If you have Warner Brothers DVDs from between 2006-2008....

They might not be playable anymore due to due to the layers on the discs rotting.
Yeah, any physical media has a lifespan (though this seems shorter than other dvds). I've transferred a lot of the discs I want to make sure I keep - mostly 3D blu-rays, since they're something that's not as easy to acquire again if a disc fails. If you backup anything and want to keep it all your life (or beyond) you have to keep transferring it to new media. Discs, hard drives and memory all fail at some point, even cloud storage can't be relied on to always be there. Just keep transferring.
 
DVD diehards: "I only buy physical media as I don't want to own digital versions - physical media is forever."

Also them: "I backup all my discs as digital downloads on my computer as my physical media has a limited lifespan."

:lol:
 
I don't have a lot of physical media (well I have a lot of cds, not too many dvds and some vinyl records). I just figure if they ever stop working, I'll "arrrrrgh" them off the internet. I figure I have the moral right at that point since I already paid for them.

Retroblasting did a video about this...

 
DVD diehards: "I only buy physical media as I don't want to own digital versions - physical media is forever."

Also them: "I backup all my discs as digital downloads on my computer as my physical media has a limited lifespan."

:lol:

This assumes physical media collectors are only concerned with longevity, when the reality is that it's about ownership.
 
DVD diehards: "I only buy physical media as I don't want to own digital versions - physical media is forever."

Also them: "I backup all my discs as digital downloads on my computer as my physical media has a limited lifespan."

:lol:
I get your point, but, not to ruin the joke, the benefit of owning a physical copy means you're in control. Buying a digital copy online means whoever sold it to you still owns it and controls it - you just have access to whatever they allow. So it's possible that your entire rights to watch that digital copy could be eliminated at some point. We've seen digital services shuttered already. People often lost purchases because the service that provided them no longer exists.

Also, the provider of digital purchases controls the quality of what you see. You still need to stream it, so they can compress the data however they want. For example, we tend to assume higher resolution means higher quality, but that doesn't account for bitrates, compression artifacts, reduced color range and lower audio fidelity. Something that's streamed at 4K resolution can look and sound worse than an 1080p blu-ray. Ripping your own discs means you control the compression.

Ripping discs also means you can watch them digitally which can save the original discs from the wear and tear of use. And you control how much you can copy them, and what devices you can play them on.
 
Many discs have invisible factory oils on the playing surface. Get a new good-quality soft microfiber cloth (made for dusting monitors) and carefully wipe the surface in straight lines from center hole to outer edge until entire surface is done. And for good measure, wipe the top surface just around the hole so the player mechanism doesn't slip on any oils there.
 
I get your point, but, not to ruin the joke, the benefit of owning a physical copy means you're in control. Buying a digital copy online means whoever sold it to you still owns it and controls it - you just have access to whatever they allow. So it's possible that your entire rights to watch that digital copy could be eliminated at some point. We've seen digital services shuttered already. People often lost purchases because the service that provided them no longer exists.

Also, the provider of digital purchases controls the quality of what you see. You still need to stream it, so they can compress the data however they want. For example, we tend to assume higher resolution means higher quality, but that doesn't account for bitrates, compression artifacts, reduced color range and lower audio fidelity. Something that's streamed at 4K resolution can look and sound worse than an 1080p blu-ray. Ripping your own discs means you control the compression.

Ripping discs also means you can watch them digitally which can save the original discs from the wear and tear of use. And you control how much you can copy them, and what devices you can play them on.
All good reasons but it’s more than that. When I own a disc I don’t have to worry about a studio editing the film for a modern audience. I’m still pissed by what the did to The French Connection, ET (although you still had options to see the original) and Star Wars. Changing language, converting guns to walkie talkies, updating effects… I hate all of that.
If you think film is a work of art, put it out and leave it alone. The problem is not with the art but the juvenile minds who can’t wrap their head around the fact that the past was different and at times not pleasant.
 
I just looked at some of my oldest DVDs and I don't see anything that bad. I skimmed through several seasons of my B5 sets and I see some bubbling near the center of a few, but nothing in the play area. One of the oldest I had was The Right Stuff from around 97 or 98 and it's still perfect.
 
my Popeye cartoons box set went bad, every one. Fortunately, Netflix still had it just before the end of their DVD service, and... I'll stop there. ;)
 
All good reasons but it’s more than that. When I own a disc I don’t have to worry about a studio editing the film for a modern audience. I’m still pissed by what the did to The French Connection, ET (although you still had options to see the original) and Star Wars. Changing language, converting guns to walkie talkies, updating effects… I hate all of that.
If you think film is a work of art, put it out and leave it alone. The problem is not with the art but the juvenile minds who can’t wrap their head around the fact that the past was different and at times not pleasant.
I agree. I've downloaded copies of the OT Star Wars in 4K that fans have worked to restore (Project(s) 77, 80, & 83). They're far from perfect, but I'd rather watch them as they're more representative of what I originally saw in theaters. Even if you're okay with the Special Edition-ized versions, even those suffer from bad color grading, making even the unaltered scenes look different than when they were originally released in theaters or even on older physical media (VHS, Laserdisc, DVD). And a lot of other films have gotten bad re-releases as well, so you can't always assume a new version will be superior to a prior release. There's movies that have been "remastered" so that all the film grain (and details) are smoothed away.
 
Well, in terms of longevity/ownership, the best tech now is to store data on DNA;) It will last thousands of years if kept is a cool/dry place.
Pretty sure you shouldn’t store data on DNA without the permission of the owner. That said, my experience of storing data on DNA has been much better than ripping media unto my NAS server.
Well, in terms of longevity/ownership, the best tech now is to store data on DNA;) It will last thousands of years if kept is a cool/dry place.
Pretty sure you shouldn’t store data on DNA without the permission of the owner. That said, my experience of storing data on DNA has been much better than ripping dvd’s to my NAS server.
 
I agree. I've downloaded copies of the OT Star Wars in 4K that fans have worked to restore (Project(s) 77, 80, & 83). They're far from perfect, but I'd rather watch them as they're more representative of what I originally saw in theaters. Even if you're okay with the Special Edition-ized versions, even those suffer from bad color grading, making even the unaltered scenes look different than when they were originally released in theaters or even on older physical media (VHS, Laserdisc, DVD). And a lot of other films have gotten bad re-releases as well, so you can't always assume a new version will be superior to a prior release. There's movies that have been "remastered" so that all the film grain (and details) are smoothed away.

Yeah, we're in for another round of bad "remastering" with AI smoothing out all the grain.

I think these big-time filmmakers just need to respect the fans' wishes a lot more. There is often a big mismatch between what the filmmakers want to change 20 years later versus what the audience wants to be changed.

Star Wars, ET, etc . . . none of these CGI-altered editions would have ever been a problem if the disc package had included a nice copy of the original version too. The controversy came from trying to replace people's access to the originals.
 
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