DVDs are dying right as streaming has made them appealing again(arstechnica.com)
arstechnica.com
DVDs are dying right as streaming has made them appealing again
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/07/dvds-are-dying-right-as-streaming-has-made-them-appealing-again/
62 comments
The other benefits of DVD are the extra features and directors commentary.
I'm not sure I've ever seen these on streaming services or torrents. They extend the use of a movie to many hours. I'm still working through the extended versions of Lotr and I've just become aware that the commentary on the normal versions were different!
My kid is doing the same thing, usually is able to get a handful of used DVDs for 1-2 EUR. He rips them and throws away the covers to save space.
I'm not going back to DVD because of unskippable fear inducing anti-piracy and "FBI" warnings. Every time you launch a movie they violate your brain with this nonsense. If I have to rip and tweak the DVD, it's easier to torrent it.
You should be ripping the DVD anyway, so that you have easier access to it. My collection of movie files have no FBI warnings. The point of the physical DVD is the legal rights it grants me, like being able to rip it, or sell it, or loan it out.
Buy the disc and torrent the file?
You can't just look away from your TV for 5-10 seconds?
Do you use an ad blocker?
yeah thats wierd, I've only ever run whatever stock browser I've had, and never bothered with ad blockers. but people are really really into ad blocking and thats fine, I'm not going to bother tho, especially now as its becoming a whackamole thing.
the funny thing is most of the time I use firefox on linux with pretty much default settings, I let them give me all the cookies they want and a few sites still think I'm running an ad blocker. hehe whatever, the modern web is getting to be pretty trash anyways.
the funny thing is most of the time I use firefox on linux with pretty much default settings, I let them give me all the cookies they want and a few sites still think I'm running an ad blocker. hehe whatever, the modern web is getting to be pretty trash anyways.
By whackamole, you mean choosing one of the same two browser extensions that have been around for 2 decades and forgetting about it?
Or one of the DNS blockers that have been pretty consistent too.
It may be a game of whackamole, but it's virtually invisible to end users of these tools.
Or one of the DNS blockers that have been pretty consistent too.
It may be a game of whackamole, but it's virtually invisible to end users of these tools.
You wouldn't block an ambulance from getting to a hospital. You wouldn't block a mother from hugging her child. Why would you block an ad??
I would, and do, actively block all three.
I always found the DVD experience to be pretty horrible, with all the region-locking, menu garbage and unskippable nonsense. I never felt like a DVD was something I completely owned.
At least I could (thanks to DeCSS etc) rip the content off and write it to a blank disc to improve the experience... There are probably ways to do the same with Netflix content these days though, I guess.
At least I could (thanks to DeCSS etc) rip the content off and write it to a blank disc to improve the experience... There are probably ways to do the same with Netflix content these days though, I guess.
> There are probably ways to do the same with Netflix content these days
There are but it's not something most end user will be able to do - because the DRM is something that can be realtively easily updated pirates tend to keep their hacks private. Ripping Blu-Rays on the other hand is quite available to anyone interested and gives you better quality than overcompressed streaming sites - but of course the discs are more expensive.
There are but it's not something most end user will be able to do - because the DRM is something that can be realtively easily updated pirates tend to keep their hacks private. Ripping Blu-Rays on the other hand is quite available to anyone interested and gives you better quality than overcompressed streaming sites - but of course the discs are more expensive.
I thought the main way of doing it today was exploiting the terrible HDCP spec to downgrade it to 1.4 which is irrecoverably broken, then rip it from that.
Streaming has been the producer dream all along so we need a ‘video recorder’ to tape what we watch to watch it again and again. I am not in favour of piracy and I pay for some streaming, however, when I get ads even though I pay, I get geo restrictions even though I pay or they remove things I like an make them paid, even though I pay, I will download illegally. We really need to move to a legal way of paying the people who actually made the stuff directly and making that a valid and legal option. We need global legal options as internet and binaries are global, and I am not waiting for season 3 of blah to become available ‘in my region’ when you got me hooked on 1 & 2.
Edit; I don’t think I mean ‘producer’ here but I do not know what the word is; for books I guess publisher?
Edit; I don’t think I mean ‘producer’ here but I do not know what the word is; for books I guess publisher?
I dont mind paying for content, but the current state of streaming makes it easier to get movies from torrents.
Like the Alien for example, some parts are on Netflix, some are not. Meaning i have to buy like 5 different subscriptions to be able to watch everything i want.
Or even better one, Dr House. I don't think we had it streamed in our country, so the only way to watch it was to pirate.
Its bad how the platforms are right now.
Like the Alien for example, some parts are on Netflix, some are not. Meaning i have to buy like 5 different subscriptions to be able to watch everything i want.
Or even better one, Dr House. I don't think we had it streamed in our country, so the only way to watch it was to pirate.
Its bad how the platforms are right now.
I also don't mind paying for content but i want the content as it was originally broadcast. With streaming if you "buy" something they might eventually replace the background music or cut scenes that are deemed insensitive or clash with the director's new vision. Or they decide you need to view 4:3 content with the top and bottom cut off in 16:9. Or in some cases you might lose access to the content entirely because the license expired.
Or they discontinue the app and roll your purchases into some different app with a horrible interface (youtube music).
I also don't mind paying for content in theory but besides your concerns I also want to be able to play that content on whatever devices using whatever software I want, without needing a constant internet connection. The Music industry has survived the switch to DRM-free content, the Movie and TV industry can too.
One thing that with Spotify is that not everything is available. For a while, the soundtrack to "The Bourne Supremacy" was available, then it wasn't for months, now it is again. This has happened with a few songs on other soundtrack albums, presumably all due to licensing issues.
The other thing is that the original version of an album is replaced by a remastered version. Usually the new version has additional songs but the remastering and songs change the experience.
The other thing is that the original version of an album is replaced by a remastered version. Usually the new version has additional songs but the remastering and songs change the experience.
Both your and @yourusername are valid arguments. Movie/TV streaming services generally bad.
It's like a loot of good content is missing, but instead they're trying to make their own content that is mostly average and sometimes just bluntly bad, not even laughably bad.
Music is way better, I recently switched from Spotify to Tidal, and there were only two tracks missing from my playlists.
It's like a loot of good content is missing, but instead they're trying to make their own content that is mostly average and sometimes just bluntly bad, not even laughably bad.
Music is way better, I recently switched from Spotify to Tidal, and there were only two tracks missing from my playlists.
It's actually bugged me a lot with (HBO) Max's streaming service that so much WB content isn't available on the service... or pieces are missing in movie collections. My hope would be that more would congregate to the service over time now it's simply less. I want to support the ongoing shows that I like, but it's hard to justify in that the couple shows a year are all I watch on any given service.
I see this gripe throughout but the streaming subscription service is more like HBO in the old cable days. They had a licensed set of content that rotates every month. You don’t get to own any of it because their whole illusion of catalog depth is based on the rotation semantic. This is less about streaming and more about royalties and licensing.
Although still imperfect as an ownership mechanism the analogy to DVDs is purchasing the content from say Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV. You can “own” a much broader catalog, the ownership rights aren’t super clear or stable over time, but the DVD / streaming video is licensed to you permanently and sits in your library.
Using contemporaneous language Netflix is to HBO as Amazon Prime Video ownership is to a DVD.
Although still imperfect as an ownership mechanism the analogy to DVDs is purchasing the content from say Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV. You can “own” a much broader catalog, the ownership rights aren’t super clear or stable over time, but the DVD / streaming video is licensed to you permanently and sits in your library.
Using contemporaneous language Netflix is to HBO as Amazon Prime Video ownership is to a DVD.
Didn't most people subscribe to HBO for its original series? In the 2000s they had Entourage, Sopranos and Six Feet Under and probably many more I can't remember.
HBO was quite old at that point when the original programming started. I remember when it started and in its real growth period it would send a monthly viewers guide of their rotating catalog with show times.
Original programming more or less started much later after they were well established and seeking marginal growth.
Original programming more or less started much later after they were well established and seeking marginal growth.
Whatever your thoughts about piracy ethically it's hard to argue it's going to soon be the only viewing experience where you actually own the media.
Torrenting has for some media become the only way of acquiring it at all.
Torrenting has for some media become the only way of acquiring it at all.
The UX of piracy tools is now much better than that of the big streamers too.
Now? Xbox Media Centre nailed it like 15 years ago.
When the user is in control you can't push anti-features like e.g. Chromecast or Samsung TVs are full of.
When the user is in control you can't push anti-features like e.g. Chromecast or Samsung TVs are full of.
At the end of the day its the pirates who are maintaining the library of Alexandria of our times. The pirates we insist on vilifying and speaking little of in technical forums even. What does that make those people who stand against those who seek to spread information? No different than the book burners, in my eyes. A shame so many engineers spend their precious time and efforts fighting on what future generations will no doubt see as the wrong side of history, all for a dollar they could easily make elsewhere on less unsavory work.
Alternatively, it's just entertainment and movie DRM is at worst annoying and counterproductive.
In X years time when humanity is struggling to rebuild civilisation in a radioactive wasteland I don't think the main problem will be the inability to find a copy of "Dumb And Dumber To". The real heroes will turn out to have been the contributors to Open Source and Open Access projects - Linux, Wikipedia, etc.
There are better things (often unpaid) developers could be doing than implementing DRM but also much much worse things.
In X years time when humanity is struggling to rebuild civilisation in a radioactive wasteland I don't think the main problem will be the inability to find a copy of "Dumb And Dumber To". The real heroes will turn out to have been the contributors to Open Source and Open Access projects - Linux, Wikipedia, etc.
There are better things (often unpaid) developers could be doing than implementing DRM but also much much worse things.
There is quite a spectrum between Dumb and Dumber and the great works of art of our time. What runs in common is that both cases are often withheld from the public due to copyright.
> What does that make those people who stand against those who seek to spread information? No different than the book burners, in my eyes.
You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but it is factually incorrect to state that willful destruction is the same as hindering someone from making another copy of a work.
You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but it is factually incorrect to state that willful destruction is the same as hindering someone from making another copy of a work.
I like buying DVD and BR because I can choose to use the physical medium or create a digital version and use that; when no player is available.
It's not always about piracy, especially when buying used discs has become so cheap.
It's not always about piracy, especially when buying used discs has become so cheap.
DVD rentals via mail seem like an easy business to get into. Few customers, but little overhead. Anyone in the nation can be a customer, though few will be, and shipping is easier than ever these days. Is anybody doing this?
But ultimately the publisher will stop selling new movies on DVD or Blu-ray, etc, so it wont save us.
But ultimately the publisher will stop selling new movies on DVD or Blu-ray, etc, so it wont save us.
Netflix shipped DVDs from 1997 to 2023, predating Redbox by 5 years. This is essentially how we got to streaming. GameFly still ships movie and game discs as a service.
Discs don't survive too many mailings. I used a niche rental by mail service before I moved to Netflix, and they were more open about their logistics.
I don't recall if they said how many mailings a disc would typically survive, but they also had a lot of back and forth with the postal service to get a mailer that qualified for lower price postage, but they had to drop their cardboard insert that helped with longevity of the discs.
There were some series where the early discs tended to be broken, which made it harder to stock, especially if the sets were out of print.
Then you've got things like recent shows may not even get a release on disc at all.
I don't recall if they said how many mailings a disc would typically survive, but they also had a lot of back and forth with the postal service to get a mailer that qualified for lower price postage, but they had to drop their cardboard insert that helped with longevity of the discs.
There were some series where the early discs tended to be broken, which made it harder to stock, especially if the sets were out of print.
Then you've got things like recent shows may not even get a release on disc at all.
> easy business to get into
Good luck getting rental rights.
The very reason modern streaming sucks so much is that every other production company wants to be a streaming distributor; pulling rights from other streaming services.
Just holding a DVD does not give you the rights to lease it out. At least, that's if you believe the legal spiel on the disc.
Good luck getting rental rights.
The very reason modern streaming sucks so much is that every other production company wants to be a streaming distributor; pulling rights from other streaming services.
Just holding a DVD does not give you the rights to lease it out. At least, that's if you believe the legal spiel on the disc.
You can. The Right of First Sale gives you the ability to do anything you want to your DVD. You can loan it, rent it, mortgage it, whatever. You cannot copy it, so you'll need to buy enough copies to sustain your rental model, but you can certainly rent out DVDs you own. That's how Netflix started.
For clarity, this is indeed the case in the USA and is the huge advantage physical media have. That's why mom and pop video rental stores with their own interesting taste were so common in the late 20th century.
It's possible the OP is from another country with slightly different IP law?
It's possible the OP is from another country with slightly different IP law?
DVDs are fine. You can find many things at pawn shops for 1€, you can buy most new movies for 7 to 20€ at most, and you can resell those you don't want to watch anymore. I'm only subscribed to Amazon Prime but actually don't use their streaming service at all.
I don't know if not everyone knows about this, but Amazon and YouTube offer $3 movie rentals and seem to have a really extensive catalogue, as in I've never failed to find a movie there that would have been available in the old DVD Netflix with its huge selection. I guess they managed to get the rights from all the big IP companies, much as Spotify and Apple before them did for music.
It's honestly the best way to watch things today, and probably the best way to watch things in all history (although Netflix DVD was cheaper if you watched more than 3 movies a month). It's cheaper than video rental stores used to be and no more expensive than RedBox, but you don't have to go anywhere.
That's why RedBox is dead. Of course RedBox wasn't killed by Netflix -- Netflix doesn't compete with them at all. It's Amazon/YT Payperview that killed them, I assume.
Yeah, streaming sucks, but a la carte pay per view is amazing and underrated. And I emphasize again, it's cheap -- it only seems expensive compared to streaming, but it's cheaper than rentals used to be in video stores, which IIRC also cost $3, but that was 25 years of inflation ago.
It's honestly the best way to watch things today, and probably the best way to watch things in all history (although Netflix DVD was cheaper if you watched more than 3 movies a month). It's cheaper than video rental stores used to be and no more expensive than RedBox, but you don't have to go anywhere.
That's why RedBox is dead. Of course RedBox wasn't killed by Netflix -- Netflix doesn't compete with them at all. It's Amazon/YT Payperview that killed them, I assume.
Yeah, streaming sucks, but a la carte pay per view is amazing and underrated. And I emphasize again, it's cheap -- it only seems expensive compared to streaming, but it's cheaper than rentals used to be in video stores, which IIRC also cost $3, but that was 25 years of inflation ago.
DVDs have never been appealing to me - having to manage a physical collection of fragile storage media, each of which comes with a bunch of unwanted fluff in one form or another - I never understood the appeal of that kind of thing, when you could just have a nice neat directory full of video files on your hard drive (and, of course, a backup.)
No need to fiddle with buying additional devices to hook up to your tv - anything with an hdmi cable will play an mp4 directly on your display of choice. You already have a desktop, or a laptop, or a tablet, or something. No worrying about scratched discs. No worrying about regions or whatever.
DVDs were a stopgap and they deserve to die, in my book. “DVDs vs streaming” is a false dichotomy when “local file playback versus streaming” already exists.
No need to fiddle with buying additional devices to hook up to your tv - anything with an hdmi cable will play an mp4 directly on your display of choice. You already have a desktop, or a laptop, or a tablet, or something. No worrying about scratched discs. No worrying about regions or whatever.
DVDs were a stopgap and they deserve to die, in my book. “DVDs vs streaming” is a false dichotomy when “local file playback versus streaming” already exists.
We finally need this Postdigital revolution now.
Where are ya Gen Z 90‘s revival kids?
Using physical media is so heavily alternative, that you can almost feel being superior to poor streaming people. Especially with 4k blurays.
Using physical media is so heavily alternative, that you can almost feel being superior to poor streaming people. Especially with 4k blurays.
I've been giving CafeDVD a try since I loved the variety available on NetflixDVD.
Their catalog is definitely smaller, but it does work. We'll see how it goes.
When I have a new place, I'm building a nice blu ray collection. Can't go wrong with physical media.
You couldn’t pay me to watch movies in 480p.
Worse, 480i. The resolution would be something I could accept with for old content, but I am not going to deal with fucking interlacing ever again.
"DVDs" in the title is shorthand for DVDs and Blu-rays, physical media in general.
yar the 7 seas be thar
The local charity shops sell movies for €1 each, and boxed-sets of TV-series are typically no more than €5 each. I even managed to pick up a decent DVD player to sit under my TV for €25, used.
Before this I used to stream to a chromecast, with VLC, but it was always a bit of a pain. Now I can pop in a disk, or tell my child to do the same, and hit play and everything just works.
Streaming services are pretty, but you can't rely on them for keeping content available, and it's risky to get sucked into a new show that might get cancelled after one, or two, series. Much better, for me, to watch all those other shows that are complete, or nostalgic.