When did people stop using DVD?

[PACOX]

DVD as medium got overshadowed on multiple fronts. When MLC NAND-Flash tech made cheap yet giant USB sticks an item you would find in promotion gifts it died as a relevant storage medium for data. A single sided DVD has usually less than 5gb of storage, which is a wet fart for today's data volumes. Meanwhile in the entertainment industry Blu-ray not quite killed it, but weakened it enough to make it lose relevance before the streaming boom displaced both with the exception of some movies people absolutely want to own. Not to mention the price for Blu-ray is still out of this world for newer releases, which propelled streaming even further.

Anyway, saying when exactly it died is not really possible. It was a gradual process and I'm sure some people will claim it's alive and healthy because they still live in yesteryear and switch their DVDs 4 times per movie or install games from 16 discs.

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Absolutely. Between the extremely agressive region (b)locking and software certification/format/DRM issues the whole thing is more than just a little bit annoying. The few blu-rays I own never work right away, it's always a fight to get them to run since I haven't owned a normal blu-ray player or TV for over a decade now.

If I had an expensive TV I would buy Blu-rays. Streaming compresses videos, which shows up on nice screens. If you're going to go big then you should go big and use a format that gives you the best picture.

[Foxy95]

This has its own romance)))

[Katchii]

Until recently I didn't have the higher end stuff to really take advantage of the increased video quality of Blu-Ray so can't really tell the difference between the two, and I still don't have the equipment to see the difference in sound quality, which is much more important to me. So because of that I still buy DVD's over Blu-Ray simply because of the price difference, when I do actually buy the physical media.

[Stormspark]

Until recently I didn't have the higher end stuff to really take advantage of the increased video quality of Blu-Ray so can't really tell the difference between the two, and I still don't have the equipment to see the difference in sound quality, which is much more important to me. So because of that I still buy DVD's over Blu-Ray simply because of the price difference, when I do actually buy the physical media.

Blu-rays have technically better quality of the media itself. But the Blu-ray format has vastly fewer features than DVD (it's just the base movie, nothing else), and Blu-ray releases usually lack the special features they put on DVD's. For example: the Star Trek movies are MUCH better on DVD, especially the first one. Blu-ray gets the theatrical versions only. For the vast majority of stuff, while Blu-ray does definitely look better, DVD is more than good enough, and you don't have to make sacrifices like unskippable ads and inferior special features. (Granted, DVD's can technically have "unskippable ads", but since I will only use free software to play media, I don't have to deal with any of that stuff.)

I only get Blu-rays for things that are special enough to me to warrant 28gb/disk on my hard drive. Has to be something I REALLY like, and really want to have in 1080p.

[Katchii]

Blu-rays have technically better quality of the media itself. But the Blu-ray format has vastly fewer features than DVD (it's just the base movie, nothing else), and Blu-ray releases usually lack the special features they put on DVD's. For example: the Star Trek movies are MUCH better on DVD, especially the first one. Blu-ray gets the theatrical versions only. For the vast majority of stuff, while Blu-ray does definitely look better, DVD is more than good enough, and you don't have to make sacrifices like unskippable ads and inferior special features. (Granted, DVD's can technically have "unskippable ads", but since I will only use free software to play media, I don't have to deal with any of that stuff.)

I only get Blu-rays for things that are special enough to me to warrant 28gb/disk on my hard drive. Has to be something I REALLY like, and really want to have in 1080p.

Of the Blu-Rays I do own, I didn't experience this level of disparity in the features between them and the DVD's I own. If anything, they had MORE stuff the most DVD's I have.

I've seen DVD's with this kind of crap too though. I don't think it's a difference in the media itself, but in the company that's publishing it.

[Stormspark]

Of the Blu-Rays I do own, I didn't experience this level of disparity in the features between them and the DVD's I own. If anything, they had MORE stuff the most DVD's I have.

I've seen DVD's with this kind of crap too though. I don't think it's a difference in the media itself, but in the company that's publishing it.

The main reason I mostly avoid Blu-rays is I don't have an easy way to play most of them the way I do DVD's. I have to rip them, which is about 28gb/disk. It's not a huge deal, because I have quite a lot of space, but it does add up. That's why I restrict them to things I consider special enough to warrant getting in 1080p.

[draynay]

DVDs have had a longer release cycle, more versions of them have been released and can lead to more varied content. Sometimes Blu-rays don't include old SD content from DVDs but often they do. Returning to Star Trek as an example, I've watched TNG on Blu-ray and DVD and, to the best of my knowledge, all the old bonus features are still there plus new ones. It really just depends on the company and has nothing to do with the format.

I already knew I was a snob but this thread is making me feel like even more of a snob when it comes to home media.

[Tuor]

Until recently I didn't have the higher end stuff to really take advantage of the increased video quality of Blu-Ray so can't really tell the difference between the two, and I still don't have the equipment to see the difference in sound quality, which is much more important to me. So because of that I still buy DVD's over Blu-Ray simply because of the price difference, when I do actually buy the physical media.

I had to buy a new optical drive 2 weeks ago. I only have a 1080 screen, and a 2.1 sound systhem, there was no reason for me to pay extra money for the Blue-ray, so basicly the same thing you wrote.

[Katchii]

The main reason I mostly avoid Blu-rays is I don't have an easy way to play most of them the way I do DVD's. I have to rip them, which is about 28gb/disk. It's not a huge deal, because I have quite a lot of space, but it does add up. That's why I restrict them to things I consider special enough to warrant getting in 1080p.

I have a PS4, which is a Blu-ray player, otherwise I wouldn't have a way to do it. My PC doesn't even have a disc drive.

[Daedius]

When streaming became more accessible with the improvement of internet infrastructure.

[Stormspark]

I have a PS4, which is a Blu-ray player, otherwise I wouldn't have a way to do it. My PC doesn't even have a disc drive.

I mean my computer has a Blu-ray drive and a Blu-ray burner, so it's not hardware. The issue is, I will not use any proprietary software for it. So unless it works with Kodi or VLC, I'm not going to do it. Blu-ray has been hacked, and there is a way to play some of them with VLC, but the current method of doing it requires a list of keys that you download, and if your particular movie doesn't have its key in the file, the disk won't play. For the particular method I found, the keys database hasn't been updated since 2018, and none of the ones I have are in that database.

I'm sure eventually someone will come up with a better way to do this...in the meantime ripping the disks to an unencrypted file is absolutely trivial. It's silly that it's easier to rip the disk and burn it to a new unencrypted Blu-ray, than it is to just play the disk.

[Katchii]

I mean my computer has a Blu-ray drive and a Blu-ray burner, so it's not hardware. The issue is, I will not use any proprietary software for it. So unless it works with Kodi or VLC, I'm not going to do it. Blu-ray has been hacked, and there is a way to play some of them with VLC, but the current method of doing it requires a list of keys that you download, and if your particular movie doesn't have its key in the file, the disk won't play. For the particular method I found, the keys database hasn't been updated since 2018, and none of the ones I have are in that database.

I'm sure eventually someone will come up with a better way to do this...in the meantime ripping the disks to an unencrypted file is absolutely trivial. It's silly that it's easier to rip the disk and burn it to a new unencrypted Blu-ray, than it is to just play the disk.

All of this is why I never understood why some people insist that PC works "just fine" for being a media player, when in comparison to a simple Blu-Ray or DVD player you just plug and play on your TV is so simple.

The hoops you have to jump through sound absolutely ridiculous.

[Tuor]

Stupid question, i have some original DVD's with damaged VOB's, is it possible to recover the VOB files?

[Stormspark]

All of this is why I never understood why some people insist that PC works "just fine" for being a media player, when in comparison to a simple Blu-Ray or DVD player you just plug and play on your TV is so simple.

The hoops you have to jump through sound absolutely ridiculous.

I won't use a standalone Blu-ray player either, because I will not use anything that doesn't let me skip ads/previews/whatever, and I will not use any proprietary software for it either. Open source stuff only. Right now for Blu-rays that just means ripping the disks, then I can easily play them with VLC or whatever. DVD's I can just stick in and play. If for some reason none of that is an option, I will just sail the high seas, I have no moral issues with that whatsoever.

I will not ever subscribe to a streaming service for media, and I will not ever pay for digital media unless it includes a DRM-free download.

[Katchii]

I won't use a standalone Blu-ray player either, because I will not use anything that doesn't let me skip ads/previews/whatever, and I will not use any proprietary software for it either. Open source stuff only. Right now for Blu-rays that just means ripping the disks, then I can easily play them with VLC or whatever. DVD's I can just stick in and play. If for some reason none of that is an option, I will just sail the high seas, I have no moral issues with that whatsoever.

I will not ever subscribe to a streaming service for media, and I will not ever pay for digital media unless it includes a DRM-free download.

You do you, just seems like a lot of hoops to jump through and more trouble than it's worth for something that, IMO, is not that big of a deal.

[Serpha]

You do you, just seems like a lot of hoops to jump through and more trouble than it's worth for something that, IMO, is not that big of a deal.

You mean paying proprietary software that you need to renew every 6-12 months to play the latest Blue-ray DVD's ? I consider that a very big deal, it's one of the reasons I stopped buying them. Buy the latest software only to 6 months later it can't play new Blue-ray's because of new DRM and you have to pay to get it.

[ldev]

DVD's are normally set to a HD resolution, that is, 1080, blue-rays are set for 4k. But offcourse, there are exceptions.

Why on earth would someone think DVDs are 1080p?? Because they see some DVD on torrents, w/e, they see 5 gigabyte size and think "well that's high quality full hd right there!" ???

Anyways, DVD quality is probably worse than hi end tapes. edit: actually DVD was only marginally better than VHS, so obviously DVD is crap compared to hi end tape.

[Katchii]

You mean paying proprietary software that you need to renew every 6-12 months to play the latest Blue-ray DVD's ? I consider that a very big deal, it's one of the reasons I stopped buying them. Buy the latest software only to 6 months later it can't play new Blue-ray's because of new DRM and you have to pay to get it.

No, I meant just owning a plug-and-play player.

I agree with you about the proprietary software thing, that's bullshit.

[Yriel]

I still buy DVDs for new movies instead of bluerays since they are often 1/3 cheaper and, to be honest, on my full-HD TV i really don't see much of a difference.
It's probably like analog audio and mp3, i never heard much of a difference there either.

[Serpha]

No, I meant just owning a plug-and-play player.

I agree with you about the proprietary software thing, that's bullshit.

Well plug-and-play players are pretty much in the same boat, latest Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will not work on normal Blu-ray players, you need to buy new one. I had both PC drive and plug-and-play player and had to change fron DVD to Blu-ray after that I said fuck this and stopped buying optical drives and discs.