Re:Backwards compatible outputs have to go? (Score 1)

DVD was not a success because movie companies just decided to stop selling videos; there are still plenty of videos available in shops. The DVD was a success because it offered a better non-degrading way of watching movies with extra features. It's comparable to the reason why the CD killed off the LP.

If the DVD had just been a video with DRM then there would have been no reason to buy. The only way any extra DRM could be brought in without draconian laws would be to make sure it came with something that was much better than the technology it replaces. I just don't see how this will happen when for the majority of people CD audio is as close to perfect as they want, as are the unprotected mp3's they've been using for years.

It's crazy to suggest that these companies can afford to stop producing CD/DVD formats just because they have something they can market as superior; the format that gets most production will be the one that sells in the greatest numbers. A lot of people have already been persuaded to upgrade vinyl and video to optical formats, but I don't see what big differences any new technology could offer that would make it worth going through all that again.