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More => Music, Movies, Politics, and Other Cheap Thrills => Topic started by: JimH on October 13, 2023, 12:09:58 pm

Title: Best Buy Ending Sales of DVD and Blu-ray
Post by: JimH on October 13, 2023, 12:09:58 pm
"The consumer-electronics retailer will phase out sales of DVDs and Blu-ray discs both in-store and online in early 2024, according to industry sources familiar with the company’s plans. Best Buy made the initial decision to end DVD sales nine months ago, according to one source."

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/best-buy-ending-dvd-blu-ray-disc-sales-1235754919/

Title: Re: Best Buy Ending Sales of DVD and Blu-ray
Post by: syndromeofadown on October 14, 2023, 04:30:43 am
Does anyone care? Genuine question, not rhetorical.

Don't they sell vinyl? Maybe they will start selling VHS.

Possible reasons they are stopping physical media sales:
There is almost nothing new worth watching.
Looting.
People cannot afford them any more.
Young people do not know what they are.
Data cannot be harvested from viewers when they watch offline.
They cannot compete with the 2 dollar bin at walmart.
A grand conspiracy where people will own nothing.

I would think it makes sense to continue selling 4k discs. There are a lot of classic movies coming out lately. But their prices are a bit mental.

I think people will miss physical media very soon, as ads get added into paid streaming services, streaming prices are going up, there are a hundred different streaming services, and many shows are getting memory-holed.
Title: Re: Best Buy Ending Sales of DVD and Blu-ray
Post by: marko on October 14, 2023, 07:49:37 am
Young people do not know what they are.
This is kind of scary (to me) and at the same time, profoundly interesting...

I recently got to meet my grandaughter's new boyfriend. He is 19 years old, and, so far... he's OK (though I'm watching closely from the wings ;))

He has a keen and eclectic interest in music, so, the conversation caused me to fire up the HTPC client, and play some bootlegs and alternative versions/covers I thought he'd find interesting, and, whilst they were playing, I figured, why not embarass the heck out of our granddaughter by bringing up some photos of her...

Turns out, he was quite switched on, and after he realised I had spotted his confused expression, he asked me...

"So, have you spent as much time as I think you have tagging all that stuff?" to which I replied, probably a lot more than you think I have. He thought I was completely and utterly out of my mind, and no, to him, the end result was not worth it. Spotify for all the music needs he imagined he would ever have, and Insta/Apple photos was all he felt he needed for his photos.

I didn't debate him about it. The ease with which the young people can access this stuff, coupled with the high probability that (to begin with at least) they don't pay, Mum and Dad do, means that they simply don't care about "Data cannot be harvested from viewers when they watch offline." I do not mind if I sound "old", but to me, we're all going to hell in a handbasket and there's nothing we can do about it.

Me? I'll keep tagging my stuff and listening via JRemote in the car :)
Title: Re: Best Buy Ending Sales of DVD and Blu-ray
Post by: JimH on October 14, 2023, 08:24:59 am
I remember seeing her baby pictures.  I think.
Title: Re: Best Buy Ending Sales of DVD and Blu-ray
Post by: marko on October 14, 2023, 10:13:19 am
I think you might be right. How time flies eh? She's driving and everything these days, plus she has a younger brother, and two cousins. Family. Love it.