Is there a place on the web like netflix for DVDs that allows one to rent Music CDs (with a sizable collection)? I dont like buying/playing MP3s anymore.

And this is a surround music question because why? Doubt you'll get much here. Try 2-channel.

P.S. The Public Library

I am a newbie...sorry for the error...
I need a place to rent music from that can drive surround/multichannel systems (7.1/5.1) :) Does that qualify? Are CDs multi-channel by any chance?

I am a newbie...sorry for the error...
I need a place to rent music from that can drive surround/multichannel systems (7.1/5.1) :) Does that qualify? Are CDs multi-channel by any chance?

SACD and DVD-Audio are multichannel, sometimes remastered sometimes brand new recordings.

No problem. CD's are not multichannel. Of coruse any stereo source (CD, vinyl, etc.) can be matrixed into faux surround using many different surround algorithms (music surround, DPLIIx, Logic7Music, etc.). The result, via your receiver or processor, can range from horribly processed to pleasant sounding surround....but it's not true discrete 5.1 or 7.1.

The only "cd's" that are multichannel can not play in your cd player unprocessed anyway...those are DTS cd's, and require a DTS decoder in your player or processor.

The rentable surround sources are mainly DVD-Video concert and music discs that will play surround via Dolby Digital or DTS. Hi-rez DVD-Audio or SACD don't have a rental outlet. Ya gotta buy them, like the rest of us. :)

I actually think it's illegal rent music CDs.

So no renting of audiophile music is allowed? Or is it just that no buisness has ever set it up??

So no renting of audiophile music is allowed? Or is it just that no buisness has ever set it up??I don't think there's a valid business model for it.

So no renting of audiophile music is allowed? Or is it just that no buisness has ever set it up??

check your local public libraries :p

check your local public libraries :pYeah. Really weird selections.:(

Maybe one should open one (Any volunteers) ? : Call it AudioBuster or NetAudio ;)

Or BlockWood?:o

Rent'N'Rip ? Sorry, couldn't resist. When I saw the original post I googled and found a press release circa 2004 for CD rental "business". It's not around now so.... Also, I can't remember the name, but I believe there is a hi-rez audio download site. At least there was at one time.

larry

I actually think it's illegal rent music CDs.

I think this is correct and it is illegal. I believe the same laws apply to video. However when VHS/beta/LD first came out the studios decided that people would not buy movies so the idea of retails was born. In hindsight it was a bad decision but the cat is out of the bag and no real way to undue it.

I think renting CDs, at least in the early days, was common in Europe or maybe Japan. seems I read about it in the early 80s. ?

I used to rent CDs back in the mid to late 80s in Montreal (there were several places to do this). Of course, back then, there were no affordable consumer grade devices with which to make digital copies at high speed (best quality copies you could get were on cassette or reel to reel). The place I frequented gave you an option to buy the disc, with the rental price subtracted from the purchase price, and I was able to sample a wide variety of discs that I otherwise would not. Today, it appears, the market for such a business is not ideal (for a variety of reasons), but back in the eighties, it worked perfectly well (at least in Montreal).

Well by that argument, RentNRip = NetFlix = Blockbuster !
Then why not CDs ? It sounds like Videophiles Vs Audiophiles...

I think this is correct and it is illegal. I believe the same laws apply to video. However when VHS/beta/LD first came out the studios decided that people would not buy movies so the idea of retails was born. In hindsight it was a bad decision but the cat is out of the bag and no real way to undue it.


Why was it a bad idea? Seems to be highly profitable.

Why was it a bad idea? Seems to be highly profitable.

Don't forget Disney sued Sony for selling the Beta VCR back in the 70s. Of course, ironically, Disney now release a lot of direct-to-DVD which makes the company millions (if not billions).

As for the renting of music software, I imagine the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has something to say about "personal use".

It's called a library.