Simpsons DVDs Discontinued

[ZariusTwo]

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/simpsons-showrunner-al-jean-says-no-further-seasons-will-be-released-on-dvd-20150408

Commentaries will continue to be made though.

The indomitable animated franchise will not release any further seasons to DVD. What that means for the future of physical media.

You don't have to look too hard for signs of the slow death of physical media, but here's a particularly cromulent one: "Simpsons" showrunner Al Jean said today that the show will not be releasing any further seasons on DVD.

Fox has released 18 season of "The Simpsons" on DVD — Seasons 1-17 and 20 — and several on Blu-ray, and that, for the forseeable future, is that. Given the much-touted launch of the online "Simpsons World" portal last year, it's not entirely surprising that Fox is choosing to cut bait on physical media, but if a show with as loyal a fanbase as "The Simpsons" can't put up the necessary sales, that doesn't bode well for other shows either. FX has scaled back home video releases for its own shows as well, downgrading "The Americans" and "Louie" from Blu-ray to DVD-only and pushing viewers towards streaming the shows on Amazon Prime, where the visual quality is at least on a par with DVD, if not approaching Blu-ray.

Jean said that he and "The Simpsons" crew will continue to record the elaborate group commentaries — a highlight of the DVDs — and that they should be available through "Simpsons World." And he did not rule out a series-encompassing DVD or Blu-ray set once "The Simpsons" has completed its run. But the launch of "Simpsons World" illustrates the trade-offs in the switch between formats. Yes, you can access any episode you want whenever you want, but the months it took FX to follow through on their initial promise to allow viewers the option of watching the episodes in their original aspect ratio illustrates the shift in control from owner to provider, from buyer to seller. At least, Jean promises, "Simpsons World" won't be charging extra for commentaries, deleted scenes or any other added content. He wrote, "I don't think The Simpsons should ever ask for money without providing you a cheap toy."

[BubblyShell22]

That's a shame for those of us who can't watch on "Simpsons World." Then again, you could always watch them on FXX anyway. Whatever.

[Leo656]

Horse sh*t. Predictable horse sh*t, but still horse sh*t.

At least put out Seasons 18 and 19, for f*ck's sake. I could somewhat understand stopping at Season 20 and everyone who collects them having the first 20 seasons, that's one thing, but to just leave out two whole seasons for "Eh, don't give a sh*t" reasons is just plain stupid. It's not like they're gonna go broke printing them and enough people would still probably buy them to make it worth it.

Ten years from now, everything is going to be on the internet and every time you want to watch something, they're gonna charge a buck and change to your credit card. Those without credit cards or stable internet connections simply won't be able to watch shows. And we continue on the path of "Nobody owns anything, you just rent it for a little while," and anyone who doesn't have the means can simply go f*** themselves. Because unless you can be tracked electronically by corporations, or feel like handing out your credit information every time you want to watch goddamn TV, You Don't Count.

Yay.

[The Stryker]

Who would honestly spend money on any of the seasons past 10 anyway?

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Who would honestly spend money on any of the seasons past 10 anyway?

Completionists.

[The Stryker]

completionists.

there are limits!

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

there are limits!

You do understand the definition of the word "completionist", right? :twink:

[CyberCubed]

I stopped collecting Simpsons DVDs at Season 10. I pretend the Simpsons Movie is the "series finale" and leave it at that.

All you need is the first 10 seasons, the movie, and maybe a small handful of good episodes from the following seasons that you can cherry-pick online and that's it.

[BubblyShell22]

Horse sh*t. Predictable horse sh*t, but still horse sh*t.

At least put out Seasons 18 and 19, for f*ck's sake. I could somewhat understand stopping at Season 20 and everyone who collects them having the first 20 seasons, that's one thing, but to just leave out two whole seasons for "Eh, don't give a sh*t" reasons is just plain stupid. It's not like they're gonna go broke printing them and enough people would still probably buy them to make it worth it.

Ten years from now, everything is going to be on the internet and every time you want to watch something, they're gonna charge a buck and change to your credit card. Those without credit cards or stable internet connections simply won't be able to watch shows. And we continue on the path of "Nobody owns anything, you just rent it for a little while," and anyone who doesn't have the means can simply go f*** themselves. Because unless you can be tracked electronically by corporations, or feel like handing out your credit information every time you want to watch goddamn TV, You Don't Count.

Yay.

Yep, you've hit the nail on the head for those who want to collect all of the seasons on DVD. And even if you get a complete box set, that's going to cost even more if you've got twenty plus seasons over a number of discs. So, yeah, this is stupid, especially as the show is still going.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

It used to be you bought your VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray and you owned it. You owned a high-quality product. Over time, the edges of the case might get scratched, the paper inside might get a little worn, the disc ended up being a bit scratched... but that's what made it yours, dammit, and it wasn't like anybody else's in that fashion.

Now they put ridiculously compressed copies of episodes on iTunes, Amazon, etc. for ridiculous amounts of money and even then you have to wait for it to download, and if you're streaming I hope to God you have decent internet speed.

Instead of wisely keeping the high-quality material on physical media and putting lesser quality copies on online stores, companies are phasing out physical media... but keeping the material on web stores low-quality.

Physical media ALWAYS trumps digital in terms of quality and character, NO MATTER WHAT. That crappy iPod you'll replace in a year anyway can't even be compared to a CD jewel case or a vinyl sleeve.

And your film collection "in the cloud" is nowhere as impressive as a shelf of films and TV shows collected over years, maybe even decades.

And in terms of video and audio quality - Digital HD may be better than a DVD in terms of video, but I'm sure the DVD has better audio quality (the 2012 TMNT show has stereo on iTunes. Its DVD has 5.1 surround @448kbps. That's a HUGE difference). And a Blu-ray is far more impressive than anything bought on iTunes.

Anything you buy on iTunes or Amazon pales in comparison to the audio quality of CD or even a vinyl. iTunes files are loud, compressed, and poor-sounding because they're mastered to be that way. CDs are better in terms of audio quality, and vinyl physically isn't able to be that loud, so that's nice.

I don't care about The Simpsons at all... but it shows what a pathetic turn home video is taking. The consumer today gets less quality, less control, and less ownership.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

It used to be you bought your VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray and you owned it. You owned a high-quality product. Over time, the edges of the case might get scratched, the paper inside might get a little worn, the disc ended up being a bit scratched... but that's what made it yours, dammit, and it wasn't like anybody else's in that fashion.

Now they put ridiculously compressed copies of episodes on iTunes, Amazon, etc. for ridiculous amounts of money and even then you have to wait for it to download, and if you're streaming I hope to God you have decent internet speed.

Instead of wisely keeping the high-quality material on physical media and putting lesser quality copies on online stores, companies are phasing out physical media... but keeping the material on web stores low-quality.

Physical media ALWAYS trumps digital in terms of quality and character, NO MATTER WHAT. That crappy iPod you'll replace in a year anyway can't even be compared to a CD jewel case or a vinyl sleeve.

And your film collection "in the cloud" is nowhere as impressive as a shelf of films and TV shows collected over years, maybe even decades.

And in terms of video and audio quality - Digital HD may be better than a DVD in terms of video, but I'm sure the DVD has better audio quality (the 2012 TMNT show has stereo on iTunes. Its DVD has 5.1 surround @448kbps. That's a HUGE difference). And a Blu-ray is far more impressive than anything bought on iTunes.

Anything you buy on iTunes or Amazon pales in comparison to the audio quality of CD or even a vinyl. iTunes files are loud, compressed, and poor-sounding because they're mastered to be that way. CDs are better in terms of audio quality, and vinyl physically isn't able to be that loud, so that's nice.

I don't care about The Simpsons at all... but it shows what a pathetic turn home video is taking. The consumer today gets less quality, less control, and less ownership.

Dude, I just wanna hug you. :tlol: If all it is is a digital file, you don't FREAKING OWN IT. Not permanently.

And yeah, I've maybe seen one full episode of the Simpsons in my entire life. Not my thing. But crap like this gets my blood boiling.

[Cure]

I prefer streaming over physical, so I won't be upset if this is the start of the trend.

I never would have given shows like Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, and Rescue Me a chance if they weren't on Netflix. Now they're some of my favorite shows ever. I don't need to clutter my place with boxes to impress people.

[CyberCubed]

I was born in the 80's so physical media is a must for me. I only buy digital when there's no other choice and even than that's rare.

Sadly with the new generation of kids growing up in the recent decade when they become adults they're probably going to prefer all streaming. Blu-ray players will become a thing of the past, everything will be digital.

[The Stryker]

And your film collection "in the cloud" is nowhere as impressive as a shelf of films and TV shows collected over years, maybe even decades.


Neither are impressive man.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Neither are impressive man.

Pride of ownership, man...

[The Stryker]

Pride of ownership, man...

I don't know. I guess I'm not wowed by someone buying a bunch of dvds and putting them on a shelf. I don't view on the same level of pride as owning a house or whatever.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

I get where you're comin' from. But isn't it neat to go to someone's house and see a shelf full of movies or video games to just browse through?

I think it is, at least.

[The Stryker]

I get where you're comin' from. But isn't it neat to go to someone's house and see a shelf full of movies or video games to just browse through?

I think it is, at least.

Not really. It's just a bunch of dvds. I get the same feeling looking through the movie section at any number of retail stores.

[Leo656]

I live kind of sort of in the woods and my internet connection drops out every 10-15 minutes, on average, and we have what's supposedly the "highest-quality service" in the area. Some people are geographically f*cked. I can barely watch a music video on YouTube without it stalling out, and I live in the suburbs, not the mountains or whatever. There's a large chunk of people in this country, and more throughout the world, still using dial-up. People don't like to talk about it, but it's true! And they shouldn't be punished and prevented from watching TV shows or movies, or playing video games, or listening to music, simply because of circumstances they have little to no control over. Not everyone has stable, reliable, affordable, "one click and you're there" internet service, and the number of people who don't is much larger than people think.

And if you remember the protests from those same consumers when Xbox One was originally supposed to be "always online", the corporations' attitudes towards those people is more or less, "F*ck 'em, they can move. They're not the ones paying us, so they're invisible for all we care." Which is horrible.

Also, every single thing TheSkeletonMan939 said. Basically, both forms of media have their ups and downs but you need to give people options.

[Katie]

I'm definitely for not adding clutter. Im from the same timeframe at you too, cubed. I just prefer having a few favorites and anything else can stay electronic. I definitely prefer tv series to stay electronic. Those are too big and bulky in physical form.

As for getting choices, I'd love to be able to ride my horse to work and around town to do my errands. He's eco friendly and hay is cheaper than gas. But none of these darn places have hitching posts and there's no stables for him at work. Sometimes progress means that you adapt. If not you become obsolete. Like me riding Cajun around town. Cars are just better transportation these days. Next decade maybe personal flying vehicles then cars are obsolete.

[Leo656]

So, people who live in the midwest or the mountains with weak internet connections can just move, or else they just don't deserve to watch TV, play video games, or listen to music. Because they're cavemen and who cares.

Hah. Super.

[Cure]

I'm definitely for not adding clutter. Im from the same timeframe at you too, cubed. I just prefer having a few favorites and anything else can stay electronic. I definitely prefer tv series to stay electronic. Those are too big and bulky in physical form.

As for getting choices, I'd love to be able to ride my horse to work and around town to do my errands. He's eco friendly and hay is cheaper than gas. But none of these darn places have hitching posts and there's no stables for him at work. Sometimes progress means that you adapt. If not you become obsolete. Like me riding Cajun around town. Cars are just better transportation these days. Next decade maybe personal flying vehicles then cars are obsolete.


Yo, you have a horse? I'm coming over.

[Jester]

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--8KG_4Ogh--/a9rp9h3cstoekdcnehmi.jpg

Sorry....just first thing that popped to mind.


On topic: I like physical media, because you know that baring it being destroyed in some way, you have it. Things come and go on streaming services. Digital files can be lost...or at the very least the rights can be. Simpsons is a HUGE franchise and I'd be hard pressed to want to own all of that (that and since it's now incomplete, it seems silly) but I can understand why fans would be disappointed.

[Leo656]

I only own the first two seasons, personally, but I like having the option. I do like having complete sets of things, even though yeah, that show is kind of a behemoth (and frankly, the packaging is pretty unforgivably extravagant), so who knows if I'd ever get around to completing it. But again, I like the idea of knowing I could if I felt like it.

[CyberCubed]

I am never giving up physical media. How do people complain about clutter? Buy a bookshelf and fill it with DVDs or videogames. That's what I do.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Or you could fill it with *gasp* BOOKS! That way you could learn something, at least. Kidding. I can't stand the Simpsons most of the time, but trends like this are ridiculous.

[sdp]

I stopped buying around Season 8 or so I did plan to get them all at one point but my interest in owning physical media kept diminishing and now I have no interest. I do think a show as iconic as The Simpsons deserves and needs to be released completely in physical media, hell I find it hard to believe that it is not profitable, maybe it's just not as profitable as it once was, if they can sell obscure TVshows on DVD the Simpsons should be no problem. There has to be so many fans who want a complete series that it can't be unprofitable to sell lower print limited runs over the internet of each season.

With that said what does being born in the 80s have to do with physical media being a must? I loved physical media but owning digital or streaming is obviously the better choice which is why physical media is dying and it's dying because older people prefer not to have physical media, it's not like it's people who are 20 and younger the ones who drive sales. Blu-Ray players ARE a thing of the past because people just find the alternative more convenient. Yeah physical media creates clutter and putting things on a bookshelf doesn't help things if you have an averagely sized DVD/BR collection. I like having space instead of clutter in my house and I have no need to have so many TV shows or movies that I don't watch regularly, there's no point of it taking up space. Sure if you're a completist or collector go for it but don't shove the mentality of having to own everything to more casual people. Sure we all got into a completist mentality back when DVDs were cheap in the 2000's but that phase has passed.

I used to live in the midwest as well in rural flippin' Missouri and it took me a while to finally get broadband...and I still got broadband back in 2002. Hell, now I've lived in plenty of places with terrible infrastructure but still broadband was available. I'm sorry but not having accessibility to reliable broadband in this day and age is a pretty damn difficult scenario in most countries. Sure there will always be places that have bad electricity or other basic needs but you can't stop progress because of that. If your argument is data caps or 4k resolution over the internet sure you have a point right now since most people can't handle that but as time passes that will stop being a problem as well.

Now I don't have FX, how long is The Simpsons deal with FX for? I mean after a few years I'm sure another company like Netflix/Hulu/Amazon will get the show and it'll be easier for people to watch. I've been on a Simpsons itch lately and I'd definitely would like to watch all of the Simpsons episodes one day. I wish the show would end very soon and on a bang but we'll see.

[Cure]

Now I don't have FX, how long is The Simpsons deal with FX for?

Considering it's on FXX which is a channel owned by Fox which owns The Simpsons, I'd say for a good long while.

[Leo656]

owning digital or streaming is obviously the better choice

Explain. Explain why, other than, "Less clutter", which is admittedly convenient, but not as convenient as, say, being able to actually watch what you want, when you want to, hassle-free, forever, without having to pay more than once for it, or worrying if you have adequate service where you happen to live to even view it, or whatever.

Again, I don't exactly live in a cave, just near the woods, in central NJ. It is almost physically impossible to watch an entire episode of any show online where we live, because the connection drops constantly, at random, for anywhere from 30 seconds to several minutes. It's a consistent problem, even after switching providers three times. And the problem is called, "Online service ain't perfect and sh*t happens." People shouldn't have to put up with that because "technology moves forward". If it creates entirely new problems, it's not moving forward, it's moving sideways. You solve a "lack of space" problem, and create a whole new "some people just can't even watch the sh*t" problem. That is not progress.

Meanwhile, I can put a disc in a tray and watch/play/listen to hours of content uninterrupted, internet connection or no. So, no, digital streaming is NOT "obviously" a better choice. It's only a better choice if you're short on space... and I'm sorry, but those things don't take up that much room.

Point being, digital is not "obviously" better or more convenient; for some, it's far LESS convenient, and in fairness to those people, those consumers who decide with their own money which format they prefer, there needs to remain a physical option to view/play/listen to media. Taking away that option is unfair. The "better" choice, or rather, the Best choice, is to even have a choice.

[The Stryker]

I can't get mad at these companies for ditching or scaling down physical media when it's dying.

At some point they're just wasting money putting it out there on dvd if it's only going to sell a couple of copies. It's a business afterall.

[Wildcat]

Such BS. I think streaming is really overrated. I can understand pay-per-view rentals and subscribing to Netflix and such for people who want convenience but this trend of physical formats getting brushed off just feels pretentious to me for some reason.

I still think they'll eventually put out some epic series set once it's over. Way too profitable to pass up but the Simpson's isn't even the point. The point is physically owning something is actually owning something.

Using the clutter argument is just dumb. It's not even about showing off a collection. It's about seeing something you're proud to actually own. The special covers, cases and such. Pretty much everything we buy other than food and clothes could be counted as clutter.

I really don't think all movies and shows will become digital and physical media will end. I think it's more-so a trend of "oh look everything is available whenever I want". That's nice and should not end either but people are becoming tv and format snobs.

[Leo656]

Lots of shows are Manufactured On Demand rather than mass-produced. You order it, they produce it, you pay them, they send it, you own it. Everybody wins.

If it's an option that "makes sense" for shows like Superboy that me and five other people are ever going to buy, then it should make even more sense for a show like The Simpsons that, internet snark aside, tons of people still watch, enjoy, and would gladly pay to own on disc. Meanwhile, the exact same company that owns the show and is paying to manufacture the discs is still making a profit from the sales of both physical and digital, leaving them way in the black when all is said and done. They're never going to go broke or even lose anything by manufacturing a few discs for those who prefer it that way. Not ever.

It doesn't have to be One or The Other. Nor should it be. There is plenty of room for both. The only thing that happens when physical media goes away, is that stores close, the economy shrinks and jobs disappear. So yeah, Big Picture? That's a real problem that's way, way bigger than, "I need space on my junk shelf."

But hey. "Convenience".

[sdp]

You missed the point in my post that says for the majority it's not a problem, yes Leo you screwed by this change but you have to realize you are a tiny minority of the population that has this problem, I feel for you but that's how it is. Of course all media has different problems, DVD's scratch, DVD players break and the lasers stop working and won't be sold anymore in the future just like VHS players ceased, DVD's get disc rot which makes them useless. Nothing is forever. Streaming is the most convenient but of course it has the whole license issue. The problem is solved by buying it digitally, in this case you own it now and can watch it forever, make back up copies in case your HDD fails etc, play at any moment with just a click making it far better than DVD's, internet connection is only required when you download it for the first time and you only need to pay for it once. I'm sorry but digital is literally better than DVD unless you want a physical product in your house. Now digital being better than Blu-Ray is another debate since BR is indeed usually better quality but as time and technology improves this will be a non-issue and for normal people and even geeky people like me we don't even notice the difference even if Mr. Videophile does.

The reality is no one wants DVDs anymore just like no one wanted CD's anymore ten years ago and yet even with audiophiles complaining digital won. Of course there's still CD's but they're a minority of the market now and most audiophiles moved on to Vinyl instead. Fact is people aren't buying DVDs and Blu-Rays never reached the market share that DVDs had in their heyday and the minority of the market that still enjoys them seem to be old people who can't move on to new technologies and collectors. I'm all for people buying physical copies and them existing, especially for a show like the Simpsons but the alternative is better for the majority and in this day and age it's hard to argue that the market cares for movies/shows on physical media, just look at sales charts over the past decade and you can see the trend is not in your favor, you're a dying breed for better or worse. And I agree, there's enough market out there with collectors and the "minority" for physical media to exist just like you can still find CD's now and other small niches, and like I stated in my first post there should be enough fans for some type of release for the simpsons but Fox doesn't care.

[Leo656]

The language you use to defend your position is deplorable. Essentially, what you're saying is, "People need to get with the times or otherwise f*ck off." That's ridiculous. "You're a minority, you're out of touch, you don't matter." I guess my money shouldn't either, right? I hope nobody ever puts you in charge of any company's marketing or PR departments... although you do sound suspiciously like someone who would work for Microsoft.

No, you're wrong. People need to have OPTIONS so they can choose the most convenient experience FOR THEM. Not this, "Get with the times, you old fogey" nonsense. What are you, 12? Do you own stock in Netflix? Why are you so gung-ho to eliminate people's right to choose how they engage in their entertainment?

And regardless of who "won" any kind of format war, anyone who actually cares about quality more than "I need space for more toys or junk or whatever" will tell you, digital stuff, be it music or TV/movies, looks and sounds like sh*t compared to physical media. You absolutely sacrifice Quality for "convenience". Well, that's fine for you, if that's what YOU prefer. *I* don't want to be forced to choose something that's openly inferior and, to me, LESS convenient, just because "Them's the breaks".

There is, once again, NO reason at all to force things to be all one or the other. Like Wildcat said, only format snobs want that. "I like streaming better, so everything else needs to go away." No, you're wrong to force other people to adapt to your own standards and preferences that have nothing at all to do with them or what they prefer.

[The Stryker]

More and more people are jumping on the stream and digital train. Is it wrong? Of course not. But you can't get mad just because companies decide to cater to a growing majority audience. It looks like this is the future for not just home media but television in general. It's not that anyone is actively trying to eliminate dvds and blu rays. They're just dying off on their own.

DVD sales have been dipping for years and it seems like people have already chosen the next generation. That's what happens. There's no deeper scary meaning to it. It just happened.

The world isn't going to end over this. We're all going to survive. Just put your hands together like Birdman and make your dreams come true.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

You missed the point in my post that says for the majority it's not a problem, yes Leo you screwed by this change but you have to realize you are a tiny minority of the population that has this problem, I feel for you but that's how it is.

The reality is no one wants DVDs anymore just like no one wanted CD's anymore ten years ago and yet even with audiophiles complaining digital won. Of course there's still CD's but they're a minority of the market now and most audiophiles moved on to Vinyl instead. Fact is people aren't buying DVDs and Blu-Rays never reached the market share that DVDs had in their heyday and the minority of the market that still enjoys them seem to be old people who can't move on to new technologies and collectors. I'm all for people buying physical copies and them existing, especially for a show like the Simpsons but the alternative is better for the majority and in this day and age it's hard to argue that the market cares for movies/shows on physical media, just look at sales charts over the past decade and you can see the trend is not in your favor, you're a dying breed for better or worse. And I agree, there's enough market out there with collectors and the "minority" for physical media to exist just like you can still find CD's now and other small niches, and like I stated in my first post there should be enough fans for some type of release for the simpsons but Fox doesn't care.

Yeah, the problem with that argument is that while it may be true where YOU live, it's not true everywhere. I live in rural, small-town Texas, and guess what? The majority of people around her have the same problem. Internet providers are few, some areas aren't even COVERED, and people have to rely on actual stores for most of their movies/music. I visit my local Wal-Mart (the only large chain store in a ten-mile radius) on an almost daily basis, and I am constantly seeing DVD's and Blu-Rays flying off the shelves for "new" series/recent seasons of long-running ones. There are plenty of other parts of the country with this same issue- internet access sucks, people can't GET access because they live in a region that's not covered, etc. So those people have to suck it up and not get to watch (fill in the blank) just because some company big-wig doesn't think physical media is profitable in the core test-regions? BS.

The problem isn't that people don't want CD's or DVD's anymore, it's that the availability has gone way down because companies think it's easier and more profitable to NOT MAKE THEM. Because production uses materials and resources that cost the company money, while a stream or digital copy costs literally NOTHING to make. It's a few minutes of uploading a copy into the ether where millions of people can just keep paying for the SAME FILE again and again, without any materials or labor being spent on it. And as others mentioned, the "death" of physical media (more like murder, really) is causing loss of jobs (video stores, fewer made meaning workers in the factories get laid off, less shipped means less profit, etc) and is self-fulfilling because the people in charge WANT it to happen.

[sdp]

Again while I don't care for physical media and it doesn't affect me if it's sold. I only post arguments as to why physical media is dying and I'm mostly debating because a loud minority acts like people want physical media when it's far from the opposite, you don't have to believe me, just google for dvd sales over the past ten years.

Maybe I chose some of my words poorly in some parts of my post but the message is the same, yes you are a minority and to the market you don't matter. Yes your money doesn't matter to big companies because you are a indeed a minority, that's not meant to be a bad thing just that you are, hell I'm a minority in many things. It is indeed a case of having to get with the times because you are angry that you now have to go to a specialty store to buy horse shoes instead of at the normal store where they only sell tires now even if horse power is superior to you it's not to the majority. And yes people vote with their wallets and they aren't voting for physical media which is why companies are ceasing to make those products. They just don't sell, you'll make the company lose a lot of money if you keep doing it. Big companies don't care for your convenience, they care about profits and they get profits by giving people what they want which in this case the majority has chosen digital. I'm not here to eliminate people's right to choose, if companies make physical copies available then great, but if the don't I'm posting the reasons they have chosen not to do so which while it may suck for people who liked it the old way it's just the way things are.

As far as quality it really depends, of course a service like spotify won't have the best quality but that's what people prefer. I can still buy lossless audio digitally and it sounds a lot better than physical CD's I used to own. I'm also a bit of an audiophile but even I can't tell the difference between very high quality lossless recordings. Some people do but they are a niche. You can easily get Vinyls nowadays and more and more bands keep releasing vinyl's for a niche audience. It's profitable enough to do and that's great. I do hate sacrificing quality as a completist myself and I'm concerned about it as well. Digital has other flaws but most of the ones you post about are not it. Digital is not all evil and it's hear to stay and physical media will continue to die over the years, don't blame me for it, the market is the one that is speaking and companies are making decisions accordingly. Physical media isn't going anywhere for the next few years anyway and digital will only get better. Sadly it can't be "both" ways because there isn't a market big enough but there can definitely be a niche.

Again in my first post I mention there is no reason The Simpsons shouldn't be finished as physical media, it sucks. Digital is here to stay though as decided by the market and I personally have no problems with that.

edit:first link after a few seconds on google http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/1/5670786/sony-earnings-adjustment-impairment-charges

[Leo656]

Stryker: So, it's your position then that retail stores are NOT closing by the hundreds, people are NOT losing their jobs by the thousands, and this is NOT going to be a huge problem in the near future, despite those jobs - which for decades were considered stable, if unremarkable forms of employment for people of all age groups and demographics all over the country - not being replaced by anything else? All in the name of, "I want more shelf space." This isn't something you see as a concern?

Interesting. That's interesting. I'm personally pretty concerned any time I see a "leap forward in technology" that leaves thousands of people with suddenly far fewer employment options, at all positions from manufacturing to transporting to retail.

I guess they can just go on their iPad and pluck a new job from the Career Tree! I mean, they were only a greeter at Best Buy in the first place because that's all they could find, but hey, should be easy enough to just transition into, I'unno, a career in applied sciences, or whatever.

Any way people slice it, an all-digital future is only good for the content providers, aka The Corporations. Everybody else loses out in some way. People should not be rushing to embrace this so openly. Then again, people are pretty short-sighted in general nowadays.

sdp: There absolutely is a market big enough because plenty of people still say they want Both Options. Only the corporations want to make it All One Way. There is zero way they would lose even one penny if they were to continue manufacturing discs for the people who WOULD pay for them; they just want to shift to digital so they can take away "ownership" and screw people over into perpetuity with all these shady "licensing agreements" and nonsense. The corporations are the bad guys, why would you defend them for taking away a person's choice? That makes zero sense. For the umpteenth time, "Them's the breaks" is no answer, come up with something better.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

I only post arguments as to why physical media is dying and I'm mostly debating because a loud minority acts like people want physical media when it's far from the opposite, you don't have to believe me, just google for dvd sales over the past ten years.

Maybe I chose some of my words poorly in some parts of my post but the message is the same, yes you are a minority and to the market you don't matter. Yes your money doesn't matter to big companies because you are a indeed a minority, that's not meant to be a bad thing just that you are, hell I'm a minority in many things. It is indeed a case of having to get with the times because you are angry that you now have to go to a specialty store to buy horse shoes instead of at the normal store where they only sell tires now even if horse power is superior to you it's not to the majority. And yes people vote with their wallets and they aren't voting for physical media which is why companies are ceasing to make those products. They just don't sell, you'll make the company lose a lot of money if you keep doing it. Big companies don't care for your convenience, they care about profits and they get profits by giving people what they want which in this case the majority has chosen digital. I'm not here to eliminate people's right to choose, if companies make physical copies available then great, but if the don't I'm posting the reasons they have chosen not to do so which while it may suck for people who liked it the old way it's just the way things are.

Sadly it can't be "both" ways because there isn't a market big enough but there can definitely be a niche.



Again, he's NOT a minority. There are millions of people who live in areas just like his- and mine. That's a big chunk of the market, my friend. A large geographical chunk of the country has these issues, especially those living in rural areas- which BTW is a MUCH larger demographic than you think. Farm communities and mountain areas are pretty much screwed over by this thinking, because many times, the service just ISN'T THERE. I repeat- YOU CAN'T "BUY DIGITAL" AND GET WITH THE TIMES, IF THE SERVICE DOESN'T EXIST WHERE YOU LIVE!! A great example, is that there is ONE cable/internet provider in the town I live in, but because my apartments are on the edge of town, outside their "area", we can't get service. I have to tether to my hubby's phone to get net AT ALL. And it uses my phone's data, so- yeah- once I go over the high-speed limit, that's it. No streaming, because it takes HOURS to watch ONE FLIPPING EPISODE OF TURTLES! It's ridiculous, but since I can't get cable OR net, I have to wait until it's on you-tube or a cartoon viewing site, and if I'm over the limit, forget it. I'm in a part of the country where you're basically stuck with what you can get. And that's a common problem west of the Mississippi. Rural towns don't have the infrastructure to even provide reliable access, large companies don't provide to many areas because the profit margin is too low (people mostly work in lower-paying jobs), and the end result is that the supply ends up dictating the demand, instead of the other way around.

You say they don't sell, but that's hogwash. They SELL just fine. They just don't GET SOLD because they don't MAKE them to begin with! You can't sell what you didn't even produce, duh! When I can go to Wal-Mart, and see only seven or eight copies of Nick's Korra on the shelf, go back three days later and ALL are gone, and they NEVER get any more in, it's NOT lack of sales, it's lack of PRODUCTION. THAT's what's "killing" DVD/Blu-Ray. Not digital media.


Stryker: So, it's your position then that retail stores are NOT closing by the hundreds, people are NOT losing their jobs by the thousands, and this is NOT going to be a huge problem in the near future, despite those jobs - which for decades were considered stable, if unremarkable forms of employment for people of all age groups and demographics all over the country - not being replaced by anything else? All in the name of, "I want more shelf space." This isn't something you see as a concern?

Interesting. That's interesting. I'm personally pretty concerned any time I see a "leap forward in technology" that leaves thousands of people with suddenly far fewer employment options, at all positions from manufacturing to transporting to retail.

I guess they can just go on their iPad and pluck a new job from the Career Tree! I mean, they were only a greeter at Best Buy in the first place because that's all they could find, but hey, should be easy enough to just transition into, I'unno, a career in applied sciences, or whatever.

Any way people slice it, an all-digital future is only good for the content providers, aka The Corporations. Everybody else loses out in some way. People should not be rushing to embrace this so openly. Then again, people are pretty short-sighted in general nowadays.

sdp: There absolutely is a market big enough because plenty of people still say they want Both Options. Only the corporations want to make it All One Way. There is zero way they would lose even one penny if they were to continue manufacturing discs for the people who WOULD pay for them; they just want to shift to digital so they can take away "ownership" and screw people over into perpetuity with all these shady "licensing agreements" and nonsense. The corporations are the bad guys, why would you defend them for taking away a person's choice? That makes zero sense. For the umpteenth time, "Them's the breaks" is no answer, come up with something better.


Yup. You're exactly right, Leo. Agree 110%.

[sdp]

These are my last comments on digital vs physical but to turn the conversation back to The Simpsons. I'm taking a wild guess that the uproar from all of this will definitely cause something even if it's on demand DVDs and a show like The Simpsons is big enough that it'll have some type of official physical release even if it's not for a few years.

sdp: There absolutely is a market big enough because plenty of people still say they want Both Options. Only the corporations want to make it All One Way. There is zero way they would lose even one penny if they were to continue manufacturing discs for the people who WOULD pay for them; they just want to shift to digital so they can take away "ownership" and screw people over into perpetuity with all these shady "licensing agreements" and nonsense. The corporations are the bad guys, why would you defend them for taking away a person's choice? That makes zero sense. For the umpteenth time, "Them's the breaks" is no answer, come up with something better.
There is no conspiracy though (at least here). I'm not defending big faceless corporations but I've studied them, it's what I do for a living and I understand how they work and why they make decisions. Big companies especially need a margin of profit before they consider doing something, a small profit is not worth the investment in something that can cost them a lot more, the go by sales data. In recent years Shout has done a lot of shows on DVD when in the past they only had lesser known licenses but companies prefer to license it to Shout than do it themselves and for a small company like Shout it's worth the risk to release those sets, but in recent years Shout can't even do that anymore, even big releases aren't selling.

The big concern here is preservation and thankfully we have something that helps us with that and that is piracy. Because of that we're able to enjoy things that we wouldn't otherwise. You'll still be able to get bootleg DVDs/blu-ray's of digital content which is the best option when there is no alternative. And look at it on the bright side, how many shows never got a DVD release when DVDs were booming and yet they have found new life on digital services. I'm still waiting for Mighty Max to come out ;)


You say they don't sell, but that's hogwash. They SELL just fine. They just don't GET SOLD because they don't MAKE them to begin with! You can't sell what you didn't even produce, duh! When I can go to Wal-Mart, and see only seven or eight copies of Nick's Korra on the shelf, go back three days later and ALL are gone, and they NEVER get any more in, it's NOT lack of sales, it's lack of PRODUCTION. THAT's what's "killing" DVD/Blu-Ray. Not digital media.

But they don't sell just fine, I've seen the numbers.

[Leo656]

I'll give ya one. Few years ago, we got rocked by a massive hurricane, and our block and the surrounding area had the power knocked out for 12 days. Our internet didn't work, we had no cell service, but we had the generator, and we could plug in the TV and watch DVDs or play video games. Couldn't check emails, forget Netflix or whatever, but we managed to keep busy and stay entertained. Which is a huge deal when you're essentially trapped in your house and can't leave for almost two weeks, in the dark.

Allllthoooooough... I played a lot of Silent Hill, and the fact that right outside my window it looked exactly like that in real life, was aaaaawesome. :lol:

Anyways, that stuff is still important, and to some degree I do think that there are people in these companies who realize that as well. It's just an example as to why physical media should still exist in some form. Because stuff happens; if we'd had to "stream" our entertainment in that scenario, we would've been screwed. So, there's clearly, definitely a place for both physical and digital, absolutely. To me, that's the only thing that makes any real sense: having both available, for maximum convenience all around. If it were my company, I don't see any logic in NOT providing some kind of option for everyone. A few pennies here to print and ship. Oh well, I'm a publicly-traded global corporation; I'll deal with it and make the money back.

I don't buy the argument that companies lose all this money on manufacturing, because it's simply not true. The physical materials cost them a pittance on a DVD set they sell for $20-30. They make a profit on every single one they sell. It's really just "Eh, we don't feel like it, we make enough on digital, it's not gonna cost us anything to make discs but we just don't feel like going through the work of doing it." And I find that just really lazy and arrogant of them.

I mean, companies don't always do things that make any kind of sense when it comes to this stuff. Like Nick, with "Adventures of Pete & Pete"; they made money on the first two seasons, recorded a bunch of commentary tracks and Extras with the cast for the Season 3 DVDs, had them manufactured, ready to ship... and they've been sitting in a warehouse for almost ten years. No real reason; just "Eh, we don't feel like doing it." That's money on the table! Why would you do that? There are reasons... just no good ones. Not to mention those last few seasons of King of the Hill, etc. People want and will pay good money for that stuff... stuff that, in some cases, already exists, and could be making the companies a profit by 9am tomorrow if only they bothered to ship it. Companies just don't always pursue what makes the most sense.

I mean, even if DVDs and Blu-Rays are no longer the dominant source of revenue compared to digital, it's still revenue. So you spend 50 cents to make "only" $1.50; you still made a buck of profit, and why just leave it there just because you can make "a little more" on another angle? Why not work both angles and make ALL the money (and please all of your customers)? All profit is worth pursuing.

[Candy Kappa]

I'm more interested in complete series sets when I want physical copies, so it's no biggie on my part. And Simpsons reruns all the time over here.

[CyberCubed]

Simpsons Seasons 1-10 is really all you need though.

[Leo656]

That's not the poooooint. And some people disagree, besides.

I kind of wonder sometimes what CyberCubed would be like if he didn't have the internet to do all his thinking for him. I mean, c'mon, guy. Don't be such a parrot.

People over the age of 7 never watched Simpsons because it was super-high art in the first place; it's the cartoon version of macaroni and cheese. It's comfort food. You know going in what you're going to get, be it Season 10 or 20. That's all it's there for. People like it. It's "different" than it was when it was on fire, but whatever, it's fine.

Plus, if anyone said, "Season One of the Fred Wolf TMNT is all you need, anyway," you'd argue them on it, despite just as "strong" a case to be made from their perspective. SO HUH.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

This is such a shame. I like to actually own the stuff I pay for.....It's odd, I was checking around the net only a few days ago to see if I could pre-order season 18 anywhere, and thought it was odd when there was no signs, since was had been December time, that I got my hands on season 17. Been an avid collector of these since 2001 and was looking forward, one day to having them all.

I am well aware the show reached its peak within the first 8 seasons or so, but I still enjoy it.

Really pi**ed off with this.:x:x:cry:

[MsMarvelDuckie]

But they don't sell just fine, I've seen the numbers.


OMG. :trolleye: Of COURSE they won't sell if they aren't being produced!! Seriously?! THAT'S your argument?! :teek: When you only SHIP ten copies of something, and they are all gone after a few days, OF COURSE the numbers are going to be low. Big movies like The Hobbit get a few dozen copies, but everything else? You're lucky if they ship out a dozen or so, and after that- "Well, they just aren't selling, so we're just going to do it on-line." That's the DUMBEST excuse EVER. Again, they can't SELL what they don't make or ship. It's that kind of thinking that drove places like Blockbuster out of business- and they HAD been converting over to the "new ways". When the companies that make the movies decide they'd rather force everyone to buy it digitally instead of shelling out a few pennies to make DVD's that will sell for more, they can't complain when the sales figures are low- because they shot themselves in the foot by not making them to begin with!

Numbers only reflect what's sold, NOT what the original supply consisted of- and if it's five copies of Adventure Time or Sleepy Hollow, and no more are ordered or shipped once those are sold, where exactly is the "proof" of your so-called "lack of demand"? There isn't any. Because I can walk into the store and SEE where the sales are, and they ARE there- it's just that the supply is a mere "trickle" compared to the demand. People can't buy what you're NOT selling. It's THAT simple. And that's a decision made by the companies. NOT the consumers, who would certainly buy it if it was, oh, I dunno, available. :trolleye:

As a side-note, many stores now have bargain bins, too, so what doesn't sell right away, will often sell out once it is no longer "hot", and people snatch it up in the clearance bins. I can't stop by the movies section without seeing at least two or three people going through the bargain DVD's looking for something to watch. Trust me, they WILL make their money back on the "unsold" copies- just not as fast. Can't count the number of times I've found something good in those bins, and gone back the next day to find the only copy they had is gone. :tgrumble:

[Cure]

It's tragic how the people who have the knowledge of the inner workings of business and how to make a buck are the ones who have nothing to show for it. Wonder why.

[Leo656]

Not sure if you're implying "people who have friends in the entertainment business should in turn use those connections to work in that business", but if so, I'm fairly certain it doesn't quite work that way. Can't speak for anyone else, but in my case, just because I casually know a greater-than-average number of rich people in a number of fields, that in no way puts them in a position to in turn make me rich. They're just people I know and talk about business with. It's not like they owe me a favor or a living because we worked a show and had dinner together, or anything like that.

I mean yeah, probably should've gone to film school and been a millionaire. Oops. You should've too, though, along with everybody else, so... yeah, not sure where that comment even came from. I'unno if anyone ever mentioned it, but you're a little passive-aggressive, dude.

[The Stryker]

Blockbuster didn't die because of studios not putting out a set amount of dvds. It died because people stopped going. They were all pretty well stocked until it went under.

I wanna know what retail stores are going to go away because of dvds being phased back. Walmart? Target? Best Buy? I doubt it! It just feels like this paranoid doomsday chatter. We will live. Things will change. You're not being eradicated, you're just not being catered to anymore. Doesn't mean you won't get ANYTHING.

I really wanna see the sales figures for the last few Simpsons sets. If they're actually bad, again I cannot blame them for this decision. The sets are probably more expensive to produce than most think. Designing the boxes, designing the menus and testing them. Assembling extras and paying whatever VA's they can wrangle into a commentary booth. The Simpsons releases are not bare bones gray label dvds. Even then the manufacturing process is a decent amount of money.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Blockbuster basically died because of Redbox and its supposed "convenience" which has itself become a passing thing with digital copies and online viewing. Used to be, you could walk into a video rental store, pay a buck or two, and watch whatever you wanted to. Now they charge you online for the same thing- only with no physical product exchanging hands, no human interaction, and no one doing a job that contributes to the economy by providing that service. Now it's a computer server somewhere handling files and taking payment for an imaginary item. Yeah, that's really progress- taking away the jobs that used to go hand in hand with such services, by making them unnecessary(read- useless.). All in the name of "convenience". Spent enough years behind a video counter to know that wiping out an entire industry for the "next big thing" is NOT progress.

[Candy Kappa]

After the vhs tapes got cheaper then $200, and was more available for people, it was only a matter of time until video rental stores outlived their use.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

I would think most Simpsons DVDs sell well??? surely, even the mix DVDs aimed at kids do aswell?

[Leo656]

I wanna know what retail stores are going to go away because of dvds being phased back. Walmart? Target? Best Buy? I doubt it!

Actually Best Buy is in huge trouble for exactly the reasons I laid out, as are other "dedicated" sellers of physical entertainment such as FYE, etc. Many of those stores are being temporarily replaced in the physical location space by Targets and Wal-Marts, but you simply cannot compare the selection available at a Wal-Mart to a store like Best Buy that "just" sells electronics and physical media, and it's those dedicated retailers that are going under in large numbers. Which isn't just bad for consumers, it's bad for jobs.

And like I said, I'm well aware that manufacturing costs money but I highly, highly doubt they go broke doing Simpsons DVDs. Although I will agree that the packaging etc. on the Simpsons sets, specifically, is needlessly extravagant and they probably do themselves no favor with that. Still, I doubt it's breaking their bank.

All in the name of "convenience". Spent enough years behind a video counter to know that wiping out an entire industry for the "next big thing" is NOT progress.

Not to mention, about 15 years ago "identity theft" wasn't a thing, because the amount of people who owned and used credit cards for anything but super-huge purchases was quite small. Meanwhile, at the gym the other day, I had to get new credit card info from three people in the same day who had had their ID stolen and credit cards misused after using their credit cards for various purchases. It even happened to my wife a couple years back. This is the new reality of everything being at the push of a button, and it's a huge problem, but we're supposed to just "deal with it" because "technology". Well, that's wrong, because like you said, it's not "Progress" if it's creating new problems. Corporations insist people push a button and pay with plastic because it's easier to monitor consumers AND the credit card companies get to keep people poor and in debt. If I walk into a physical store and buy something with cash, I don't have any of those issues. BUT, you pretty much can't do that anymore, for BS reasons.

People kinda gotta be asleep at the wheel not to recognize these as real problems, or to write them off as "acceptable". No, someone getting their credit info stolen because they wanted to buy a record or a TV show is never acceptable. It's easy to say "Just deal with it" until it happens to you. It's a huge BS hassle. So, no, an all-digital, push-button society does nobody any good except the banks and the corporations, who have long made a habit of screwing people and calling it "convenience". This is just the latest way. It's really not at all hard to see or figure out.

[Katie]

When the world changes, adapt or die.

There was once a company which made a product that cleaned soot from wall paper. Because back in the day, coal burning furnaces were how you heated houses and coal soot was everywhere in houses. Eventually electric heaters became common and the company with the wall paper cleaner was in financial trouble. The reason they had prospered had ended with an advancement in technology.

However that company was smart. They did not staunchly insist that the world stop technological innovation...they figured out a new way to be prosperous. They discovered that their product was pretty fun to play with and they began to produce their gummy wall cleaner as a toy. And they still exist today

If the market dictates that digital media is the way of the future, then companies will adapt to that market direction or they will go the way of Betamax, Laser disc, and Cassette tapes. When was the last time you used a typewriter? Or a floppy disc, or rode in a wagon to work?

Innovation changes how we live. It isn't a bad thing, just a change. Change is uncomfortable. But change is inevitable so you need to learn to adapt.

[Leo656]

Common Sense Translation:

"Big companies have money and you don't, so bend over."

[CyberCubed]

I would think most Simpsons DVDs sell well??? surely, even the mix DVDs aimed at kids do aswell?

I imagine most hardcore Simpsons fans stopped collecting the DVDs after Season 10. Only the "completists" probably continued to buy every season.

I think a lot of you don't actually realize how much Simpsons fans absolutely hate the newer seasons, or rather the show over the last two decades. Go visit Nohomers.net where most of the Simpsons fandom is, you'll see how much they hate the show on the forums there.

Season 9 is technically considered the last "good" season, but some make an exception for Season 10 as well. After that the show decayed with maybe only a handful of decent eps each season.

[TMNT_Guy]

The problem is solved by buying it digitally, in this case you own it now and can watch it forever, make back up copies in case your HDD fails etc, play at any moment with just a click making it far better than DVD's,

I know you said you were done with this topic, but I would like to say you can already technically do that with DVDs/Blu-rays. All you have to do is download a program, insert the disk, and click a button. Ignoring the legality of that, a lot of Home Video releases today include a digital copy so you have a backup of the movie on disk and a backup on your computer to do with as you please. I can understand if you personally prefer digital only, but I don’t see how it’s any better than physical media.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I can say I won’t be giving of home video releases anytime soon. There are so many DVDs/Blu-Rays out there I can’t keep up! I just got the Great Mouse Detective(My favorite Disney movie), The Rescuers + The Rescuers Down Under, The Land Before Time and Charlotte’s Web 1973 last week. I already preordered Sailor Moon R Part 1(Had to get the little booklet with It.), and I already have my sights on Swat Kats, All in the Family, Samurai Pizza Cats, and the Adam West Batman series, just to name a few.

Speaking of lack of demand, anyone know where I can get Volume three of Adventure of Sonic the Hedgehog? I’ve been searching over a year for a copy. I might just have to get the R2 release of the series where it was released in a complete series box, though that means I’d have to get a region free player…or just rip the missing episodes off the set.

[Leo656]

I think a lot of you don't actually realize how much Simpsons fans absolutely hate the newer seasons, or rather the show over the last two decades. Go visit Nohomers.net where most of the Simpsons fandom is, you'll see how much they hate the show on the forums there.

Pssst. Pssst. Hey. HEY.

The amount of people who care about something enough to whine about it on the internet? Really, really small piece of the general population.

Most "normal" people like the show fine regardless. Judging the popularity of a thing by what the internet fans - the nerdiest of nerds - say about it is flawed. Ask most anyone else, they'll say they just haven't bothered to keep up with it in forever for various reasons, not that they think it suddenly sucks. More like when something's been around forever, you just kind of lean away from it. Besides, there have been people saying it jumped the shark and was "unwatchable" past Season Two. People over-sell everything; that's why they're fanatics.

The fact that there are people who hate it enough to complain about it online doesn't make them representative of the overall population. Just sayin'.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

I imagine most hardcore Simpsons fans stopped collecting the DVDs after Season 10. Only the "completists" probably continued to buy every season.

I think a lot of you don't actually realize how much Simpsons fans absolutely hate the newer seasons, or rather the show over the last two decades. Go visit Nohomers.net where most of the Simpsons fandom is, you'll see how much they hate the show on the forums there.

Season 9 is technically considered the last "good" season, but some make an exception for Season 10 as well. After that the show decayed with maybe only a handful of decent eps each season.

I actually consider the first 8 seasons goldust, but I still enjoy the newer stuff also, just on another level. I guess fans need to understand things never stay the same, maybe stuff that worked in the early 90s wouldn't go down so well with younger generations, plus the world and tech is always changing, and I guess the show went with the flow.

I still want the DVDs, I am not a fan of all this digital stuff. I like to own stuff I pay for. I love the box art, and the DVD interactive menus are so cool.

[CyberCubed]

Simpsons did have an overall decline in quality though, its not just that people got tired of it. The first decade of the show is genuinely one of the funniest comedies/sit-coms ever made, and then Seasons 11-26 are extremely hit or miss, mostly miss.

Not only did the humor decline, but the characterisations of the characters took a dive as well and many of the characters started to feel like parodies of themselves. Not to mention some characters just became downright unlikeable over time due to terrible writing.

[Leo656]

In your opinion.

I happen to like random Family Guy type humor lots of times. So while it's easy to see how The Simpsons isn't what it was - the entire humor of the show is different - it's still just as entertaining from a different direction.

It's definitely different, but to me that's fine. It's gotten goofier and more lowbrow, but that's the type of humor that sells now. The worst I can really say, is that sometimes it's too derivative of McFarlane. But since his stuff owns Sundays on Fox and all the other older shows that didn't follow that style of humor got cancelled, like King of the Hill, it's really easy to see why the Simpsons had to become more that kind of show.

[CyberCubed]

That's not what Simpsons was known for though. It became that way overtime because the writing got worse and Family Guy etc. gained popularity so it started to mimic it.

Simpsons used to be a heartfelt show with good moments. Sure the characters would always do something idiotic overtime, but the episodes had good plots and characters were likeable and relateable. Watching Simpsons Seasons 2-8 especially makes you remember why the show became popular in the first place and why it was such a hit.

[Leo656]

That stuff is still there it's just not as prevalent. They shifted the focus. Oh well. It's been on the air for 300 years, it's kind of naive to think they'd do the exact same stuff that they used to do. Making the same episodes forever would be pretty redundant.

Whether it's to your personal taste isn't really relevant. Just the usual "Band X sucks because their fifth album doesn't sound like their first album" kind of stuff.

[Peanut]

It's tragic how the people who have the knowledge of the inner workings of business and how to make a buck are the ones who have nothing to show for it. Wonder why.

Hahahahaha! Wooosh! Also, self awareness is apparently something you have to be born with.

[Katie]

Common Sense Translation:

"Big companies have money and you don't, so bend over."

No, it's more like: a growing majority of people prefer this new technology so businesses you better figure out how to get into that technology or figure out a different use for your product.

I know you like to buy into conspiracy theories about evil businesses, but really, most of what businesses do is dictated by the market.

Plain and simple, if most people in the country or world preferred physical copies and demanded them, businesses would comply because they would have to in order to stay in business. As it were, that's not the current direction the market is taking. People...the majority of them....prefer digital.

The future of retail is digital. Period. Check out Black Friday brick and mortar sales. Pathetic compared to cyber sales. And brick and mortar stores will bend over backwards to get you in on Black Friday. People these days prefer digital shopping and that includes buying their entertainment digitally.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

That's not what Simpsons was known for though. It became that way overtime because the writing got worse and Family Guy etc. gained popularity so it started to mimic it.

Simpsons used to be a heartfelt show with good moments. Sure the characters would always do something idiotic overtime, but the episodes had good plots and characters were likeable and relateable. Watching Simpsons Seasons 2-8 especially makes you remember why the show became popular in the first place and why it was such a hit.

That stuff is still there it's just not as prevalent. They shifted the focus. Oh well. It's been on the air for 300 years, it's kind of naive to think they'd do the exact same stuff that they used to do. Making the same episodes forever would be pretty redundant.

Whether it's to your personal taste isn't really relevant. Just the usual "Band X sucks because their fifth album doesn't sound like their first album" kind of stuff.


TBH you are both right. I went through a "Simpsons is sh*t" period, around season 11- 16, I didn't even watch it that much. I was looking at it like, the show isn't the same as it was, and the truth is, it isn't as good as it was, but those were different times, and what our generation found funny and heart warming, wouldn't work with a new generation. The show HAD to change to survive. I think if it stayed the same as it was in the early 90s, it would be long gone.

I still enjoy the gags and the characters, some of the stories are really hit and miss, but for the most part I still love it.

[Wingnut]

Digital content is a privilege, a privilege that can be taken away with a keystroke. You don't "own" any of it.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

And that's the most disturbing part, IMHO. You're paying for the privilege of using someone else's property, and they can revoke the privilege at any time, without even giving you a reason, denying access to what YOU paid for.

[DarkFell]

Looking for the first few seasons might be a bit of a challenge for me since I'm not even a constant Amazon customer, but at the same token, I prefer to actually own the stuff that I pay for. So I too am against this idea that all future Simpsons episodes could be made into the stream-only mode; I much like getting free TV and pay for the seasons *that I like* on DVD sets whenever I can find them. I'm spoiled that way.

[Peanut]

Digital content is a privilege, a privilege that can be taken away with a keystroke. You don't "own" any of it.

Can't take DVD's to the grave, brah! YOLO!

[Wingnut]

Can't take DVD's to the grave, brah! YOLO!

You're right. I want to be cremated.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Can't take DVD's to the grave, brah! YOLO!

Sure you can, just like anything else- have 'em buried with you, LOL! Like the Egyptians did.

[The Stryker]

Sure you can, just like anything else- have 'em buried with you, LOL! Like the Egyptians did.

That is the saddest idea I have ever heard.

[Peanut]

I wish I could be alive to witness the tale of the mummy they pull out from a homemade tomb 500 years from now. Decorated from head to toe in MLP memorabilia. Stacks of ancient DVD's piled around them. Anime body pillow melded to the crotch.

[The Stryker]

I wish I could be alive to witness the tale of the mummy they pull out from a homemade tomb 500 years from now. Decorated from head to toe in MLP memorabilia. Stacks of ancient DVD's piled around them. Anime body pillow melded to the crotch.

"He must have been a great king. He has the collectors edition of Saved By The Bell."

[Wingnut]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/GenAn/salter_zpsf52uomo9.gif

[MsMarvelDuckie]

That is the saddest idea I have ever heard.

I wish I could be alive to witness the tale of the mummy they pull out from a homemade tomb 500 years from now. Decorated from head to toe in MLP memorabilia. Stacks of ancient DVD's piled around them. Anime body pillow melded to the crotch.

"He must have been a great king. He has the collectors edition of Saved By The Bell."


Quotes '90 April: "It was a JOKE!"

Admit it guys, you've all thought about having your favorite (fill in the blank) buried with you.

[BubblyShell22]

When the world changes, adapt or die.

There was once a company which made a product that cleaned soot from wall paper. Because back in the day, coal burning furnaces were how you heated houses and coal soot was everywhere in houses. Eventually electric heaters became common and the company with the wall paper cleaner was in financial trouble. The reason they had prospered had ended with an advancement in technology.

However that company was smart. They did not staunchly insist that the world stop technological innovation...they figured out a new way to be prosperous. They discovered that their product was pretty fun to play with and they began to produce their gummy wall cleaner as a toy. And they still exist today

If the market dictates that digital media is the way of the future, then companies will adapt to that market direction or they will go the way of Betamax, Laser disc, and Cassette tapes. When was the last time you used a typewriter? Or a floppy disc, or rode in a wagon to work?

Innovation changes how we live. It isn't a bad thing, just a change. Change is uncomfortable. But change is inevitable so you need to learn to adapt.

So you're basically telling people like me who live in the country who can't get wireless Internet because it's not available here and someone who has broadband Internet where you only get 5GB of data to use every month and if you go over that you get charged for every additional data usage to just adapt or die? Sorry, not going to happen. It's fine for people who have access to good Internet, but as has been stated by Leo, Duckie, and myself, it's just not possible. Not everyone has that type of access, so to just say, "Hey, you need to deal with or miss out" is pretty stupid and narrow-minded.

I'm with Leo in that everyone needs options. Keep the digital but provide physical copies for those who just can't afford to have Netflix or whatever else is out there. You'll generate sales from the people who can't have the digital stuff. And for the record, I still buy CDs and I have no problem with that. Same goes with books.

Just my two cents. Take it or leave it.

[Katie]

What I'm saying is that the market demand drives what businesses do. People who live in areas where digital media is hard to get or use are in the minority in the country. Ad Duckie said, they still do make physical copies of media, but it's a small amount. Because people who buy them are the minority of consumers.

Additionally, if you and the people in you market demand better quality Internet, it will happen eventually.

You people live in much more urban areas than I do. New Jersey? Indiana? Somewhere where you can walk to a Taco Bell and go to work? I live in Alabama. On a mountain. In the woods. And guess what? People in my area wanted better internet and flooded Charter with requests. And I used to get no cell signal until I bugged the crap out of Verizon and got a signal booster installed.

Mostly what I'm hearing and seeing are people who expect businesses to cater to what they need without being vocal about it. If your position is that there are a lot of people who prefer physical copies of media, then those people should put their money where their mouth is and let businesses know that they want to buy physical copies of media.

If you can't afford to do that, which is basically what I'm hearing, and you can't afford to have digital media. Well businesses don't really care about you because you are not their customer

It's like voting. You can't just sit around and b!tch about what is going on and how the politicians aren't doing something for you. You didn't vote for them or anyone else. Why should they care. Buying stuff from businesses is how they know people want something. If you don't buy you aren't their customer and they have no obligation to do anything for you

[sdp]

What I can get from this topic and other posts in general in other parts of the forum made by Leo is that man you have it rough dude, everything you like or use are things that are very specific and it's difficult to market to you since you are such a special case/scenario. Don't get me wrong I like that you are the way you are but yeah you won't find many things catering to your specific needs any time soon.

I know you said you were done with this topic,

Well I'm only "done" with this topic because I don't want to continue repeating the same points over and over and sound like a broken record, I believe I already posted my take on this in a few different ways, I won't continue arguing against incorrect points like "the only reason they don't sell is because they don't make them" which couldn't be any less true but if I find new things in the topic I'll reply.

[Leo656]

Not particularly, actually. I partake of and enjoy lots of things. I simply never treat anything as if it's perfect; I enjoy the fun in what I'm given while simultaneously suggesting ways it can be improved. Contrary to popular internet belief, you can be "satisfied" with something and still critical of it at the same time.

But yeah I probably wouldn't have about 800 DVDs and a comparable number of video games if I was all that hard to please, yea? If anything, I'm too accepting. :lol: I just don't stay quiet if there's something I *didn't* like, and have no problem at all being critical even of things I greatly enjoy. That used to be a thing people did. Now, thanks to interwebs, you either have to completely love or hate something. I don't really work that way, though.

I'm constantly busy and entertained and I'm never, ever bored, so yeah, I'm actually pretty easy.

[BubblyShell22]

What I'm saying is that the market demand drives what businesses do. People who live in areas where digital media is hard to get or use are in the minority in the country. Ad Duckie said, they still do make physical copies of media, but it's a small amount. Because people who buy them are the minority of consumers.

Additionally, if you and the people in you market demand better quality Internet, it will happen eventually.

You people live in much more urban areas than I do. New Jersey? Indiana? Somewhere where you can walk to a Taco Bell and go to work? I live in Alabama. On a mountain. In the woods. And guess what? People in my area wanted better internet and flooded Charter with requests. And I used to get no cell signal until I bugged the crap out of Verizon and got a signal booster installed.

Mostly what I'm hearing and seeing are people who expect businesses to cater to what they need without being vocal about it. If your position is that there are a lot of people who prefer physical copies of media, then those people should put their money where their mouth is and let businesses know that they want to buy physical copies of media.

If you can't afford to do that, which is basically what I'm hearing, and you can't afford to have digital media. Well businesses don't really care about you because you are not their customer

It's like voting. You can't just sit around and b!tch about what is going on and how the politicians aren't doing something for you. You didn't vote for them or anyone else. Why should they care. Buying stuff from businesses is how they know people want something. If you don't buy you aren't their customer and they have no obligation to do anything for you

Wow. Really? It's also the whole "You don't vote so you can't complain" BS again? Guess what. I'm a citizen of this country, and if I want to complain about how politicians are ruining this country, I have every right to do so. I don't vote because I don't trust said politicians because they only care about themselves and not anyone in the country, so I have the right not to vote. Once again, it's this elitist bullsh*t of "Well you have to do this or that or else." F*ck that noise. I live in the country, so where I'm at, we just don't have the means to have Wi-Fi. And there's nothing we can do about that anyway, so we're stuck. And just like I have the right to complain about the crooked politicians, I also have the right to be upset that everything is going digital. Physical media isn't dead yet, but that's not to say it won't die out, and for people like me who don't have access to good quality Internet, we're pretty much screwed. And I have every right to be upset about it. Stop telling me what I can and can't do.

[Katie]

Yep. And while you sit and complain and do nothing to better your situation, the world moves on and no one notices you.

Again, businesses do what they have to in response to market demands. You can be mad all you want to but unless a large majority of people who share your beliefs begin buying DVDs, they're gonna be gone. My guess is in less than a decade

But don't mind me. I only analyze businesses for a living. I make my living understanding why businesses do what they do and where businesses are heading in the future. Newsflash. It isn't based on evil plots or keeping tiny minorities of consumers happy.

The ignorance of how businesses work in this discussion astounds me. Lots of conspiracy theory BS and expectations that market demands shouldn't matter.

[Leo656]

I'm personally pretty "astounded" by how easy it is to know everything about a person's life situation and how to improve it, and even every single thing they ever have or haven't done to improve it, all based on the tiny little bit of information they feel comfortable enough to share with total strangers on a message board.

Of all the things I've ever learned on The Technodrome, "People struggle because they actually just want to" just may be the most important. I never would have considered that to be the case, considering the overwhelming amount of real-life evidence to the contrary!

[MsMarvelDuckie]

So you're basically telling people like me who live in the country who can't get wireless Internet because it's not available here and someone who has broadband Internet where you only get 5GB of data to use every month and if you go over that you get charged for every additional data usage to just adapt or die? Sorry, not going to happen. It's fine for people who have access to good Internet, but as has been stated by Leo, Duckie, and myself, it's just not possible. Not everyone has that type of access, so to just say, "Hey, you need to deal with or miss out" is pretty stupid and narrow-minded.

I'm with Leo in that everyone needs options. Keep the digital but provide physical copies for those who just can't afford to have Netflix or whatever else is out there. You'll generate sales from the people who can't have the digital stuff. And for the record, I still buy CDs and I have no problem with that. Same goes with books.

Just my two cents. Take it or leave it.


Exactly. The sales ARE there- at least when those of us who want them can GET them!


What I'm saying is that the market demand drives what businesses do. People who live in areas where digital media is hard to get or use are in the minority in the country. As Duckie said, they still do make physical copies of media, but it's a small amount. Because people who buy them are the minority of consumers.

Additionally, if you and the people in you market demand better quality Internet, it will happen eventually.

You people live in much more urban areas than I do. New Jersey? Indiana? Somewhere where you can walk to a Taco Bell and go to work? I live in Alabama. On a mountain. In the woods. And guess what? People in my area wanted better internet and flooded Charter with requests. And I used to get no cell signal until I bugged the crap out of Verizon and got a signal booster installed.

Mostly what I'm hearing and seeing are people who expect businesses to cater to what they need without being vocal about it. If your position is that there are a lot of people who prefer physical copies of media, then those people should put their money where their mouth is and let businesses know that they want to buy physical copies of media.

If you can't afford to do that, which is basically what I'm hearing, and you can't afford to have digital media. Well businesses don't really care about you because you are not their customer

It's like voting. You can't just sit around and b!tch about what is going on and how the politicians aren't doing something for you. You didn't vote for them or anyone else. Why should they care. Buying stuff from businesses is how they know people want something. If you don't buy you aren't their customer and they have no obligation to do anything for you.


Last I checked, you "vote" for what you want businesses to do with your wallet. And I DO. Heck, if/when they get stuff I want where I live, I buy them as soon as I can. If not, I'll often buy it on Amazon if there's no other way. So your barking up the wrong tree- most of us who prefer the DVD format (or can't GET digital) vote with our wallets all the time. So, yes, we ARE being vocal- by creating the very demand you claim doesn't exist!

This also leads me to another point- there's a big difference between analyzing businesses for a living, and WORKING in them. I have. I've worked at the actual "business" end of things for long enough to understand how THAT side of it works. When you provide what people want, they WILL buy it. But if it's not available, how CAN they buy it? Your argument makes no sense from a simply "nobody's buying" standpoint- because I've already SAID they ARE. I see it every day. But if there's not ENOUGH supply to keep up with the demand, the numbers are simply going to show "no sales". Well, NO $H*T! And you can't tell me the companies aren't doing that on purpose, they're trying to DRIVE the business into digital, because it's cheaper and easier for THEM. Has more to do with the bottom line than what customers actually want.

Also, for the record, I live in a VERY small town with about 5000 people. In the middle of nowhere. I walk to work (which is tow miles ONE WAY, BTW) because I don't have a car, NOT because it's a quick jaunt down the street. It's actually on the other side of town from me, but hey, you suck it up, right?!! :trolleye:

And you're right, some of us can't afford a Netflix account even if we DID have the "good" net-access that your "majority" do. (PS- I've got news for you, despite what you may believe, the MAJORITY of the country lives IN THE COUNTRY.) The population of mid-American small farm communities and backwater rural areas IS the majority of the US population. That is a fact. It's actually the big-city, urban, high-density areas that are the minority, despite what you might think. Case in point- Texas is the second largest AND second most populous state- and MOST of that population is spread out over the entire state, with only about three or four cities comprising the rest.


Wow. Really? It's also the whole "You don't vote so you can't complain" BS again? Guess what. I'm a citizen of this country, and if I want to complain about how politicians are ruining this country, I have every right to do so. I don't vote because I don't trust said politicians because they only care about themselves and not anyone in the country, so I have the right not to vote. Once again, it's this elitist bullsh*t of "Well you have to do this or that or else." F*ck that noise. I live in the country, so where I'm at, we just don't have the means to have Wi-Fi. And there's nothing we can do about that anyway, so we're stuck. And just like I have the right to complain about the crooked politicians, I also have the right to be upset that everything is going digital. Physical media isn't dead yet, but that's not to say it won't die out, and for people like me who don't have access to good quality Internet, we're pretty much screwed. And I have every right to be upset about it. Stop telling me what I can and can't do.


Yeah, I hate when people make that statement, as if by NOT voting "FOR" something/one, we're not using our voice. Fact is, the refusal to choose between two equally bad options IS using your voice, by not choosing EITHER. I am registered, but I haven't voted in four years, because I'm just disgusted by the whole corrupt process and the morally bankrupt people in office. I'd rather not waste my time voting my "voice" when it doesn't even matter, because the popular vote stopped being important YEARS ago. Now it's just whoever can grease the most palms.


Yep. And while you sit and complain and do nothing to better your situation, the world moves on and no one notices you.

Again, businesses do what they have to in response to market demands. You can be mad all you want to but unless a large majority of people who share your beliefs begin buying DVDs, they're gonna be gone. My guess is in less than a decade

But don't mind me. I only analyze businesses for a living. I make my living understanding why businesses do what they do and where businesses are heading in the future. Newsflash. It isn't based on evil plots or keeping tiny minorities of consumers happy.

The ignorance of how businesses work in this discussion astounds me. Lots of conspiracy theory BS and expectations that market demands shouldn't matter.


No one said anything about "evil conspiracies" but you. Quit putting words in people's mouths. Fact is, businesses look at the least costly/most profitable option, and drive the market toward it through whatever advertising or sales gimmicks they can come up with. Like touting the "convenience" of digital media (which is coincidentally cheaper for them- go figure :trolleye:). And as I mentioned above, analyzing business models is one thing. But watching them at work every day from the ground-level is another. It's easy to say they are following demand when that's all you see is the numbers, but when you see how that demand is being created in the "field", and see the FACES behind those numbers, it's a whole different story.

[BubblyShell22]

Yep. And while you sit and complain and do nothing to better your situation, the world moves on and no one notices you.

Again, businesses do what they have to in response to market demands. You can be mad all you want to but unless a large majority of people who share your beliefs begin buying DVDs, they're gonna be gone. My guess is in less than a decade

But don't mind me. I only analyze businesses for a living. I make my living understanding why businesses do what they do and where businesses are heading in the future. Newsflash. It isn't based on evil plots or keeping tiny minorities of consumers happy.

The ignorance of how businesses work in this discussion astounds me. Lots of conspiracy theory BS and expectations that market demands shouldn't matter.

The only thing I CAN do is buy DVDs, which I do. My mom and I always buy DVDs, but it won't matter if more people switch to digital because the businesses are going to listen to them rather than us. And instead of you being understanding about the fact that there are people out there who can't help the situation they're in, you just say, "Oh, suck it up." This is why I hate America as much as I do because of people like you who have no idea why people live the way they do and make half-a**sed assumptions despite all of us explaining our situation multiple times.


I'm personally pretty "astounded" by how easy it is to know everything about a person's life situation and how to improve it, and even every single thing they ever have or haven't done to improve it, all based on the tiny little bit of information they feel comfortable enough to share with total strangers on a message board.

Of all the things I've ever learned on The Technodrome, "People struggle because they actually just want to" just may be the most important. I never would have considered that to be the case, considering the overwhelming amount of real-life evidence to the contrary!

Well said, Leo, and I couldn't have said it better myself. It's like if someone said to me, "Well, you graduated from college but can't get a job because of the economy. Just suck it up and get over it." It's not like I asked for the economy to take a sh*t when it did. I've tried to get jobs, but nobody wants me because you either have to have retail experience to be a cashier, lift a certain number of pounds, know medical terminology, and sh*t like that. Oh, and don't forget the tutoring site who pretty much f*cked me over even after I did a practice session twice so they could assess my skills and sent me an e-mail saying, "Oh, sorry, you're not right for us so we don't want you." So after my account was suspended, I tried again, and they put me on a waiting list and never even got back to me for MONTHS. But, hey, I should just suck it up, right? I got myself in this situation, right? Once again, gotta love how narrow-minded America is.



Exactly. The sales ARE there- at least when those of us who want them can GET them!





Last I checked, you "vote" for what you want businesses to do with your wallet. And I DO. Heck, if/when they get stuff I want where I live, I buy them as soon as I can. If not, I'll often buy it on Amazon if there's no other way. So your barking up the wrong tree- most of us who prefer the DVD format (or can't GET digital) vote with our wallets all the time. So, yes, we ARE being vocal- by creating the very demand you claim doesn't exist!

This also leads me to another point- there's a big difference between analyzing businesses for a living, and WORKING in them. I have. I've worked at the actual "business" end of things for long enough to understand how THAT side of it works. When you provide what people want, they WILL buy it. But if it's not available, how CAN they buy it? Your argument makes no sense from a simply "nobody's buying" standpoint- because I've already SAID they ARE. I see it every day. But if there's not ENOUGH supply to keep up with the demand, the numbers are simply going to show "no sales". Well, NO $H*T! And you can't tell me the companies aren't doing that on purpose, they're trying to DRIVE the business into digital, because it's cheaper and easier for THEM. Has more to do with the bottom line than what customers actually want.

Also, for the record, I live in a VERY small town with about 5000 people. In the middle of nowhere. I walk to work (which is tow miles ONE WAY, BTW) because I don't have a car, NOT because it's a quick jaunt down the street. It's actually on the other side of town from me, but hey, you suck it up, right?!! :trolleye:

And you're right, some of us can't afford a Netflix account even if we DID have the "good" net-access that your "majority" do. (PS- I've got news for you, despite what you may believe, the MAJORITY of the country lives IN THE COUNTRY.) The population of mid-American small farm communities and backwater rural areas IS the majority of the US population. That is a fact. It's actually the big-city, urban, high-density areas that are the minority, despite what you might think. Case in point- Texas is the second largest AND second most populous state- and MOST of that population is spread out over the entire state, with only about three or four cities comprising the rest.





Yeah, I hate when people make that statement, as if by NOT voting "FOR" something/one, we're not using our voice. Fact is, the refusal to choose between two equally bad options IS using your voice, by not choosing EITHER. I am registered, but I haven't voted in four years, because I'm just disgusted by the whole corrupt process and the morally bankrupt people in office. I'd rather not waste my time voting my "voice" when it doesn't even matter, because the popular vote stopped being important YEARS ago. Now it's just whoever can grease the most palms.





No one said anything about "evil conspiracies" but you. Quit putting words in people's mouths. Fact is, businesses look at the least costly/most profitable option, and drive the market toward it through whatever advertising or sales gimmicks they can come up with. Like touting the "convenience" of digital media (which is coincidentally cheaper for them- go figure :trolleye:). And as I mentioned above, analyzing business models is one thing. But watching them at work every day from the ground-level is another. It's easy to say they are following demand when that's all you see is the numbers, but when you see how that demand is being created in the "field", and see the FACES behind those numbers, it's a whole different story.

Exactly. We're sharing our voice by using our money to vote with our wallet, but if there are people out there who are choosing digital over physical copies, it won't matter what we do because they won't listen to us anyway. And, newsflash, politicians are the same way. They don't care about you or anything you have to say. So if you want to vote for them, go ahead. But that doesn't make you better than me just because you choose to vote and I don't. I have my reasons, and even if you may not agree with my assessment, that doesn't give you the right to look down on me or anyone else, Katie. Get off your high horse. I agree with Duckie and Leo here. Have some compassion for people instead of acting like you're better than us.

[ProactiveMan]

Approaching Blu-ray my ass McBain.

[Cure]

No one said anything about "evil conspiracies" but you.

You guys are talking about how companies are making plans to phase out DVD's and making digital the norm. A group making secret plans that will do harm is literally the definition of conspiracy.

[Katie]

Oh my god

Let's recap what I said here: yes the way you let businesses know what you want is with your wallet. I said that. Even if you buy every single thing that comes out, you are in the minority of consumers now. It would take millions of people suddenly deciding to buy DVDs to change the direction that entertainment is taking.

I analyze businesses but I do also work for one and have worked for them. I started my working life in a retail pet store. Know what the difference in me and you Is, Duckie? I wasn't satisfied to sit back in a low paying retail job forever. It was a great seven year experience, but I was only working there so I could pay my way through college an have a better life than I was born to. So do not act all high and mighty because you think working at a Taco Bell gives you some great insight into business. It does not. You aren't even a decision maker in the store you work in. At least I was a manager eventually in that pet store.

All I have been saying all along in every post until now was that businesses are going to do what the market dictates that they do or they will go out of business. That's it. But you guys lack serious reading comprehension and took what I said as some sort of personal insult to you individually and took it upon yourselves to attack me. It was not a personal attack ever. Businesses adapt or die. Never was talking about people. But since you three have taken it there, I can dish it back.

And yes Leo it is absolutely astounding that you know everything about everything in life and in everyone's experience from what they post on the Internet. It's a gift of yours.

Finally, you always have choices to better your situation. Always. No matter what it is. And if you have given up and decided that there is no way to fix your situation, you are choosing to accept whatever it is you dislike about the world. personally, I can never be satisfied. There is always something better and I'm willing to figure out how to get there.

I'm done with this thread. There's no point in trying to discuss this with you anymore.

[Plasticplayhouse]

Wow. Really? It's also the whole "You don't vote so you can't complain" BS again? QUOTE]

i think the point she is trying to make is that "voting" is one of the BEST way for an individual to complain. i put voting in quotations because in this case the word was used for its shared intent as making a purchase. that is why boycotting has been a very effective "complaint" mechanism for centuries.


[QUOTE=Katie;1443778]Oh my god


Finally, you always have choices to better your situation. Always. No matter what it is. And if you have given up and decided that there is no way to fix your situation, you are choosing to accept whatever it is you dislike about the world. personally, I can never be satisfied. There is always something better and I'm willing to figure out how to get there.



This is a great statement and it is completely true! I grew up in an area that we'll just say wasn’t the best. While there were not as many positive options for us, there WERE options and the wiser people would choose the best option they had available. once you chose an option, at some point another set of options will present themselves, so you choose the best from them. if you keep doing this, eventually better options will be available. it may take a while, but at some point you will have climbed the ladder in a positive direction and if you are persistent, you will eventually get to where you want to go.

most of my friends are either dead or in prison due to the decisions they made and the options they chose. i am happy to say that i am not. life's path is about the choices we make.

[BubblyShell22]

Oh my god

Let's recap what I said here: yes the way you let businesses know what you want is with your wallet. I said that. Even if you buy every single thing that comes out, you are in the minority of consumers now. It would take millions of people suddenly deciding to buy DVDs to change the direction that entertainment is taking.

I analyze businesses but I do also work for one and have worked for them. I started my working life in a retail pet store. Know what the difference in me and you Is, Duckie? I wasn't satisfied to sit back in a low paying retail job forever. It was a great seven year experience, but I was only working there so I could pay my way through college an have a better life than I was born to. So do not act all high and mighty because you think working at a Taco Bell gives you some great insight into business. It does not. You aren't even a decision maker in the store you work in. At least I was a manager eventually in that pet store.

All I have been saying all along in every post until now was that businesses are going to do what the market dictates that they do or they will go out of business. That's it. But you guys lack serious reading comprehension and took what I said as some sort of personal insult to you individually and took it upon yourselves to attack me. It was not a personal attack ever. Businesses adapt or die. Never was talking about people. But since you three have taken it there, I can dish it back.

And yes Leo it is absolutely astounding that you know everything about everything in life and in everyone's experience from what they post on the Internet. It's a gift of yours.

Finally, you always have choices to better your situation. Always. No matter what it is. And if you have given up and decided that there is no way to fix your situation, you are choosing to accept whatever it is you dislike about the world. personally, I can never be satisfied. There is always something better and I'm willing to figure out how to get there.

I'm done with this thread. There's no point in trying to discuss this with you anymore.

You have a point about the businesses doing what the market wants them to do, but our point is that for some of us, we can't do what the markets want and we don't have that option to do that even if we could. Some of us have limits such as where we live. Where I live, we just can't get a decent Internet signal for Wi-Fi, so there's really nothing we can do about that. That's why we have Verizon broadband, and while it's good to have that instead of dial-up, the problem is that we have limited data usage we can use and if we go over that, we get charged by the minute. That's why I don't watch videos anymore because I want to be careful with things like that so to have something like Netflix or even Hulu wouldn't be a good idea because it would eat up Internet minutes. And, sure, the businesses are going to do what they want, but it's not fair to people who are limited based on their situations that they have no control over, and if people don't care about that, that's wrong.

And stop taking shots at Duckie, too. She can't help her situation. She's married and has a husband with serious medical issues so she has no choice but to work at a fast food restaurant. Something better may come along, but until that happens, she has to do what she has to do. Just because you had the opportunity to go to a better place doesn't mean the rest of us can do that at the moment. It all depends on where you live and if you can make your situation better. You were able to, and you were fortunate enough to go to a college that helped you with your career after you graduated. That's awesome, but not everyone has that opportunity or had that opportunity. I certainly didn't when I went to school. I graduated when the economy pretty much went down the toilet and while I looked for jobs nonstop, there weren't any that suited my needs, and the ones I DID apply for straight up rejected me. And I have limits on what I can do based on the disabilities I have, so there's just nothing I can do right now. Work at home is the best option for me, but even that has limits because of my Internet situation and how many hours I can work based on that situation. So I'm pretty much screwed anyway, and I'm also the type who doesn't take rejection well at all, so that's another issue I have about jobs, too.

And with all the damn family drama I'm dealing with, it's just best I keep on doing what I'm doing and be there for my mom because nobody else is going to be. Screw it.

And if you're done with the thread, fine. But you did personally attack us, so we fought back. Not our fault you can't take what we dish out.

[ZariusTwo]

I was reading the Zombie Simpsons blog, on top of the DVD cancelations, FOX seem to be leaving it awfully late in renewing the contract for season 27. Usually they know by October if they're coming back or not.

I know, I know, "Simpsonz axedz" rumors happen every year, but some of the animators on the team are getting jumpy enough to vent on twitter about it

[BubblyShell22]

Hmm, that does seem weird. Maybe they're unsure about whether they want to continue or not.

[ZariusTwo]

Spookily, if the show were to be axed now, it would be ending on the same number of years that the classic run of Doctor Who ended on

[CyberCubed]

Keep in mind if the show isn't renewed, it'll still have a short Season 27 since the show has "holdover" episodes from the previous production season.

I just hope it if does end the writers know ahead of time to write a fitting final episode, and not just end the show on any random episode.

[Leo656]

It's the Simpsons, they'll definitely provide at least some type of closure with the final episode. They'll almost definitely do another movie in a couple years to have a "For Real, Final, Once And For All, We Mean It This Time" ending, but the last episode will still be a solid "ending" by itself, I'd pretty much bank on that.

[Prowler]

Oh so this has turned into a physical vs. digital argument. I was wondering why a thread with a simple title as "Simpsons DVDs Discontinued" was already 5 pages in. I mean, what sort of on-topic could be discussed for so long?

Anyway, I prefer physical copies to digital ones... but I tend to go more for the latter ones nowadays. Why? Because they're cheaper and fill up less space. And from what I've noticed, most people have made the transition already. I was born in 1990, and most people of my age and younger pretty much download everything these days, except for books. People still find it odd to read books on an e-reader or tablet. I personally don't. Okay, tablet batteries get drained fast, but not e-readers. You can read for a couple of hours on my Kobo Touch and the battery will only go down 5% at most.

Now the problem with digital copies, mostly when it comes to video games, is the crappy DRM thing. The only DRM service I can tolerate is Steam. And speaking of Steam, I don't mind buying games on it at all. Plus they're cheaper than buying them at full retail price for a current en console. I'm all for saving money. Not to mention all the space you save at home. If you have a small apartment, you can't fill it up with all kinds of stuff. And honestly, the only stuff I still prefer having in physical copies of are older video games and books. But I'll only get those in physical format if I have the money for them or they mean something to me(as in great games/books). Money doesn't grow on trees and this romantic idea of physical copies being better does not put food on the table or pay bills.

As for those who said that having a nice looking shelf full of DVDs, video games, etc. would impress people, I dunno, if I collect something it's for myself, not to show it off to others. Sure I might put up a pic of it online or something, but if I have someone coming over I don't really expect them to suddenly start browsing my collectible stuff and inquire me about it and praise it "YO DUDE, YOUR COLLECTION IS AWESOME!". What truly matters is if I like what I see at my place.

Now on to the Simpsons. I don't particularly care about the DVDs being discontinued since I find that the show has jumped the shark around the turn of the century. It's getting really pathetic now and Groening should just let it go... or maybe not since it still reeks in cash and that's all that really matters in the end, but man it's sad seeing how awful and unlikable the characters have become. They're pretty much parodies of themselves by now. I even feel a bit embarrassed when I happen to watch Simpsons episode form the last ten seasons or so. Many lines and jokes feel so forced almost to the point of reminding me of that awkward kid in class who desperately wants to be liked or that old has been who's desperately trying to remain relevant.

That being said, The Simpsons are a classic and no matter how crappy its last 13-14 seasons were as a whole, its first 9-10 seasons are timeless and I can still re-watch them nowadays even if I already know most of the important lines and how most episodes go.

[BubblyShell22]

Well, I know they'll probably end it on a good note and have a final resolution to the series at some point if they don't get renewed for another season.

And, Prowler, even with digital stuff, you're still paying a monthly fee to have that stuff if you get Netflix or something like that. I prefer physical media because you pay for it once and you have it always. I'd rather do that than pay a monthly fee for an episode or a series I can just eventually get on DVD.

[CyberCubed]

Even if Simpsons ends, Simpsons "overall" will never end.

There will be another movie most likely, probably some small stuff like "web episodes" and/or animation created for commercials or stuff like the Simpsons ride at Universal.

Its funny, if Simpsons ended a decade ago they probably would have had various Simpsons reunion specials at this point or movies. But since Simpsons never ended they had no reason to do any of that. So when the show actually DOES end the voice actors are already so old that probably can't wait more than 5-10 years to do something like that.

I do think its obvious there will at least be a second movie after the series ends. They've been talking about wanting to make another movie for awhile but have no time for it as the series is going.

[BubblyShell22]

I definitely hope they churn out another movie after the series ends.

[Prowler]

Even if Simpsons ends, Simpsons "overall" will never end.

There will be another movie most likely, probably some small stuff like "web episodes" and/or animation created for commercials or stuff like the Simpsons ride at Universal.

Its funny, if Simpsons ended a decade ago they probably would have had various Simpsons reunion specials at this point or movies. But since Simpsons never ended they had no reason to do any of that. So when the show actually DOES end the voice actors are already so old that probably can't wait more than 5-10 years to do something like that.

I do think its obvious there will at least be a second movie after the series ends. They've been talking about wanting to make another movie for awhile but have no time for it as the series is going.
They'll have to let the Simpsons go someday. Nothing lasts forever. And as you've mentioned, the VAs are old, so once they retire or die, the producers probably wont' risk assign the main characters wit other VAs.

[Leo656]

I disagree. We've had a ton of Fred Flinststones, Popeyes, Bugs Bunnies and so forth over the years.

I kind of feel like in some way, they'll be keeping The Simpsons brand alive in some way long into the future, and not just by selling old episodes for download and so forth. Maybe the occasional animated film, maybe video games, I don't know. But if and when the time comes and they have to resort to sound-alikes, you can bet they won't let that stop them.

Especially because every Simpsons character has a crazy-easy voice to imitate, anyways. I mean, if they wanted to save money, they could just hire me to do half the main cast. I mean it'd be noticeable, but still close enough that nobody'd really care after a week or two. :lol: Anybody could do those voices.

[CyberCubed]

They'll have to let the Simpsons go someday. Nothing lasts forever. And as you've mentioned, the VAs are old, so once they retire or die, the producers probably wont' risk assign the main characters wit other VAs.

They still make new Flintstones stuff when the original series ended back in the 60's. There's been a gazillion Flintstone spinoffs and movies since then.

Simpsons has been a part of American culture for over 25 years, its going to be around forever. Think Star Wars, Star Trek, DC and Marvel superheroes, its going to be around forever.

They will stop making episodes eventually, and eventually the voice actors will die and pass away, but you'll likely see new Simpsons products till the end of time.

[Leo656]

Way to say the exact same thing I just said. Except when people hear your voice in their head, they see the guy in your sig pic. And when they hear my voice in their heads, they suddenly want to cheat on their husbands. :lol:

It's ok. We're just different, is all.

[Peanut]

Napoleon Complex in full effect, ladies and gentlemen.

[Prowler]

They still make new Flintstones stuff when the original series ended back in the 60's. There's been a gazillion Flintstone spinoffs and movies since then.

Simpsons has been a part of American culture for over 25 years, its going to be around forever. Think Star Wars, Star Trek, DC and Marvel superheroes, its going to be around forever.

They will stop making episodes eventually, and eventually the voice actors will die and pass away, but you'll likely see new Simpsons products till the end of time.
Now that you mention it, I guess you're right. Maybe the Simpsons are immortal and will always be around somewhat. The Turtles also seem to be heading down that path as well.

Way to say the exact same thing I just said. Except when people hear your voice in their head, they see the guy in your sig pic. And when they hear my voice in their heads, they suddenly want to cheat on their husbands. :lol:

It's ok. We're just different, is all.

Woah man, talk about a cheap shot.

[Leo656]

Holy sh*t even Cubed knows I was goofing, guys. Yikes. :lol:

[Peanut]

I wasn't goofing. :lol:

[Leo656]

I'm taller than Napoleon, though. And I'm a better bowler. :ohwell:

[MsMarvelDuckie]

You never are. That's what's so sad.

[Peanut]

I'm taller than Napoleon, though. And I'm a better bowler. :ohwell:

You don't need to be his height to suffer from it, brah.

The term is also used more generally to describe people who are driven by a perceived handicap to overcompensate in other aspects of their lives. Other names for the term include Napoleon syndrome[2] and Short Man syndrome.[3]

:lol:

You never are. That's what's so sad.

:lol:

[Leo656]

I'unno if throwing good-natured jabs at a guy on the internet who actually insists he finds it funny is over-compensating, though. I think I compensate just fine. I'unno.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Leo, you and me should go bowling sometime. Maybe you could give me some pointers, LOL! And we're BOTH better looking than Napoleon ever was.... (And if ANYONE around here would have a reason to have a Napoleon complex, it's me. I'm only 5', and 100 lbs on a GOOD day.)

[Leo656]

I'm actually a pretty sh*tty bowler! But, according to documentary footage obtained by one William S. Preston, Esq., and Mister Ted "Theodore" Logan, as well as several corroborating witnesses, I'm apparently much better at it than Napoleon.

[Peanut]

I think I compensate just fine. I'unno.

Nut brown but slightly darker. Practically a hair up from black. They're awesome.

Thanks, but not better than mine, I'd wager! Not to be a douche. I'm just soooo good at cooking.

I mean, if they wanted to save money, they could just hire me to do half the main cast. I mean it'd be noticeable, but still close enough that nobody'd really care after a week or two. :lol: Anybody could do those voices.

You do very well for yourself! Just this week alone you've tooted your own horn about all kinds of great stuff! Your eyes, your incredible cooking skill, your ability to be a VA. Amazing stuff! :lol:

[MsMarvelDuckie]

And what talents do YOU have, again? At least his are evident. And he DOES have lovely eyes. And hair.

[Cure]

You do very well for yourself! Just this week alone you've tooted your own horn about all kinds of great stuff! Your eyes, your incredible cooking skill, your ability to be a VA. Amazing stuff! :lol:

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/thedrome/images/b/b2/Daymn.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width/180?cb=20090820214810

LOL!! :lol::lol::lol:

[Leo656]

And yet, somehow everybody else notices that it's so over-the-top on purpose? Way to notice the obvious trail of breadcrumbs, guy. :lol:

It's like some people haven't figured out the gimmick yet. I don't get it.

And he DOES have lovely eyes. And hair.

You know what's kinda awesome, but kinda sucks? To prove that Nature Is Balance, my teeth are totally shot. All chipped and misaligned. That's why I always smirk; my mouth is crooked because my teeth came in wrong. Weird, huh?

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Don't feel to bad, Leo. Nature pulled a fast one on me too, by giving me great boobs and legs, but almost NO a$$.

[Leo656]

Squats are a thing. :lol:

[Peanut]

It's like some people haven't figured out the gimmick yet. I don't get it.

Complete lack of self awareness, too? You really do have it all!

And what talents do YOU have, again? At least his are evident. And he DOES have lovely eyes. And hair.

Your banana riding is gross. And I could lie all day about my entire life to people on the Internet too, but I don't. Instead I have a good job, a wife and a home. My talent is not being a wastrel.

[Leo656]

Wow, way to be on the complete opposite side of reality, sir. :lol:

As a shoot: Pretty much everybody else here gets the incredible amount of self-awareness and tongue-in-cheek stuff. It's like the whole thing is going over your head for some reason but everybody else gets it. It's like people who've been here all of five minutes are like, "Hey, that guy's a character." And then some people are taking everything at face value and going "Wow, this guy's a conceited braggart."

It's just weird. I mean, I don't get how it's confusing to anybody.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Huh, and here I thought it was being a douche.

Yeah, home? Check. Spouse? Check. Job? Check. Thanks, but I'm good here. Your POINT is?!! My talent happens to be writing. It's right there in my siggy for anyone to check out if they choose, but of course, I'm guessing you don't read much. It may not pay the bills, but then that's what I have the REAL job for. Your patronizing attitude is as disgusting as it is ignorant. And this is from someone who deals with others' ignorance on a daily basis.

[Leo656]

Wow, this sure blew up in a hurry.

Kinda feel like someone ought'a break the tension. Anybody got any dead baby jokes? Like, I do, but I hate being the one who goes first. That just feels incredibly awkward.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Nah, but I DO have some lawyer jokes.... And I'm listening to Mitchel (the lawyer) talking on Modern Family as I type this....

[Peanut]

And now dead baby jokes. Truly a genius. :lol:

[Leo656]

Really not a fan? That's odd. Must be a regional thing.

I actually got a calendar full of them one year for Christmas, but I only remember some of 'em. :ohwell:

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Meh, it's not for everybody. Personally, I prefer nun jokes.

[Jephael]

http://img.sadistic.pl/pics/40ef40ba0b50.jpg

Seriously though, I should've gotten in on this conversation days ago. Been a Simpsons fan for ages, though to be honest I quit collecting the DVD boxsets after season 12.

[Slade]

You missed the point in my post that says for the majority it's not a problem, yes Leo you screwed by this change but you have to realize you are a tiny minority of the population that has this problem, I feel for you but that's how it is. Of course all media has different problems, DVD's scratch, DVD players break and the lasers stop working and won't be sold anymore in the future just like VHS players ceased, DVD's get disc rot which makes them useless. Nothing is forever. Streaming is the most convenient but of course it has the whole license issue. The problem is solved by buying it digitally, in this case you own it now and can watch it forever, make back up copies in case your HDD fails etc, play at any moment with just a click making it far better than DVD's, internet connection is only required when you download it for the first time and you only need to pay for it once. I'm sorry but digital is literally better than DVD unless you want a physical product in your house. Now digital being better than Blu-Ray is another debate since BR is indeed usually better quality but as time and technology improves this will be a non-issue and for normal people and even geeky people like me we don't even notice the difference even if Mr. Videophile does.

The reality is no one wants DVDs anymore just like no one wanted CD's anymore ten years ago and yet even with audiophiles complaining digital won. Of course there's still CD's but they're a minority of the market now and most audiophiles moved on to Vinyl instead. Fact is people aren't buying DVDs and Blu-Rays never reached the market share that DVDs had in their heyday and the minority of the market that still enjoys them seem to be old people who can't move on to new technologies and collectors. I'm all for people buying physical copies and them existing, especially for a show like the Simpsons but the alternative is better for the majority and in this day and age it's hard to argue that the market cares for movies/shows on physical media, just look at sales charts over the past decade and you can see the trend is not in your favor, you're a dying breed for better or worse. And I agree, there's enough market out there with collectors and the "minority" for physical media to exist just like you can still find CD's now and other small niches, and like I stated in my first post there should be enough fans for some type of release for the simpsons but Fox doesn't care.

Not to bring all this back, but where exactly are you from? The bolded part is a crock of sh*t. People here buy DVD's and Blu-rays all the damn time. Cd's maybe not so much. But I've seen new releases fly off shelves pretty damn quick. I'll take a CD over the iTunes version any day anyway. The quality on the CD is tons better.

[Machias Banshee]

Let's break up the personal potshots, everyone... this is getting out of hand.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

No worries- already done. Apologies for the off-topic talk.

[ZariusTwo]

Al Jean (https://twitter.com/AlJean/status/588347215954874368) says negotiations are ongoing for The Simpsons, though apparently some of the staff have panicked a bit in recent weeks, with one of the animators, Isabel Vega, being forced to close down her twitter account after her tweets regarding potential cancellation of the show were routinely reposted (http://deadhomersociety.com/2015/04/17/epic-agreement-and-show-still-on-hiatus/) by the Zombie Simpsons blog (they apologized for getting her in trouble), one of her last tweets was this:

That moment when a director goes around saying good-bye to the remaining crew saying “See you next season, if there is one…” #TheSimpsons

[blindturtle02]

Does anyone know if you have to have FX to create a FX NOW account in order to watch episodes on Simpsonsworld? There doesn't seem to be a lot of info on that. I'm one of the folks who cut the cable cord and would very much enjoy watching this stuff any time I wanted. If it's just something you pay for monthly without having to have cable, I'd seriously consider getting one unless they start streaming on amazon or iTunes. I'm glad they'll probably do the streaming bit. It was difficult waiting a year between boxset releases. I'll miss those cool menus, however. Great to hear they'll still be making commentaries.

[Storm Eagle]

The issue comes up again.

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Simpsons-simpsons-sales-numbers-examined/21379

[Bry]

The issue comes up again.

http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Simpsons-simpsons-sales-numbers-examined/21379

So... the DVD sales are still profitable, but they're removing that option and trying to force customers into subscribing to their online model anyway? Yep, they are businessing. They are businessing hard.

The problem is that this kind of mindset is incredibly insular. Yes, physical media is waning right now. It may vanish entirely, it may not. Everyone thought physical media for music was dead in a post-iTunes market, and then vinyl became trendy again and sales started surging. Digital is still on the rise, obviously, and CDs are basically dead, but there's a very healthy market for vinyl. It's entirely possible that demand for DVDs/Blu-rays (or something else entirely) will increase once the option for physical media is taken off the table.

And like others have said, there are plenty of people who don't have the constant, reliable Internet access they'd need to use these kinds of services, and leaving potential customers in the cold seems... really dumb and short-sighted. And I'm not up on the specifics of Simpsons World, but even trying to stream other US-owned content in Canada, I know that TV shows have wildly different distribution rights in different countries and territories, so there's the potential for things to get muddled and very inconvenient for global fans. On one hand, they're trying to look ahead at the trends in the market, and streaming is absolutely the future. But I think they're forgetting to balance that with the current reality of the market... Or choosing to forget.

This is a pretty textbook situation of content owners trying to throttle their customers' access in the information age. Like proprietary software - they want to control how, when, and if you can access it. Because it's becoming very apparent that information is the biggest product in the world, and trying to utterly control how customers access their information and content is the only way these businesses can function like they're used to functioning.

I think (and hope) it's doomed to fail. The Internet has made trying to control content and information next to impossible, and at this point it's like trying to plug a dam that's already burst. If customers can't access your content in the one way you're providing it, they will find a whole bunch of ways to get it without you. Illegal, sure. But that's what happens when you severely limit the customers' options.

But either way, I've already got seasons 1-10 on DVD, so no worries here. :D

[sdp]

Not to bring all this back, but where exactly are you from? The bolded part is a crock of sh*t. People here buy DVD's and Blu-rays all the damn time. Cd's maybe not so much. But I've seen new releases fly off shelves pretty damn quick. I'll take a CD over the iTunes version any day anyway. The quality on the CD is tons better.
But you are bringing it back, I stopped posting because there was nothing new to say as Leo was clinging to his Audio Cassette tapes.
And no, it is not a crock of ****, you have to literally be blind not to see how DVD has been dying slowly for almost a decade. Do people buy DVDs and BRs? Of course they do and they sell plenty but it's no longer the "it" item and sales when compared to ten years ago are pathetic and keep lowering year after year, these are straight facts backed up with numbers not "I still see people at Walmart buying DVDs". CDs are a great analogy, DVD is now where CDs were ten years ago. Today? Not even the recording industry cares that much about CDs, hell didn't Beyonce launch her album last year exclusively on itunes? Quality for CDs is about the same as in itunes depending on releases but you can get lossless versions elsewhere. Quality is the only valid point in this argument but the mainstream doesn't care like audiophiles or videophiles.

So... the DVD sales are still profitable,
Did you even read the article? Nowhere does it say that their sales are still profitable. Also profitable != Good Business. They even mention how S17 sold half of what S16 sold, what did you expect to happen in S18?

The problem is that this kind of mindset is incredibly insular. Yes, physical media is waning right now. It may vanish entirely, it may not.
That's wishful thinking, physical media waning is not a temporary thing. And no physical media will not vanish either, it will just become a niche.

[/UOTE] Everyone thought physical media for music was dead in a post-iTunes market, and then vinyl became trendy again and sales started surging. Digital is still on the rise, obviously, and CDs are basically dead, but there's a very healthy market for vinyl. It's entirely possible that demand for DVDs/Blu-rays (or something else entirely) will increase once the option for physical media is taken off the table.[/QUOTE]
Vinyl is a trend right now who knows if it'll last but I hope it does. This however is not a point whatsoever since Vinyl is a niche, of course if you compare to vinyl sales years ago it probably rose many hundreds of percentage points but selling 1,000 to 50,000 is still in the end a small number, hell CDs still sell more than Vinyl last time I checked, that shows how small of a niche it really is. I don't think physical media for video will ever die completely but yeah it's only going to get smaller and smaller just like it did with the music industry.


And like others have said, there are plenty of people who don't have the constant, reliable Internet access they'd need to use these kinds of services, and leaving potential customers in the cold seems... really dumb and short-sighted.
Yeah but this isn't the case, if it were then those people would be voting with their wallets right now and this wouldn't be a problem.

This is a pretty textbook situation of content owners trying to throttle their customers' access in the information age.
No, just no. Believe me companies want analogue dollars not digital pennies.