Struggling with Digital v Physical

[Axaday]

I bought a lot of DVDs between 2000 and 2010 and have sometimes felt a sort of pride about the shelf kind of people a depiction of me. Long time agreed with those who say it is just much more secure to have physical media. I settled it for myself a long time ago and didn't readdress.

In recent years I haven't bought many movies at all, but there was one I wanted this week and when I bumped up against the choice again it just shook me a bit. I had an impression that Amazon had some kind of deal where you'd get both, but I haven't been able to substantiate that. To cut to the chase, I just bought digital at a cost of only 4 cents less and I think I made the right call. I am betting that Amazon Prime Video will continue to exist as long as want. That seems like a fairly safe bet and I only bet $8. There is some risk, but is it more likely that Amazon will end or that my house will burn down? Because if I buy the physical one I am betting my house won't burn down.

I can watch it tonight.

 

[Caldwin]

I mean, if your house burns down I think you've got a bit more to worry about than your movie collection.

I buy a lot of my impulse buys digitally. The ones I want to make sure I have on a more permanent basis, though, I'll go the extra mile and get physically. So many discs come with a code for digital anyway, making it a non issue.

But having had several music videos simply vanish from my Apple library that I actually paid money for, seeing many video games drop from existence without even the option of downloading if you already bought it, digital stores as a whole simply becoming unavailable...I'm loath to putting my entire library at the mercy of digital libraries.

 

[Ceir]

Physical media all the way, baby. A book or a disc on my shelf that I've paid for can't be taken away from me accidentally, incidentally, or intentionally if my internet goes out, a website goes belly up, or a service provider loses rights/decides to play the censorship game.

Yes, I am also painfully aware that I handicap myself with this preference.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

For me it's just an addiction and I am not afraid to admit it. I am surrounded by boxes of DVDs I bought in lots. You'll never take my physical media from me.

 

[Rhinox]

Personally, I've moved the other way.
I traded it my old DVD collection, sold most of my video games, etcetera.

I'm tired of moving all the same crap from house to house. I'm tired of not having space. And I absolutely love having my entire collection with me on my giant folding phone.
There will always be a place for certain physical media. I will buy a physical copy of every Zelda game I can. I prefer my D&D books to be physical copies.
I love physical media, don't get me wrong. In a perfect world, I'd keep my collections. But I have to bow to the realities of space and to the fact that I'm too ******* old to lug around boxes of books that literally weigh hundreds of pounds. I moved 4 times within a year a while ago. It broke me of my need to have physical copies of everything.

 

[Tm_Silverclaw]

And before anyone tries to bring up the PSN outage today...

I just verified, AND HAVE VIDEO PROOF, that my PSN and digital games work just fine.

 

[Princess Viola]

And before anyone tries to bring up the PSN outage today...

I just verified, AND HAVE VIDEO PROOF, that my PSN and digital games work just fine.

you are literally one person fam

that doesn't mean anything.

 

[Dekafox]

If the copy is irrevocably under my control and I can back it up and restore it however and as much as I wish on my own equipment and media, then digital is alright, as it is still mine. If my access to it is on the whim of a corporation or someone else, whether money is involved or not, then I don't truly own it.

 

[Axaday]

It was a smart move for Bluray to be backward compatible, but I expect that there will be future format changes within our lifetimes that are not. My dad has an extensive collection of VHS tapes, but he does not have a player. DVD never offered a trade in program for physical media that had been purchased.

 

[Princess Viola]

DVD never offered a trade in program for physical media that had been purchased.

why would they have offered that fam

do you think that just because you bought something on one format, that it therefore entitles you to keep getting it in future physical formats forever or what

 

[Axaday]

why would they have offered that fam

do you think that just because you bought something on one format, that it therefore entitles you to keep getting it in future physical formats forever or what

I don't. That is my point. People who say they bought physical media because that can never be taken away have lived in a 28 year pax romana, but I don't know how long that will last. I don't buy expensive DVD players, but they never seem to last more than 7 years and I need another one. When the format changes again, you'll have to decide whether to buy your movies again in a new format or make copies that will look homemade. Your blurays will be good as long as your bluray player lasts, but that won't be a long time and they don't make VHS players anymore, so I don't think they'll keep making blurays either. Your physical media is on a clock.

And candidly the next format may just be digital with no more physical media at all.

 

[Caldwin]

I still have a working VCR.

Take care of your jive.

 

[Axaday]

I still have a working VCR.

Take care of your jive.

I actually do too, but my mom bought it on eBay about 5 years ago and gave it to me.

I mean, I guess it works. She bought it for me because of something half-serious that I said and I don't think I've ever tried it. But it was new in box.

Your VCR will stop working if you use it. A part will wear out that they don't make anymore and there will be no taking care of that.

 

[Princess Viola]

none of my physical media is on a clock.

i can literally rip all of my BDs to my laptop and get video files that blow the quality of any 4K streaming service out of the water - and I'm talking 1080p BDs here, like look up the bitrates that streaming services offer for 4K videos vs the bitrate of a 1080p BD, I think Apple comes closest for their 4K content but even still. (I believe there is one very specifically aimed at a hella niche audience that gives you 4K content at basically the same bitrate as a 4K UHD BD but I think that's like some jive that costs like $300/mo or something ridonk)

and i can make duplicates of those ripped files for backups, cloud storage, etc.

none of my physical media is on any sort of clock here, sounds like a skill issue tbh.

 

[Axaday]

none of my physical media is on a clock.

i can literally rip all of my BDs to my laptop and get video files that blow the quality of any 4K streaming service out of the water - and I'm talking 1080p BDs here, like look up the bitrates that streaming services offer for 4K videos vs the bitrate of a 1080p BD, I think Apple comes closest for their 4K content but even still. (I believe there is one very specifically aimed at a hella niche audience that gives you 4K content at basically the same bitrate as a 4K UHD BD but I think that's like some jive that costs like $300/mo or something ridonk)

and i can make duplicates of those ripped files for backups, cloud storage, etc.

none of my physical media is on any sort of clock here, sounds like a skill issue tbh.

I ripped some CDs 30 years ago. I'll bet the skills are pretty similar. Put the disk in the drive and run a piece of software and save a file? I have those mad skills. Neither of my laptops have drives for a BD now, but I know I COULD still have that if it were my priority. And when BDs are getting phased out at some not too distant future time, I'd still be able to get myself one in time to make the switch. I did grant a few posts up that you'll have the option one day of replacing your BDs with something that looks homemade. If that's what you want. And assuming that the next format IS physical, because it is likely to just be digital.

Your physical media is on a clock because its physical form will become unusable before you are old. If you think it is not on a clock because you can make digital media out of it, you are just telling me why you don't mind that it is on a clock.

 

[Rhinox]

Everything is on a clock. It's just a matter of how fast it runs out. But everything eventually breaks, dies, or is somehow rendered unuseable. We can change the timetable, turn back the clock or reset it a few times, but the clock remains all the same.

 

[Caldwin]

I guess it's a race to see if the tech outlasts the human. I mean, you start talking about A1C and all the little aches and pains that add up over time, I think my VCR has a very real chance of outlasting me.

Heaven help me, I'm not sure if I'm kidding.

 

[Ultra Magnus13]

Honestly I feel like both camps of die hards are kind of weird.

My absolute favorite films and shows I enjoy having on physical media, I already own most on disc.

I have a decent sized collection from pre/early streaming. At most there are a few titles a year that come out that I feel compelled to buy.

I usually do not "buy" digital movies. I catch most movies I'm very interested in theatrically. If I'm not interested enough to see it in theaters I am usually content to wait for it to appear on a streaming service I'm subscribed to. We rent digital movies maybe a few times a year.

Being able to watch a series all day without having to swap disks or navigate menus every episode or few is very nice, as is being able to skip end credits etc.

I CAN see and hear the difference between DVD, BD, 4k and streaming. But again, unless it's something I'm highly passionate about, DVD quality is good enough.

Games, physical is pretty close to a losing battle. Most games I play are multiplayer, and would require some kind of cracking/fan servers to support if the publisher stops supporting it anyways. Wouldn't matter if you had a disk or not. It's not uncommon for physical games to require additional downloads or an internet connection to play anyways and most require an install anyways and only is the disc as a form of "rights validation" . The Switch is about the only modern way to game that often bucks this trend.

The value of being able to immediately swap around games as I feel like or play away from home etc it incredibly convenient.

Books I am 100% physical, just because I love the tactile senses that come with reading a physical book/comic.

 

[Axaday]

Yeah, I've never read a book in any way other than reading a BOOK.

I guess a piece I left out is that some time back I noticed that I never watched my DVD collection. It is really rare for me to decide to watch a movie that I have already seen twice. I noticed it and now when I want to watch a movie I didn't see in theaters we just pay our $3 or whatever to stream it once and I never feel like I need a copy of it again usually. The one this week is where I just paid the $3 and now I want to watch it with my wife and it just feels like too many $3 rentals.

 

[Stepwise]

I have noticed that a little bit - we've bought most of the Marvel movies, for example, but we're more likely to watch them on Disney+. We have all of the West Wing on DVD, but we tend to not watch it b/c it would involve getting up and changing out the DVDS (or losing our place when we take a few days off...I think that's why the last watch-through ended early.)