Forum - View topicWould you rather buy USB drives or Blu-rays?
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RoverTX
 Posts: 424 |
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Lets say that Funimation/Sentia/NISA/MediaBlasters starts offering USB drives with digital copies along side DVD and Bluray. These digital copies are 720p and can be loaded on to your computer and favorite portal video player. They also have dual audio and subtitles and come in a box just like a DVD or Blu ray (so there is something pretty to put on your self). So if this happened would you consider buying the USB drive over the DVD or Bluray?
If the USB has DRM, what would you be wiling to put up with? As for me: I would rather buy the USB, since I really use my TV as a computer monitor, and would like to be able to use things on hand held portable devices(currently all the DRM copies don't have soft subs and only one track that I have been able to find). That is as long as the DRM doesn't make me constantly contact a server.... |
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Ryvius213
Posts: 291 |
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Depends on the series, really. If it's something I really like, I'd prefer BluRay just so I can watch it on a bigger screen with surround sound without having to hook my computer to my TV.
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Teriyaki Terrier
 Posts: 5689 |
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For me personally, I would forget which DVD is in which USB drive and eventually it could get very confusing very quickly. Another problem with USB drives is that because of the size, it's quite possible to lose one or two. And although this is not that common, what happens if the USB drive for some reason becomes corupted and is rendered unusable? Also what about the price? Eventually (if not already?) there will be terra Byte USB drives and for a long time, they won't be exactly cheap. Not saying DVD's are really cheap, but any time new techonolgy is introduced, it's not usually average price. Also, as you probably already know, there, there are several USB driver companies. San Disk, Verbatim, Dell, Microsoft and the list goes on. Unless said companies decide to make their own brand of USB drives, they will have to acquire the rights to use another companies products, even there really isn't much diffrence between a Dell USB and a San Disk USB. Yes, there are some differences but essentially, each USB has the same purpose. So with that in mind, the cost of the USB drive could be slightly higher for quite some time. Also 720P, while it is greater than 540P and below, could be considered "old" in the world of technology. I don't consider it old, but some might since 1080 P has been around for quite some time. But me personally, if I had to choose a USB or a Blu Ray, I'd go with a Blu-Ray. It will be slightly more expensive, but the quality of the picture (most the time) is much better and might come with more features. Eventually, there probably be something even smaller than a USB that can hold even more data one day, so it's hard to say if that is such a great idea in a business sense. |
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RoverTX
Posts: 424 |
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USB is actually the type of transfer device attached to the drive. I really mean a flash memory drive.
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SgtMustang
Posts: 158 |
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As long as it can be transfered to my hard drive that all I care about. It could be on a usb drive or a disk, just as long as it hd and I can load it onto my htpc. You can't do that with dvds or blu rays without taking hours to remove the copyright protection and then even longer to encode it into h.264 mkv format. Start offering this and I'll buy more then the occasional select title(which then I only do to support the title and end up dl an hd mkv to watch as the blu ray sits covered in dust on a shelf).
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Eri94
 Posts: 220 |
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Blu Ray holds 50gigs. Blu Ray let's you have nice box art, art boxes, and extra little things stuffed in the box or individual disc case. 720p is no 1080 either. I'd definitely go the disc route, even if usb was not cost prohibitive.
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HyugaHinata
 Posts: 3505 |
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Blu-rays for me.
 Even 8 TB runs out eventually, and a collection just doesn't feel like one without solid products to gaze upon.
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egoist
 Posts: 7762 |
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If they start offering USB drives alongside discs, you'll be paying the difference for it. In the long run (about 10 discs) it'd be cheaper for you to simply buy a DB drive which should cost ya around $50.
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shadow13
 Posts: 111 |
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some of the newer TV's have USB ports so that wouldn't really be a problem |
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Sanosuke_Inara
 Posts: 1662 |
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USB drives? Eh, no thanks.
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an.atticus
 Posts: 95 |
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I'm happy with blu-rays and as long you bargain shop and wait for sales , there never to pricey
I buy blu-rays every chance I get and for allot of the newer series and movies (like summer wars) I have been extremely satisfied. My tv is also built for it, so its much better watching it on the big screen. I would probably avoid USB drives if that idea was ever put into motion. Also after reading some of the other comments, It is nice having a collection that looks mighty impressive sitting on your shelves And even if USB were cheaper it be like a step back in quality. I buy blu-ray over DVD for a reason (although I still buy DVDs when theres no blu-ray or I can't find the blu-ray version) |
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RoverTX
Posts: 424 |
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Just to clarify, this assumes prices would be the same and only minor differnce in packaging.
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larinon
 Posts: 992 Location: Midland, TX |
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USB drives are kind of an intriguing possibility. For one thing, companies would be able to handle "replication" in house with a few underpaid interns.
What people seem to not realize is this: the USB drive is not just for use on your computer. Newer TVs being made now have USB ports with the ability to play back video files of certain formats, and your PS3 already has a couple of USB ports on it. Right now you could get a 32 GB USB drive for as cheap as $40. I think the technology is a lot closer and will end up being cheaper than people realize. Still, I don't know if I would be ready to make that switch just yet. I wonder how the data life on a USB drive compares to Blu-Rays. I believe that I've heard that Blu-rays are inferior to (pressed) DVDs in that regard (not burned). Granted we wouldn't need to have a special drive to be able to make backups if we wanted. It's an intriguing proposition. (I'm sure the first Evangelion USBs that come out would be standard plain USB drives, but the second release will have something like a tiny Asuka or Rei head at the end of it, and then the third one will be something like a gold plated limited edition or some other BS like that which totally upsets early adopters yet again.) |
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Spastic Minnow
 Bargain HunterExempt from Grammar Rules  Posts: 4630 Location: Gainesville, FL |
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It's not like USB Flash Drives couldn't have cases. In fact they should have specially designed cases if you want them to stay safe. House them in cases the size of cassette tapes and you can repurpose your old storage boxes and save a ton of room.
Or, if you like packaging, It also has great potential for specialty packaging. Ever see the Beatles Remasters USB release? housed in a green apple- looks awesome. USB releases would have the potential to double as figurines. Gundam sets with USB's integrated with the Gundam, Cuter shows with the USB in the Mascot character's rear end, etc. I think it's a very good alternative. |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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No, because I'm tired of buying physical products to obtain the content. What I would prefer, and I speak only for myself, is an all-anime streaming service akin to Netflix so I don't have to find a way to store this crap, worry about scratches/lost data, or paying too much for the privilege of "ownership".
No, and neither should anyone else. If FUNimation would rid this bullshit (and lower the price by at least 50 cents), I'd be buying their episodes directly from their servers. To put this topic in perspective: my DVD buying has dropped well over 80% compared to this time last year. Just recently, I put in my first order for 2011 and it was less than $100. My purchases now go toward figures. Not only are they nicer to look at, but I don't have the room for both. |
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