Though some people contend that video killed the radio star, not all commodities of the past become obsolete. Sure, many individuals love using streaming services to listen to music and watch movies and television, but that doesn’t mean that CDs and DVDs are nowhere to be found. In fact, global sales of vinyl, CDs, and other physical formats of music increased 4 percent in 2022. Even 33 percent of NatNews dear readers who participated in a recent research initiative indicated that they still go old school with some forms of entertainment.
Dallas-area resident Sam Parnell, an Emmy-award-winning editor as well as principal and VP of creative and post-production at Red Productions, is one of those OGs.
“I watch a lot of movies on 4K Blu-ray discs, mainly because I’m a big movie nerd who invested a lot in a home theater,” he said. “And it always looks and sounds so much better on physical media than it does when streaming it.”
That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t stream anything, though. Parnell said he uses Spotify for music and never listens to CDs, and there are instances in which streaming video is better for his family, but his preference is to put his Blu-ray player to use.
“Streaming is definitely easier and more convenient, and it’s good for movies for my daughter, who can watch them anywhere at any time,” he said. “But for my favorite movies that I know, I only watch in my theater, so I always try to buy a physical copy.”
Dallas resident Elizabeth Cruz said she still has DVDs and a Blu-ray player, but she doesn’t usually think to watch them and opts for streaming her movies and TV shows. Similarly, CDs have become a thing of the past for her, as well.
“I don’t think I own any anymore, and I’m not sure I have anywhere to play them if I did,” she said.
She’s not alone in that regard. Modern technology has made the possibility of listening to CDs rather challenging, as many items don’t come with built-in CD players anymore. Dallas-area resident Valerie Vela understands this issue all too well.
“I rarely listen to CDs anymore,” she said. “I still have a few, but I purchased a new vehicle and new laptop in 2023, and neither came with a CD player. Now I mostly stream music on my iPhone with Apple Music.”
For Khuyen Vu, who lives in the Orange County area in Southern California, streaming simply makes more sense. While she will occasionally listen to an old CD for one specific song, she mainly uses Spotify for music and opts for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Disney+ for movies and TV.
“Streaming is better now since it’s all condensed in one place and can be streamed anywhere, even on vacation or at a friend’s house,” she said.
If an individual desires to purchase DVD players and/or CD players, there are still plenty of options available. You aren’t required to stream anything (and you definitely don’t have to resort to Napster or Limewire again), but you also don’t need to feel ashamed if you aren’t willing to deal with discs.
“I think the reason people love streaming is because it’s so simple,” Vela said. “It’s also cleaner. You don’t have to worry about the storage and bulk of DVDs and a DVD player. Plus, you have access to countless TV shows and movies and can pick what you want to watch, depending on your mood.”
WEEKLY PHOTO OP
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NatNews dear readers Elizabeth Cruz and Laura Hays enjoyed a lovely spring (even though it’s not spring yet) day at the Dallas Arboretum