Subscription culture—I’m over it but what’s happened to DVD players?!?

[-]

Sprzout@reddit

I've got a whole wall of DVDs and Blu-Rays behind my sofa. Disney movies, TV shows, etc. - all from the last 30 years or so. It's great.

All of them play in my Playstations, no issue. :)

And seeing as how Walmart is the ONLY brick and mortar store where I've seen DVDs/Blu-Rays over the past year, it's getting pretty sad. Amazon still carries them, but it seems to be a "press on demand" kind of thing, and can be somewhat expensive for certain DVDs. Still, I'll pay the price for certain films because I don't want the subscription fees for some services.

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jbubba29@reddit

You dont necessarily have to invest in dvds to limit subs. You can buy many hole box sets of old shows and cheap movies on Apple TV and own them forever. As long as Apple is around I guess.

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Blurghblagh@reddit

You don't own them forever, or at all. You have paid for a licence to access them as long as it is convenient for Apple. The moment it is not your 'collection' is gone. Unless you have the media stored offline on a disc or a hard drive in your physical possession you have nothing.

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jbubba29@reddit

But I can download a copy.

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Zestyclose-Feeling@reddit

Yeah until Apple decides not to pay for the license anymore. Look what happened to Sony users that thought the "buy" button over the rent meant they owned it. Nope only until Sony decided not to renew the license with the copyright holder.

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RiversSecondWife@reddit

Guess what happens when you’re offline for a few weeks? Everything stops playing until you get back online and sign back into your account.

You don’t own it.

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Article241@reddit

Technically, you don’t really own anything that is stored in the cloud since that service could shut down tomorrow and you’d be SOL.

It’s much safer to preserve any digital media on your own storage devices.

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jbubba29@reddit

True. But I have a receipt. There used to be a service where you could sync them across platforms. Movies anywhere I think?

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jhawkd98@reddit

Having a receipt doesn't matter if the service loses access to the content. That happened a while back with Discovery and Sony. When the contract expired and they were unable to reach a new agreement, Sony pulled the shows from their storefront on PlayStation. Not just for new purchases, but removed from the libraries of past purchasers as well.

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jbubba29@reddit

Seems like those that paid would be owed a refund. I’ll have to take a closer look at the agreement

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Article241@reddit

I store everything on external hard drives hooked to my own media server. This way, I can access all my digital media from any of my devices, either at home and out.

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jbubba29@reddit

I have that too. On plex media server. But the quality isn’t great and I have the hassle of backing up TB of data.

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Extension_Variety190@reddit

Why do you refuse to do an update from a manufacturer?

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SufficientlyRested@reddit

I’m not paid by them to do tech support. They should sell stuff that works

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moon-w0man@reddit

so would you prefer things to never get updates to fix issues or would you prefer to pay a technician to come plug in a usb drive for you

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Zandor72@reddit

No issues with my LG blu-ray player. I think you just got a cheap poorly designed unit - return it and try something a little more expensive.

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x86_64_@reddit

Definitely get a used Sony BD unit on eBay. Return that Philips thing to Walmart.

Our Sony BD is at least 10 years old but gets plenty of use and never lets us down.

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PromiseToBeNiceToYou@reddit

Our older Xbox One plays DVDs. What I want is a VCR to play my old VHSs because I have some that recorded movies off the tv and old commercials and I want to watch them again.

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Smart-Practice8303@reddit

Physical media is definitely the way to go. We as a society need to stop paying these subscriptions. Stop allowing these companies to dictate what you can and cannot watch or listen to or features you can use on something you paid good money to own.

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Woogity@reddit

Buy a used PS3 slim. They are tanks and great DVD and Blu-ray players.

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Fat_Bearded_Tax_Man@reddit

I have never turned on a playstation thay did not male me to wait 20 minutes for an update

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Woogity@reddit

These days the PS3 system firmware is updated about once a year.

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jennyScott7901@reddit

I second this. While I do still enjoy playing PS3 games, it's primary function now is a DVD / Blu-ray player. There is the occasional (small) update to allow it to play more modern Blu-ray releases. Just avoid the original fat model, the fan is noisy as all hell.

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MountainMankind307@reddit

I thought y’all were the last real tough generation lol crying about a software update

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Blurghblagh@reddit

No. What is moronic is refusing to do the update and then complaining it doesn't work.

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SufficientlyRested@reddit

Shit should work when you buy it.

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blue-collar-nobody@reddit

Then go to goodwill

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IWuzTheWalrus@reddit

I have a Synology NAS and use it to serve up all of my movies, TV shows and Music. When I get something new, it gets ripped onto the NAS. I am no longer wasting space for physical copies of digital media. Before the "What If" comments - I actually have two of them - one is a backup.

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tunaman808@reddit

It's 2026, my dude. Buy a UHD Blu-Ray player. It can play audio CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays and Ultra HD Blu-Rays.

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Ianthin1@reddit

Oh but they can’t do that because Blu Ray plates require updates too from time to time.

Can’t be having that!

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veritasjusticia@reddit (OP)

I don’t mind if the updates are automatically done or done by WiFi. Using a USB drive to download software updates to any device is ridiculous. I either want something that’s a dinosaur or the latest thing that works like literally everything else in the tech world. And I bought a blu-ray. So that’s that.

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veritasjusticia@reddit (OP)

Like what Im reading here

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ONROSREPUS@reddit

I still have and use 2 of them. I haven't used anything newer for moving watching then a DVD. Don't really plan on it either.

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cwal76@reddit

Honestly. I use ps5. It plays dvds Blu-ray

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peptide2@reddit

PIRATE EVERYTHING

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eat-real-chips@reddit

Is there a beginners guide to this you could suggest because I am a Luddite.

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Prudent-Test-9199@reddit

Look up veesee

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Punky2125@reddit

This. VSeebox. I no longer have any streaming services including Directv stream. While I miss being able to record my shows to watch later, it has Hulu so all my shows are there.

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eat-real-chips@reddit

Thank u

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z960849@reddit

It's a lot of work. You're better off going to your local library.

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RiverAccomplished741@reddit

The library is where it’s at

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veritasjusticia@reddit (OP)

Well. I bought a Panasonic Blu-ray player and am now happily watching season 1, episode 1 of Columbo! Hooked it up, put in the disc and pressed play without further ado. Thanks for the advice everyone!

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Phobos1982@reddit

Still have mine from back in the day, even still have a VHS player.

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Apprehensive_Neat418@reddit

I run a plex server on an old pc. Converted all my DVD collection to digital files and just watch star wars extended editions whenever I feel like saying fuck you to Disney.

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froggz01@reddit

I still have my DVD collection I purchased from Hollywood videos sales. I tried doing ripping to the PLEX server thing but I just can’t go back to the lower resolution. HD tv’s made DVD obsolete for a reason, the movies look awful in anything of 55” screens, especially in an OLED tv.

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Icy_Term1428@reddit

This is very hit and miss for me. I’ve ripped over 1700 discs, from 4k to dvd. I don’t compress my movies after I rip them. Honestly most standard dvds are just fine for me. Some look so bad I can’t watch them but I’d honestly say it’s less than 5%. And frankly given how heavily the streaming services compress their video most of my standard dvd rips don’t look much worse than a streamed high def movie on my 70 inch tv. Any blu ray or 4k rips absolutely blow streaming out of the water.

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froggz01@reddit

That was another thing. I had a hard time ripping the DVD, I even bought 4 DVDR drives for my computer to do exactly that but I had a hard time finding software that just works. Some would not rip because of copy protection. I just gave up and tried to find my movies on torrent instead and download them.

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Apprehensive_Neat418@reddit

Lucky for me I have much lower standards and am blind in one eye

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Mededitor@reddit

There was a commercial for something, and it’s set in the future. A guy checks into his hotel room and turns on the TV. A female AI voice says “We have every movie available in every language.”

We are almost there.

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guitarsean@reddit

Qwest communications, 1999. https://youtu.be/xAxtxPAUcwQ?si=X2jhvxs2j5I7OczZ

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Mededitor@reddit

That is it! Thank you for digging it up.

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Round-Public435@reddit

I have a dvd/vcr combo that I picked up at a local estate sale, because I still have some DVDs and (believe it or not) VHS tapes. They're movies that have never been released in the US or never made it to the digital platforms. As time goes on, some of them are starting to show up on digital platforms, so when that happens, I buy those and eliminate the DVD/VHS version. The digital versions are nice, because I can watch those anywhere - phone, tablet, TV, etc.

Example: When the remake of The Four Seasons came out as a limited miniseries, Amazon brought back the Alan Alda digital movie version for sale, which hadn't been available to purchase for years. They also brought back Same Time, Next Year - so I bought both of them.

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oldfarmjoy@reddit

I've been buying music cds. I love them. Listening to an "album", as it was intended, is so much better!

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Samwhys_gamgee@reddit

There are a lot of songs/artists I CAN’T listen to unless it’s on an album. My brain just associates some songs with the songs that come after them and if it doesn’t happen it’s to jarring. Best example is Queens “we will rock you” & “We are the champions” playing one without the other - like playlists/Spotify will- is, well, just wrong…

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oldfarmjoy@reddit

Yeeessss! My brain processes them as one song together! 🤣

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SillyTr1x@reddit

Thrift stores and yard sales!

If you like international videos some players can be adjusted to be region free. Look online to see if it’s possible

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EnjoyingTheRide-0606@reddit

Every piece of hardware is now coming with a subscription because of rapid AI technology changes.

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Komaisnotsalty@reddit

Thrift stores have these by the bazillion and you can scoop one up (or at a garage sale) for about $5.

I have an external DVD player and connect it to my TV via USB or to my laptop and then HDMI from my laptop to the TV. Either way, works perfectly fine.

I think I paid $14 for it, though that was about 10 to 15 years ago. Either way, it's tiny, takes up no space like a old school DVD player does.

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Impossible_Jury5483@reddit

I haven't used a DVD in years. I've come to realize I don't want to watch the same movies over and over, I like trying new things.

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MartinMcFly55@reddit

Why the downvotes here?

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Impossible_Jury5483@reddit

Gen x are getting old and grumpy.

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ImaginaryAd6339@reddit

Fully embracing the shit thats been happening with technology over the last 15 years is off-putting.

Not engaging with the OP about bad business practices like planned obsolescence and simply making a pro-subscription based economy comment is disingenuous.

And their comment is framed morally. A person who wants to do the same thing over and over has poor character, but liking a movie and wanting a copy of it for future use isn't weird or bad. Neither is buying something and expecting it to work and not break.

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BaldGuy813@reddit

Because this poster is being shortsighted and will regret his or her decision eventually?

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Ray_The_Engineer@reddit

I enjoy new movies, but I also have certain films and directors that I appreciate and revisit when the mood strikes. I collected my “favorite 50” movies on Blu Ray, it’s nice to have them on hand. No internet required.

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CommunicationHappy20@reddit

Go find one at a thrift store. Pre-greed version.

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Regular_or_BQ@reddit

I use my Xbox for watching DVDs since I got tired of playing call of duty and am too cheap to buy new games.

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AlucardD20@reddit

It’s a software update.. why on earth would they release something that needs to be updated is beyond me. What happened to just. DVD player

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alvb@reddit

I still have a DVD and a VCR. We don't have any streaming services outside Amazon Prime.

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chummers73@reddit

I never got rid of the old dvd player lol

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cometshoney@reddit

I never got rid of my vcr or my dvd player. Call me a hoarder, but I can at least watch my shit...lol. Here's one set...

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MrRetrdO@reddit

Same!

I have a 250+ Media shelf. Half is DVDs/PS2/Xbox games, the other half CDs/DVDs for the computer. Still got the original The Sims, X-Wing, Half-Life2 Orange Box, along with tons of backups & other software.

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flyboy_za@reddit

Duck Dynasty?

Like you bought all of that, on purpose?

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Weird-Girl-675@reddit

I got these cool bags you can store DVDs in. A few hundred are currently under my couch 🤣

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Weird-Girl-675@reddit

This isn’t everything, but I wish I had the space to put everything on display.

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Karena1331@reddit

We have all of ours too & the players :)

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oh_wll_whtvr_nvrmnd@reddit

Not hoarding. That's a beauty to behold!

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veritasjusticia@reddit (OP)

Smart!!!!

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Upper_Ad_4837@reddit

There are plenty of good dvd players around most require updates , i don't get why its a problem for you. I have a panasonic DP-UB820 ,a good 4kuhd player to play 4k discs . There are cheaper panasonic 4k players available 450 , 150 available. All require a internet connection minimum for updates, but will work without.

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katzeye007@reddit

There is absolutely no reason for a DVD player to be connected to the Internet. You're updated software that's spying on you

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1plus1equalsfun@reddit

A friend of mine uses a CPAP machine, and was all excited about his had bluetooth, was connected to the internet, etc. I suggested that he buy one which isn't connected, because what damned need is there for a medical device to be calling home constantly, and I was convinced that his insurance company would request the data in some sort of attempt to deny him coverage.

Sure enough, when he went to replace it, they wouldn't cover the next one, because they had data saying that he didn't use it properly, didn't clean it correctly, etc.

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unsafe357@reddit

A fellow UB820 owner. I love mine so much.

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MrRetrdO@reddit

Firmware Updates is what it's doing. Your Philips DVD Player is trying to update bugs in the firmware. Which is likely why it won't play. The USB port can also be used to show off your pictures from a thumb drive or even your phone.

As for DVD Players, I bought a small Region Free one on Amazon. No more worries about whether my DVDs come from N. America, Japan, England, or other country. It plays them all. It too, has a USB Port for updating the firmware & playing photos/videos from a USB device.

I use a BR/DVD Burner in my Desktop to convert some of my collection to digital formats.

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BaldGuy813@reddit

Can someone explain how to put movies on to Plex and if it is totally free of charge

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1plus1equalsfun@reddit

-Plex is free, with all sorts of FAST programming.

-Using PC software, you can rip DVDs that you own, save them somewhere on your hard drive, and then watch them through Plex.

-Or you can just download/pirate the movies/shows you want, save them somewhere on your hard drive, and then watch them through Plex.

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rimshot101@reddit

Get a Playstation. Think of it as a DVD player with lots of extras.

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CanadianExiled@reddit

This is how I ended up with a PS4, went to Best Buy and the clerk told me BluRay players were $250+ and they had leftover PS4s for about $100.

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MrRetrdO@reddit

That's why I still have a PS2 and Xbox360.

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shuzgibs123@reddit

I wish I could find my ps2. I want to play ssx tricky.

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1plus1equalsfun@reddit

I have a Plex server with about ~10,000 movies, ~700 TV series, and ~12,000 music tracks (~800 albums) for my family and some friends to watch. Compared to OP's difficulty with his DVD player, my server can be accessed by people on their TVs, computers, laptops, phones, game consoles, streaming sticks, etc, etc, etc.

Apart from that, I haven't had cable since 2005, and haven't missed a movie, program or sports event I wanted to watch in that time. I just flat-out refuse to give those blood suckers another penny, who would try to charge you a fee for humming a song to yourself if they could get away with it.

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JollyGiant573@reddit

Get a BluRay player that can play both dusk formats.

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Bladrak01@reddit

My internet connected Blu-Ray player got bricked by an update.

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ImaginaryAd6339@reddit

And my 360 bricked 3mo after they stopped updating it.

I found out one of my old PCs will play dvds, no app required. Still looking for a blu-ray option.

Really considering a flip phone when this S9 stops taking a charge because ain't nothing right anymore🤷‍♂️

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LordsOfWestminster@reddit

I bought a nice Sony DVD player at an estate sale yesterday for $5.00. Even had a disc of Ready Player One in the tray.

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diane7002@reddit

My husband and I have been using ours a lot lately. We were getting sick of having to sign up for new subscriptions all the time. Turns out the old Blu-ray player still works and those old discs do too and we have forgotten most of what happened in the movies/shows, so it works out 🤷‍♀️

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LongjumpingResolve53@reddit

Build yourself a homelab and host Plex. You can then download whatever you want. I built my first homelab almost two years ago and now have a media (music, movies, tv shows, etc…) library over 2TB. The whole family can access it but I do limit what the kids can see.

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KSPhalaris@reddit

I took the easy way out. I don't have a DVD player per se. I have a Blu-ray drive on my computer.

I took an old computer my brother gave me and made it a JellyFin server. I then took most (I have about 700+ movies/TV shows, and I'm not near done all my disks) of my dvd's & blu-rays and ripped copies of them to put on my JellyFin.

I then just stream them to my TV through the JellyFin app that's available on most smart TV's.

And before you say that's not a genX thing to do. I'm 53. Born in 1972.

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flyboy_za@reddit

Can I ask, do you rip the menus and stuff as well so you can access features or do you just do the movie? What if you wanted to do a director's commentary or similar?

I'm considering converting my library to digital, hence the questions. Most of mine are collector editions with a ton of add-ons.

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KSPhalaris@reddit

I use a proofread called MakeMKV. it reads the entire disc. I select what I want to rip. Whether it be the extras, like gag reels, or directory commentary, etc. On some of my rips, I have both the theatrical release and extended versions of the same movie.

If you want to rip just the movie, you can. If you want the extras, you can. Jellyfin doesn't play like you put the disk in a player and shows you a menu. It works more like your own personal Netflix.

I started this whole project because my wife and I have a lot of movies/TV shows on dvd/blu-ray, but we never watch them. We would look at our collection and have a hard time deciding what to watch. Now that a big majority is on our jellyfin, we are watching a lot of things we forgot we had.

Be careful of the rabbit hole. I'm constantly looking for movies online, like Facebook marketplace, where I can buy a collection just so I can add more. I have about 6Tb of movies and TV shows. Most of what I have are DVD rips, but I do have about 30 Blu-ray rips and maybe 10 4k Blu-ray.

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flyboy_za@reddit

Ah yeah, that's a pity. The beauty of the disk is being able to stick it in and choose with or without deleted scenes and commentary included, kinda thing, but I guess this is next best.

Thanks for the info, about to do a new PC build at home and considering setting up the old one as a server of sorts for this kind of thing.

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KSPhalaris@reddit

You absolutely can with Jellyfin & MakeMKV. I'll use the movie Ted as an example. I put the disk in and load MakeMKV. It shows me all the options. 1. Theatrical version of the movie. 2. Extended version of the movie. 3. Theatrical with commentary. Etc. I choose all three. It creates 3 files, one for each version.

I put all three on my JellyFin. Then, when I want to watch a movie, I bring up Jellyfin on my TV and select Ted. I then get the choice of which of the 3 versions I want to watch.

MakeMKV also rips subtitles and alternate languages if those are available on the disk. If I rip both the English and Spanish versions, I can select which language and even turn on or off subtitles within Jellyfin.

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flyboy_za@reddit

Ok superb, much appreciated.

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Szarn@reddit

That's the most gen X thing to do. We cut our teeth on Napster after all.

I also run Jellyfin and do a lot of ripping 😁

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GarionOrb@reddit

The thing is you're buying a DVD player in 2026. Get a modern UHD Blu-ray player. They play everything and are wifi enabled to do updates.

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251Cane@reddit

Why would a dvd player need updates?

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KSPhalaris@reddit

This is a rabbit hole I went down when ripping my movies for my jellyfin. A Blu-ray player, even if it's not a 4k blu-ray player, can read 4k blu-rays. But it's the firmware on the drive itself that determines what movies it will play and what movies it won't play. I have a Pioneer Blu-ray drive that I use to rip my movies. It's not a 4k drive, and if I put a 4k disk in it and launch my player, it won't play or bring up the menus. But it's been flashed with a special firmware, often referred to as a LibreDrive. It allows me to rip that 4k movie, even though it won't play that same 4K movie. I can then put that 4k rip on my Jellyfin, which plays it just fine.

If I update to whatever firmware Pioneer wants me to use, I would lose that ability.

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Hey-Bud-Lets-Party@reddit

I know that 4K players need firmware updates because new releases may use newer codecs and DRM software.

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tekno23@reddit

On recent Blu-ray players for the bundled apps. Netflix, YouTube etc. Not seen a DVD player for sale for a while.

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oldirishfart@reddit

Blu ray isn’t long for this world

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/verbatim-and-i-o-data-extend-blu-ray-supply-pledge-as-manufacturers-exit-the-market

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DelphinusC@reddit

Those are recordable BluRays, which I didn't even know was a thing until now.

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Kevin_Turvey@reddit

PAWN SHOP

or Amazon. My Megatek plays all sorts of stuff, multi region, was under $50

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Unlikely-Ad3675@reddit

Can we get a link for that please 🙏

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itsmebrian@reddit

Amazon.com and search for Megatek.

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shimmeringmoss@reddit

Why do you refuse to do a software update if there’s a chance it might fix your problem?

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Szarn@reddit

There's literally no reason a dvd player shouldn't work out of the box. There's also no reason a dvd player should ever need an update to play decades old technology.

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kranools@reddit

Why would you refuse to do the update? "I know how to make my new purchase function, but I refuse to do so."

You're right when you say "Absolutely moronic".

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Szarn@reddit

I'd be pissed if I bought a super simple device to play technology that's been around for decades and it didn't work out of the box. That's unacceptable. It's like a toaster crying for internet access before it will make toast.

Make appliances dumb again.

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nikifullerton@reddit

I actually get what this post is about. It's about owning your own stuff and not being stuck dependent on updates that often make devices quit working.

It's like they want us to sail the seven seas or something. 🏴‍☠️

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Xiolaglori@reddit

Sailing the Seas of Cheese

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Dry_Transition4134@reddit

Get a current generation game system. Play everything.

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ThemeDependent2073@reddit

My PS3 works great as a bluray player. yupyup

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Cinisajoy2@reddit

My cheap one from Walmart doesn't have a USB port.

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Skid-Vicious@reddit

Go to Goodwill, a thrift store, or FB Marketplace and get a top of the line Blu-ray player for $50. I’m constantly looking for vintage audio pieces and it’s a running joke in our circles that that’s all you’ll find in Goodwill is DVD players.

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Xibby@reddit

Still have a Blu-Ray player and a DVD player. All my discs have been decrypted and converted and the files sit on a Bee-Link mini-PC running Plex. But if I wanted to watch the original discs I could. I’d just have to go to my self-storage unit and dig them out of the very back.

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Kindly-Might-1879@reddit

I bought my parents (88 & 87) a record player from Target since they hadn’t been able to listen to their vinyls for a long time.

It comes with Bluetooth capability in case you want to connect speakers lol.

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AnotherBaldWhiteDude@reddit

i still got mine and still buy dvds.

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skyld_70@reddit

I have 4k Blu-ray and have had no issues. Works great.

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PahzTakesPhotos@reddit

I don't know if ours is 4K, but our Blu-ray player has been fine. My husband is a "wants a physical item" type when it comes to movies (we have well over a thousand). He's finally realized that checking a movie on streaming before he makes a purchase will save him another mistake like the VHS he bought called "Deep Rising".

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space_wiener@reddit

You refuse to do the update and therefore it doesn’t work. Brilliant.

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wmnoe@reddit

yeah lost me there

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aethelberga@reddit

I think the point is they shouldn't have to update a DVD player. DVDs are old technology, nothing has changed in the last decade. They should work right out of the box.

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kranools@reddit

But it would be easier to do the update than to run off to reddit and make a boomer post about it.

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Ok-Limit-9726@reddit

What GenX never kept entire cd/dvd/blue ray collection? Watching rogue one next weekend, still in plastic from 2014

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East-Garden-4557@reddit

Still have mine, and all my CDs.

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Steerider@reddit

I have a 4k player I bought mostly because it's so much smaller than my old Blu-Ray player.

I did recently pick up a DVD player at a thrift shop for about $7, just because.

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b_newman@reddit

I use mu PS5

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JustAnotherBrokenCog@reddit

This is why I have a home file server running jellyfin fed from my DVD collection ripped as backups. Now if only I could wrestle the streaming subscriptions from my wife and kids I'd be a happy camper.

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No_Hovercraft_821@reddit

Have not fired it up lately but I'm pretty sure the player I bought 5-6 years ago is still working. Guess I should test it before inviting friends over to watch Spaceballs.

I'd suck it up and do the update. In this modern world features get added and bugs fixed through those since everything is software now.

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Spaulding_NO@reddit

Return it and go buy an old school one from FB marketplace, good will, or a garage sale!

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GelatinousGoober@reddit

Sounds like you’re the problem

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nerfherded@reddit

I've got a Sony home theater component player collecting dust somewhere, but it's too damn big to use in my current setup. If I need to watch a DVD I have an external player for my laptop. One of these days I may nab my mom's little Coby she no longer needs. I think she paid less than $20 for it in the aughts. Still works.

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bagoTrekker@reddit

gif

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willmaineskier@reddit

I just have a Blu-ray player because it plays all the discs.

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Nagadavida@reddit

I am still so loving my 200 disc CD player.

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KMack666@reddit

Honestly, one big solar flare and nobody will be streaming anything! With DVD's you got em in your hand! You could open a post apocalyptic Blockbuster!

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Wi2Ut4Me@reddit

Ibought a DVD player at the Restore for $3.25 and get my dvd's free from the local library.

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Traditional_Fan_2655@reddit

Try thrift stores.

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midnight_to_midnight@reddit

I'm anti-subscriptions, and don't have any streaming services, be it tv/movies or music. Any movies I buy/watch, I always buy on physical media. While I do have copies on digital (when they come with the physical media), I don't trust those digital media companies to stay afloat or not just disappear with my copies of media on their services...as it's happened before.

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Weird-Girl-675@reddit

Yeah I read this morning someone saying half their digital library went POOF! Noooo. Physical media all the way.

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midnight_to_midnight@reddit

Yeah, many years ago (10+?) I lost 5 or so digital movies/shows i had on some service that folded. No refund, nothing. Live and learn. Lol

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rock0head132@reddit

gif

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This-Shape2193@reddit

So you refuse to use the product as directed and are mad it doesn't work?

Do you often shoot yourself in the foot and blame others for the pain?

[-]

ooftymcgoofty@reddit

Sometimes I'm embarrassed by how boomer-y these gen x posts are.

[-]

MaximumJones@reddit

If purchasing is not owning then pirating is not stealing.

gif

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marigoldsandviolets@reddit

My Xbox plays DVDs

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Quirky-Attitude1456@reddit

I bought a $39 one from amazon 3 years ago it works great. The remote died and I contacted them, they 2 day shipped a new remote to me. Go to the library and get DVD's for free.

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skeebawler4@reddit

I must second this endorsement for the library! I get all my movies from them.

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Acceptable_Dust7149@reddit

I inherited a bunch of DVDs recently so I spent big money on a new player. Apparently there are 4 types of DVDs now. Who knew?

[-]

Charming-Lychee-9031@reddit

Go to your dpw and look around in the electronics recycling. I now have about 20 laptops, 3 towers, 3 sound bars, 2 ninja blenders, 8 phones, 7 amps, 2 electronic drum sets, a keyboard, and 3 DVD players. Also, 4 bikes.. one acoustic, two electric, and one motorized. Rich people throw out working products.

[-]

ghjm@reddit

What on earth is an acoustic bicycle?

[-]

The-Manque@reddit

It runs on mac ‘n’ cheese instead of electricity.

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Charming-Lychee-9031@reddit

fast Mac n cheese noises

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Ill_Community567@reddit

I don’t know, but that’s what I’m calling a non-electric bike from now on.

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LV-42whatnow@reddit

Dpw?

[-]

Charming-Lychee-9031@reddit

Ah sorry, department of public works. They usually have an electronics disposal area, along with other recyclable stuff. I managed to find a vintage graflex camera flash handle.. which was the prop for the original lightsaber in Star wars. Sometimes some really cool things get thrown out there

[-]

Jordangander@reddit

I have a DVD player in the TV room and the spare bedroom.

Plus the computer has 1.

And we have tons of DVDs because I don't want to guess if a movie I want to watch is on a service I have.

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Weird-Girl-675@reddit

I never got rid of my machines. I saw DVD players going for 80 bucks at a thrift store!

The only issue is one is so old it only works with CRT TVs. If I hook it up to an LCD TV everything is in black and white.

Still have two working VCRS, Two DVD players, two Blu Ray players and one 4k player. I’ve always been a physical media collector and l’m happy to see more people going back to it.

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norvillerogers1971@reddit

I have an older DVD player. I bought a converter for my LCD TV. It cost like 10 bucks

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Weird-Girl-675@reddit

Yeah it’s not that crucial as i do still have one CRT tv (my Atari is hooked up to it) but it just made me laugh when The Big Lebowski was in black and white.

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norvillerogers1971@reddit

I also have a CRT TV to play my Super Nintendo

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Weird-Girl-675@reddit

That’s how we roll!

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Abpoe77@reddit

Thrift stores and antique stores is the answer. I've built majority of this stereo and collection of physical media from thrifting and antiquing with my wife in the weekend. Our TV surround sound will be built in the same manner. It will include a DVD player which I have several but leaning towards a Blu-ray for versatility.

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skeeterbmark@reddit

So you bought a piece of equipment that requires occasional software updates, refuse to perform said updates, then complain that it doesn’t work properly?

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veritasjusticia@reddit (OP)

I want a simple DVD player. No updates. Didn’t realize it was even a thing when I bought it. Also your comment comes off as smarmy.

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skeeterbmark@reddit

Just trying to get the lay of the land here. Anything operated with any kind of processor requires updates. Your phone, your TV, your fit bit, the computer in your car, my freaking stove ran an update not long ago. almost everything works that way. It’s just how stuff is. There is no upside in stubbornly refusing to use the device as designed.

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halpert3@reddit

A DVD player bought in 1989 did not require an update.

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Ianthin1@reddit

DVD players didn’t even exist prior to 1996.

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halpert3@reddit

A DVD player bought in 1996 did not require an update.

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skeeterbmark@reddit

It’s 2026. Or you could buy a 37 year old DVD player, I guess.

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Daredrummer@reddit

Then hop into your time machine.

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Potential-Dog1551@reddit

Hate to tell you this but they’ve been putting processors in a lot of stuff since the 80s and none of it needed updates at all, he never had to update your 80s cars, 90s cars, the only thing you had to really update in the early odds was navigation on a car, and that’s where the slippery slope to subscription sort of stuff started happening couple that with incomplete software being pumped out by so-called software companies and pioneers and geniuses however they were glitchy and needed updates all the time because they were in complete products which brings us to today where the Consumer gets nothing but an incomplete product, having to do any sort of stupid update on a DVD player is asinine, it’s a simple machine that does a simple task. It does not need to be updated. This is an a boomer thing at all. This is a stupid extra shit. We don’t need sort of thing. If you don’t understand that, I don’t know what to tell you.

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Ianthin1@reddit

Module updates in cars have been a thing since the 80’s. It wasn’t as common until OBD 2 became the standard in 1996 but it was still done in some circumstances. Since 1996 module flashes have been common for fixing various issues.

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veritasjusticia@reddit (OP)

It’s just idiotic that if updates were necessary that a WiFi connection would be a thing with everything else these days. But not this one: a USB drive from my Mac to player to update is just senseless. Had no idea it was a thing.

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flavian1@reddit

thats not a thing.. never has been.

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veritasjusticia@reddit (OP)

Ones I had in the 90s were pop it in and watch away. No WiFi connection. No updates

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Bibberly@reddit

Right. I've had mine since the 00s, and it does not have an internet connection. It certainly does not do updates of any sort.

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flavian1@reddit

Sure bruh..whatever you say brah. Go back to bed grandpa… they home’s been looking for you

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Responsible_Trash_40@reddit

I don’t think you know what sub you’re in little bro.

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Ianthin1@reddit

So hit the thrift stores or eBay for some old machines that may or may not have the software to decode today’s discs properly.

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KrofftSurvivor@reddit

What the hell are you on about? Are you under the impression that every piece of electronics ever has always been made with internet connectivity???

Are you twelve?

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wmnoe@reddit

you come off as lazy

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skeeterbmark@reddit

Downvote away, luddites. lol. I say this way too often in this sub, but this is boomer shit.

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Representative-Mean@reddit

I hate that newer cars lack cd players. All my cds are just proof of my ancient existence. Nothing more

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Weird-Girl-675@reddit

That was the hardest part about having to get rid of my 24 year old car. I miss the CD and tape player.

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Bitter_Ad_9523@reddit

Funny how way back when, we burned CDs off our computers to be able to listen to them in our cars. Now we're burning CDs to MP3s to we can listen to them in our cars, haha!

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Ok_Command_9808@reddit

I know a site where you can rip anything you want from music to heather Harmon

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Bitter_Ad_9523@reddit

LOL. Napster still around?

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WAstargazer@reddit

Yup. Exactly.

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TheLawOfDuh@reddit

Same here. Trust me I’ve tried hard to take advantage of streaming but it’s always disappointed me in its poor quality (numerous aspects). Recently purchased a new ‘25 truck with no player so I found a nice simple plug n play CD player on Amazon for under $99. Wish it could also play music DVDs like my old unit played but this still covers me for 90% of my collection and I’m happy with that

[-]

TheMainTony@reddit

My car has a DVD player in the center console! I've never used it, other than to see if it was true. Plus, it's gotta be in park, with the e-brake on... when I could just stream to my phone at 65mph. LOL

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TheLawOfDuh@reddit

The internet has some easy ways to bypass that safety feature. I hired a local car audio company to do it for me. Only DVDs I played in my car were concert vids and mostly for their great sound/energy. Best upgrade I’d made at the time.

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TheMainTony@reddit

Mine is the original stock unit and I have no real interest in watching a DVD in the car and no real interest in giving up my infotainment screen to a DVD. When I found out, I thought it was cool but has been exactly of zero benefit to me in the long-term.

[-]

KalistoCA@reddit

Thrift shops .. can pick up a quality dvd player for under 10$

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negative_60@reddit

Some also sport an AMAZING selection of DVD's for $1-2.

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Weird-Girl-675@reddit

I was having fun thrifting over the weekend while visiting my mom. A local library in Tempe has three DVDs for a dollar sales.

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Affectionate-Map2583@reddit

My son is a serial scavenger of Goodwill's CD and DVD offerings.

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BloodyBarbieBrains@reddit

Thrift shop, pawn shop!

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AnotherPunkRockDad@reddit

I used to have a Phillips dvd player with a usb that would let you play video from a usb stick. You should see if it has divx media player functions.

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SBInCB@reddit

DVD collections abound at my local auction house. I bought one. Might buy another.

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acanis73@reddit

I have a vhs, a DVD and a blueray player stacked below my tv. Never disposed of the previous generation when we upgraded and nowadays they are just a rdminder of how old i am.

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Ok-Commercial-924@reddit

We still have a DVD player. We check out movies from the local library, think Blockbuster but FREE.

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ih8theeagles@reddit

Yeah we got a super cheap TV at Christmas time and it wouldn’t work until it had been hooked up to WiFi. I took it back. The whole point was a cheap TV that just turned on so it could be used with a Roku not the BS software they were trying to force on me.

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Ianthin1@reddit

TVs are cheap because they expect to harvest your data to compensate. It’s why commercial screens with no smart features cost so much more than a comparable retail model.

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ih8theeagles@reddit

Yep they crossed the line when I couldn’t use it unless it was registered through WiFi. I get all my data is out there but I don’t have to actively help them.

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BoldBoimlerIsMyHero@reddit

I use my playstation or xbox for dvds.

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Sure-Coffee-8241@reddit

The tray in my 360 won’t open anymore :(

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Ok_Command_9808@reddit

Same, my PS plays Blu-ray and dvd

[-]

LoudSheepherder5391@reddit

Need to upgrade to a ps5

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la_winky@reddit

I got a dvd player from Amazon for $20.

Works fine, I just need to pay attention to the format. Blu-ray is a no go.

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AnahitaPrince@reddit

I'm thankful my who-knows-how-many-years-old DVD player isn't equipped that way, and still works. I didn't know the newer ones required updates. Showing my age, I guess. Here's to hoping I get many more years out of mine. Good luck OP.

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Daredrummer@reddit

For the record, dvds look like garbage on modern TVs. You want Blu Ray at the very least.

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xikbdexhi6@reddit

We are GenX and our eyesight is starting to go. DVD for me.

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Daredrummer@reddit

I'm 51 and wear readers. The difference is obvious. Why waste your money on a product that is already obsolete and clearly worse?

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xikbdexhi6@reddit

56 and need a new prescription every year. I'm satisfied, so spending more would be the waste. But you do what makes you happy.

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cchaven1965@reddit

my TV is 1080 and 40" and it's a dumb TV. DVD's look just fine on it. I also have a large library of DVD's and even VHS tapes. Thankfully it all works great together. I don't want to start investing in yet another format.

[-]

veritasjusticia@reddit (OP)

Just ordered one on Amazon on the basis of this wisdom 👆🙌

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WizardTim01@reddit

Probably your best bet. Although (like some posters here) I'm still using an 'upscaling' DVD player, which plays DVD's just fine, and looks good to me. For reference, though, my house has 'dumb' TV's that have no idea what the Internet is, and don't have resolutions past 1080p. (So my 'upscaled' DVD's might indeed look like total crap on a 4K TV).

I believe Walmart is selling the DVD player I use for about $60. For me, it's good enough. If it dies, I might replace it with a Bluray player. But, for the record, you can still buy a new DVD player that does not connect to the Internet and does not do software updates. Whether that's ultimately what you want, is of course up to you.

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aharryh@reddit

My Sony Blu-ray/DVD connects to Wi-Fi and does updates over the air. I've not used it in years. It has apps that no longer work, pretty much a technology that is joining the rotary telephone.

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ghjm@reddit

Are you perhaps referring to the Philips DVP3980, a product of such utter crap quality that even Wal-Mart refused to keep selling them, dumped their existing stock for $3.94/ea, and discontinued the thing?

Was it on sale?

The DVD players you're remembering were the equivalent of about $250 in 2026 dollars. If you spend $250 in 2026 you get a Blu-Ray player with features and quality far in excess of what you remember.

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TheLawOfDuh@reddit

Lol totally believe it. WM does this often with their electronics. Just one of many reasons to never buy your electronics from a big box store.

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Bitter_Ad_9523@reddit

I use a portable CD/DVD drive to download old software onto some of my new computers (compatibility mode), if I cant find the software online.

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Tall-Yard-407@reddit

We just use our son’s PS five.

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Bitter_Ad_9523@reddit

Yup, I use my xbox

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justheretohelpyou__@reddit

I have bought many components from the Goodwill app. If you’re familiar with model numbers and have a bit of patience, you can score a deal.

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Conscious_Ad_35@reddit

TIL there's a Goodwiil app!

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TheLawOfDuh@reddit

Back when DVDs were still hot I was starting to replace my player with more versatile units able to play multiple formats (burned, DVD-A, SACDs, CDs, etc) and not bound by region so I could buy stuff from other countries. They were readily available. Got mine (& even replacements over the years) through eBay. Most were only about $150. No updates necessary and tons of descriptors in the listings so that you can ensure you’re getting the inputs/outputs/features you want. Easily one of my better purchases!!!

[-]

darkfalzx@reddit

Had all my DVDs backed up to a PLEX server for almost 2 decades now, but these days wouldn’t recommend it, as PLEX’ been moving further and further down the enshittiication route.

[-]

gofargogo@reddit

Jellyfin.

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Responsible_Trash_40@reddit

This is the way

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HighSeasArchivist@reddit

Time to get a VPN and start sailing the seas. These corporations brought it on themselves.

[-]

ryancementhead@reddit

gif

[-]

zer00eyz@reddit

This is the way.

It dovetails nicely with OTHER things you're paying for that you could probably avoid long term. Cloud storage, and a host of other goofy services that could be running at home (or will cause they are "free").

These things used to be a challenge to set up and host, but "AI" makes getting a good solution to the sorts of questions a new user would have easy.

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Not_High_Maintenance@reddit

I’m about ready to do the same.

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Analogsilver@reddit

I just upgraded to a 4k Bluray player. New ones are out there if you look.

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Sufficient_Focus4174@reddit

I have a Blockbuster in my house, but I haven’t watched invested in 4K. You would not believe the restorations of movies we grew up on. It’s like watching them for the first time!

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hophead7@reddit

The PS4 does a pretty good job upscaling, but it's source dependent. PS3 upscale was meh.

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TheJokersChild@reddit

And distributors like Arrow and Criterion are doing the lord's work.

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Sufficient_Focus4174@reddit

gif

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Zetavu@reddit

Everything is digital now, so I use a NAS drive with Kodi on my tv or Firetvs. Issue is they block you from ripping the dvds and blu-rays you own without illegal software, making it pointless to try and do things legally.

You can buy digital copies but those are often so restricted they are difficult to use. Then again have the same issue with some Dbds and Blu-rays.

I miss VCRs.

[-]

PacRat48@reddit

Go to the goodwill and get you a backup DVD player

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Keefer1970@reddit

I still have a blu ray player and a couple of DVD players in my house.

[-]

DrumsKing@reddit

Did it cost $27.99? There's your problem.

[-]

RustyDawg37@reddit

If you let them do the updates, they also can lock it out, and will.

Just do the update you need and move on.

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Nightgasm@reddit

I use my PS5 or PS4 if I need to play a DVD or Blue Ray.

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UrsaMajor7th@reddit

I’ve been using my PlayStations for dvds for ages. I also maintain one older Mac with a disc drive for burning cds.

[-]

badhoopty@reddit

yeah my ps3 works great as a dvd player.

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Jeebusmanwhore@reddit

I have hard drives filled with movies and shows that I have downloaded over the past couple of decades and still download, currently. I have a media player hooked up to my TV to watch them when I want to watch something that I don't have a subscription for. I pay for Amazon because I shop with them all the time. Netflix is included in my phone plan. The rest of the shows and movies that are available on other services.... well... Yo ho yo ho, it's a pirates life for me 🏴‍☠️

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Historical_Bath_9854@reddit

This is the way.

[-]

Spiritual-Eye-2910@reddit

Remember CD subscription services.

[-]

stunneddisbelief@reddit

That’s what Netflix originally was.

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ORF1Live@reddit

Never got rid of mine, or my cds

[-]

esp735@reddit

Need one? I have 3. "Just in case."

[-]

Dontopentillxmas@reddit

Picked up a Panasonic DP-UB154 from best buy last year,plays dvd,blueray and 4k,can also play my old limewire cds that gave my laptop a digital std,and it's non streaming,you can hook it up to wifi for updates tho

[-]

The_Bandit77@reddit

Still using a ps3 for dvd and Blu-ray and 3Ds

[-]

Poultrygeist74@reddit

Good on you for having one that still works, mine cooked itself after 5 years

[-]

TheJokersChild@reddit

I got a Sony 4K player. Updates through wi-fi, or ethernet if you need it. Plays everything. Do the right thing for yourself: take your Philips back and spend up for a good one.

[-]

UptownGenX@reddit

I still have my VCR, DVD player and Laser Disc player.

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That_Skirt7522@reddit

I have two dvd/vcr combos. One records from TV (and I have blank rewritable disks still). I'm stoked.

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GatorGTwoman@reddit

I use my PS5 for dvds. My old school blu-ray player died shortly after I got the PlayStation.

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who-waht@reddit

We have older computers connected to our tvs. With dvd players.

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greenyquinn@reddit

Equivalent to complaining about cassette players disappearing in 2003 while refusing to buy a cd player that also plays cassettes

Buy a blu-ray player. They play DVDs

[-]

shinyviper@reddit

Did you RTFM? We're the generation that does that. It's how we became the de-facto VCR programmers of our households.

[-]

some_one_234@reddit

I bought a cheap Blu-ray player to play my old DVDs and CDs

[-]

No-Hospital559@reddit

We have 3 disk formats (DVD, Blu-ray , 4k UHD) currently and the current PlayStation 5/Xbox with disk drives will play all 3. You can also get a stand alone unit that will do all 3. You can find many second hand Blu-ray disks for very cheap on eBay. It's a nice middle ground and will satisfy most people as they are much better than DVD.

[-]

OldHead1776@reddit

Even an old original PS3 from Game Stop for $150 or whatever. The PS3 was the first widely adopted Blu-ray player, as the standalone units were really expensive at the time. Sony was pushing the format. You can get a nice remote control for the PS3, but it doesn't come standard.

[-]

ChoakIsland@reddit

Got one in the closet on standby.

[-]

humble_cyrus@reddit

I have a dvd from 10 years ago. I purchased one cuz I wanted to watch, "Escape from Ny." Well u gotta pay. I bought the DVD for $6 on eBay and have wanted it 2X now. Worth every $1. Plus I have about 200 DVD's still

[-]

Tom_Slick_Racer@reddit

I picked up a Sony Blu-Ray at Goodwill for $11 it works great.

[-]

kidneypunch27@reddit

Defo get a BluRay player. Plays DVDs and the picture is superior to a standard adVD player.

[-]

SomePeopleCallMeJJ@reddit

I wonder if it has something to do with region encoding? Like maybe they ship them unprogrammed to any region, so you have to set it to one via whatever firmware you download in order to start using it?

Just a guess.

[-]

Both will still play your existing DVDs and will update over the internet. DVD players sold now are completely stripped and targeted at people who won’t spend $60 on a basic blu-ray player.

[-]

Successful-Ad-9634@reddit

Go to a thrift store. They have loads.

[-]

baziik66@reddit

Get an xbox