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I also find it odd that they are phasing out CD players in cars, at the same time record companies are still pressing and selling brand new CD's!
When they phased out tape players, it was when the stores were selling CD's and not tapes. But when you can go buy the latest Taylor Swift (or whomever) on CD, it seems a little soon to phase out the players on which to play it!!!!
Why is it that people are attacked for utilizing old formats for entertainment? I got rid of my VHS tapes long ago, but I didn't have many. If someone had an entire library, why wouldn't they want to continue to use it until they no longer can? Not everyone wants to chase after the latest technology with their hard earned dollars, just so they can make fun of the person with the old technology.
Some of us appreciate old tech. I have a lot of vhs tapes, and a vcr that works, you don't have to just jump at the newest crap, ask anyone with a microdisc player, or a Zune laying around. Now dvds aren't good enough, phhst, whatever, I've seen the best of the best, and how everything looks like soap opera cameras are used, negating makeup.
I also find it odd that they are phasing out CD players in cars, at the same time record companies are still pressing and selling brand new CD's!
When they phased out tape players, it was when the stores were selling CD's and not tapes. But when you can go buy the latest Taylor Swift (or whomever) on CD, it seems a little soon to phase out the players on which to play it!!!!
And how many people do you think go and buy the CD, versus buying it on iTunes/AmazonMP3/GooglePlay Music/WhateverElse?
And how many people do you think go and buy the CD, versus buying it on iTunes/AmazonMP3/GooglePlay Music/WhateverElse?
As of January 2014, vinyl is now 2% of album sales in the U.S; digital albums comprise 40.6% and the CD is 57.2% and cassettes and DVDs 0.2%.
As of February of this year, according to Billboard, physical albums (vinyl, CD's, cassettes and DVD's) account for 51.38% (48.3% are CD's) thus far in 2014 versus digital's 48.62%.
Is there a trend? Maybe. But it has bounced back and forth quite a bit in the last 3 years. Year-to-date sales of albums on CD have only trailed downloads in three earlier weeks. Twice in 2014, and one week in 2013.
Seems quite premature to quit making equipment for the playing of CD's given that data.
And how many people do you think go and buy the CD, versus buying it on iTunes/AmazonMP3/GooglePlay Music/WhateverElse?
I don't even know how to log in to " iTunes/AmazonMP3/GooglePlay Music/WhateverElse", let alone make a purchase. I haven't bought any music since Tower Records went bankrupt, other than occasional hunting in the CD aisle of my local used-book store. And no, I don't download pirated music... not because of any hallowed respect for corporate copyrights, but because (1) I don't know how, (2) I fear prosecution for illegal downloads, (3) the compressed-format playback quality is poor, and (4) the compositions and performances that most interest me are probably not available, and (5) I want a physical article with the music, rather than just a file.
Most of my CD collection was amassed during the 1990s, and consists of performances recorded between the 1950s and early 1990s. And some 95% of the compositions were written before 1900.
That is irrelevant. You completely are ignoring the point. If they are still selling the CD's, shouldn't there be something to PLAY THEM ON?
It's entirely relevant. Very few people use CDs in their car anymore and the number is still shrinking. Car companies are not obligated to keep providing you with a means to play a dying format in your car when that real estate can be used to provide features people actually want and use. If you still want to listen to CDs, either bring your own CD player or listen to them somewhere else.
That is irrelevant. You completely are ignoring the point. If they are still selling the CD's, shouldn't there be something to PLAY THEM ON?
They are selling vinyl records......and are still selling turntables.
It makes no sense to sell a format for which there is no equipment to utilize that format.
To a degree, yes.
CD sales are falling faster than Kim Kardashian's pants, and nothing is expected to change that.
While I think CD players in general will be around for a long time, their use in the automotive sector is different. Taking up space and cost is a different proposition in a vehicle than it is for a person looking to buy a standalone unit. When you read stories of how GM or Toyota made some choice about a part to save $0.005 it becomes easier to understand why they'd ditch the CD player.
Some technology is "out of date" because it's superseded by genuine improvement. Carbureted engines in passenger cars are superseded by fuel injection, for myriad reasons: more robustness to temperature/humidity/altitude variations, better control (when properly closed-loop) over air-fuel mixture ratio, often better throttle response, better balance between part-throttle and full-throttle performance, easier cold-starting, lower emissions, and so forth. Yes, it's a hassle to adapt from carburetors to fuel injection, but arguably the hassle is worthwhile because of superiority of new technology over old, of new performance over old.
The same can't be said for MP3 vs. CD. The latter has better playback quality, period. The technological drive is towards more compression, at the cost of reduced acoustic quality. It may not matter for pop music, or whatever is popular these days, but is certainly matters for classical music.
So the churning of technology is asking us to not merely replace the old with the new, but the superior with the inferior. How is that progress?
So store your collection in a lossless format. Problem solved.
Neither does it take an excruciating amount of time to hand-crank an engine; or to operate a manual choke; or to periodically readjust the timing. But new technology has allowed us to dispense with those things.
Sometimes, however, new technology churns for churning's sake. Instead of simplifying our lives, the changes introduce new frustrations and new labors. Yes, I can "rip" (or whatever is the newfangled lingo) my CDs onto some other format, but why should I have to make this adaptation?
Doesn't it strike you as a bit farcical that a large, heavy collection of music, or a collection of documents, pictures etc, can also fit on a USB drive the size of your thumb? Or something even smaller?
Do you need a warehouse to store your knowledge of math, science, language, important lessons, and life-defining memories? No-- that gray matter in your head, a bit larger than a softball, stores all of it. This is the direction that information was naturally supposed to be headed. My life is indeed simpler when unnecessary clutter is removed.
Doesn't it strike you as a bit farcical that a large, heavy collection of music, or a collection of documents, pictures etc, can also fit on a USB drive the size of your thumb? Or something even smaller?
Do you need a warehouse to store your knowledge of math, science, language, important lessons, and life-defining memories? No-- that gray matter in your head, a bit larger than a softball, stores all of it. This is the direction that information was naturally supposed to be headed. My life is indeed simpler when unnecessary clutter is removed.
Not to mention that CDs stored in a car can warp due to solar heating and/or be otherwise damaged? Not to mention the necessity of fumbling with them while driving?
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