>Are you going to carry around the server on your back with some headphones?
Definitely. A 160G hard-drive based ipod is about the size of a pack of cigarettes and holds about 270 uncompressed full-length CDs, perhaps 500 with lossless compression. A few hundred dollars will buy one from Apple.
Here's a board with 640G of flash memory, enough for 1000 uncompressed CDs, which has no moving parts and about the size of a CD.
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/images/fusion31.jpg |
Not dead but the glory days are gone. Downloads are the future. Apple sells 250k Ipods a day. I wonder if that many CD players are sold in a month. |
I suspect massive storage devices, perhaps not rotating, and down loads with high resolution will displace cds at some point. Until recently I had no interest in servers as they all sounded like crap. At CES, I heard two that didn't-the Exemplar and the Blue Smoke. I bought an Exemplar and now face the task of loading it with my cds. Since it takes typically 30 minutes to do it right, this is not going to be easy and I am going to retain a sacd player for my 400 sacds and to play cds while I load the server. |
DUMB was for Bowbow's really dumb question |
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The point,as I understood it is that the music industry would want to download uncompressed music rather than issuing CD's. When you "buy" a CD you would be simply downloading the file, thereby eliminating the disc manufacturing process, the need for CD players, the distributors and retailers. That would be a huge financial benefit to the industry. A server like device with a huge hard drive would then hold your entire music library. And let's be real, how hard would it be for a computer like device to do a spectacular job of converting these files to analog? |
It seems to me that the audio industry is still churning out some excellent CD players, so apparently they do not believe that the CD is dead unless they are counting on new equipment purchases by owners of large CD collections. I have also read that compressed files from servers lack the same quality sound as CD, but than again I doubt that the masses are concerned about sound quality. I am still trying to fathom how the industry for the most part, murdered SACD. I just wish that the music industry would abandon the current madness of eliminating the natural dynamic range of the music to make it "loud". |
"About computer files -
All it takes is ONE nasty bug to wipe out your entire data."
This is why you have backups and external HDs. Cd's will be around for a while as others have stated. You just won't have the selection that is available through downloads.
I personal wouldn't invest a lot of money in a CD player. Their resale value has fallen drastically over the last couple of years. Good for the fellas wanting a nice player for 1/3 the retail. ;-)
CD/ DVD player guys are still pondering over HD and Blu- Ray. Us PC guys just go and buy a combo drive that does both and forget about the wars. This is where a PC or Mac will always be superior ..it is upgradeable for many years. You're not stuck with a one format deal. |
In a 100 years from now if I just eat enough brown rice, pay attention to my vegetable and fruit intake. I might be able to lift the remote control? |
I don't think that 100 years from now I'll be still interested in CDs....or anything else for that matter.
I'll be 34 in a month.
About computer files -
All it takes is ONE nasty bug to wipe out your entire data.
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For the mainstream who don't give a pooh about compressed files or not the CD is already suffering at the hospice. Will you be able to buy CDs for the next 100 years absolutely. However if you want new music it will be like vinyl is today (yes I have two systems with phonos tts etc.) It cost you big mulah and then you can only choose from a selection you may not be intersted in. |
There were 1.7 billion CDs sold this past year. |
Cd will probably end up the way of the vinyl record - meaning it will be replaced as a mass market item, but will remain a very long time to a somewhat smaller and specialized market - audiophiles. CD's will probably even sound better in the years to come, and we might even see better players that (like turntables) will go forward in technology.
But for the masses, and the younger folks and kids, it will be Download City to the ipod or server, in my opinion.
Another issue is this - how long will it be until ipod or server music is accepted as a real alternative to cd's and records for audiophiles. This was joke material 5 years ago - no more today as the gap is narrowing - then there will be really no more NEED for the cd I think. |
How can you kill the "golden duck" ??? |
CD isn't dead yet, but it's best years are in the rear view mirror. |
technology get's smaller as it goes through it's stages of infancy through maturity and even sometimes so small that it is also perceived to be almost invisible. |
There are billions of CD players out there worldwide.
How many servers are there?
The LP has been supposedly dieing for 25 years. Sales keep going up. |
Are you going to carry around the server on your back with some headphones? |
It's another opinion. I wouldn't make funeral arrangements just yet. |
CD player dead? Well yes of course like all technology it will one day go the way of the dinosaur. I would have to guess that the only people at the moment buying new and used decks are ones with a crap load of software. Most young and some on audiogon just download and play it through an ipod or play it through their pc into their stereos. |
