Thereโs an air of inevitability about format changes โ a consequence of rapidly evolving technology designed to enrich our lives. But how would you feel if items youโd paid for were suddenly rendered obsolete?
For Richard, this is a real worry.ย โDiscs are finished,โ he tells me matter-of-factly, โlooking at how things are developing thereโs just no place for them in the future โ theyโre unnecessaryโ.
The problem is that Richard, a film blogger and British Film Institute member, has a DVD collection that he estimates to be worth in the region of ยฃ5-10k.
Say farewell to discs
New laptop models are being manufactured without DVD/CD drives, while downloads and streaming are growing in popularity โ it all marks the beginning of a slow phase-out for media in disc form.
I canโt help but draw comparisons to the rather sudden change-over from VHS to DVD, probably due to the fact that his James Bond collection still adorns the shelves. From 1962โs Dr No, up until 1999โs The World Is Not Enough, that is.
โPost-2000, continuing to buy the Bonds on video would have been ridiculous, and later, impossible,โ he says. โI leave those ones on display because Iโm quite proud of that collection, but theyโre useless now arenโt they? Dust collectorsโ.
Copying CDs and DVDs
While the total exclusion of the disc is surely some years off, I still wonder whether it should be easier to safe-guard your media from becoming nothing but spectres that haunt the attics of the future โ losing their value entirely.
The good news is that the law was modernised last year to allow you to make personal copies of your media, whether thatโs a CD or DVD. However, ripping a DVD isnโt a straightforward process and they often have copy protection that was added by the film studios. This would also involve months of manual work for someone like Richard.
It could be argued that the media is still playable – but if thereโs eventually no hardware to support it, then itโs as useful as a 3ยฝโ floppy disc. While you certainly canโt legislate for upgrades and improvements (I wouldnโt expect to be given the latest version of my car every year!), do you think entertainment creators could do more?
Itโs not uncommon for the latest Blu-ray discs to be accompanied by a digital download, which is a positive step. But for the millions of discs already purchased, whatโs to stop them from joining the technology of yester-year on the scrap heap?
Do you think itโs fair that you often have to pay again for the same media in a new format just so you can continue to enjoy it? Have you ever bought a CD/digital copy of a vinyl album youโd already paid for? A download of a DVD you already own? Or a DVD of a VHS you once paid in excess of ยฃ10 for?
I know I have, Iโm just not quite sure whether I should have had to.