10 Reasons Why Physical Media Owns!

[Sussudio]

Great article posted over at FormatWarCentral website by Mehar Gill (and recently reposted on DVDTown.com):

1. People Like Physical: Wether its a 12″ vinyl record or simply a DVD case, people have always wanted something they could hold, to tell them “Hey, you own that!”. Stigma related to this ensures people will always have place in their hearts for years to come.
2. Bit Rates: Consumers are a odd bunch when it comes to quality, some are fine with VCD type video playing back on their 55″ HDTV, others won’t settle for that, they want the best! Physical media is capable of reaching bit rates which currently wouldn’t be possible on digitally distributed content for a variety of reasons.
3. You Can’t Sell Digital: If you’re sitting on 50 copies of Doom on HD DVD hoping they’ll be worth something one day, don’t bother. Depending on the title, you could get a hefty sum of money for it down the line. Unfortunately, the same would not apply to digital content, something tells us your 20GB Xbox 360 HDD filled with the third season of Heroes won’t hold much value 20 years down the line, infact a few months down the line and were sure the HDD would be worth more than the show! We wonder how much your colorized Casablanca VHS is worth?
4. Unified: With Digital Downloads, almost everyone and their sister [company] are releasing a distribution device/platform, it’s a lot to take in! To add to the frustration none of them will work “across the board”. Compared to lets say a Blu-ray player where you can play almost every format known to man, including Blu-ray, DVD, CD, HD DVD [combo player], VHS (Yes that’s right, VHS!) and more! Adding to the irony, many also have the ability to stream content from places like Netflix and soon Blockbuster!
5. Restrictions Restrictions!: When Digital Downloads were ushered in it meant doom for users who imported their movies. Before region coding was the only issue to worry about, with downloads restrictions are but not limited to:
* ISP Locks: In today’s day and age it’s not hard for providers to cut you off solely based on the country your connection is coming from.
* D.R.M.X!: You may have heard of Digital Rights Management, but have you heard of Digital Rights Management Xtreme! before? With Digital Distributed content, DRM has been taken to new heights, giving you viewing windows, HDD locks, and a whole slew of other nasty surprises.
* The Studio Equation: Believe it or not, studios only want you to give them money when they tell you too! Despite the digital market being capable of providing millions in revenue, studios choose to ignore the market or limit them. Theirs a reason why your countries XBLVM only has 10 HD movies while the American store has close to 1000
6. 6.So Easy Howard Stern Can Do It!: Pop in your disc/tape and play, simple isn’t it? Compared to downloads where you have to find the movie you want to watch, queue, optionally wait for it to download, find where the file is stored, and playback, if necessary take time out of your experience to watch the buffer bar load.
7. Instant Access: It goes without saying, if you want a top quality video distributed digitally, streaming just won’t cut it.
8. “I always feel like somebody’s watching me”: If you tend to use your VUDU box or Bit Torrent Client (Legally….we hope) at least once a day to watch your HD/HDX movies, odds are someone will take notice. We won’t blame you if you decide to watch Tropic Thunder while your neighbour gets fined and/or arrested for “piracy”.
9. It’s Not A Wired World!: Shockingly surprising yes we know, their are locations in this world that have have little to no Internet access at all (Even in North America!)! Despite not even having 56K access, there is a really good chance those locations have access to at least one form physical media to enjoy.
10. No Back Up Plan: In a Democratic system, a company is capable of losing millions overnight, the unfortunate case for many is they are forced to shutdown. Suppose your favourite content provider is forced to shut down their servers for any reason, any content you bought would be gone! Any DRM server checks needed for content to work would fail, leaving you with an empty shell of a movie/album/game. Although some services, such as Microsoft Digital Locker (Confirmed to be shutting down this morning, August 2009) allow you to back up your data periodically, unfortunately this model is yet to applied to any other service.

Full story: http://formatwarcentral.com/2008/12/...al-media-owns/

[Mr. J]

I'll always prefer physical media over downloads!

[gringo flip]

I feel #2 justifies physical media over downloadable / streaming media.

[dialog_gvf]

Discs are a great gift too. A movement to a gift card is like giving cash. Hardly much thought in that.

Gary

[jdc115]

I'd add, easy to exchange or lend physical media. We sometimes do a movie night at a friend's place but switch who chooses the film. Or if I watch or find something i think is interesting that my friend's might like, then it is very easy to just pass it to them

[Anscules]

gummo rules.

[Clark Kent]

Most people do not think of the feature films they own as disposable, hence the need for physical media. Digital downloads make sense really for the rental market only but physical services like Netflix are hard to beat.

[unklegreggo]

I have no interest in moving to a completely digital format. I'm sure that with the iPod generation of digital downloads it will move that way though.

[Afrobean]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Most people do not think of the feature films they own as disposable, hence the need for physical media. Digital downloads make sense really for the rental market only but physical services like Netflix are hard to beat.

Once we move to an era where high quality HD is easily possible to stream over the Internet, there won't be any good reason to rent a movie physically, be it at a brick-and-mortar rental store or something like Netflix. Rental is the place where online will be king, and I actually wouldn't think it would be too long before they get an effective model in place for high quality content.

Originally Posted by unklegreggo

I have no interest in moving to a completely digital format. I'm sure that with the iPod generation of digital downloads it will move that way though.

Don't be so sure. They still make CDs, after all. And it's not for some antiquated romantic reason like records are still made. It's because people want a physical format for their music and CD is still the standard for it.

[Canada]

bit rate is why physical media will be around for a long time

[vladittude0583]

All I have to say though is that even with my cable internet (6 Mbps downstream / 2 Mbps downstream) which is faster than most of the other "high-speed" internet choices in my area (AT&T DSL, Clearwire, etc), it takes forever to download just even 2GB of data. Therefore, I will always prefer physical media over digital downloads and the like. Also, I like the accessibility of the media (i.e., just pop it in into the media player without having to boot it up like a PC, etc). Furthermore, I like the feeling of "owning" it physically rather than digitally, etc.

[hamisht]

Digital Downloads wont be 'the next big thing', broadband is not available everywhere, and some countries have very small data caps.

I can understand people having a HTPC and having their DVD collection on their PC for easy access, but your not going to through out all your dvds when you rip them are you? (if you are, let me know and ill pick em up).

People like looking at stuff to, what are you going to say about digital? "check this out mate i got Lord.of.the.Rings.avi in my c:\Documents and Settings"

Wouldnt you rather point to a wall of dvds/blu-rays and pick up the cover and check it out.

[hamisht]

Oh yeah, Digital files might be harder to copy too, they might have really good encryption. When you rent a movie on dvd, sometimes you copy it (dont deny it).

[FIDDYPOP]

Lets not forget about hard drive space. Even a couple terabytes might fill up quick when downloading complete HD movies. I have about 150 blu's how much memory would that take up?

[caliminius]

Originally Posted by DoYouBlu

1. People Like Physical: Wether its a 12″ vinyl record or simply a DVD case, people have always wanted something they could hold, to tell them “Hey, you own that!”. Stigma related to this ensures people will always have place in their hearts for years to come.

This is a pretty weak reason. I've downloaded numerous games from the Playstation Store and don't feel like I've lost anything by not having a physical copy. Of course, this is helped by the fact that I could go download it again at a moment's notice (something this article touches on in #10).

2. Bit Rates: Consumers are a odd bunch when it comes to quality, some are fine with VCD type video playing back on their 55″ HDTV, others won’t settle for that, they want the best! Physical media is capable of reaching bit rates which currently wouldn’t be possible on digitally distributed content for a variety of reasons.

That's a current issue, but there's nothing truly stopping the studios from making Blu-Ray quality video files available through online distribution.

3. You Can’t Sell Digital: If you’re sitting on 50 copies of Doom on HD DVD hoping they’ll be worth something one day, don’t bother. Depending on the title, you could get a hefty sum of money for it down the line. Unfortunately, the same would not apply to digital content, something tells us your 20GB Xbox 360 HDD filled with the third season of Heroes won’t hold much value 20 years down the line, infact a few months down the line and were sure the HDD would be worth more than the show! We wonder how much your colorized Casablanca VHS is worth?

I don't know what the heck the author was trying to say in his rambling nonsense. If he'd had kept it simple and said you can't resell digital downloads, it would have been a good point. Instead, his point gets lost in space.

4. Unified: With Digital Downloads, almost everyone and their sister [company] are releasing a distribution device/platform, it’s a lot to take in! To add to the frustration none of them will work “across the board”. Compared to lets say a Blu-ray player where you can play almost every format known to man, including Blu-ray, DVD, CD, HD DVD [combo player], VHS (Yes that’s right, VHS!) and more! Adding to the irony, many also have the ability to stream content from places like Netflix and soon Blockbuster!

This to me is the biggest problem with downloads. Massive incompatibility between the myriad services.

5. Restrictions Restrictions!: When Digital Downloads were ushered in it meant doom for users who imported their movies. Before region coding was the only issue to worry about, with downloads restrictions are but not limited to:
* ISP Locks: In today’s day and age it’s not hard for providers to cut you off solely based on the country your connection is coming from.
* D.R.M.X!: You may have heard of Digital Rights Management, but have you heard of Digital Rights Management Xtreme! before? With Digital Distributed content, DRM has been taken to new heights, giving you viewing windows, HDD locks, and a whole slew of other nasty surprises.
* The Studio Equation: Believe it or not, studios only want you to give them money when they tell you too! Despite the digital market being capable of providing millions in revenue, studios choose to ignore the market or limit them. Theirs a reason why your countries XBLVM only has 10 HD movies while the American store has close to 1000

One by one:

ISP Locks: Just like region coding, 99% of the general populace won't give a crap. Early adopters may be big on importing, but for the vast majority of buyers, they'll go to the local Wal-Mart and be completely oblivious that they could buy a better version of Movie X from the UK. The same is true with downloads.
D.R.M.X.: Okay, this one is more of an issue. As a rental model, most of the restrictions don't really matter to downloads. For ownership, yes they're a problem (and part of the reason I have no desire to purchase videos from the PS Store).
The Studio Equation: I have no idea what the author is trying to say here. To me it sounds like the author is trying to imply things like Sony doesn't think Canadian money isn't good enough for them. It's obviously not that simple, though the author tries to make it sound that way. There's a multitude of issues keeping content from certain countries.

6. 6.So Easy Howard Stern Can Do It!: Pop in your disc/tape and play, simple isn’t it? Compared to downloads where you have to find the movie you want to watch, queue, optionally wait for it to download, find where the file is stored, and playback, if necessary take time out of your experience to watch the buffer bar load.

Has the author even used any of the download services? Apparently not. There's no service where you have to "find where the file is stored." Every download service is pretty brain-dead simple: AppleTV, Vudu, Amazon Unbox, Xbox Live, etc. (Besides, the author looses points for invoking Howard Stern. I can't stand that piece of sh*t.)

7. Instant Access: It goes without saying, if you want a top quality video distributed digitally, streaming just won’t cut it.

And what about downloads? Downloads could easily provide the same quality as Blu-Ray.

8. “I always feel like somebody’s watching me”: If you tend to use your VUDU box or Bit Torrent Client (Legally….we hope) at least once a day to watch your HD/HDX movies, odds are someone will take notice. We won’t blame you if you decide to watch Tropic Thunder while your neighbour gets fined and/or arrested for “piracy”.

Once again, what is the author saying? If you're using a legitimate service (i.e., not downloading illegally from BitTorrent sites), you have nothing to worry about. Is he trying to get at monthly download caps? Doesn't seem to be. Just seems to be a FUD statement.

9. It’s Not A Wired World!: Shockingly surprising yes we know, their are locations in this world that have have little to no Internet access at all (Even in North America!)! Despite not even having 56K access, there is a really good chance those locations have access to at least one form physical media to enjoy.

Finally, another valid point. He's up to about to about 3 or or 3 1/2. Congrats!

10. No Back Up Plan: In a Democratic system, a company is capable of losing millions overnight, the unfortunate case for many is they are forced to shutdown. Suppose your favourite content provider is forced to shut down their servers for any reason, any content you bought would be gone! Any DRM server checks needed for content to work would fail, leaving you with an empty shell of a movie/album/game. Although some services, such as Microsoft Digital Locker (Confirmed to be shutting down this morning, August 2009) allow you to back up your data periodically, unfortunately this model is yet to applied to any other service.

Wow, two valid points in a row! Sort of. You could see services shutting down as a similar fate to new formats being rolled out. How much longer will VCR's still be available? I searched Circuit City's site and the only VCR's are DVD/VCR combos. Nobody wants to hear it, but it's unlikely Blu-Ray will be the last movie format. Right now, there is an issue that download services are rising and falling at a much faster rate than the physical formats, but if download services established themselves, what's the difference between the demise of a download service and and a physical format?

Sorry if it seems like I'm trying to defend downloads, but most of the reasons in the article are just plain stupid or short-sighted. The author had to REALLY reach to get to 10 reasons and didn't even seem to know what he was really saying with at least 2 or 3 of them. Points 4, 5, 9 and 10 are the only ones with any teeth.

[Carlsberg19]

good post, i gotta show this to my anti-bluray friend who claims downloading BD Rips are off the same quality. Idiot lol

[mightypen]

1. People Like Physical: Wether

Fourth word.

ugh

[skyfire2261]

And here are 10 reasons why Digital Distribution is better then Physical. Not trying to start a war here just want to be fair for both sides. To be honest I have no problem with physical media, But I don't like Optical Formats, I think Flash is better but anyway.

So with that said I have taken a bit more of a video gamer's POV but I think the points still hit home for movies or other forms of art too.

1 It’s cheaper. No packaging or shipping. Logistics are completely thrown out the window. No retail and no middlemen. Saving money is good. Now I do realize of course like any retailer in this capitalist society, developers/publishers are free to charge what they want. And since we do live in a greedy world the seller may not always play fair.
Take GT5 Prologue for example. Weather you buy it in the store on a disc or download it, it is going to cost you 39.99
Uh wait a minute? Why am I paying the same price to download a game that is on that other medium and it requires far more resources to get the game to me that way? Why am I paying for things I don’t require for the game to get into my hands like packaging and shipping? See, you can’t blame Digital distribution for corporate greed and stupidity.

2 Environmental impact – no need to waste resources. Why use limited resources when we don’t have too? Granted most of you reading this won’t care about it even though it affects your everyday life and future. Ignorance is truly bliss.

3 No chance you will not get the game you want, when you want. It’s always available 24/7. It is a known fact that stores such as Gamestop do not like to carry new games as the profit margin on them is low. Of course they do carry some but try getting a copy of anything other then madden and you’d be hard pressed half the time.. Personally I’d rather not spend my time looking for a game and just download it right when it is available day 1.
I recall having to call to 10 different stores in my area alone for a copy of Disgaea 3. One store had it…ONE. If this game was available for download I could have got it first thing. I’m not saying calling around is a trying task nor do I expect every store to have 50 copies of a game like Disgaea 3, but in a capitalist society like ours, it shouldn’t be this hard to spend money. Especially if I don’t care about the price of the game. All I’m saying is why not eliminate these time wasting steps altogether and just buy the game right out by downloading it when I want it?

4 No need to drive anywhere. No putting up with traffic and stress. Less time traveling means more time for games J. It takes far more time to go to the store and buy a game and bring it back home then it would to download. Unless you live right next to a game store :P.


5 Physical media can be stolen (I speak from experience.). Sure your console with a HDD can be too but it’s a little harder to do and you could always buy another system which is easy since one is the same as another, and replacing one console with hdd is a hell of a lot easier then replacing an entire disc based library of games. I dare anyone to try finding replacements for your rare disc games at a reasonable cost, it just isn’t going to happen. With digital distribution you can of course download again any software you had. I don’t know about any of you but I do not know of any video game stores that will let me have another physical copy of a game should anything happen to mine for free….5 times over at that. Provided they even HAVE a copy for me.

Which brings me to the security of the hardware that will need to be addressed too.

For example, I have my PS3 automatically sign in when I turn it on so if it were stolen then I’d imagine the thief could still get online “using” my account but I don’t think they could get to my personal info or buy games…at least I hope not. At any rate It is this reason that I think Sony should have a procedure in place (if not already so) if your console did get stolen, you call them up and tell them so they can deactivate your account. Second you give Sony your systems serial# or some other info that identifies your particular console. It can be on a card that comes with the system and has all the info on it for quick reference and the next time your console is taken online Sony can automatically deactivate it remotely immediately thus making it inoperable. A nice way of flipping the bird to the thief if I do say so myself. (please note I’m referring to future systems, not the PS3 as I’m not sure if this kind of procedure is even possible for it)

(Side note: Game saves can be backed up easily as well so you can recover from a stressful situation fast.)

6 No clutter. I admit I’m a neat freak so I like the idea of no physical media discs and packaging taking up limited space. True, if you only play few games a year then this point would mean nothing to you but when you get to the 700 title mark space kind of is a premium. Even now as I look over my library I realize it’s getting to a point where I will have no place to put any games I buy down the road.


7 Speed – Games that are loaded off a HDD or SSD or Flash media do so far faster then loading off a disc Little to no load times. No pop-ups. Play a game like Oblivion and you will know what I mean and how a fast medium would have helped get rid of such annoyances. (Insert comment from Guy who is working on FF:dissidia & complains about UMD Optical format is hard to work on and it’s limitations)

8 Games that were once hard to find (Suikoden 2 anyone?) are now easily available to the masses. No need to bother with online stores and waiting weeks for your game to arrive or online auctions (eBay)and the crooks that run them with there capitalist ways. No need to hunt from store to store. Games that were out of production can be available again with min cost for all to enjoy.

9 DD makes it possible for smaller companies to put there products on the market for all to enjoy.

10 Despite what anyone thinks a Digital copy is just as tangible a a disc and therefore it can be traded/sold. Thing is a system just isn't in place to facilitate this function since DD is still VERY young and new. Even though we have blu-ray and such now, it's still the same business model a CD's and DVD's were. Make disc, put stuff on disc, ship disc to store, sell disc. Rinse repeat.

I think DD can make trading/selling much easier when selling physical media since if you have a buddies list or if there is a public message board then you could just post it and let millions see what your offering. But like I said a system for this sort of thing is far off but It's very doable.

[Bobby Henderson]

Originally Posted by caliminus

This is a pretty weak reason. I've downloaded numerous games from the Playstation Store and don't feel like I've lost anything by not having a physical copy.

That's your own choice and opinion. Most people prefer having their movies stored in a more traditional manner.

Originally Posted by caliminus

That's a current issue, but there's nothing truly stopping the studios from making Blu-Ray quality video files available through online distribution.

The Internet is currently way too slow to allow movie studios to provide movie downloads with bit rates comparable to Blu-ray. It just isn't practical. On top of that, delivering that kind of bandwidth costs more money. That situation is not going to change for at least another 5 to 10 years. Telcos like AT&T are complicating things further by charging fees to Internet customers for high bandwidth use.

Satellite and cable TV companies are unable to deliver Blu-ray quality. Dish Network hypes "1080p" for one of its video on demand services to imply Blu-ray quality. In truth the downloaded 1080p movies run at a constant bit rate of about 15 million bits per second and feature lossy DD 5.1 audio. That's not exactly Blu-ray quality. It takes hours for a 1080p movie to download from the satellite. Surprisingly, Dish Network limits customers to only one 1080p VOD movie download per month. There has to be some sort of issue with bandwidth limits or bandwidth cost for them to do that.

[AKORIS]

I just can't see downloads taking over physical media-- people that
buy movies want to have something they can look, touch, and feel.

Now as far as the rental business, that's a different story and I can see
the Blockbusters and such in the world hurtin for certain in the years
ahead.

I love collecting movies and I've NEVER been as enthusiastic as getting
movies on hi-def blu-ray! It's an "event" everytime a new favorite
is released on blu-- all previous formats are literally in the dust...

if physical media ever goes away, I stop collecting movies and just live
with the collection I already have...