For How much longer CD's/DVD's Will Be Around?

[Higor]

It's been probably ten years or so that people are listening to mp3 - or other digital formats - on their I-phones - or whatever. Despite this artists are still promoting their work through this format. Why CD's/DVD's are still around? They shouldn't have been already gone? The last ones i had i sold it more than ten years ago. I just use DVD-R/DVD-RW to save data but i don't like, it looks primitive compared with pendrive/memory cards. I intend to buy an external HD and get rid of this media format as soon as possible.

[Jagwah]

Millions of people bought CD and DVD players, so they are going to be around for a long time I imagine. However, this isn't like the industry trying to get everyone to move to a new format, rendering one obsolete in the hope that they can make tons of cash - we have something better this time, so it's a different dynamic. External HDDs are notoriously unreliable, when one fails you - you will know all about it! If you find a reliable one or have good recommendations then stick with it.

Backing up to DVD is a great back up method, very safe provided you store them well... What do you mean you don't like the primitive look of them, does it matter?

I have a lot of cassette tapes with recorded DJ mixes of friends, I could put in the time and make them digital, but there's just something about them being original and occasionally the way they wear puts a nice sheen on everything

[gak]

Maybe this time they'll get the algorithm right. 

[Jagwah]

Maybe this time they'll get the algorithm right. 

Not following you, who is that guy?

[gak]

It's Neil Young. Long story short he proclaimed that when they did CD's they got the algorithms wrong. He "invented" pono that is just another mp3 player that allegedly sounds better. 

It's all part of the cd/digital wars. Sorry. Was just trying to make a joke. 

[Gaja]

Well personally I feel CDs DVDs aren't designed for my kind, or the other way around. With MP3 etc I'd say CDs are a waste of water, oil, time, money and space. It requires extra steps to produce, it's a medium that easily breaks and offers no advantage over anything (well ok it takes up less space than a record or a reel to reel, but that's it afaict). I don't want to produce a CD of my music, or anyone's music, as I think online distribution methods are quicker, cheaper, easier and more accessible than a CD. Yes I know it's radical and all, but the format isn't doing anything for me, except scratch. I have never owned a CD that ladted longer than five years, but I have MP3s from back when MP3s started to show up on the internet. And guess what, not one of these sounds any different from when I obtained them, no scratches, no need to clean iTunes or MP3s to make it function at all.
I think at the time the CD was imagined, nobody thought about how much music there would be twenty years down the road. Nobody knew how easy it was going to be to produce an Album in 2010. So when they designed he CD they wouldn't know that the average person of my age (27) has so much music on their phones, that it would take up an entire room filled to the top with CDs (not only walls and ahelves, but no furniture, just CDs would take up every cubic centimeter of the room).
Of course if you need to touch the medium your music is on in order to like it, you'll always be dependant on CDs, records, cassettes and tapes.

[gak]

Hmmmmmm. I'm all for better "sound" but CD's have always sounded "best" to me. (and I'm older than dirt)

DVD's is some way are even better. Very polished. I'd add that many aspects of "HDTV" are even better. YMMV but I like the digital age. I think cassette was awful, VHS/BETA was marginal, and DAT machines were quite "not" happening. Though I like many aspects of "tape" it's only convenient for about .00001% of the population, and by the time it gets to "listeners" ears, it's digitized beyond recognition

I say enjoy the digital age personally. 

[normen]

Afaik Neil never agreed to make a blind test with his claims about 24bit/192kHz. Probably because he sure as heck couldn't make out a difference either Agree completely about digital being better because it doesn't degrade and while 128kBit MP3 isn't exactly great quality (especially for frequency-dense music like classical recordings or Rock/Metal), for 256kBit AAC or 360kBit MP3 I can't make out a difference to CD myself anymore (and most people can't either in blind tests) so its fine to me.

I guess we do need a format that can store PCM data for the future however, so CDs or DVDs will probably live on for quite a while imo, if only as a storage medium.

[pushedbutton]

Basically they dude's peddling a FLAC player.

[platzangst]

...and I remember when people were wondering why vinyl LPs were still around when CDs had pretty much taken over.

There's always going to be some kind of market, even if small, for physical releases. The fact that some people can't see a need for them or dislike them for some reason isn't going to somehow make the entire rest of the world just start operating by some other aesthetic.

[FATCheese]

I'm not going to read a PDF booklet for a digital release.
Come on!

I want something physical. Like vinyl. It's an experience!

Only digital is so.... meh.

[Gaja]

...and I remember when people were wondering why vinyl LPs were still around when CDs had pretty much taken over.

There's always going to be some kind of market, even if small, for physical releases. The fact that some people can't see a need for them or dislike them for some reason isn't going to somehow make the entire rest of the world just start operating by some other aesthetic.

Well it is my impression that the world had started operating by some other aesthaetic already. You know we live in a world where kids shove their iPhone in the cassette deck of their car radio. Of course I'm not trying to get anyone to use or abandon anything.
Merely that if I were to make an album, I'd go for an online Release and whoever wants a CD to touch I'd burn it and send them. But to spend hundreds on pressing them and storing then until their sold and organize a network for them to be sold in the first place... I don't think it'll pay out.

[Last Alternative]

Here's my take:
Throughout time we've seen records, 8tracks, tapes, and cds. They are all tangible things with artwork on the cover/inserts. Often with lyrics, cool pictures, special thanks, and promotional information. It is fun to hold, smell, absorb, and read when listening to the artist/band. It also creates more of a connection to the music. I love that and still listen to tapes and CDs (sometimes records) because of it.

Now with all this digital media you cannot touch anything. Download an album and you're listening to a song file and are lucky to get the album cover, also a file on your computer. I don't find that very exciting.

This is why I am making an album- bar code and all. It will be an option to buy digital or hard copy because there are still people out there like me.

[platzangst]

The fact that some people can't see a need for them or dislike them for some reason isn't going to somehow make the entire rest of the world just start operating by some other aesthetic.

Well it is my impression that the world had started operating by some other aesthaetic already.

I think you've misinterpreted what I was trying to say. Or perhaps I wasn't clear.

Even if the majority of "the world" has taken to one format or the other, there's no reason for the rest of the world - in other words, the minority - to be denied what they want simply because someone doesn't see the need for something.

There's no practical value in having vinyl releases, for example. They're bulky and cumbersome, and require expensive equipment to play properly (people buying those Crosley cheap-ass turntables are just cheating themselves). They're expensive to make.

And yet vinyl is having a resurgence. There's an aesthetic value in them, much as Last Alternative describes above. And so my response to the OP is along the lines of, "why does it make a difference to you if the CD is still around? Go have your digital files, and stop being annoyed that other people have chosen to keep buying music in formats you don't appreciate."

[Last Alternative]

^ I almost bought one of those Crosley players until I researched it. It seems there is no good quality record/tape/cd/radio player out there.

[platzangst]

^ I almost bought one of those Crosley players until I researched it. It seems there is no good quality record/tape/cd/radio player out there.

You mean like a combination unit, that has everything all in one package? Probably not.

The component system was king in the heyday of vinyl; one bought separate devices that all hooked into a receiver/amplifier. Plus a lot of manufacturers have forgotten about the RIAA curve used in vinyl production, so some players wind up sounding kind of tinny.

[Gaja]

The fact that some people can't see a need for them or dislike them for some reason isn't going to somehow make the entire rest of the world just start operating by some other aesthetic.

Well it is my impression that the world had started operating by some other aesthaetic already.

I think you've misinterpreted what I was trying to say. Or perhaps I wasn't clear.

Even if the majority of "the world" has taken to one format or the other, there's no reason for the

rest

of the world - in other words, the minority - to be denied what they want simply because someone doesn't see the need for something.

There's no practical value in having vinyl releases, for example. They're bulky and cumbersome, and require expensive equipment to play properly (people buying those Crosley cheap-ass turntables are just cheating themselves). They're expensive to make.

And yet vinyl is having a resurgence. There's an aesthetic value in them, much as Last Alternative describes above. And so my response to the OP is along the lines of, "why does it make a difference to you if the CD is still around? Go have your digital files, and stop being annoyed that other people have chosen to keep buying music in formats you don't appreciate."

Ah well now I think I understand properly and agree

[Ecopro]

For How much longer CD's/DVD's Will Be Around?

Until the next format materializes itself, most likely. There are two strong contenders in the horizon. Both will utilize formats or mediums we already use. As to what impact these will have, it is to yet to be seen.

[*]High Fidelity Pure Audio: [/*][*]Basically a Blu-ray disc that delivers 96kHz/24 bit audio recordings in three lossless formats: uncompressed PCM, DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD. Most discs include the option to download MP3 and lossless FLAC versions of the songs as well. The discs will also play on any Blu-ray player or PS3/Xbox device[/*]

•  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/04/14 ... rick_road/

[*]Apple's iStream Service in combination with the Apple watch: [/*][/color][/b]

• You'll be able to pay for a fairly-priced monthly service that can provide a huge library of music to be accessed via any apple device. This includes instant streaming with the apple watch, by the flicker of a finger or by voice command. 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tonybradley ... -services/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbyowsins ... -business/


Personally I feel that while these can certainly add more flair to what we're already used to; they're most likely not the game changer most people expect. For something to fix the music industry's broken infrastructure, IMO. It would have to be a completely new format, or something that revolutionizes the idea of listening to music in new, fresh, affordable and convenient ways. 

Looking back at the way music formats have evolved, most people care most about portability first, then comes quality. All these new formats that promise the next Hi Fi experience will only cater to a niche of Audiophiles. Most music listeners don't care about such things. Give them a cheap mp3 player with some ear buds, and they're happy. So who will embrace any of these new formats? the audiophiles or the casual listeners? ...that's what will make or break any new given technology when it comes to music. We are in a rough, weird transition at the moment, but the human mind keeps working. It will keep evolving that's for sure. Who knows? There might be a time when music will come in tiny little cubes that emanate a live concert right in front of our very eyes, at the press of a button.

[Ecopro]

Speaking of High Fidelity Pure Audio...there are some interesting releases already in Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_b ... =387643011

There aren't that many releases yet, but here's hoping to see more Electronic music though.

  

[Flandersh]

Seeing an Ariosa in action to a friend, I felt a bit in love with the principles behind. Having a great durability of the song media; a metal plate with holes, great sound quality (as it is driven by the principles of an organ), and simple to maintain, it struck me in some sort of way as a great competitor to the modern age of music players:

In the end it is a question about what role one give music and what relationship one prefer to it I think. For my own part I like the physical relationship better than the digital in most areas, including music, and I do not find it likely that such kind of physical relationships to music die out with the first.