Are CDs/DVDs obsolete?

[MohtasaUnique]

I'm curious as to what you think. Would you agree or disagree that CD reading technology is outdated compared to some of the technology we use today (I.E. flash memory music players, USB flash drives, etc)?

As an aside question, would you rather see movies, games and music be sold on copy-right protected flashdrives rather than discs?

Here's my argument as to why I think it is.

Let's look at a stack of common burnable CDs. You get about 10 in a stack usually for 5-8 dollars, each disc is about 700MB. That's about 6.8GB of space. This IS cheaper than a 8GB flash drive (which runs around 10-12 dollars), but you also have to keep track of 10 separate, breakable discs.
Now look at the maximum capacity. The most you can find for burnable discs is about 700MB, or 20-25 songs. Folks, they sell 500GB flash drives. These hold upwards of 127,000 songs.
Next, coming back to something I mentioned before: BREAKABLE. Yes, flash drives are breakable too, but they're much more durable than CDs. CDs can be destroyed if even a tad bit of their label is scratched off, because on the underside of that label is the aluminum foil that reflects the laser and holds the data. If the acrylic protective coating is scratched or cracked too much, you can also count it useless.
Lastly, the universal access to USB devices is rapidly increasing. There is not a single consume- product vehicle being made today that doesn't have a USB drive on the sound system, and if you have an older car, you can always drop in a 75 dollars CD changer, and it will almost certainly have a USB port. For a few years back even, they've been increasingly standard in most vehicles. Also, a lot of newer DVD players (and all the modern console gaming stations, for that matter) have USB ports on them.
Oh, and one last thing... REWRITABLE. Though you CAN get those DVDRW+R things, they're just a pain, and they degrade in sound and video quality after so many times. Plus they cost a lot more, you can only buy about 5 of them for 10-15 dollars, and they're still only about 1GB storage each. To be honest, I think rewritable CDs are scams. Flash drives, however-- well everyone knows how easy it is to load and unload data onto flash drives, you don't need me to explain it.
So, companies may not be selling their digital products on USB flash drives just yet, but I'd give it 5 years, and CDs will be as old as cassettes, DVDs will be as old as VHS, and bluray will start being debated as whether it's "old technology" compared to the sheer force of flash memory. If you want to see a perfect example of the success of flash memory, turn your attention to one of Apple's best sellers: The MacBook Air. Personally I think they got it right with that flash memory drive and I hope it catches on soon.

 

[-Ryan]

Yes they are, and I think they should continue to be sold on discs unless a flash drive would have some better advantage or something.

 

[Laptop65]

CDs are going fast, however DVDs are still around a fair bit. I wouldn't leave DVDs just yet though, they're handy to have around if my USB stick breaks or corrupts or something.

 

[Delta Squad]

well i like cds because lets face it. your mp3 wont be charged forever, and i for one know how much it sucks to be on a long drive and have your primary source of music die on you.


i still prefer dvds, your power wont always be on and opening up the good ole portable dvd player is a life saver, had this happen a few times aswell.

out-dated, perhaps, still useable most deffiently.

 

[MohtasaUnique]

Flash drives work the same in that respect-- most portable DVD players have a USB. Additionally, a lot of CD players in cars have USB ports too

 

[fredecus]

I think CD's are gone and only used in things like cars without mp3 support. DVD's on the other hand will be around in some form for at least 5-10 more years. I don't think USB will be the main cause of this, I think streaming will be the end of DVDs, the ability to purchase/stream online will grow just like mp3s did.

 

[Sypherz]

I don't think CDs will become obsolete. They hold certain sentimental value in a way. If you love an artist, you will want that physical example of how much they mean to you to display, etc. etc.

.mp3s are just songs.

 

[cosrob97]

I agree. I bought my dvd player for the memory stick so I can watch movies from. Haven't placed a single cd in the dvd player yet.

 

[slysteeler]

I think DVDs will stick around for as long blu-ray does, it's kinda like a cheaper alternative. But with hard disc storage becoming so much cheaper, and SSD storage gathering pace, I think discs are doomed.

 

[Noam]

I don't think CDs will become obsolete. They hold certain sentimental value in a way. If you love an artist, you will want that physical example of how much they mean to you to display, etc. etc.

.mp3s are just songs.

Yes, just like how you might want a vinyl record of an older band that you like. That doesn't make it any less obsolete. However, I do see CDs and DVDs going obsolete sometime soon - though I do expect that there will be a transition to blu-ray from DVD and from that into streaming or flash drives.
However what I am really curious about is video games. Most PC games are already downloadable, but consoles should be able to accept something more convenient than a game DVD

 

[MohtasaUnique]

Yes, just like how you might want a vinyl record of an older band that you like. That doesn't make it any less obsolete. However, I do see CDs and DVDs going obsolete sometime soon - though I do expect that there will be a transition to blu-ray from DVD and from that into streaming or flash drives.
However what I am really curious about is video games. Most PC games are already downloadable, but consoles should be able to accept something more convenient than a game DVD

Well think of it this way; computers weren't always exclusively internet machines, but these days, it's almost pointless to have a computer without internet connection. Given a few years, game consoles will be the exact same way. It's already happening with the popularity of XBL. So once game consoles go entirely internet, you'll be able to download games as easily on machines as you do on computers.

 

[MitchelltheGreat]

I dont believe CD/DVDs are obsolete. People still prefer physical copies or programs and software that companies sell. Plus, it would be impractical for companies to sell software and operating systems on solely flash drives because many average users will have to configure their bios settings to boot from these flash drives. That being said, CD/DVD players will eventually be replaced like the tape and VHS.

 

[MohtasaUnique]

I dont believe CD/DVDs are obsolete. People still prefer physical copies or programs and software that companies sell. Plus, it would be impractical for companies to sell software and operating systems on solely flash drives because many average users will have to configure their bios settings to boot from these flash drives. That being said, CD/DVD players will eventually be replaced like the tape and VHS.

A flash drive is a physical copy as much as a CD is, people are just more familiar with CDs. Also, it isn't difficult to alter your BIOS settings to boot from something other than a CD-- people do it all the time with external harddrives; flash drives can be configured the same way. If you're purchasing a computer, it usually already comes with the OS installed so you won't have to worry about using a flash drive containing the OS. If you're building a computer, you'd better damn well know how to configure BIOS settings. If you're buying software, your computer already gives you an option for "auto play" when it recognizes a flash drive device with a bootable program stored on it. Fact is, there's no reason-- besides that people are very used to discs-- that we shouldn't switch to USB devices instead of CDs

 

[Lured Yah]

I only ever use a CD after reformatting and reinstalling my computer completely -- reason: USB and internet aren't automatically installed..

 

[kill dank]

Completely. I have no idea why they still sell games and movies on disks when they could just put them on things as small as a micro SD card.

 

[sm321]

I wouldn't say they were "obselite". One thing you have to consider is that some people don't have anything with a USB, don't know what it is and wouldn't know how to use one. A CD you just put it in and play.

 

[Yenthe666]

USB's and portable drives became better and faster than CD's / DVD'S.
I'd rather see a CD or DVD as a emergency backup

 

[kill dank]

I'd rather see a CD or DVD as a emergency backup

Not even that because you can just scratch them. Hard drives are the go-to for emergency backup but even that's moving to cloud storage now for a lot of people.. not me though because I have too much data.

 

[MohtasaUnique]

I wouldn't say they were "obselite". One thing you have to consider is that some people don't have anything with a USB, don't know what it is and wouldn't know how to use one. A CD you just put it in and play.

Who doesn't know what a USB is...? You select auto play from USBs too

What someone said above as well gives me another point to preset: The write speed of CDs is exceptionally shitty, whereas micro SD cards and flash drives with USB 3.0 capabilities are 290435 times faster.


Another point I just thought of: you're able to play games whose directory is stored on a flash drive. Therefore, you don't need to clog up your computer with game files and downloads, you just need a flash drive to store all the data on, and you can run it off your flash drive no matter WHERE you as as long as you have a computer.

 

[Noam]

Who doesn't know what a USB is...? You select auto play from USBs too

What someone said above as well gives me another point to preset: The write speed of CDs is exceptionally shitty, whereas micro SD cards and flash drives with USB 3.0 capabilities are 290435 times faster.


Another point I just thought of: you're able to play games whose directory is stored on a flash drive. Therefore, you don't need to clog up your computer with game files and downloads, you just need a flash drive to store all the data on, and you can run it off your flash drive no matter WHERE you as as long as you have a computer.

Building off that, old games like roller coaster tycoon really did use that idea of not copying many files over and just running off the CD. However I do see issues with companies using the internet as a DRM system for this type of thing.