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DVDs are the new vinyl records: Why Gen Z is embracing physical media (www.latimes.com)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 11 points 7 months ago (13 children)

I'm curious as to why?

Physical media scratches, rots, burns down, etc. They also require a lot of space, and you can't have it all with you easily.

My FLAC library is got the same or better audio quality, I can backup and copy in seconds for myself or friends, I can carry everything, or just curated playlists, with the toggle of a button, and I can preserve them on any medium I find - mechanical HDs, SD cards, SSDs, etc.

Though I am very curious about vinyl...

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  • [–] 5 points 7 months ago*

    I recently revived my record player and CD player and I've been enjoying three things:

    1. You have to think about what to listen to,
    2. the player is completely offline and separate from the devices you work and communicate on, so nothing will interrupt and you feel you're doing something different, and
    3. it means you listen to whole albums, not mixed up playlists, so you get deeper into it.

    What I don't enjoy is that records in particular are ridiculously expensive now. I don't know who can afford them. So I'm stuck with the records and CDs of my youth and whatever I can find in bargain bins.

    I do also use Qobuz and... other means of obtaining music.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago* (3 children)

    But... those other storage mediums can also get damaged, burn, rot, etc and are also less portable (excluding the SD cards anyway).

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  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago*

    Nothing a decent backup strategy can't mitigate. Also less portable? Between the massive storage available on digital audio players and using jellyfin with something like symphonium digital audio is massively more portable.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago

    But... those other storage mediums can also get damaged, burn, rot, etc

    Sure can. You know what else they can do? Instantly and cleanly copy their data to any other storage device, they can even do so automatically every day!

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago

    Throw a self hosted Jellyfin server in the mix, and you can access your entire FLAC library from any device you want! Your friends can listen at the same time, if you want to give them logins.

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  • [–] -2 points 7 months ago (6 children)

    Your hard drive can be erased in many ways. And soon you wont be able to afford them or be allowed to own them.

    Vinyl lasts forever. Its only damaged if you play it 😐

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  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    Your hard drive can be erased in many ways.

    I'm willing to bet my main SSD, my backup HDD, my FLAC player's SD card, and my laptop SSD all carrying the same file are going to be more durable than a piece of plastic.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (1 child)

    Sure, but that's a lot of work and worry to keep all those backups going and syncd...ugh. I hate dealing with it. Takes hours of my life. Now, you're probably an IT admin or programmer like most people on Lemmy, but I don't have 13 hours to sit on a computer and troubleshoot why Borg won't work on my restic fluffywhatever. I'm sure you'll say "its easy, justtttt..." Yeah, its not easy, I've lived it.

    And in the end, you have a computer hooked to your stereo, the one place I'm trying to escape the constant computing.

    A CD works just fine and I can burn another physical copy if I want it.

    I'm glad your setup works for you! I have a nas packed full of stuff as well but I rarely use it for the reasons listed. Its a hassle.

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  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago*

    Sure, but that's a lot of work and worry to keep all those backups going and syncd

    I think it took me 15 minutes to first install SyncThing and Vorta? I literally haven't worried about this for the last two years

    Now, you're probably an IT admin or programmer

    I'm a biologist :) (though to be fair, mastering in bioinformatics, but this setup came first!)

    And in the end, you have a computer hooked to your stereo, the one place I'm trying to escape the constant computing.

    My stereo is a Gradiente from the 70s, no computers there. My portable player does connect to a computer to sync sometimes... but I do this when charging, so out of mind.

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (2 children)

    They make record players that use lasers so they don’t slowly wear down the grooves

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  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago*

    Those never worked well. They pick up every tiny bit of dust and scratch, far more than a stylus does. If you keep your stylus in good condition, changing it regularly, and set up your tonearm correctly, it shouldn't harm the records.

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