CDs and DVDs Are Coming to an End

I must admit that maybe 5 years ago I wouldn't have dreamed of writing this. There are too many reasons behind the statement so I won't insist. Just read it. And by the way, this article is for those who still treasure their vinyl collection and will probably prefer it to any media center device.

There is still something rather unusual when you think about optical storage. First disks were of magnetically nature (vinyls) and sounded really poor. But the fact that you could listen to your music whenever you wanted and you didn't depend on the radio anymore resulted in quite a technological bang. Needless to say that optical storage (CDs,DVDs) only improved the quality and added digital content to what was already the kingdom of disks.

Incidentally (or not) the launch of HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays was a signal that for the first time, things were not looking good. The endless war between these two formats gave enough time to the flash memory producers to improve their product capabilities and finally launch products that had at least the same amount of storage as their optical counterparts but this storage was offered on a fingernail-size thingie.

Moreover, the evolution of Internet and especially the mass adoption of broadband connections made possible for another optical killer to enter the market: the network media center. Yep, it's just your ordinary PC dressed in a VCR-like case to look even more common. But with the help of a fast connection and 2-4 large hard drives, it can eat up almost any multimedia format you throw at it. And because it can download movies straight from the internet, there's no need for an additional optical device.

The physical media is at its end HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray disks may hold on to the market for a while, but it's a futile battle. 64GB and even 128GB flash devices are on their way and will render optical storage useless when they appear. This is a certain fact but so is the idea that the flash storage doesn't feel special in any way (in case you still have your first Beatles album around you, you'll get the idea). And besides all the technology leaps, I can't help but feel that I've lost a friend.