DVDs and BluRay already obsolete?

Ah, but that's why we're starting to put this stuff in the cloud.

I don't think I've bought a new DVD since I bought my hard drive. I love my DVD collection, but plugging my hard drive into my TV and seeing a huge selection of films and TV shows (all just a few clicks away) is just, well, awesome. I have most of my favorite films on DVD already, and I'll only buy another DVD if there's an extra or a commentary I really want to see/hear. Blu-Ray's are good, but only for certain films.

One day there won't be much difference between computers and TVs. And who knows, maybe then instead of stores selling films on disc they'll be selling them on little pen drives.

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TOP 100 | "Don't let the bastards grind you down!"

Twenty years ago, I was the cool kid on the block who had more VHS tapes than anyone else (who was occasionally put to shame by that rare demon, the 7 year old Laserdisc collector). Now, pissed off at people like me, the other kids on the block have grown up and become master criminals and have entire movie museums located in a little external hard drive they bought for the price of 5 new DVDs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, you didn't teach us a god damned thing.

What sort of cord do you use to plug up the drives to the TV? Is it an HDMI cord?

It'll usually go through the PC (mine's connected via HDMI to the TV but it depends on the graphics card) but there are all sorts of wireless and HDMI media servers out there.

The TV I had for a weekend (before I realised I'd been mis-sold it and swapped it for this one) had a built-in wireless network connection so you didn't even need a PC or media centre.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

I will always want my physical media. I use to have about 300 DVDs. Now I am up to 250 BluRays (box sets count as 1) and my DVD collection is down to about 200 - I have re-purchased a good deal of my DVDs onto BluRay. I love BluRays - but I only buy my most treasured movies or cheap movies on BluRay. There are a lot of movies I'll never rebuy and just be happy w/ my DVD of it.

Having said that - I have over 500 movies on my hard drive. Some are duplicates of my physical media. Why? I travel a lot and it is sooooo much easier taking a hard drive vs picking 100 DVDs to take (like I use to 10 years ago) and putting all that weight into my luggage. Also - my hard drive plugs right into my PS3 and voila - 500+ movies at my fingertips. And yes - many of those movies are just "movies". They are movies that aren't "good" enough to want in physical media - but it is nice to have them vs waiting for them to show up on TBS or TNT.

Physical products all the way for me too - DVDs, Blu-Rays, Music, BOOKS...

and I hope I'm dead before the time comes when it's only downloads/digital formats avaliable.

Physical media will not die out. I still have a VHS player, though I buy the videos for it from charity shops, because some films are still not readily available on DVD or legally on the Internet. VHS died out because DVDs were slimmer, generally though not always better picture quality, and pretty much always had extras. DVDs that don't have extras on are being done a disservice, as people don't see the benefit of buying physical. I think that people will use online streaming and downloading more if they're travelling as it saves storage space, but I don't think it will eradicate physical media.

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Vhs died out because DVd players are cheaper to make.

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"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." - Michelangelo.

First off, whoever said the dinosaurs had all died out was wrong. There are tons of them posting in this thread.

Also, we already have a thread about this...


You guys have absolutely no ability to forward think, do you? Everything is already backing up to the cloud and soon you won't even have "copies" of your digital media. You will stream everything you "own" from the cloud.

The answer to the OP question is yes, DVDs/Blu-Rays are obsolete. It's just that the population hasn't grabbed onto the future yet and the film companies aren't making a hard push of it yet. However, anyone who has bought the Green Lantern (yuck) or Harry Potter 8 Blu-Ray has access to the future of the media. Eventually we will buy access to streaming versions of the films we want. Our DVD/Blu-Ray collection will exist completely on the cloud. Your film library will stream to your TV/computer/tablet/phone/etc.

Sure, there's crazy holdouts and loons who don't trust technology (Sexy Celebrity ) who will keep discs alive the way hipsters are keeping records going, but the death of physical media is going to happen. Especially because it's far better for the companies because there's no cost in producing the discs and the ability to pirate high quality copies from streaming content is impossible.

The only real hurdles for this is internet limitations and public acceptance. But internet is being integrated into the infrastructure everyday and (most) people accept change, especially when it is as convenient as having their entire video library at their fingertips where ever they are. If I can simply plug my smart phone into my hotel room TVs USB port to watch my entire movie collection on the road then it's something I'm into.

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Wha? VHS died out because it was inferior to DVD. DVD initially cost far more, and gained market share despite this simply because it was better. The economy of scale that resulted has probably made it cheaper now, but that's not why it supplanted it.

VHS is DEAD, the only people I know who might have one are people out of touch and grandparents. I can't remember the last time I saw a VHS for sale. I'm so out of touch with it, whenever I talk about them I say VHS player instead of VCR. I have no idea why, I always get corrected, and I grew up watching VHS, not DVD.

Again, I don't see them being obsolete anytime soon, but who knows. We live in an age where technology is moving at such a rate, that anything can happen.

I have Netflix, and I mostly use it for tv shows I want to catch up on (Mad Men, Breaking Bad) or movies I would never buy but wouldn't mind checking out. It's also a good place to see stuff you might not have heard of. BUT, and maybe it's just for me cause I live in Canada and Netflix is relatively new, but the selection isn't the best. 4 out of 5 times when I search for a SPECIFIC movie, they don't have it.

The just recently got Twin Peaks, so I'm quickly going through that. If it's a film I love, I'll still buy it. I own The Evil Dead II on DVD, I'm sure netflix has it, yet I also bought the 25th Bluray edition. So in my mind, I'll still be buying physical media.

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Suspect's Reviews

inferiority wasnt what pushed it out. The cost of manuafacturing DVD's are pennies to the dollar cheaper than VHS.

I've made several hundered DVD's, VHS tapes, not so much.

I'm going to say yes. But I am also not going to give up my collection either.

Ironically I was just thinking about this question. I did some clean up on the TV stand. I got rid of the old VCR, all the old VHS tapes and a bunch of DVDs. I only kept the Star Trek DVD/Blu Ray sets. So much stuff was in the cabinet under the TV and most was never used.

Out of sight, out of mind.



I keep physical media as master copies. If my electronic copy crashes, I can copy the original again. On a rainy day, I do occasionally watch a Blu Ray, but the convenience of streaming is a powerful consideration.

It's not about the pride of filling shelves full of movies, it's about not giving over control of how I watch those movies. These digital movies can be edited, deleted, or have things added. With somebody like myself who adores a subgenre that is often call "misogynistic," I'm not taking any chances.