Who still wants Physical Media?

[mamamia88]

Do you guys still want DVDs,cds,and other physical media? I like dvds because you can often get good ones for cheap but other than that I would much rather have a digital copy of a movie or music. I have so much crap lying around the house the last thing i want is a dvd that i only pull out once a year at the most. I'd much rather just have a digital copy ready to go on my ps3. Paying $3-4 to rent a movie and have it start playing instantly is just so much more convenient. Also I don't really listen to whole albums in a row so cds kinda suck imo. They have better sound qualtiy but I refuse to buy something physical when the only time i will ever use it is when ripping it to a digital copy. Games are the only exception to the rule for me because they are so expensive. But then again if i was a pc gamer games often go on sale for ridiculously low prices and then I'd be willing to go all digital. I have playstation plus on my ps3 and just having a huge library of games right on the main menu is awesome. The only benefit a real copy of the game has is the resale value. But then again the resale value goes down super quickly and you might as well just keep the game half the time. So how about you guys? Ready to ditch your dvds and cds?

[Asatru9]

I want to have a DVD with Linux on it so I can install it if anything were to happen to my Internet connection.

[Paqman]

Not really. Physical media are good for backups, but the density and price per GB of storage media like hard drives has got to the point where they're more convenient for that too.

[Sylos]

I still want to have physical media for games (PS3 in particular). I find the price very high and feel I should at least get a case with a disc in it if I've had to bend over to purchase it.

For other media though Im happy with digital.

[VeeDubb]

Keep in mind that with services like Steam and GoG, the need for physical media is being reduced, even for games. If there's a game available in a box or through Steam, I'd personally be happy to pay MORE for the steam version, just so I wouldn't have to deal with keeping track of discs and activation codes and all that mess.

[Cheesemill]

I still buy all of my music on CD's.

There are a couple of reasons for this, firstly I can rip them into the format that I want to. For me this means FLAC as I get a rip that is indistinguishable from the original CD, I don't have to settle for an inferior quality compressed file which makes up 99% of the music available for download.

Secondly the CD's act as a physical backup of my music, I don't trust having access to my music dictated to me by a third party. There is always the possibility of Apple (or whoever) going bust, or getting hacked and all of their customers being cut off from their purchased music.

It also gives me something to pass on to my children, at the moment iTunes accounts aren't transferable between people. When your gone your account is cancelled and all of your purchased music disappears along with it.

[MadmanRB]

I sort of do, as it helps to have a hardcopy.

[Swagman]

I guess I'm "olde Skool"

I like "the real thing". I still buy individual songs I like from Amazon downloads but if I like that song I'll most probably order the cd.

As for films.

We signed up for LoveFilm but my infinity internet connection is so b0rked it took us a week to watch one film (buffering, then gave up only to try the next saturday where we left off). Couldn't believe it ended how it did, A week to watch it and it was crap !! (Dinosaur Project)

It was nice to give up with the online film and just grab a Bluray and bang it in the Ps3. Job sorted (Keanu Reeves - Day the earth stood still)

[AstroLlama]

I backup important documents in an external drive, my webserver and on dvds in a box under my desk. I find the dvds have been useful as recently my external HD just pooped out. I save things like photos and music on the dvds. It's much faster to put them back on the computer than downloading the multiple gigs from the web.

[mamamia88]

I backup important documents in an external drive, my webserver and on dvds in a box under my desk. I find the dvds have been useful as recently my external HD just pooped out. I save things like photos and music on the dvds. It's much faster to put them back on the computer than downloading the multiple gigs from the web.

I agree about the last part but I also find it faster and easier to just plug in my external harddrive and copy stuff back to my pc. I have at least 3-4 copies of my music lying around on my phone, 3 mp3 players, ps3, and 2 separate external hard drives.

[prodigy_]

I still use CR-RWs or DVD-RWs sometimes but only when I need to install an OS and the installer doesn't want to boot from USB. It's generally easier than troubleshooting and I'm really lazy. :)

[CK000]

I certainly prefer physical media, for music and most other things too.
It is great at Christmas and on my birthday to receive compact discs and play them on either my PS3 or my proper Hi-Fi. Also my classical music collection is really quite extensive and I like to read the inlay cards which contain a lot of detailed information.

[Nytram]

I re-watch movies that I like, so it's cheaper to just buy the DVD (many of which are dirt-cheap on Amazon and Ebay.)

I also burn backups to disks, I feel they are more secure in that format.

[doorknob60]

I want them to stick around for video games. I don't mind digital game purchases when they're smaller indie games or similar, or are priced below $20. But if I'm going to spend $60 on a brand new game, heck yeah I want a physical copy of it. I've never spent more than $20 on any digital copy of a game, including Steam and PSN. It's also really nice to be able to buy used games (especially of old consoles like Gamecube) and be able to sell them if you want (though I don't usually do that anymore).

I feel the same way about movies. I don't want to have to rely on streaming services that aren't much more than simply renting the movie. If there's a movie I want to own, I want it on Blu-Ray or DVD (despite the DRM, you still own the physical copy, can play it in any compatible device, and could sell it later if you wanted to).

In terms of Music, I see the advantage of CDs, but I don't need it myself. I just want to buy some MP3s (without DRM) and stick them on my computer and phone. Sites like Amazon, Google Play, and even iTunes let you do that no problem, so I'm fine with digital in that case. Sure, you can't sell them later or buy used, but for $0.99 cents a song (or less), I won't complain, as just a casual music listener and purchaser.

In terms of PC software (including games), I would say that because of DRM, digital is no worse than physical. A physical copy will likely come with a product key with limited activations, or maybe come with a Steam key (better than the former). When that's the case, I'd rather just bypass that BS and go with Steam. That's one big thing that turns me off of PC gaming and keeps me using consoles (the biggest reason though being Nintendo's games). I like Steam compared to other PC DRM, but consoles still have it better right now.

[Paddy Landau]

I grew up with cassette tapes (horrible things) and vinyl records. CDs and DVDs were such an improvement.

But then came streaming media. If I want to listen to something specific, it's available with a few clicks, very cheaply. Or for general background music, everything from pop to classical is available, either free or very cheaply.

My answer: why bother with physical media?

Of course, I live with unlimited broadband; people who do not have such luxury will naturally have a different viewpoint.

[drawkcab]

I abandoned physical media years ago. Honestly, I've never owned a DVD player except for the optical drive in my laptop. Of course I don't get off on owning and I think collecting is pathological.

That said, I still love books. I have an ereader which I use from time to time, but any book that I want to seriously study I usually order a used copy in good condition.

[Jakin]

I assumed from the topic title, it was referring to physical audioCD vs mp3/m4a or something, haha. Which yes. I prefer physical AudioCD, even Vinyl albums.



I like to have Optical media as far as software goes, it takes quite abit of time to re-download something that could be many many GBs when i need it, more convenient to pop in a disc.
Same to be said for gaming; I prefer an optical medium.

[Horbo]

Gah!
The title says "Who wants...", but the poll is opposite and says (in essence) "Who DOESN'T want..."

So I accidentally voted the opposite of what I intended...

[Swagman]

Gah!
The title says "Who wants...", but the poll is opposite and says (in essence) "Who DOESN'T want..."

So I accidentally voted the opposite of what I intended...

Actually I think I did the same. I voted Yes thinking it was "do I still want physical media".

[llanitedave]

I still buy all of my music on CD's.

There are a couple of reasons for this, firstly I can rip them into the format that I want to. For me this means FLAC as I get a rip that is indistinguishable from the original CD, I don't have to settle for an inferior quality compressed file which makes up 99% of the music available for download.

Secondly the CD's act as a physical backup of my music, I don't trust having access to my music dictated to me by a third party. There is always the possibility of Apple (or whoever) going bust, or getting hacked and all of their customers being cut off from their purchased music.

It also gives me something to pass on to my children, at the moment iTunes accounts aren't transferable between people. When your gone your account is cancelled and all of your purchased music disappears along with it.

Absolutely. I want to actually be in possession of my software, not merely leasing it and being at the whim of another party.

[ikt]

Some things I'm happy to export to the cloud (eg spotify/youtube etc) since having zillions of video clips and mp3's on my computer is not something I find necessary any more.

I use my USB for linux installs and we have an external hard drive for server backups so yeah, I still want it.

[Autofac]

Like others, I like physical things.

I buy books (never use E-readers) purchase music when I am able (most often in vinyl format), and prefer to organize my life in pen-and-paper format, rather than digitally.

[TOMBSTONEV2]

I don't know if it is just me, but something about knowing I have a physical copy of something truly means I own it. As for downloading media, if there were no more physical media isp's would have to get rid of gb caps. Not to mention many second hand video game retailers would have an issue with this I am sure.

[CharlesA]

I'll get physical stuff of audio CDs like the Skyrim soundtrack, or download MP3s of regular stuff. DVDs/Bluray are iffy - if I know I'll watch a movie more than a few times, I'll get it on bluray. Otherwise it gets streamed via Netflix or Amazon. Burn Notice comes to mind - I would buy it, but it is more convenient and cheaper for me to just watch it over Netflix.

As far as computer backups and stuff, I've been using external drives for a long, long time. I used to use cds or zip disks, but it is way easier to just backup to an external drive and be done with it.

[mamamia88]

I don't know if it is just me, but something about knowing I have a physical copy of something truly means I own it. As for downloading media, if there were no more physical media isp's would have to get rid of gb caps. Not to mention many second hand video game retailers would have an issue with this I am sure.

A)I'm sure game publishers could care less if used game stores dissapeared from the face of the earth. That just means more new copies sold putting money in their pocket.
B)Getting bandwith caps removed is only a positive outcome in my opinion.
C) I understand feeling like you own something is important to some people but the convenience outweighs that imo. Being able to start watching a movie within seconds of renting it and not having to go driving in the snow far outweighs any emotions I may have imo.

[BrokenKingpin]

I voted yes. I have a pretty big DVD and Blu-ray collection, and I just think it is cool having the physical media. I will often rip the media to my computer so I can have access to it through my media center through. So I do like the concept of digital distribution, but absolutely hate the current implementations of it (DRM). I do realize the physical media has DRM, but at least it feels like I actually own the product.

All the legal digital downloads of movies are way to tied up in DRM, which defeated the purpose of being more convenient. Until I can pay and download a movie that is DRM free, I won't fully buy into it.

I like the idea of buying a Blu-ray/DVD that comes with a free digital download that is DRM free... best of both worlds.

When it comes to video games on consoles I like the physical copy... I just don't trust Sony or MS to handle digital downloads properly. For whatever reason, I don't feel the same way about PC games and Steam. I prefer to purchase all my games through steam. I know this is hypocritical, but maybe they just handle things better and have been doing it longer that I trust them. I did get portal 2 for PS3, which unlocked it in Steam for PC... I like this concept.