# Sigh...my gigantic CD collection is quaintly anachronistic, isn't it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 29, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757 "2011-12-29T21:10:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/41 "2011-12-31T18:14:42Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Most people are still using VCRs. DVR penetration is only at 37%. > > [DVR Penetration Means Time-Shifted Viewing Is Up 12/15/2010](http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/141342/) Well, the article you cite is over 12 months old now. I imagine the level is picking up with greater speed. Even my tech allergic grandparents and mom have been asking me if they should get a Tivo! Cite: [DVR usage grows, drives network ratings higher](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/10/dvr-usage-grows-and-drives-network-ratings-higher.html) 42%…not that much larger, but I’d say 2012 is the year it tilts over 50%. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/42 "2011-12-31T18:24:39Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > I found a bunch of old vinyl at a garage sale that a guy despised SO MUCH, he let me have his entire collection for five bucks. I dream of this sort of thing happening. It only turns into a nightmare when I realize that all of the LPs are Barbra Streisand albums. > [@Ogre](#): > > My 20 year old niece was over the other night, and she laughed at (my CD collection). LAUGHED. Just for that, tell her she’ll never get to hear “Come Josephine In My Flying Machine” played on your Victrola.\* \*my grandparents habitually referred to all record players (remember them?) as [Victrolas](http://www.worldofgramophones.com/victor-victrola-gramophone-II.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/43 "2011-12-31T18:49:07Z")
I just sold my record player/stereo system for a piddling amount of money. I haven’t used it in 5 years or so. I get that the sound quality is better, but the later vinyl LPs I bought were cheaply made and warped if you looked at them funny. I also have promised my vinyl Beatles collection to my sister. That actually was hard, as many of them were imports and very well made. As far as cassettes go, I had too many break or get mangled in tape players. Although I also still have a small collection of tapes and mix tapes I made years ago. I still have many CD’s, but I prefer to buy MP3’s. All of that said, there was nothing like ripping the plastic off an LP and pulling out that record. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/44 "2011-12-31T19:38:27Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > I own thousands of 78s. Unless someone here has a cylinder collection, I win. Yo. Edison-made. Got it from my grandfather about 20 years back. Worked the last time we tested them out. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/45 "2011-12-31T20:38:26Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I dream of this sort of thing happening. It only turns into a nightmare when I realize that all of the LPs are Barbra Streisand albums.Just for that, tell her she’ll never get to hear “Come Josephine In My Flying Machine” played on your Victrola.\* > \*my grandparents habitually referred to all record players (remember them?) as [Victrolas](http://www.worldofgramophones.com/victor-victrola-gramophone-II.jpg). Haha, there were a few albums that didn’t make the cut to mp3. Toto, for instance! ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/46 "2012-01-01T07:28:08Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Most people are still using VCRs. DVR penetration is only at 37%. > > [DVR Penetration Means Time-Shifted Viewing Is Up 12/15/2010](http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/141342/) How many VCRs have a digital tuner so they can record over the air programming? I suspect most VCRs aren’t hooked to the cable or an antenna and many aren’t hooked to a TV. [http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Nielsen-Media-Universe.jpg](http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Nielsen-Media-Universe.jpg) This statistic indicates there are 70 million households with a VCR, but I wonder how many are hooked up and capable of recording OTA shows. I have a VCR, but I just use it when a friend asks to copy an old tape to DVD. I use the Windows Media Center for recording OTA broadcasting. I have one friend who recorded her soaps on DVD, but I doubt she does that anymore since she got AT&T U-verse. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/47 "2012-01-01T07:29:23Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > My 20 year old niece was over the other night, and she laughed at it. LAUGHED. At my enormous collection of compact discs, lovingly collected over half my lifetime. She didn’t even know what to say about my godly vinyl collection. And that laugh…it was a mildly tolerant chuckle, a private kind of titter you would give a dotty aunt and her collection of display spoons. > > ☹ please tell me you don’t actually _care_ what she thinks about it. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/48 "2012-01-01T07:35:50Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > The jokes on them, Ipods are wonderful but ACCs and mp3 are shit when it comes to fidelity. The sad fact is people are being trained to listen to music in formats that sound horrible compared to CDs and LPs. do you honestly think that Justin Beyonce Gaga- with all of its 6 dB of dynamic range- is going to sound “better” enough in lossless/uncompressed format? ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/49 "2012-01-01T12:49:20Z")
I have never heard any of them.🙂 Seriously, I have a USB turntable that I use for copying songs and old albums from LP to MP3s or WAVs. My computer’s sound system is pretty good and I can’t believe how wonderful and rich the LPs sound just playing them over the good speakers on my system. I am not complaining the I-pod does a passable job for what I expect, portable music or playing in the car or listing to pod-casts where sound fidelity is not really that important. For fun I play a song straight off the LP on the turntable then play the same song when it’s converted to MP3, absolutely no comparison the LP blows away the MP3 utterly. The thing is younger people who have grown up listening to nothing but downloads don’t even realize they are listing to crap copies. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/50 "2012-01-01T14:46:03Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > This statistic indicates there are 70 million households with a VCR, but I wonder how many are hooked up and capable of recording OTA shows. I have a VCR, but I just use it when a friend asks to copy an old tape to DVD. I use the Windows Media Center for recording OTA broadcasting. I have one friend who recorded her soaps on DVD, but I doubt she does that anymore since she got AT&T U-verse. The important statistic is not “who has a VCR?” The important statistic is “who has a DVR?” If only 44% of the country has a DVR, the rest of the country must be using a VCR to record any television programs they record. They’re likely not using it as often as the DVR users use their device. But that’s the only assumption you can make from the data we have. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/51 "2012-01-01T16:52:18Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > The important statistic is not “who has a VCR?” The important statistic is “who has a DVR?” If only 44% of the country has a DVR, the rest of the country must be using a VCR to record any television programs they record. They’re likely not using it as often as the DVR users use their device. But that’s the only assumption you can make from the data we have. That is incorrect. I have both a media center computer and a dvd recorder. There are also combo VCR/DVD recorder units. I also watch many shows later on Hulu or just wait for last season episodes to show up on Netflix. According to the bar chart in this article, they don’t even list a VCR as an option. [http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/30/video-time-shifting-online-half/](http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/30/video-time-shifting-online-half/) It is apparently under the 3% other option. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/52 "2012-01-02T01:55:46Z")
It’s kind of depressing that so little is valuable any more. Music, books, films, news, images - anything that can be digitised is essentially now free for everyone. Nobody needs it in physical format, and nobody really wants to pay for it. I had a lovingly alphabetised CD collection, all through school, university and my early 20s I’d save up and add to it, annoyed by, but somehow still enjoying the hassle of having to shift everything along the shelves if I bought an “A” or “B”… I still have it but it’s packed away in the loft and I haven’t bought a CD for myself for a couple of years at least. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/53 "2012-01-02T03:03:14Z")
That reminds me of an episode of Bait Car where the cops put a bunch of electronic toys in one of their bait cars, including a Sony Discman. The kids who came to steal stuff from the car took one look at it and went “what the hell is this? I don’t want it.” So rest assured that nobody’s gonna steal your collection. 😃 And I actually burn the albums on my computer onto CD’s just in case my hard drive crashes. That and my boyfriend’s car doesn’t have any mp3 capabilities. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/54 "2012-01-02T04:21:01Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > In my lingerie drawer I have a couple of ancient cassette tapes, recordings of my little girl reading aloud from story books. Priceless (and I hope they hold up and we can find something to play them on again someday, lol.) I just picked one of these up at Best Buy. It was on a relative’s want list, and plays CDs as well as cassettes! [http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/sony-sony-cd-boombox-cfds05-silver-cfds05/10144201.aspx?path=aec85284b64aff60c43c2b0a7b9bb454en02](http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/sony-sony-cd-boombox-cfds05-silver-cfds05/10144201.aspx?path=aec85284b64aff60c43c2b0a7b9bb454en02) ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757/55 "2012-01-02T18:11:47Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > In my lingerie drawer I have a couple of ancient cassette tapes, recordings of my little girl reading aloud from story books. Priceless (and I hope they hold up and we can find something to play them on again someday, lol.) You should really get them transferred to something more permanent. Magnetic media will degrade over time. At this point there isn’t any really permanent media, but in digital form at least you can transfer it to new media every 20 years or so without further degradation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sigh-my-gigantic-cd-collection-is-quaintly-anachronistic-isnt-it/607757.md?page=2)