Who Still Buys Physical Formats (CD, DVD-A, BD, SACD, vinyl)?Music 

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Who here is still buying physical formats (CD, DVD-A, SACD, BD, vinyl)?

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hogger129

hogger129

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Who here still buys physical formats? How come you still buy them? For me, I keep buying CD's because they sound better than digital downloads offered via iTunes or Amazon (even though those sound pretty decent).

Physical (music) formats.
 
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DVD and Blu Rays definitely, digital movies are too limited as to where you can watch them. CDs on occasion, but not all that much anymore.
 
I buy DVDs and Blu Rays; but I don't bother with CDs because I don't see much else that I need to buy anyway. Got enough music as is.
 
I buy whichever's cheaper. Never could figure out why an album on CD would be cheaper than the same album as an MP3 download. What really cracks me up, though, is when you find things like this. You can download the MP3 album for $11.49. Or you can buy the CD for $6.98, and download the MP3 album for free.
 
I try to get new releases and old releases from my favourite bands and artists on vinyl and occasionally CD. Most new release vinyl records come with a free MP3 download these days, which is fantastic. I download my music for the most part, always legally. I try to download straight from the band's website or record label so the proceeds go straight to the ones who deserve it, failing that I download from Bandcamp so I can get the option for lossless files. iTunes tends to be a last resort for me.
 
BobK
I buy whichever's cheaper. Never could figure out why an album on CD would be cheaper than the same album as an MP3 download. What really cracks me up, though, is when you find things like this. You can download the MP3 album for $11.49. Or you can buy the CD for $6.98, and download the MP3 album for free.
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Yeah Amazon Auto-Rip = WIN when you find a good price.
 
Most people still buy movies on disc, right? I would never think about buying a digital movie from iTunes or something similar.
 
disinfected
Most people still buy movies on disc, right? I would never think about buying a digital movie from iTunes or something similar.
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The annoying part of digital downloads is they only work on the device you buy them for. For example, if you buy a movie from iTunes it will only work on Apple devices. With a DVD or a Blu Ray disc they'll work on anything that can play those formats.

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I don't suppose any of you are old enough to remember LaserDisc?
 
Exactly. When I want to watch a movie, I want to watch it on television, not on a laptop or an iPod.

I faintly remember LaserDisc from going to school in the 90's, I don't remember anyone having one at home.
 
I've picked up a few CD's and some vinyls lately, but only of absolute favourite bands - the rest gets relegated to digital copies. It's much the same reason my DVD/BR collection hasn't grown much; moving in with my girlfriend meant space was at a premium for us, so we already pared down all of our collections of these. Space is at a premium too, and a shelf of discs would be much better suited to books, really.
 
I listen to the radio mostly, so don't listen to other stuff. I only ever buy compilation CD's, specifically the "Now That's What I Call Music" series. I have bought them all on CD since Now 60 (UK Series) came out, and still make sure I buy a physical copy.
 
I buy CD's if it's an album I really want/have heard and really like. But, with my tendency to not shop online, and HMV, one of the few music stores I know of on the island, that may be harder now.
 
CDs, cassette and vinyl for collecting, downloads for convenience.
 
I still buy CD's for my music. I just prefer having a physical copy of my music. I will convert it to digital and put it on my phone/mp3 player/laptop/PS3 etc, then use the CD to go in the car, then it gets retired to my collection.
 
I'll occasionally buy a CD if it has some cool stuff with it, but for the most part I just use Spotify and Pandora for my music. Movies/TV Shows are similar too, I'll buy them on Blu-Ray if they have some cool features but for the most part I just wait till they end up on Netflix, Amazon Prime or On Demand.

I'm not much on physical media anymore.
 
Physical copies all around for me. Because the matter is, if something was to wipe your PC's hdd and even your backup(s), you've just lost your money. But with the physical copy, it's always there, the only way to lose it unintentionally is for it to be stolen.

Plus, the idea of the CD arriving in the post (or finding that CD you want in the store) is epic. You put the cd in a stereo, listen through it and have a look at the booklet, it's great! It's not just a little thumbnail displayed in itunes. All my opinion of course.
 
I collect CD's, currently I have well over 400 in my collection and it will start growing faster now that I will be back to full time work. Unfortunately, some of the stuff that I want is either out of print or never released on CD so I'm forced to go the Amazon MP3/itunes route.

I also prefer my movies on Blu Ray, although that collection is much smaller at around 40.
 
I love to buy physical items because its nice to have something "tangible."
 
It's also increasingly hard to find a lot of CDs now, many artists are releasing digital only. Not to mention many new cars aren't offering CD players anymore.
 
disinfected
It's also increasingly hard to find a lot of CDs now, many artists are releasing digital only.
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Thankfully I haven't really ran into that problem with the artists I listen too(it usually only happens for singles and EP's, plus artists on Bandcamp, but that's different). However gone are the days of just going to the store and seeing if anything piques your interest, which is something I sorely miss.

Not to mention many new cars aren't offering CD players anymore.
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This doesn't really bother me as I can fit more songs on my mp3 player than I can CD's in my car within reaching distance.
 
I still see old CDs on the shelves. Walmart still had 4 or 5 for Dio.
 
Justin
Thankfully I haven't really ran into that problem with the artists I listen too(it usually only happens for singles and EP's, plus artists on Bandcamp, but that's different). However gone are the days of just going to the store and seeing if anything piques your interest, which is something I sorely miss.



This doesn't really bother me as I can fit more songs on my mp3 player than I can CD's in my car within reaching distance.
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You can also rip the CD's as formats like FLAC or AIFF, in order to keep the full CD quality and play them on an mp3 player.

I, too, go for the used and often out-of-print CD's that they sell at the record store here in town. They sound better than new releases.
 
As far as music goes, since that's what this thread's about, I buy both.

As far as movies go, physical all the way. DRM and large file sizes are the two main reasons why I stick to physical for movies. But digital has its conveniences, which is why I get the best of both worlds by ripping my own DVDs and Blu-rays. That way I don't have to worry about DRM or trying to download a massive video file, but I also don't have to worry about digging out the disc and wading through menus and unskippable intro warnings, trailers, etc. whenever I decide that I want to watch a particular movie.
 
To this day, I still buy CDs, DVDs, and even vynal records. Over the past few months I purchased several vynal records.
 
You just can't beat having a physical copy of an album, sure downloading's all great with taking up as much room as your computer does but you can't admire it in the same way, my album collection is pretty much decoration now and it's beautiful.
 
I had loads of MP3 files, but I prefer to have something physical. I deleted most of my MP3 and have moved onto Vinyl, the sound quality is better (It's true, Google it) and my 80's newwave music sounds stellar.

But, sadly, until they invent portable record players, my iPod is still my main work-horse. :(
 
Vinyl, i've always loved how crisp they sound.I have digital copies for on the go but my vinyls are over all better quality in my opinion.
 
hogger129
The annoying part of digital downloads is they only work on the device you buy them for. For example, if you buy a movie from iTunes it will only work on Apple devices. With a DVD or a Blu Ray disc they'll work on anything that can play those formats.
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This is clearly false information. A Digital Download from Amazon for example will work on any device and your collection is stored on a cloud server. Also iTunes should work on any PC and your digital files will be available on any PC in a similar fashion to amazon as the file is stored on a cloud server. For both these methods you simply sign in to your account and download the file onto any device.

Back on topic. I would rarely buy a physical copy of anything these days as I prefer not to change discs or carry them around. Digital edition for me is fantastic because I can have my entire collection available on almost any device, anywhere I go and they will never get scratched.
 

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