21–30 of 75 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You will still be able to buy Blu-rays, just not from Best Buy
It probably marks the beginning of the end for the medium though
I'm a little surprised they wouldn't continue to sell the obvious bestsellers but doing so would probably be a rounding error for them and someone like Walmart in particular is certainly a lot better positioned to capitalize on DVD impulse purchases when people are in the store for something else.
I would bet that the numbers on even DVD impulse purchases are pretty low
I understand that streaming is a great option but what about high quality? I buy Blu-rays of media where quality is a high point of the experience. Things like Pixar films, traditional animation, films with extraordinary visuals (e.g. LoTR). Are there full-quality digital/downloadable options that I'm not aware of?
I think a lot of streaming services offer some sort of 4K upgrade pricing. [0] Doesn't seem like the requirements for netflix are even that demanding, minimum 15mbps is at least a common internet speed where I'm from. [0] https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13444
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It probably marks the beginning of the end for the medium though
To me it looks more like a continuation of the decline of brick and mortar retail. Even if I want to watch films on blue-ray, why would I ever want to drive to a Best Buy to purchase them?
Sometimes urgency is a factor.
Are they just going to convert into another cellphone shop? Last time I was there they literally hid all the good games and dvds to reduce shrinkage but it also made it appear like they were out of stock on everything. There wasn’t even a slip or something to know to ask the front desk for inventory.
> Are they just going to convert into another cellphone shop? I think they're planning to convert their stores into more of a "showroom" type experience that supports their online shopping. They converted at least half the floor-space of our local Best Buy into a warehouse/online order pickup area. IIRC, the guy manning one of the cell-phone displays was actually a Samsung employee.
I understand that streaming is a great option but what about high quality? I buy Blu-rays of media where quality is a high point of the experience. Things like Pixar films, traditional animation, films with extraordinary visuals (e.g. LoTR). Are there full-quality digital/downloadable options that I'm not aware of?
The bitrate of a 4k blu ray sometime peaks above 100MB/s, yet most streaming providers max out around 20MB/s.
There will always be a place for the enthusiast who is willing to put up with a little hassle and higher cost for a better overall experience, and boutique blu ray sales have really taken off lately for this exact reason.
This isn’t the death of physical media, but it might be the death of retail physical media.
FWIW If you find yourself without a choice other than streaming, check Apple first. They offer the highest bitrate typically.
Are they just going to convert into another cellphone shop? Last time I was there they literally hid all the good games and dvds to reduce shrinkage but it also made it appear like they were out of stock on everything. There wasn’t even a slip or something to know to ask the front desk for inventory.
Yeah they seem to be more out of stock in stores on items. Customer service is terrible too. What’s their deal?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You will still be able to buy Blu-rays, just not from Best Buy
It probably marks the beginning of the end for the medium though
Culture dies when libraries can't lend it (which they can today due to first sale doctrine applicable to physical media, whether books, DVDs, etc), and it's locked behind digital rights and streaming portals (where first sale doctrine does not apply). When physical media dies, you'll either be a consumer willing to pay "whatever the market will bear" for your temporary license (books, music, video, whatever), or a pirate. Archives can still accumulate culture for safekeeping (physically and digitally), it'll just be inaccessible to the public for a century or two sliding window into the past based on current flavor of copyright statute insanity.
https://time.com/6266147/internet-archive-copyright-infringe...