A retrospective look at the decline of disc based media, and can it possibly survive?
The very first disc-based media for film started commercially with Laser-Disc way back in 1978 with Jaws. For it’s day, this technology was considered to be the way forward, and would become adopted by households everywhere.
This did not happen, and the reasons behind this rested with it being exceptionally cost prohibitive, both in production and in sales. As such, demand fell very sharply, very quickly. There are many more factors that attributed to Laser-Disc’s demise, but die, it certainly did!
The rise of Beta-Max and VHS took hold, and while the marketing behind Beta-Max ultimately signed it’s own death warrant, VHS exploded, and for many years remained the only way to view movies at home. Yet even with a dedicated userbase, VHS would ultimately fall. Other media would be created during the era of the Video Home System, such as the far less adopted V-CD or Video Compact Disc. Phillips tried very hard to market V-CD as the future of home entertainment, yet again, prohibitive costs and poor device designs laid this format to rest just a year after its inception.
In it’s place came the DVD ( Digital Versatile Disc ) in 1997. Once more, the media was expensive to purchase, such as the machines, but it’s unique selling point was that the machines would also be able to play your CD collection, as well as playing vastly superior quality films. No rewinding of a tape, no chewing up of the tape inside the player. Immediate gratification from a better format.
DVD is still around today, but it’s popularity has certainly decreased over the years. HD DVD tried to compete, but failed at almost the first hurdle. It was Beta-Max vs VHS all over again. DVD won!
In 2006, Sony introduced Blu-Ray, full High Definition media, and unrivalled by anything before it. Only Laser-Disc came close.
The very first HD discs to be released on Blu-Ray were 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element and Hitch.
With persistent marketing, and the ability hold a massive 25gb of data, it didn’t take long for Blu-Ray to storm the market, and become the dominant way to view movies at home. Since then, 4K has made it’s mark, and is widely being adopted as the next big format.
Ok, so this history lesson is over…or is it?
From the VHS to 4K discs, physical media has been at the forefront of home entertainment for well over 40 years. Yet since the advent of online streaming through Netflix, Amazon, Apple Plus and more, the recession of physical discs is becoming more apparent as each year passes. This should be of concern to those of us who love film, and wish to preserve it.
At the beginning of July this year, Sony announced they would cease all new disc based games for their PlayStation brand. So how does that affect the film industry? Sony owns the rights to the Blu-Ray format and the production of discs across the globe. Sony’s own printing has started to scale down operations in favour of a all-digital service based model. The same will happen over time for home media discs as sales decline through subscriptions.
So here’s the problem as I see it. Let’s say the films you wish to watch are available online, that’s great I hear you cry. But is it really? Hideo Kojima, a Japanese game developer said it best very recently.
” With streaming subscription services, like Netflix or Amazon, there is a server somewhere, and you essentially just have the right to turn the tap, and when you do, the data flows out. “
” That’s how movies work on these platforms, right? You don’t download the data, you access it directly through a subscription. And the consequence of that is that you don’t actually possess the data yourself. “
” There are companies that own these servers and let you ‘turn the tap’ for a monthly fee. However, with nations, politics and various ways of thinking, one naturally has to consider the possibility that if there is a change, the data inside will stop being distributed. And if that happens you won’t be able to watch or play the movies and games you like. “
” That is what is frightening. So, what is happening to video games in 2028, might also happen to movies. I’d like everyone to keep that in mind. “
I think this sums up in it’s entirety how we should all feel about our home entertainment experience moving forward. And if history tells us anything, the ways in which we consume our entertainment will change and eventually be forgotten. In that change, we face a future where our accessibility hinges largely on streaming services, where our ability to retain our favourite media is annihilated. You will pay your subscriptions as you do now, but you own absolutely nothing! The ability to watch or listen to any media is slowly being lost to greedy corporations who can take away from you without warning, without apology.
So I urge you, if you care about film, if you care about owning your media, and the right to watch it however, and whenever you choose, please continue to support disc based media.
