Comments on: Debate of the Day: Do You Want Media to Go Full Digital?

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:17:10 +0000

Am I the only one who doesn’t care? I am not a hoarder, and just can’t justify owning a hard copy of a book/movie/album. Maybe it’s because growing up my dad would always tell me how he hated having piles and collections of stuff. “All we do is collect stuff. We buy stuff, collect stuff, and then we die it just goes to the dump. There’s more important things than owning stuff.” I would rather watch streaming videos, or see a movie in theatre than own it.

By: Vonter

Vonter — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 06:09:25 +0000

Don’t forget that also the feeling of posession has an impact on people, companies also know this so that’s why there’s a legendary pack or bonus item in the purchase of a game. Also isn’t it nice organising your stuff and then find that game you forgot you had, picking that old system and playing it again. That’s something I can’t feel as much with the digital product.

By: lostty

lostty — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 20:31:26 +0000

I’m not a fan of digital. A few people have already touched up on some ideas, which I definitely agree with. A hard-copy disc is not only aesthetically much more pleasing, but it is also reliable. If we start saving things on hard drives, as the first comment said, whose to say we won’t just lose it all in a crash? I can download songs off itunes from my ipod, but I can’t transfer those songs back to my computer. When my ipod breaks, I’ll have wasted a good 20$. A cd would prevent this from ever happening.
Also quality is a big issue. Netflix for example is convenient in our day and age, but if you really appreciate movies, you’ll know this is not the way to watch something you love. The quality is poor and the films are often cropped from their original format. If I want to watch something, I’ll go to my video store, pay the same price as you could off a rental on itunes (for example) and enjoy it on any player in my house, not searching for the one that’ll be compatible.
The same goes for all those books and how people have kindles now. reading something digitally takes away from the experience, some may disagree with that of course. Digital is often not the better option for several more reasons and the list goes on. Maybe for the next few years, people will enjoy the digital format, but it’ll go “out of style”. Vinyl is already making a come back, which is an example enough that it isn’t just people with “collection fetish” (which really isn’t the best way to phrase someone who likes to own dvds) who want the real deal.

By: Frank Castelo

Frank Castelo — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:36:52 +0000

Someone mentioned licenses and claimed they give you the right to bla bla.
A license with any digital distributor or corporation in general is always (unless prohibited by law) written to be open to change at their discretion. THEIRS, not yours. I paticularly dislike reading terms of service (ToS) agreements and end user license agreements (EULA). Then every time they change it you get to read it again–assuming you want to know how little control you have over the content you thought you purchased.
I don’t care for a corporation to track everything I purchase and sell that information along with my contact information to more companies to bombard me with spam.
I don’t like the level of uncertainty. If I buy a physical copy of a DVD I know exactly what my access to its content is and I control how that will change over the years.
With a digital distributor a court case or license owner could easily tell a distributor they are no longer allowed to show me that content. A change in the EULA or ToS that I disagree with or can’t abide by means forfiting access to downloading that content again.

In short, I live in America, corporations are not classy. Businesses are generally no longer traditional honorable entities. Nowdays they are generally faceless, heartless money machines. I do not care to give them any power I can hold onto. When I yield, they demand more money.
Im not even going to mention ISPs and how much they would exploit this. I guarantee you there would be brandwith caps they push hard that are set intentionally low just so they can charge fees for people running over and… Uhg…

By: Feenicks007

Feenicks007 — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:56:58 +0000

Someone may have touched on this already, but I just didn’t read all the other comments.

One of my biggest problems with an all digital system is the power it gives to the providers. I currently am playing EA sports NHL 09 because I enjoy it and see no reason to get the newest version. Once everything is digital, they’ll find a way to stop that from happening.

They’ll set it up that you always have to log on to play, and once online they can force new patches on your system, or deny service of out of date software. Imagine having to buy the same game every year (any sports game) because the company doesn’t want you to play the previous years game. If you play online at all, they can force you to use DLC in order to play, which will end up costing you.

I like to be able to keep myself offline and play, but in a world of all digital media, that will be next to impossible. We’ll end up paying more for it because of all the extras they’ll manage to tack on.

By: Bob Saget

Bob Saget — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 08:43:34 +0000

The main reason? You think waiting in line sucks? How about not being able to download or play the game for the first few days due to the servers being overloaded and crashing.

Just look at when the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta came out. Bungie’s servers crashed because of the enormous demand, and that was just for a BETA.

I rest my case.

By: MilRuko

MilRuko — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 03:21:28 +0000

You really only have true ownership of physical quantities. There’s nothing else to say about that.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:15:38 +0000

What happens when they start adding DLC to books? “Pay an extra 5 dollars now, and you’ll unlock the chapters which contain Gandalf and Aragorn!”… Inevitable?

I can’t stand e-readers and will always like books. I like the feel of the paper and cover as I page through them. The thing the digital crowd don’t (can’t?) understand is that reading a book is about more than just the information which comprises a text: reading is a multi-layered experience, not just what you read but where and how you read it. If I’d had an e-reader as a kid, I never would have spent summer evenings at my grandparents’ house lying in bed reading out-of-print books by lamp light, and would have missed out on both the meaningful memories and the stories themselves. Basically, I find digital conversion somehow cheapening.

The other thing? When you buy a book now, you pay one time and then you’re off the hook. I will not be pulled into paying per page or every time I want to re-read something. Who here doesn’t see that coming down the line? Once I buy something, it is mine, and not merely a “per user licensing agreement.”

I also like being able to take books anywhere with me without power cables or battery packs, and without worrying about being unable to read anything or damaging to my library if I accidentally lose or damage my reading device.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 01:03:01 +0000

I like buying CD’s. If there’s a band I really like, and they put out an album, I’ll buy it. It sounds better, clearer, and crisper in my car stereo.

Plus, I genuinely enjoy supporting bands that I like. For instance, Tool puts out an album every 5 years or so. Does it kill me to spend 15 bucks on that CD? Absolutely not. Besides the amazing music that I purchased, I get a unique case, artwork, etc. Things I couldn’t get from downloading digitally.

I get it, digital media is convenient, the wave of the future. But fuck, I’m old school. As long as they keep making CD’s, I’ll buy ‘em. Somebody needs to carry the torch of my generation. My dad gave me some of his old records that he’s kept over the years. I’m talking Beatles, Zeppelin, Hendrix. Those meant a lot to him. Someday I hope I have someone I can pass down my collection to.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:42:32 +0000

As someone reading from Australia, digital only media would be near impossible for some people here. When you’re living in a brand new housing estate and the best internet connection you can get is wireless ‘broadband’ with a maximum of 10 or so GB per month to download, you won’t be able to watch anything!

I prefer physical media in any case, yes I like having a collection on shelves to look at, sift through etc. My opinion might change if our internet infrastructure and plans were to become more beneficial.