I know physical media for computer software and movies/music has dwindled in popularity with the advent of downloads and streaming, but it’s still around. And, despite upgrades in technology and storage capacity, it seems like we’re still going with the 4.7” optical disc.
CDs. DVDs. Blu-ray. Console games. All still use the good ol’ “CD” form factor after almost half a century.
What are the reasons for this? Is it just due to familiarity? Is the manufacturing and distribution infrastructure just too well established and not easy to change? Is there anything on the horizon to replace it? Or is “the disc” really just the end of the line for consumer physical media? Curious.
In: Technology
There are many advantages to a unified form factor, production-wise. t allows new disc players to be backward compatible with minimal effort. It allows your factory to reuse many molds and pieces. You can switch production from DVDs to blu-rays to CDs with minimal downtime and hassle.
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