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I've been buying DVDs/Blu-Rays again.

In my case it's mainly because you can't trust the online streaming companies to preserve access to content, especially if it's older content that's no longer considered politically appropriate.

The watershed moment for me was when Netflix removed The Mighty Boosh over a small number of admittedly questionable scenes. There are other places I could stream it from, but some other content can be hard to find, even illegally. Other comedies have had scenes modified or episodes pulled.

As a side benefit, I concur with the observation that the quality of Blu-rays and even DVDs is typically better than the streamers. Lots of films are 4k Dolby vision on Blu-Ray but still only 1080p on Netflix/Prime. Apple TV tends to be better, but usually no cheaper than buying the disc.

Sometimes it's almost as if they want you to pirate stuff.

Monkey Dust Series 3 is another series that is now impossible to buy legally. They used various people's music but didn't have the rights, so it got broadcast and then they couldn't sell it on DVD.

I like to keep a copy of obscure and hard to find recordings - it's almost as if recent history is being erased before our very eyes.

Limmy's Show Season 3 is the exact same: https://twitter.com/daftlimmy/status/542009546588581888

The fact that the BBC could make this mistake several times does strike me as incompetence.

The Monkey Dust situation is a real shame, as it was such a ground-breaking and innovative comedy programmes of its time. Ridiculous that something so influential can now only be watched thanks to piracy. Also kind of ironic considering some of the themes of Monkey Dust...

The Wikipedia article also says this: "Another reason for the lack of DVD releases of the later series is thought to be the 'teenage jihadi' sketches being considered unsuitable in the wake of the 7 July 2005 London bombings that occurred a few months later."

> Monkey Dust Series 3 is another series that is now impossible to buy legally. They used various people's music but didn't have the rights, so it got broadcast and then they couldn't sell it on DVD.

This has become a reoccurring thing in the streaming world. Dramas have taken to changing the songs, and in the case of Dawson’s Creek the theme [0].

I one time tried to watch an episode of Bevis and Butthead streaming, and the parts where they comment on videos were dead silent except for their remarks. Weird

[0] https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a34671665/why-dawsons-cr...

Monkey Dust is criminally underrated.

Buy DVDs and rip them and run your own Plex server.

Even situations like Seinfeld. Netflix altered the aspect ratio by cropping the image, and it really does effect the show. And there's no option to change it.

That was done for the HD syndication run. Not Netflix's fault.

However, Crackle ran HD 4:3 versions (in the original framing), so those do exist.

All true except for one thing. DVDs and Blurays are very susceptible to the slightest damage, even invisible damage. Every time I play one, I wonder if it is going to play or hang halfway through. Many also make it hard to actually get to the movie, inserting several minutes worth of various delays.

At least CDs don't have that last problem, just insert and they play. CDs can also be pretty beat up and still play fine.

Actually, Blu-rays are supposed to have an improved chemical formulation that resists scratches/damage compared to CD and DVD media.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray#Hard-coating_technolog...

Audio on scratched CDs can sometimes be cleanly ripped and repaired with the cdparanoia program. I don't know anything that does this with DVDs.

https://www.xiph.org/paranoia/

CDs and DVDs can also be refinished by equipment that grinds down and polishes the plastic, assuming the data layer is intact beneath it. This cannot be done with Blu-ray media, because of the altered surface chemistry.

From my understanding, CDs are actually quite prone to damage because the layer that stores the data is actually on the "label" side of the CD. Anything that damages the label can also damage the data layer just underneath.

DVDs moved the data layer into the middle - sandwiched between two layers of plastic, Blu-rays move it to the surface opposite the label, but add a protective coating to try to keep it from getting damaged[1]. I think DVDs are actually the least prone to permanent damage from scratches because of their sandwich structure - surface scratches can often be buffed out. However all 3 can also progressively rust if damage exposes the recording layer to air[2].

[1] https://www.cdrom2go.com/blu-ray-information

[2] https://blog.discogs.com/en/say-no-to-disc-rot-how-to-look-a...

Yeah my experience with physical media from the cassette age to now is that CDs are by far the most finnicky of the physical medias. Any little scratch or gunk leads to skipping and bad playback. I can count on one hand how few DVDs I've seen that had problems, and I've never seen a blu-ray that ever failed to play.

I was archiving / ISO'ing my CDs/DVDs last month. So many of them weren't even recognized as a disk. Many had read errors. The disks were in proper form.

Did the same for my 3.5" floppy disks. None of those had problems

It's important to mention the durability of the medium is very different when you compare writables to pressed, and there's a large variance in quality for writeables, particularly now that lots of old stock (with a history of non-favourable storage conditions) is intemixed with demand being low.

If you really value your data, use archive disks. They are costly, but they will actually reach their rated lifespan, often of 50-100 years.

You should note that if you were using Windows 10, it sometimes has problems with old CD-ROMs. If you rip the disk, it reads fine, but Windows Explorer doesn't understand the filesystem and reports the disk as a DVD-R or something

Was using isobuster

I have over 1000 DVDs. The vast majority I bought used. They're a lot more durable in my experience, as long as you don't abuse them. Slight scratches can be buffed out. Some have a reflective foil layer printed on the "up" side (rather than integrated into the plastic layers), and if you damage that, it's hosed.

Store your DVDs in sleeves or in the original cases, and you shouldn't have any problems. Don't leave them laying around or stack them.

At some point I want to rip all my DVDs and put them on a media server (~4-6TB worth), but it's a serious undertaking.

When my kids were very young, I discovered that they had a talent for destroying DVDs. So I put together a media PC and started ripping. I've had to upgrade the HD a couple of times, but every kid's DVD I ever bought is now available instantly on that PC, and the originals are packed away in boxes where they don't get touched.

Local computer shops might be a place I’d check. I know some places that could put a high schooler after school to work on a simple project like that for a few days.

I calculated that 4 DVDs per hour would take 250 hours....that's several weeks of work. I found a robot that does this, but the company that makes it seems to have gone out of business.

You could use multiple drives in parallel. Also: https://github.com/automatic-ripping-machine/automatic-rippi...

Assuming a single-threaded process with one final destination, sure. If you're just archiving them, a couple cheap-o machines with external SSDs can really crank through the bytes.

1000 dvds is really not such a large number, it will go a lot quicker than you think.

Source: I once made 180(!) copies of a ~400 page document for an event, by using six copy machines and collating from stacks of 30 sheets. I don't remember exactly how long it took, but it was less than 2 full workdays. It's all about the M:N efficiency!

I wish the component players had better read failure programming to overcome those scratches. I have tried finding reviews for the better players with no luck. Using a laptop sometimes handles scratches better.

In my experience, DVD players have gotten steadily more able to deal with damaged discs over the years. But still, if one doesn't play in one player, it might play in another, or maybe a blueray machine will play it. It's not predictable.

Sometimes, washing the disc will get it to play. Sometimes, rubbing a tiny bit of oil (!) on it will get it to play.

In many jurisdictions it's legal to have a digital backup if you own the cd/dvd. So you wouldn't necessarily have to actually use the CD/DVD to play the media.

> Many also make it hard to actually get to the movie, inserting several minutes worth of various delays.

This depends on the software you use to play it.

Something about vinyl specifically is the fact that there is a real break in the album when one side ends. It requires some thought and gives an additional aspect to artists when creating the track listing.

For example, "Stairway To Heaven" is the last track on the first side of Led Zeppelin IV. If you listen on Spotify the song hits the (overplayed) epic climax, smooth come down and ends with some haunting vocals. Then immediately the jaunty bop of Misty Mountain Hop comes on all bouncing around the room in a totally contrasting upbeat mood. Very jarring.

It is very obvious these were planned to the end of one side and the beginning of another. When Stairway ends I need a minute to breathe and take it in before moving on. With a vinyl record this is planned for and intended by the artist, but on any other medium (save cassettes maybe) you lose this capability.

Even just the fact that the artist gets to specify the play order. Today it's rare that a playlist will even have two songs from the same artist in sequence, but in olden days you could have a sequence that was greater than the sum of the parts. My favorite example is the last 3 songs on side A of The Cars Candy-O - Double Life is kind of relaxing, Shoo Be Doo cranks up the tension, and Candy-O starts with a crescendo that releases the tension. I don't actually know if that was intentional, but it feels like it was.

You can still buy albums on MP3 from a variety of places. I guess that is the same as getting the CD and ripping it, but I like to own MP3s I have paid for. I enjoy playing music from my collection rather than having it served to me by a service for a variety of reasons. But I am not knocking streaming. It's just nice to really have the asset.

You can't trust that commercial MP3s are encoded for gapless playback which is sort of important for live albums that play through without stopping. On my rips all pregaps are preserved at the end of the previous track and playback is always identical to the CD.

one problem i've found with music is someone discovers an uncleared sample, and the album either becomes unavailable, or stays available with samples removed so its not actually the same album anymore.

Not a problem if you buy DRM free files, which most places offer. You're just responsible for storing them from the moment of purchase.

it is a problem. if you go to buy the album today, the updated versions already have the offending samples removed. the originally released CD does not have this problem.

Maybe I'm being pedantic, but CDs are higher quality than MP3 usually. You can rip losslessly to WAV or FLAC and preserve the original. MP3 is lossy and will be a lesser version.

when you buy a CD from amazon.. for lots of them, you can download the MP3s right away after you paid for it

Didn't know that. It's a weird disparity that you can't download a PDF when you bought a book. You get an online book viewer instead. I would have expected them to likewise stream the audio if anything, or require you to use their app to listen to it.

> With vynyl and CDs, listening to a whole album shows you songs that you wouldn't normally consider or search for. Spotify makes it easy to skip a song you may not like but I tend to try out new songs on my record player and sometimes I like new things

This is the exact itch I tried to replicate with https://audile.app

It loads a random album from Deezer’s collection on every page load.

>With vynyl and CDs, listening to a whole album shows you songs that you wouldn't normally consider or search for. Spotify makes it easy to skip a song you may not like but I tend to try out new songs on my record player and sometimes I like new things

We currently have an old Macbook Pro running Qobuz that sits next to our receiver. I used to stand up and skip to the next song if I didn't like a track but it grew old quickly and I now just let it play through.

I never realized how much good music I was skipping until now.

> With vynyl and CDs, listening to a whole album shows you songs that you wouldn't normally consider or search for. Spotify makes it easy to skip a song you may not like but I tend to try out new songs on my record player and sometimes I like new things

This seems funny to me. Discoverability of new songs (and artists) seems like the strongest benefit of Spotify and it’s kin. I usually check out a new album multiple times a week

It’s not discoverability, it’s giving songs a chance that don’t sound appealing at first, because skipping them would be too much of a hassle. Songs can grow on you after listening to them a couple of times even if you didn’t like them initially. When using streaming services, that trajectory rarely happens unless you specifically decide to always listen to the whole album, multiple times.

This is exactly what I meant. If a song doesn't immediately tickle my fancy on spotify, I hit next. With a vinyl, I just leave it on and oftentimes I end up liking it.

I'm glad that more people than me are doing this. I'm concerned about the shrinking selection of PC Blueray drives will prevent us from further keeping control of our media. The problem with Blueray is the requirement of needing updates for newer titles. There are methods of stripping the DRM and getting unencumbered files but after they stop selling the last blueray drive then the clock starts.

Yeah, I've thought about this too. I have an LG super drive that does blu ray, lightscribe, and a bunch of other cool tech but it's about 8-10 years old. I'm waiting for it to self destruct. lol

LG sells Bluerays drive that can be hacked but unfortunately they have mixed quality/reliability. Pioneer sells really reliable drives that can only currently do regular blueray, not 4k but they are being worked on. I suggest to nab one before they disappear and then hopefully they get cracked eventually. MakeMKV forums can provide more info.

If you use YouTube and search for “LG Oled 4k” you will find fantastic looking streaming videos that look better than anything streaming from Netflix, HBO max, Disney plus, Apple TV etc…

It is very frustrating that Blu Ray is the only way to get high quality Hollywood content. The technology is there for streaming

+1! btw, I heard it's notoriously hard to play UHDs on a PC - how do you do it?

You let someone else do all the hard work and download their DRM-free torrent.

MakeMKV makes it trivial.

This is the right way!

Same here. I started buying UHDs because they meet or exceed theatrical resolution. I stopped buying DVDs and BluRays knowing that someday I'd have a TV where I'd see the pixels.

I do the much cheaper version of this and collect high quality 4k rips of movies and amass private tracker accounts.

A normal length movie is about 80-100GB.

I like the process of making groups in Plex too!

I wish there was some guarantee of a movie's integrity matches the original disc. There are so many versions of a file floating around and while the file size of 80-100GB seems to indicate no transcoding, you can't be 100% sure.

I don't understand 4K blu ray. It's 4x the resolution of HD but only has ~2x the storage capacity of blu ray. Isn't that limiting bitrate/quality?

UHD Blu-Rays can go up to 100GB in capacity and can be read at 144Mbits/second. I don't think it limits many movies, but my 4k Lord of the Rings copy has the movie split into multiple discs.

Different codecs. Regular Blu-Rays are largely H.264 (though some of the original releases are MPEG-2 like DVDs); UHD is H.265 which is way more space efficient.