When did IP become so worthless to people?

[ZenErik]

Audiophiles will try to tell you that there is a discernible difference but there isn't. Unless you had the mother of all sound systems and a trained ear, it's pretty much impossible to detect that minute degradation.

I have owned high end headphones with a tube headphone amp and everything. And yes, it's very hard to tell the difference. ESPECIALLY in a blind test. That said, I just like to know I'm getting the best quality available to me so just about any album I can get in a lossless format or own the physical copy of, I have in ALAC (or FLAC).

[dsheinem]

Audiophiles will try to tell you that there is a discernible difference but there isn't. Unless you had the mother of all sound systems and a trained ear, it's pretty much impossible to detect that minute degradation.

I'm not an audiophile, but depending on the quality of the recording itself there can be a very discernible difference between a 320kbps MP3 and a FLAC file. This is especially true when listening on headphones and with things like recordings of live concerts...

[ZenErik]

Audiophiles will try to tell you that there is a discernible difference but there isn't. Unless you had the mother of all sound systems and a trained ear, it's pretty much impossible to detect that minute degradation.

I'm not an audiophile, but depending on the quality of the recording itself there can be a very discernible difference between a 320kbps MP3 and a FLAC file. This is especially true when listening on headphones and with things like recordings of live concerts...

I do agree somewhat, but in a blind test can you tell which one is lossless? Most people can't, but more power to you if you could guess right even 60% of the time.

[DinnerX]

I buy cds instead of mp3s out of principle more than anything. I just want to know I've got everything. I do have very good hearing though. The times I notice something's lossy compressed are when compression artifacts can be heard. It's hard to notice what is missing unless you know a track super well.

[dsheinem]

Audiophiles will try to tell you that there is a discernible difference but there isn't. Unless you had the mother of all sound systems and a trained ear, it's pretty much impossible to detect that minute degradation.

I'm not an audiophile, but depending on the quality of the recording itself there can be a very discernible difference between a 320kbps MP3 and a FLAC file. This is especially true when listening on headphones and with things like recordings of live concerts...

I do agree somewhat, but in a blind test can you tell which one is lossless? Most people can't, but more power to you if you could guess right even 60% of the time.

When I did some many years ago, I did pick out the FLACs pretty regularly. I haven't done this in a long time as my concert collecting days are now behind me and for most pop/rock music MP3s are fine. For a lot of classical, jazz, or anything with a lot of dynamic range I could still probably tell the difference on a good system or on headphones.

[Flake]

When I did some many years ago, I did pick out the FLACs pretty regularly. I haven't done this in a long time as my concert collecting days are now behind me and for most pop/rock music MP3s are fine. For a lot of classical, jazz, or anything with a lot of dynamic range I could still probably tell the difference on a good system or on headphones.

That might be an important caveat to make - real music over engineered noise. I don't have the background to say for certain but it makes sense to me that actual recorded, instrumental music might be complex enough for the degradation to be noticeable as opposed to the canned sounds and bleeps that make up most music these days.

[o.pwuaioc]

That's not true, actually. Used stores provide people who have already purchased a game from a company a chance to obtain credit for their games in order to afford that new game that just hit the shelf.

That's selling to. The context clearly indicated buying from. Buying from used stores generate no...

[Flake]

That's not true, actually. Used stores provide people who have already purchased a game from a company a chance to obtain credit for their games in order to afford that new game that just hit the shelf.

That's selling to. The context clearly indicated buying from. Buying from used stores generate no...

I think I was trying to get you to connect the dots. I might have been too vague.

Okay, scenario:

Company A has made a game and wants to charge $60 for it. The game is actually not worth $60 but rather than charge competitively, Company A will follow the platform holders MSRP because everyone else does it.

Person B wants to buy that game. But he doesn't have $60 to spend on a novelty item like a video game. He likes eating. And putting gas in his car. And buying condoms and such.

So without Store C, the used game store, there is no chance for Company A to get their money or Person B to get their game on.

How sad, right?

BUT...Store C DOES exist. And at Store C, Person B can sell a game they do not care for (probably last years version of Company A's game) for a small amount of money, making Company A's product more attainable. With luck, Person B now has the money + credit to BUY Company A's brand new and overpriced game. A, B, and C all get something that they want.

Now you have Person D who cannot / refused to pay full price for Company A's game. They buy Person B's game. Since they could never and would never buy Company A's game under an unrealistic pricing scheme where games have one price and never go down until after manufacturing has stopped...well, his dollars never existed to Company A in the first place. And that's their fault. Not Person B, Store C, or Person D. Because game companies have it in their fool heads that Video Games are a different kind of item and shouldn't be subject in price to the laws of supply and demand. So if they want to leave money on the table by letting Microsoft, Sony, or Gamestop set their prices- well, tough shit.

See you here next year when Person B wants the next edition of Company A's game!

[Mendoza]

I don't know that the used item defense works. You bought that game, movie, cd. You retain the right to sell it.

Also i don't see much merit in the "i dont have the money" defense either. I'm a teacher. I know very well how that works. Still all that ends up meaning is you get less stuff. Plain and simple. Entertainment is not right or in most regards a necessity. You budget for it or you don't.

[MidnightRider]

Why is that anytime a company tries to defend its IP (wow in this case its doubly true ) There the ones doing something wrong?

Basic human greed. There's no way to make it sound pretty, people just want more shit than they'll ever need, no matter how they have to get it sometimes.