Physical Media - Love It or Hate It???

[Bombthroat]

Physical media for me.

When I "buy" something, I want to have something to show for it.

Managed Copy is the perfect solution to this debacle. You can physically own the copy and then copy it to a media server if you like to have access to it anywhere in the home. I sure hope this works with Linux as well.

In a world without fences and walls, who needs Gates and Windows?

[Mordak5]

for Music I prefer download, provided its DRM free, if not prefer physical

for films always prefer physical to buy, but can live with download if renting.

[camper]

Originally Posted by reiella

WiFi is making strides, and n routers do seem to be able to deliver the necessary bandwidth.

With wifi you don't get the same bandwidth you do over copper, and don't expect to anytime soon.

Greekgg - Home media distribution centers are a luxery item, will continue to be for some time, and are not likely be in a noteable percentage of homes within 5 years - the time required to pose a threat to physical media in the near term.

No matter when or wher physical media might end up at some undetermined future date, it will not be soon enough to make Blu Ray irrelevant no matter what Microsoft (or anybody) wants or is capable of.

Best case scenario, it will be a one for one replacement of current SD quality DVD's, and that does not take infrastructure improvement cost, development, or distribution capabilities into account.

~Camper

[greekjgg]

Originally Posted by camper

Greekgg - Home media distribution centers are a luxery item, will continue to be for some time, and are not likely be in a noteable percentage of homes within 5 years - the time required to pose a threat to physical media in the near term.



~Camper

Ummm, NO!! For less then you would spend on an HDTV and surround sound setup, you can have Home Media Distribution.

Nobody is saying that DL's will make blu ray irrelevant. Again, they can both coexist.

[werewuf]

Originally Posted by tiger roach

Music downloads are popular as hell, and yes they have cut severely into CD sales, but I can still buy any CD I want. And movie downloads are a different matter entirely from mp3s. Especially high-def.

I can't hang with mp3's, the low quality audio drives me nuts. I have been an audiophile forever and a professional musician and the higher the resolution the better for me. Same with movies. If downloading will compromise the quality through whatever compression, I am not interested. Obviously in the future there will be new versions of lossless support, however I bet that when we can download lossless 1080p physical media will, by that time be a higher resolution than today and I will want that more (kind of like what we have today with watching something in direct view compared to what you buy on a blu ray) It just seems like whatever you buy in physical media will always give higher audio/visual payback.

[(((LEWIS)))]

Physical Media for me aswell, i'm a sucker for sweet packaging...

[camper]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

Ummm, NO!! For less then you would spend on an HDTV and surround sound setup, you can have Home Media Distribution.

Even a basic, entry level media distribution center would consist of a PC running Windows Media Center (which is less than ideal) and would be around a $1,000 increase to a persons home theater budget. And, while that would generally be less than the cost of a HDTV and Surround Sound system for all but those on the tightest of budgets, it is STILL an additional thousand dollars. When you find a capable media distribution center for about $300, it will become a more mainstream item.

And yes, DL's *can* coexist with physical media, and in fact they are now. But proponents *DO* want to reverse the proportions of printed vs online distribution, otherwise they would not be touting it as 'the next big thing' - thereby making Blu Ray (or any HDM) irrelevant.

~Camper

[Teazle]

Love it when it's as good as analogue (HDM, hi-res audio). Otherwise don't love it so much (DVD, CD).

[owa]

For renting a movie, a download would be acceptable if my internet download speed is greatly improved at some point and if I have internet access in the general area of my home theater (I currently don't, use wireless with the PS3).

When it comes to purchasing a movie, I definitely want physical media. I don't see that ever changing as far as I'm concerned.

You'd think retailers would want it that way also since selling movies, music, etc. is a great way to get people in the store. Get rid of physical media and I'd rarely ever go to places like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. As it stands now, I go to those stores every release day.

[reiella]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

With media centers, extenders, and other options, Home Automation (including audio and video distribution) is quickly getting to the point to where it is affordable for the main stream customer.

You could have your main pc in your house and then each room with a tv can have an extender which are under $200 now. From that you can access all your content from your main pc as well as turn on your lights, arm your security, adjust your thermostat and more.

If you've followed the market you had the PC in the last 20 yrs, then came the HT explosion, now more companies are investing time and money into home automation to be the next big thing.

The HT explosion? Seriously? You're comparing enthusiast market to the economy market?

Here's a hint, most folks who watch movies at home, don't have computer assembly as a hobby. And I really doubt folks want to be looking at an alienware grade solution either .

Here's the other big hint, VC-1 ad H.264 decoding are both fairly harsh on PCs, and you need some of the newer hardware to get that rolling out.

Originally Posted by camper

With wifi you don't get the same bandwidth you do over copper, and don't expect to anytime soon.

~Camper

802.11n supports typical datarate of 74 mbps... Slightly more than say, the bandwidth cap on a BD... Admittantly, that's single channel, and there are other issues with a wireless solution.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

This is too broad a question, and this forum is not indicative of the average consumer.....

I thought so too, then I realized the history of consumer movies. Reel to Reel film, BETA Max, VHS, Laser/Video disc & DVD. Even in the days of glass and vynil records people have always been a physical media type consumer.

Some will go digital. But physical media is here to stay for a LONG time.

[TenEightyP]

I have a large collection of CD's (3000+) and a good few hundred DVD's. I am very much into the physical media. It has been said before, but the look and feel of the package is part of the ownership experience for me.

I would hate the only option to be downloads. I sometimes think that when someone like Gates makes a statement similar to "consumers would prefer downloads to physical media" they are in reality trying to get the idea into the consumer psyche. Which then help when you start the marketing push.

[Kristin Simard]

There have been many threads on this, but I'll say it again. If it's a film I want to see several times, I like having the disc. The disc can be transported from machine to machine, you can travel with it. Sell it, trade it. A library becomes a marketable asset. With a disc you don't have to be online. You don't have some company monitoring the number of times you watch it, where and when you watch it, how often you play back whatever scenes.

I already download certain films (from Jaman, for example) but these are films I may only want to view once or twice. I just rent 'em, not buy. I'll no doubt download HD too when it's available, but I want the option to own the disc if it's a film I really like! I like having a film library.

[dobyblue]

I love physical media, including hard back books.

You can't get rid of my collection of books, DVD's or Blu-ray's.

(Although I'm happy to replace many of the DVD's with Blu-ray's of course)

[Kristin Simard]

It's hard to wrap up a download and give it as a gift. A physical gift can have a value far beyond it's market value. I doubt a download could ever have such a value.

[reiella]

Originally Posted by Kristin Simard

It's hard to wrap up a download and give it as a gift. A physical gift can have a value far beyond it's market value. I doubt a download could ever have such a value.

Nah, it's not hard at all.

Gift Cards...

[RUR]

Originally Posted by Grant Matrix

So we all know Bill Gates is all about digital downloaded media and made a statement about consumers not wanting physical media.

Personally I love physical media, for me it's about the entire package. I love having a library with 600+ nicely organized cases on shelves around my room. I don't want to just live with streaming media or digital storage.

There is something about sitting down, looking at your library and then 20-30 minutes later grabbing the perfect movie that just peaks your interest, opening it up and popping it in the player. Maybe I'm weird and way off base, but for all of you with large media libraries, what is your opinion? Are you ready to get rid of all your DVD/BD cases in favor of digital storage?

Simlar threads here:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...light=download
here:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...light=download
and here:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...light=download
Please use the Search function.

[Kristin Simard]

Originally Posted by reiella

Nah, it's not hard at all.

Gift Cards...

Gift cards are not the same. Do you hold on to them after you have used it? NO, I don't think you know what I'm saying here.

[w_tanoto]

I hate................... (read on) DOWNLOADS

[RC-Bruin]

The only thing I like to download.......... Adult Entertainment...