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Anyone else returning to Physical Media

AlaskaMoose said:
I am not returning to using physical media such as CD's and DVD's, since I am still using them. The problem for me is that it is nearly impossible to find a car multimedia head unit (receiver) with CarPlay and Android Drive (?) connectivity that has a CD/DVD port. I would like to replace the factory head unit or receiver in my 2013 Tundra truck with one of these new multimedia receivers I mention above, but it seems that there is not enough demand for CD/DVD anymore.
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I replaced the head unit and after market speakers and amps in our 2000 Land Cruiser in 2020 and put a new Kenwood in that has a DVD player in it but it was a previous year model I got at closeout. I have never used the disc player but I use Apple Car Play all the time. I don't think they offer anything with a disc drive anymore.

I've burned all my CDs as ALAC files and can't imaging using physical media in my car. I still own the physical media though. I'm just starting to test out music streaming with Qobuz and like it so far. My Land Cruiser as our oldest car now has the most advanced head unit of any and it is our 3rd vehicle used as a truck/dog car/hauler.

DDX9905S | eXcelon | Car Entertainment | KENWOOD USA

DDX9905S MONITOR WITH DVD RECEIVER
www.kenwood.com

Land_Cruiser_Install_a.jpg
 
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GrandCiel said:
I replaced the head unit and after market speakers and amps in our 2000 Land Cruiser in 2020 and put a new Kenwood in that has a DVD player in it but it was a previous year model I got at closeout. I have never used the disc player but I use Apple Car Play all the time. I don't think they offer anything with a disc drive anymore.

I've burned all my CDs as ALAC files and can't imaging using physical media in my car. I still own the physical media though. I'm just starting to test out music streaming with Qobuz and like it so far. My Land Cruiser as our oldest car now has the most advanced head unit of any and it is our 3rd vehicle used as a truck/dog car/hauler.

DDX9905S | eXcelon | Car Entertainment | KENWOOD USA

DDX9905S MONITOR WITH DVD RECEIVER
www.kenwood.com

View attachment 2581895
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I was looking at another head unit that seems to be somewhat similar to yours, the Pioneer AVH-2550NEX DVD Receiver, which is available at Crutchfield, Amazon, and Walmart. But I still have to think further in relation to having a receiver/DVD like these two or instead buying a multimedia without the CD/DVD slot. The more I think about it, the more I lean toward buying one head unit without the CD/DVD slot. :)

I burn music CDs at home using a very old Lacie CD/DVD recorder, and also upload music to my computers from my collection of CD's, but I haven't listened very much to any of the CD's I have burned at home. Yes, do I have a couple of good quality CD/DVD players at home, and a ton of original music in CDs and copies. The reason for copying the original CD is to preserve the original and keep it nearly pristine.

I forgot to mentions that both my wife and I enjoy watching the the older movies we have collected in DVD form for quite a good number of years. We don't like watching any of the movies made in the West (US, EU, AU) and so on in recent years.
 
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AlaskaMoose said:
I was looking at another head unit that seems to be somewhat similar to yours, the Pioneer AVH-2550NEX DVD Receiver, which is available at Crutchfield, Amazon, and Walmart. But I still have to think further in relation to having a receiver/DVD like these two or instead buying a multimedia without the CD/DVD slot. The more I think about it, the more I lean toward buying one head unit without the CD/DVD slot. :)

I burn music CDs at home using a very old Lacie CD/DVD recorder, and also upload music to my computers from my collection of CD's, but I haven't listened very much to any of the CD's I have burned at home. Yes, do I have a couple of good quality CD/DVD players at home, and a ton of original music in CDs and copies. The reason for copying the original CD is to preserve the original and keep it nearly pristine.

I forgot to mentions that both my wife and I enjoy watching the the older movies we have collected in DVD form for quite a good number of years. We don't like watching any of the movies made in the West (US, EU, AU) and so on in recent years.
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This is good to do as over time CDs etc. can deteriorate depending on the pressing quality. This can be about 10 years old and older. When disk media first came out, it was marketed that disk media would last for 100 years..yeah right.

But most CD music in my old collection (over 30 years) most are ok. Just better to have a back copy and rip everything to iTunes or .mp3 or m4a and have that also as a back or just use and store away the original CD’s or disk media. That is what I have found as the best. Can’t trust Apple or Amazon etc. to keep it available even though you technically “buy” it.
 
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AlaskaMoose said:
I am not returning to using physical media such as CD's and DVD's, since I am still using them. The problem for me is that it is nearly impossible to find a car multimedia head unit (receiver) with CarPlay and Android Drive (?) connectivity that has a CD/DVD port. I would like to replace the factory head unit or receiver in my 2013 Tundra truck with one of these new multimedia receivers I mention above, but it seems that there is not enough demand for CD/DVD anymore.
Click to expand...
If you already have a CD player, you might want to consider just going with an external carplay screen. That's what I did. It was cheap and easy, and works really well.
 
Yes and no. Sadly things like PC games, I don't have a lot of options for physical media anymore, and my "daily music" I get through Apple Music.

But, I have a rather large laserdisc and LP collection, I've gotten back into collecting BluRay again, and console games I've fully gone back to physical discs (which is easier now that I found a local games shop). The wife and I both prefer physical books and manga.

Right now, the only subscriptions we have are Apple & Applecare One accounts and the Dropbox I use for work. It's actually a relief to not have all these recurring bills again.
 
loby said:
This is good to do as over time CDs etc. can deteriorate depending on the pressing quality. This can be about 10 years old and older. When disk media first came out, it was marketed that disk media would last for 100 years..yeah right.

But most CD music in my old collection (over 30 years) most are ok. Just better to have a back copy and rip everything to iTunes or .mp3 or m4a and have that also as a back or just use and store away the original CD’s or disk media. That is what I have found as the best. Can’t trust Apple or Amazon etc. to keep it available even though you technically “buy” it.
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I alredy did that (10 years ago) But as a very silly person I love the Japanese imports.
 
I like holding a record album say the who who’s next and realizing i have had it since 1971 or so maybe 1972. you hold the album and maybe think of your friends from way back then and give it a play.
 
I have kept all my CD and vinyl, and I still buy both for music that is not available on streaming services.
 
Pecka said:
I have kept all my CD and vinyl, and I still buy both for music that is not available on streaming services.
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Nowadays one can digitize music on vinyl using record players, although some the best of these players can cost a small fortune, but there are a few that cost around $500.00 USD that work quite well because they can have USB, RCA, and other ports. I kept a stack of the vinyl I purchased through the years, including The Wall and a few other Pink Floyd albums, Stix, and several other groups who's names I don't remember :)
 
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AlaskaMoose said:
Nowadays one can digitize music on vinyl using record players, although some the best of these players can cost a small fortune, but there are a few that cost around $500.00 USD that work quite well because they can have USB, RCA, and other ports. I kept a stack of the vinyl I purchased through the years, including The Wall and a few other Pink Floyd albums, Stix, and several other groups who's names I don't remember :)
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Yes, I'm going to digitize all my vinyl soon it will be an experience. :)
 
I love the idea of physical media, but more for nostalgia than anything else. I stripped back CD's only earlier this year, kept the stuff that's holds a memory (inc. a few cassette tapes), or is hard to get hold of, or would be gutted if my HD's/SSD's died and I lost (lots of old vinyl rips from my Dj'ing days that never saw the light of day for example).

I want my kids to be able to have the same experiences as me-going to a shop, pining over an album or a film for weeks, grasping at any little snippet of that song on the Radio whilst they save their pocket money until they have enough to get it. But, the reality is, they won't ever experience this because they world isn't the same place it was when I was 10. There aren't the shops in my town that there used to be so that experience has gone. Yes, they do know what CD's are-we still have a player in the car, they've seen my CD's in storage; but even when we had a CD/cassette player in the house, they just weren't interested. A great deal of my musical influence comes from what my parents used to play and what was on the radio-the tactile element was just a bonus, but I will admit, did add to the experience. As long as I keep playing my music, keep the radio on, and watching wholesome, decent 'vintage' (80's & 90's prob. is vintage isn't it?!) films and TV shows with them, then I feel I can still pass on the values and share the experiences that were instilled in me when I was younger-the memory is just as important! I buy just as much as I stream, so if the streaming services get cancelled, I still have access to a decent amount of stock. And actually, there is some stuff that my parents had that I couldn't get anywhere, so going on that journey of searching, locating, and finding the film or music was just as 'fun', but made the end result more rewarding: maybe they'll see that in their future.

So, in response to the original post-no, I'm not 😂
 
Pecka said:
Yes, I'm going to digitize all my vinyl soon it will be an experience. :)
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Yes, it should be a good experience, and probably expensive depending on how much you will have to invest on the right record player, the recorder (maybe a computer), and in some instances a DAC unit. But who knows? Maybe somebody else in town, a friend or a friend of a friend, may already have some of these units :)
 
I never let go of my CDs, DVDs, Blu Rays and Ultra HD 4K discs. I still buy copies of the films we value on 4K Ultra HD discs and we have three excellent players. I stream films to assess them but quality is always worse than the 4K Ultra HD discs and I have noticed that the streaming services have a habit of retiring films and TV series we love. So when the internet is down or a streaming service has retired a movie or a favorite TV series we have no problem finding a very high quality copy of a movie or music or TV series to watch and/ or listen to.

On top of that an Ultra HD 4K disc is way superior in both sound and video to anything that the streaming services put out. I also have a 7,000 vinyl disc collection. And I have noticed a rising trend in movies being issued on 4K Ultra HD Discs. Love them and will keep them until they either rot or I am permanently ‘retired’ from this life.
 
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sparksd said:
Upscaled Blu-Rays and 4K DVDs on the proper equipment are better quality - video & audio - than streaming so I stick with physical media.
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Agreed. For some TV shows I don’t mind too much but for movies, especially if it’s a favourite I cannot watch it on streaming. It just pales in comparison to the physical disc and it ends up not being worth watching on streaming.
 
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If I truly like certain media I like owning the physical disc and the artwork / booklet that usually comes with it.

Favourite music albums, movies or documentaries.... I love owning the physical CD or Blu-Ray.
Being older means that nowadays many albums from my youth are currently being re-mastered or re-released as a "super-duper-deluxe" versions, which is cool!

It's so fun again to order the discs ands need to wait a few days, and then actually unpacking it. So much more satisfying than streaming or purchasing it on iTunes Store.
 
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Grew up on physical but gave it all up over time. I do buy a few movies that I really like if I find them while wasting a little time at Goodwill. Usually less the $3.00 and sometimes 50% off.
 
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