I don't think I'd seen a thread dedicated to this subject......We collectors of home/physical media for movies and TV shows are a dying breed, but we're still out there. Hell, from what I hear, there are still people who buy DVDs, which boggles my mind. That's like buying VHS or 8-tracks, from my perspective.
For those who still collect physical media for celluloid, why do you still collect when streaming services are abound? Most people would scoff that it's a waste of money when you have almost everything at your fingertips, waiting at the touch of a button. And if you do collect physical media, which formats do you go for?
Myself, I've gotten to the point where I only buy 4K releases, although I'll relent and buy blu-ray for specific restorations/re-releases wherein they just didn't put it up on 4K. DVD I simply do not buy, unless it's something really old that's highly unlikely to be released in a modern format.....And I love The Criterion Collection. When it comes to Criterion, I'll sometimes buy movies I'm not too crazy about, just to enjoy their restorations and special features. They're a company I love to support due to what they stand for.....Kino Lorber is cool, and I appreciate them for doing certain 4K and blu-ray releases you sometimes don't expect, but what bothers me about them is the majority of their releases are bare-bones. In contrast to Criterion, who often have a cool, thick booklet, and multiple discs loaded with special features, KL is usually a single-disc release with not even a pamphlet, and sometimes barely any special features at all......Then there are other companies like Arrow Video, Shout Factory, etc.....
When it comes to conventional releases, as I mentioned above, I'm buying solely 4K, aside from a few exceptions......With conventional mainstream releases, like MCU films, I no longer buy them on their release date. I now just wait for Black Friday sales and such. With streaming available (Of course, I use 5-6 streaming services), I find it pointless to immediately buy mainstream home media releases. I used to jump on exclusive steelbooks from Best Buy, but now I'm somewhat minimal with those. I'll buy one if the cover art is significantly more appealing than the conventional release.
As for why I still collect home media.....Again, some would argue it's pointless to buy home media when streaming is readily available, but I don't like how streaming services constantly add or remove titles from their libraries. Then you have some movies which simply aren't available anywhere and you have to rent them (If they're available for a digital rental). Add to that, specialty boutiques like The Criterion Collection offer the advantage of superior picture/sound quality over streaming options.
I'll make a few more posts involving other related subject matter.