Formats : how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

so how long does DVD have until it dies the way VHS did? (as far as stores not carrying tapes anymore or stores not selling VCR machines, stuff like that)

I know Blu Ray and DVD use the same technology and a Blu ray player can read DVDs.
but my question has always been, how long will it be until movie companies stop releasing their movies on DVD? how long would it be until Best buy or Walmart just stop selling them alltogether?

will Blu ray players always be able to read DVDs? will they create a blu ray player that won't read DVDs?
would there be a moment when newer computers can't read DVDs? does anyone know how long will that be?

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

Until every movie and TV show that ever has been made, have been scanned frame by frame to HD and then remastered.
So about 100 years, give or take a day or two, will the DVD still be alive.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

will dvds last 100 years? like, if you bought a dvd today, will it last that long?

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

never

ppl are still going out and buying tapes and vhs, so even they're still alive

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

well you can buy tapes from ebay or something like that, but stores dont officially have them. same with VCRs
and some tapes are very expensive, collector item tapes.

and no company is making either one of them, no company is making tapes either, so when tapes start to damage, there will be no replacement, you know?

What I was wondering is how long will it be until factories stop making dvds

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?


What I was wondering is how long will it be until factories stop making dvds


I think the only thing that could definitively kill dvds is if the manufacturers of Blu-Ray discs made a decision to set their MSRP's for BDs exactly the same as dvds. But as long as dvds cost less than the BDs, people are still going to buy them because it saves them a few bucks. Better picture quality and more features are nice enticements to pay more for the Blu-Ray, but when push comes to shove, the majority of consumers are still going to make decisions with their wallets.



This space for rent.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?


by persen1 » Mon Jan 18 2016 15:55:13
Until every movie and TV show that ever has been made, have been scanned frame by frame to HD and then remastered.
So about 100 years, give or take a day or two, will the DVD still be alive.


This ^^^



I think the only thing that could definitively kill dvds is if the manufacturers of Blu-Ray discs made a decision to set their MSRP's for BDs exactly the same as dvds. But as long as dvds cost less than the BDs, people are still going to buy them because it saves them a few bucks. Better picture quality and more features are nice enticements to pay more for the Blu-Ray, but when push comes to shove, the majority of consumers are still going to make decisions with their wallets.


It has nothing to do with price point because DVDs on average are only slightly less than Blurays. It has everything to do with source material being scanned into HD as persen1 stated above.

The companies that own the tv shows and films have to spend money to transfer and/or remaster the film into HD so they can be released on Bluray. For a new film it doesnt cost much, for a 25 year old tv show like the "The Wonder Years" it costs a lot and is the reason it is only being released on DVD and not Bluray.

Shows like "The Wonder Years" were filmed on film but transfered and edited on videotape so they have to go back to the original reels to remaster them and then scan them into HD and then recut the episodes exactly how they were broadcasted and it takes a lot of work and a lot of money and if the studio doesn't think its profitable then they just won't do it and they will only release it on DVD.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

wow so that means that some shows will never be made for blu Ray?

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

No show has ever been made for Blu-ray. Television shows are made to be shown on television sets in the area where they're produced, typically. That doesn't stop engineers from doing standards conversions so they can be aired in foreign markets. Mastering for Blu-ray is typically more involved than that.

Remember that regardless of the type (DVD, Blu-ray), a disc is just a collection of bits.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

Shows that were shot on film may have had the special effects and editing done at video resolution. I seem to remember that Amiga computers with "Video Toaster" hardware were used on some sci-fi series like "Babylon 5". Maybe if all the source material and the CG scripting or whatever had been perfectly archived, it would be possible to recreate that workflow at a higher resolution, but there's a lot of ifs and expense involved. By now, it might be feasible to use AI to extrapolate SD effects to higher definition.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

Can't edit, so I'll add:

The original film elements may have been lost, so only video tape versions exist. The show may be been shot and edited on video, so 480i or 540i is as good as it gets. Worse, some broadcasters regarded TV shows as disposable and recycled the video tapes. There are episodes of Doctor Who that only survive because copies went to TV networks in other countries and weren't returned.

I'm glad to see that Miami Vice has a good Blu-ray release, in the correct aspect ratio. The DVDs looked like they were made from the same video tape copies used for TV syndication, far short of the best resolution and colour fidelity that DVD is capable of. Not that it mattered so much on a 27" interlaced CRT TV.

If your particular favourite show only exists on DVDs, try watching it on a small tube TV to recreate the original experience. Or maybe there's software for smart TVs that will crop the video to simulate the overscan of CRT TVs, and frame it within an image of a vintage TV set.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?


well you can buy tapes from ebay or something like that, but stores dont officially have them. same with VCRs
and some tapes are very expensive, collector item tapes.

and no company is making either one of them, no company is making tapes either, so when tapes start to damage, there will be no replacement, you know?

I can go to my local £1-Shop, Wilkinsons or Argos and pick up blank cassette tapes

I don't know the equivalents for USA but I assume similar

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

i dont know any stores that sell tapes or cassettes in the USA (unless they are some vintage kind of store )

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

Dude, I just bought a blank 120 vhs tape at Walgreens last month.


*Beep* you, Don Draper, and your Coca-Cola epiphany!

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

that's really weird (And cool) when was it made (like, what does the box say)

Because it has to be a couple of years old

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

VHS and audio cassettes are still being produced, just not in the same quantity and by as many as they used to.
Depending on brand, it could easily have been produced in 2015.
VHS tapes are still being produced under the brand names Maxell, TDK and Rca.

All those on eBay offering blank VHS tapes for a high price, is just screwing you over.
Something like a 240min Maxell tape is being sold by many online shops for about $5

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

To be honest, the PHYSICAL item as a source of distribution is dying out slowly but surely, as Internet broadband speeds increase slowly but surely worldwide.

When one can currently buy a single ~$200 external hard drive with ~8TBs available storage on it, which can store ~250-500 FULL BD quality films on it (nevermind the ~2000-3000 films in simplified HD versions, if ripped/downloaded). It doesn't take a genius to work out where the near future is going: computer based storage, and not small physical items (vhs/dvd/bd/etc).

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

I agree that home storage (HDD, SSD; not optical) is the next stage. Still, maintaining a RAID array at home is mostly for pros and other geeks. In the longer term it will be more convenient and cost effective to use Internet "cloud" storage to keep personal media.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

When I said "~8TB's" that does not mean RAID at all -- HDD's currently are up to 8TB's each, so I'm talking about a single off-the-shelf single external hard drive, which one just plugs straight into your computer.

But yes, one could buy a duo external RAID. But it's hardly geeky, it's just a switch on the back of many models: R0 (striped: ALL disk storage)/ R1 (mirrored: HALF disk storage). Set and forget.

Cloud is another possible option, but even further away in timescale, until both broadband speeds increase (especially upload, as most companies offer asynchronous connections, e.g. 100 down/10 UP), and the cost decreases further (it's currently too expensive for most compared to local storage, when wanting larger quantities).

Anyway, the point isn't about the disks, it's a wider one about the conveniences computer-based storage offers over small plastic disks that take-up physical space, are future mass landfill, and can only be in one place at one time, compared to on computer where they can be accessed and used in many places by many users simultaneously or by a single user from any place they happen to be at (e.g. Plex, Kodi, etc.).

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

In my world it goes without saying that if you're going to keep terabytes of important files in online storage, that some form of redundancy is necessary to keep a single HDD failure from meaning total loss. And, knowing the cost of DLT or other tape-based backup products capable of storing 8TB+ offline, it's plainly obvious that the same price points that made HDD storage so attractive in the first place also makes it the logical choice for data redundancy. That means a redundant array of inexpensive disks.

I don't mean to beat you up on this, but your own misunderstanding of how the most basic RAID types work proves my point about it's not something that the dilettante can do easily. Thinking "it's RAID; I can set it and forget it" is precisely why less technical users are going to get into trouble.

I reiterate my point that less technical users will be better served by using "the cloud" so that they don't have to worry about HDD failures, full stop. It also greatly enhances their ability to use their content no matter where they are. When 5G cellular data comes online, that's going to be what everyone will want to do. Heck, many want to do it right now!

It's also worth noting that multiple access is a function of the operating system, not the storage medium. Legally it's a matter of licensing.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

Erm, yeah, I'm an experienced network engineer, so good luck with your supercilious explanations to me; I was obviously simplifying, rather than writing an essay on a non-tech board on all the various redundancies one should/could have, depending on budget and need.

The point being made is NOT ABOUT THE TECH one could or should use. It's about the fact that such tech CAN be used in the first place and how it betters the other small item physical storage mediums available.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

Most consumers are going to prefer "on demand" to local storage. That way, they can watch what they want, when they want, without having to go to the store to buy it or worry about where they're going to keep it.


I've got loads of DVDs and BD at home but I'm buying far fewer than I used to. The practice of buying films or TV shows on disk is going the way of getting a membership at the local video-rental store.

Sure, someone could buy a user-friendly, hot-swappable RAID storage solution. But the real question is: Why?

As solid-state drives get larger/cheaper, they will replace magnetic drives in PCs.

As for media - why not just get your music/video online?




-I don't watch Fox 'News' for the same reason I don't eat out of the toilet

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?


Most consumers are going to prefer "on demand" to local storage. That way, they can watch what they want, when they want, without having to go to the store to buy it or worry about where they're going to keep it.

This is a good time to revisit this, as there is news.

First, let's dispel the myth that getting to keep a copy of something always entails "going to the store". It does not. Everything that I have on local storage was delivered to me over wires, either as a QAM cable or ATSC OTA TV stream, or as a file over the Internet. I didn't go to a store once, though I have a few optical discs that Amazon delivered to me.

The news is that, like Amazon already does, Netflix is moving towards local storage as a way for their customers to watch content when they're not connected to a high bit-rate Internet connection. People who spend long periods of time in planes, trains and automobiles need local storage because existing wireless coverage simply isn't even close to being everywhere.

I've been converting files from my TiVo boxes for travel use for over a decade, and more recently, Dish has been offering "store and forward" as a service to their users through an app. You can expect more of this as people take their mobile devices beyond the reach of all "online" networks.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

As long as DVD keeps making MONEY for the movie studios and networks. When the MONEY stops rolling for DVD because every consumer in the world is buying blu-rays, the movie studios and networks will stop making DVDs. And by that time, blu-rays will be so cheap, will be selling for $1, so who cares?

I give DVD longer than VHS and VHS probably lasted 30 years. That means at least the year 2027.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

i like this, thank you friend

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

There's another angle that just came to me. Every once in a while the fact that US nuclear launch computers are not network connected ("air-gapped" is a popular if silly term in popular usage) and use old-fashioned floppy disks to store their machine code on. The uninformed usually make a joke of it, but the fact is that it's a proven technology that's been completely debugged, and not modernizing is done on purpose for security.

I'd wager that the DVD will find a similar niche. As with old floppy disks, the DVD is advanced enough to be reliable, but not so advanced as to introduce any security problems. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the the US DoD and other state security agencies worldwide have already purchased DVD pressing (not just a WORM drive) facilities to use for archiving and moving data that's too sensitive to send over cables. It makes sense, after all the DoD makes its own floppy disk media now.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

You still buy from a store? That's adorable.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

i dont like to buy disks online because of all the bootlegging, specially ebay

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

I keep finding all kinds of films on DVD for just a buck at Dollar Tree, so the format has definitely been relegated to the sidelines at this point in time.

Yes, this is really me.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

I think the 100 year answer was the best answer.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

Prime video and Netflix or any other streaming movie sites will eventually kill the DVD industry.


Look what happened to the CD's when iTunes came out.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

Yes, I suppose so.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

People are lazy now. No one wants to pop in a disc or go thru the menus and settings.

Even I hate it when I have to endure 5 locked movie trailers or these long FBI warning logo just to access to the film itself on the disc.

Re: how long does DVD format have until the format dies?

Even I hate it when I have to endure 5 locked movie trailers
Yes, I like the movie
Final Destination 5, but stopped watching it for that very reason.

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