwise.

My question is this..... why do people post these random questions instead of just looking around and coming to their own conclusions?

Why bother to respond if your advice is for me to look around and find my own conclusion? My question was semi rhetorical anyway, something I would have thought obvious.

[emilymat]

If you think vhs offers a really good picture by modern standards, you need an eye test.

I'm sure you're correct. Side by side with my HD stream on TV there is asignifcant difference in quality. But, my VHS tapes are perfectly watchable. Where else canI get the "Third Man' etc.

However, I was just making the point that the continual striving to throw away 'old' stuff and get the very latest just is not my cup of tea.

I'm surprised that your vhs tape is still works, because it must be almost 20 years old and be stored under optimal conditions, which isn't Thai climate.

So am I. I've even gotan old copy of the original "Winslow Boy' which is quite watchable. You can see I like the old films!

[GAZZPA]

Innevitably with so many people downloading the CD will die along with DVD. The only thing to consider is this, for a FHD (Full HD 1080P) TV it would take an age to download (if you can find the movie) blu ray disc is a media that can hold up to 50gb of data on a dual layer (25G on a single layer) and give you FHD quality movies, whereas DVD holds just 4.7gb.

(note: for people who are not aware TV resolution has gone the following way over the last 6 or 7 years,, Standard definition to HD (High definition), to FHD (Full High Definition), and now UHD (Ultra high definition),, most do not understand that the last 2 at least have minimal real content for you to see compared to the availability of DVD and CD))

And as for new UHD (Ultra high definition, 4k) we have no format that can hold the data and the only company showing any content regularly to knowledge in netflix.

So, to be blunt we do not yet take advantage of even HD screens most of the time yet alone FHD and UHD (4K). We buy because we are told they are the new "incredible resolution TV's" but the content you see in stores on demonstrations is often fed by Laptop or USB provided by the manufacturer.

When you get it home and plug it in you are not getting that resolution.

So it may be that bluray lasts a little longer simply for the sake of capacity because we we are miles away from fast enough download speeds to take care of the higher definition formats.

As for CD, well you can download quickly and cheaply as the files are small. There are also higher resolution downloads for people using a high quality hi fi and require better sound quality along with a whole raft of external DAC's, so CD's will die and are dying.

In my opinion technology has overtaken the consumer and content and we are abandoning some formats too early.. So, next time you are in an electrical shop and you see a beautiful 100,000 baht (plus) curved screen UHD TV ask the salesman where can you get the programs and films in UHD? He will either lie or the answer will be almost nowhere...

There, rant over,,,,

[SoiBiker]

Innevitably with so many people downloading the CD will die along with DVD. The only thing to consider is this, for a FHD (Full HD 1080P) TV it would take an age to download (if you can find the movie) blu ray disc is a media that can hold up to 50gb of data on a dual layer (25G on a single layer) and give you FHD quality movies, whereas DVD holds just 4.7gb.

Which is why nobody downloads full-size bluray files. A decent codec these days can reduce a 1080p movie to 2 or 3 GB.

[robblok]

Innevitably with so many people downloading the CD will die along with DVD. The only thing to consider is this, for a FHD (Full HD 1080P) TV it would take an age to download (if you can find the movie) blu ray disc is a media that can hold up to 50gb of data on a dual layer (25G on a single layer) and give you FHD quality movies, whereas DVD holds just 4.7gb.

Which is why nobody downloads full-size bluray files. A decent codec these days can reduce a 1080p movie to 2 or 3 GB.

Plus if you use newsgroups and have a decent connection 50mb down and I get that speed, big files don't scare me at all. Harddisk space might be an issue but I got aroud 15tb inside my computer.

[Henryford]

I haven't played anything from a shiny disk for many years now.

Same here, but i sometimes have to use one to copy onto a digital format.

[SoiBiker]

I haven't played anything from a shiny disk for many years now.

Same here, but i sometimes have to use one to copy onto a digital format.

Those shiny disks are a digital format.