IGNIS Summer 2016 | Page 17

away games in digital format, and download speeds can be frustrating and cause problems. However, other people embraced digital downloads for their immediacy, convenience and because physical CDs scratch and take up space. sound people preferred, mp3 or vinyl. Despite the fact that mp3 compresses sound files and vinyl doesn’t, the audience vote overall went to mp3. There was a noticeable difference between the two types when the experiment was broadcast on the television, so is it a case of voting for what sound you are used to or are there other factors involved? There has certainly been a resurgence in the use of vinyl, to the point that the best selling audio gadget on Amazon, Christmas 2015, was a record player and artists like Adele are releasing their new albums on vinyl as well as other formats. For many people albums go beyond the sound and include a visual and tactile experience. Being able to search through collections and look at record covers is part and parcel of a wider experience that many enjoy, while still listening to the mp3 version on their iPod for convenience! With other media there is a similar story. In a poll of 129 gamers on gamespot.com in 2015, 63% preferred disc to digital format, mostly because they can’t sell, trade or give Ebooks in their various formats have grown exponentially, they are loved for their storage capacity (hundreds of books on one device make summer travelling much easier), portability, ease of purchase through instant downloads, and price, with many ebooks cheaper than their counterpart. IGNIS 17