Do You Still Buy DVD/BD or Stick To Digital For TV/Film & Why?

[Goggindowner]

I collect Blu-Rays. I'll watch things via streaming or download but I view that as a more disposible means of seeing something. When I buy a physical copy it's a commitment to owning that thing. I've seen streaming services loose many of their titles, I've had computers crash and devices accidentally destroyed - to me it just seems safer to have my Blu-Ray copy of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and as I've always been super careful with my discs I expect to have that last me a few decades, if not my entire life.

I don't buy too much (three or four titles a month on average - but I'll splurge for holidays and Criterion sales), and I'll regularly cull stuff I don't think I'll realistically rewatch. I think a good collection has to be pruned like bonsai and not get out of control. Luckily, I primarily collect classic films, and they've been released on Blu-Ray in a somewhat off-and-on trickle, so that has naturally curbed the hobby to very manageable levels, but actually it's become like a deluge recently: WB has started releasing a new online excuse Warner Archive Blu-Ray practically every week, boutique labels have sprung up all over the place and all the big studios have become more ready to license their catalog titles to them. It's become more expensive, but it's hard to complain when it's a ton of films I've wanted to be released for years!

Be as careful as you want, but the shelf life of a disc is only about twenty years unless you keep it in an ideal setting and avoid contaminates of all kinds. They don't last forever. I personally had some of my oldest DVDs become unplayable, and I always kept them in a climate controlled room, in their original packaging, and I was always careful to never touch the readable surfaces. None of it mattered.

[Angilasman]

^You say 20 years, other folks say 100 years - I'm guessing it's somewhere between those extremes. I'm aware dust and fingerprints and sunlight and extreme temperatures are the worst thing for 'em - I even make sure my hands are clean before I touch a disc! Either way, I'll have no problem repurchasing my absolute favorite films every few decades.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've got some CDs bopping about that are a good 30 years old, a DVD or two from '97, and several VHS tapes that are even older - all still playable. Maybe I have the magic touch? Actually, VHS has been the most likely to expire for me solely due to tape eating VCRs.

[AndrewCrossett]

I have CD's that are 30+ years old too, and I've never had one of them fail due to age. I've had one or two of those cheap writable CD's go bad because the silver started to flake off them, but that's never happened on a professionally released disc for me.

My oldest DVD's are 15 years old or a bit older. Never had one of them fail yet either.

I know all physical media are finite. Hard drives and thumb drives will always die sooner or later, and most of my floppy discs from 20-30 years ago are now unreadable. But CD's and DVD's should last the longest with a reasonable amount of care.

[Goggindowner]

Most of my CDs and DVDs never had a problem, even after fifteen to twenty years of ownership and use. I just had a handful that did fail out for whatever reason. It happens is all I'm sayin'.

[Colossus1980]

I think most DVDS and CDS won't wear out if it's only owned by one person. The ones at the library sure wear out fast with all the usage. Honestly how many times can a person watch a whole season again and again when there's always new stuff coming out?

[Angilasman]

Most of my CDs and DVDs never had a problem, even after fifteen to twenty years of ownership and use. I just had a handful that did fail out for whatever reason. It happens is all I'm sayin'.

Occasionally it's just the make of the disc - sadly defective but unknown for years.

Criterion is pretty much the best home video company ever, but last year a bunch of movie fans noticed some early Blu-Rays from the company became unplayable. Criterion tracked down the problem to titles from a particular pressing plant a few years earlier, and issued requested replacements on all the titles... even ones that were out of print (which was really cool on their part!).

[Ace Venom]

I still like to buy Blu-Ray. Some things just don't get streamed digitally.

[Marvel-Studios Rep]

I only buy digital now. It's a lot more convenient. However, I still own copies of a few of my favorite shows on DVD, as well as VHS. Still got TMNT on VHS along with some other tapes that were purchased for me when I was younger. Ironically, when it comes to books (novels) I absolutely will not buy digital. I have to have a hard copy. However for some comic runs I'll buy digital because it's much cheaper and you can get bundles. It helps when there is a convenient ap that stores all of it for you and sub-divides the sections. This is why I have Viz and Shounen jump subscriptions.

[Hypestyle]

We'll see what's the next format to come out. I'm glad I didn't participate in the Blu-Ray/HD war while it was on, and I feel for anyone who sided with HD. While supposedly it was the "superior" format it didn't win the retail battles.

I'm not into the idea of accruing a huge disc-set anymore. It got too cumbersome, certain films I hadn't seen in years after watching them a couple of times right after I bought them. I sold most of my discs. I figure once I eventually embrace one of these streaming services I can see most of them again.

[Den]

Streaming is very convenient in a lot of ways, but like someone else said, the provider can edit it, fill it with ads, or take it away anytime they want pretty much. I like actually owning the things I pay for, so I'm still into DVDs for anything I'll watch more than once.

[AndrewCrossett]

We'll see what's the next format to come out.

4K Ultra HD. They'll probably have some titles out by the holidays this year.

[Rogue Star]

So I was wondering, how do you purchase copies of your favorite TV shows and movies these days? Do you still buy physical copies or do you stick to mostly digital purchases and streaming?


As for me, when I was younger I had the dream of having a huge DVD collection, but over time I realized a lot of dvds I bought I hardly ever watched and they were just needlessly taking up space. So I ended up selling a lot of my collection at garage sales as well as giving some to friends.

These days I pretty much only buy a DVD/BD of a movie or a TV show if I consider it a favorite or something that I know i'll actually watch more then once and wont just sit there collecting dust.


For digital, I like to stream films/shows off of Netflix and will download my favorite episodes from some favorite cartoons off Googleplay. But that's mainly because unlike live action shows a lot of toons sadly don't get proper season sets.


But yea, overall I would say these days I don't really care about owning physical copies of TV shows and movies outside of a handful of favorites.


So how about you?

Prefer hard copies. If you don't have it in your possession then you don't actually own it.

[Zorkel567]

4K Ultra HD. They'll probably have some titles out by the holidays this year.

There are already has a number of titles out. I've seen them at Best Buy.

[robreedwrites]

So I was wondering, how do you purchase copies of your favorite TV shows and movies these days? Do you still buy physical copies or do you stick to mostly digital purchases and streaming?


As for me, when I was younger I had the dream of having a huge DVD collection, but over time I realized a lot of dvds I bought I hardly ever watched and they were just needlessly taking up space. So I ended up selling a lot of my collection at garage sales as well as giving some to friends.

These days I pretty much only buy a DVD/BD of a movie or a TV show if I consider it a favorite or something that I know i'll actually watch more then once and wont just sit there collecting dust.


For digital, I like to stream films/shows off of Netflix and will download my favorite episodes from some favorite cartoons off Googleplay. But that's mainly because unlike live action shows a lot of toons sadly don't get proper season sets.


But yea, overall I would say these days I don't really care about owning physical copies of TV shows and movies outside of a handful of favorites.


So how about you?

I still buy DVD/BD of movies that I will rewatch. I like knowing I have a physical copy of something as I don't feel the same sense of ownership of digital (and nowadays, I usually get the digital copy combo pack so I get both). I don't get tv shows unless I'm really keen on the special features. TV shows are usually so readily available via Netflix/Hulu, etc., that I feel it's a waste of money to buy them unless the special features are worth the price.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I buy Blu-Ray discs for movies while I stream TV shows on Netflix and Hulu, and anime via Crunchyroll and Funimation.