Physical Media Curiosity

[Carlobrando87]

Sorry if this has been posted before or if I’ve posted it in the wrong location, I was just curious to know:

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?

2) Why you still do in 2021?

3) Do you stream too?

For me I’ve always been a HD snob since Blu-ray came about. I use to own only films I loved but the past year I’ve really got into collecting and it makes me happy ordering a film and get excited when it arrives!

I do also stream though but much much much prefer owning something on disc.

Why I still buy & prefer physical media in 2021:

Quality & Audio
- There is no comparison when it comes to actual picture and audio quality compared to an internet stream equivalent (Netflix etc)

No buffering / interference
- You never have to worry about the film having the spinning wheel of death trying to source more Mbps to support the film, it just plays.

I like collecting them
- It’s a hobby that I enjoy and there is something nostalgic about owning the films and physically picking one from your shelf to watch. Plus they look nice on the shelf 😎

You’ll always own them
-Streaming services are constantly evolving and changing so who knows if that movie you love will always be on there.

[BluCollector13]

1. I'm a film junkie. When I love (or am fascinated by) a film, I want to keep it and be able to show friends where my passions lie.

2. Same reason as answer #1.

3. I do but it's not my preferred choice. It's like with a Netflix movie. The convenience to have it streaming is nice, but if it plays theatrically, I'm seeing it there first. Hell, in October, I had an appendectomy and had to stay hospitalized for a month. Less than eighteen hours after being discharged, I was sitting in a theater with a wound vac hooked into my abdomen watching "Mank".

[drush9999]

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?
VHS tapes in the 80s, and being able to watch your favourite movies whenever

2) Why you still do in 2021?
Most of the films I want to buy tend not to be on streaming services. Plus I like the ability to watch what I want, when I want. Quality is superior on physical media usually. Being able to choose what cut or transfer is another bonus of physical media. Any serious film fan would have to resort to physical media anyway. Plus collecting is actually enjoyable.

3) Do you stream too?
Only to watch stuff as a "rental".

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by drush9999

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?
VHS tapes in the 80s, and being able to watch your favourite movies whenever

2) Why you still do in 2021?
Most of the films I want to buy tend not to be on streaming services. Plus I like the ability to watch what I want, when I want. Quality is superior on physical media usually. Being able to choose what cut or transfer is another bonus of physical media. Any serious film fan would have to resort to physical media anyway. Plus collecting is actually enjoyable.

3) Do you stream too?
Only to watch stuff as a "rental".

Perfect summation of the entire concept.

[steel_breeze]

Originally Posted by drush9999

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?
VHS tapes in the 80s, and being able to watch your favourite movies whenever

2) Why you still do in 2021?
Most of the films I want to buy tend not to be on streaming services. Plus I like the ability to watch what I want, when I want. Quality is superior on physical media usually. Being able to choose what cut or transfer is another bonus of physical media. Any serious film fan would have to resort to physical media anyway. Plus collecting is actually enjoyable.

3) Do you stream too?
Only to watch stuff as a "rental".

This really is a pretty perfect summation, as s2mikey pointed out. I saved up lawn-mowing money for six months when I was twelve years old, to get our family's first VCR back in 1983. When I first held the VHS of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK in my hands, it was a magical experience. I couldn't believe I was actually able to OWN my favorite movie. That was the turning point; from that moment to the present day, it's always given me deep satisfaction to be able to browse the physical spines of my film library, which I actually keep fairly lean (only about 250 titles) so that when I look at it, I'm seeing what I feel are the "best of the best".

I do stream as a way of seeing "new" movies (new-to-me; I don't really care for actual "new" movies), but I only keep my subscription to Criterion Channel active 24/7/365. All the others I dip in and out of as needed.

[Akibiyori]

1) I started collecting with Hong Kong action films on DVD, domestic releases and imports, and with music when I was a metalhead in my teens.

2) There’s no reason to stop now. I buy things because I’d like to keep them and have access to them.

3) Of course I use streaming. I always watched movies on TV, a highly invaluable resource (TCM,) so why wouldn’t I do the same with a great streaming service (Criterion Channel)? I have no need or desire to buy every single thing nor could I so I get to see plenty of things I otherwise would not if I relied on buying everything. But I don’t use Netflix or Disney+ which offer very little of interest.

[Jonno2009]

1) Started in the early 2000’s with the DVD’s. Used to love buying all the movies I loved and saw in theaters. And what really got me hooked and spending a lot was the PACKAGING. In that era the collector’s editions of movies were just plain out of this world with awesome packaging and special features.

2) I stopped buying physical media(movies anyways. Still buy games) couple years ago. In the Blu-ray era I pretty much repurchased all my favs I had on DVD and I started collecting steelbooks (started collecting steelbooks in DVDs too) and purchased all the big movies I saw in theaters. But I realized that I just don’t rewatch movies. I Have all the intentions to do so but I just don’t. I have SO many movies still wrapped in their original packaging. I go to the theater a lot (used to, damn covid) so I pretty much saw all the big movies in a year. Also another thing that made me stop buying them was one of the reasons I started collecting, usually blu-rays nowadays are boring as heck packaging wise. Also kinda ran out of room. My shelves are full of statues and collectibles and action figures with a bunch of blu-rays aswell. and yeah just don't have physical room anymore to get more and i don't feel like buying more shelves.

3) And yeah I stream, got Netflix and Disney plus.

[Member-638096]

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?
My father had a well stocked DVD collection when I was a kid and at around the age of eight is when I started to watch some of them, first seeing T2 which was my first introduction into quality film making, eventually leading to Aliens, Lord of the Rings, and so on.

2) Why you still do in 2021?

I like having a tidily stocked shelf filled with unique titles tailored to my tastes and knowing those movies have great stories and memories tied to them I can revisit, also "the hunt" in stores like Best Buy, Walmart, etc definitely gives me a rush of excitement. The unique packaging for just one title these days either via standard release or boutique label makes the packaging border on art form, to a point.

3) Do you stream too?


Just for television shows, as I'm not into the beefy box sets taking up precious shelving space.

[Damon1281]

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?


I started out just taping what was on TV with VHS, but when DVD's came out, I started snatching up my favorites when I could and then more later on. I slowly built a massive collection that I mostly never watched. When I got a 3D projector I started very slowly collecting movies that I do rewatch. When I finally got my first 3D bluray (Journey to the Center of the Earth), I was hooked and have purchased almost all the live action 3D I could find and some of the cartoons.



2) Why you still do in 2021?

It's the only way I can ensure to rewatch a 3D movie. Vudu is the only service that still supports 3D and I don't expect that to last. Other than those, I'm usually fine with whats available to stream with Amazon, Netflix, Pluto and the other free one. I collect a few 4k's when they are on a ridiculously good sale



3) Do you stream too?


Yes, mostly just free stuff, but lately I've done some new release rentals.

[orangerunner]

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?

In the early days of VHS I liked the idea of owning a film to collect and re-watch over and over.

2) Why you still do in 2021?

I don't like the obligation of signing-up for steaming services when used DVDs and Blu-rays can easily be bought for a buck or two. I like the simplicity of physical media and have long-term access to the content. The artwork looks nice sitting on a shelf.

3) Do you stream too?

No

[Dr Lenera]

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?

My mum and stepdad bought a video player when I was about 12....back then, at least in the UK videos were usually really expensive to buy but we all recorded films off the TV onto tape and, when we got a second video player, were naughty and copied anything we liked that we hired out from the video shop. Videos soon got cheaper and I collected loads, then the same thing with DVDs and Blu-rays. Obviously Blu-ray is now my format of choice but I'm still happy buying a DVD if it's absurdly cheap or a really rare film.


2) Why you still do in 2021?

I like it and I'm used to it. And I like having a large collection to not just choose from but to look at. I find it both sad and strange that so many people are now happy to own movies without anything visual to show for it....and in fact they don't even really own them.


3) Do you stream too?

No. But may do one day. I'm not actually adverse to it, but am currently still content with my discs. Obviously this means that I'm starting to miss out on some new films that may never come out on Blu-ray or DVD, but to be honest I'm enjoying new films less and less so that's not a big problem for me.

[MazeRunner]

1) I love movies, and have been buying DVDs since I was a kid. The pure excitement of buying Rated-R movies at age 10 or so gave me life.

2) Yes, but since my shelves are beyond full, I'm more careful with what I buy. I just wish I found out about Mercari/Ebay sooner. About half of my purchases are from them now, especially for catalogue titles.

I love being able to hold the movies in my hands and looking at the artwork. And the quality is far superior to whatever streaming I can do on my slow internet.

Plus you can get the actual blu-ray product with digital for cheaper than a digital purchase most of the time.

3) Sometimes. I'll buy indie movies with no blu release on Vudu. But I mostly redeem my digital copies to my Vudu which I share with two older family members who could care less for discs.

You're going to have to bury my blu-rays with me.

[Warm Gun]

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?
Starting out as a console gamer helped. We didn't get to download games until much later. Also, Netflix DVD and all the warnings I used to get from our old ISPs for downloading movies, which are often horribly compressed anyway.

2) Why you still do in 2021?
I watch too many movies. Too many that are not on the major streaming services. I don't want to pay for four or five subs to have access to most of what I watch, and then pay all over again when I feel like watching them again months or years later. The quality is better. I am not limited by our terabyte bandwidth cap and it never goes out, unless the electricity stops. I get to correct movies by moving subtitles from the letterbox into the frame/picture and adding original audio back.

3) Do you stream too?
Very rarely.

[rui no onna]

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?
Little Mermaid. We rented that movie so much that my mom eventually gave in and bought me my own copy.

2) Why you still do in 2021?
Ownership. I don't like being reliant and under the mercy of various online services to actually continue providing access to my favorite movies and TV shows.

3) Do you stream too?
Same as @drush9999, yes as a "rental".

[Ricky G]

Originally Posted by rui no onna

1) What got you into buying & collecting Physical Media?
Little Mermaid. We rented that movie so much that my mom eventually gave in and bought me my own copy. [...].

wholesome

[ps3bd_owner]

Why? So you can watch it any time and you don't have to worry about it being removed from the streaming service catalog.

This is why digital games for me are also just rentals. You don't actually own the files, unless they're DRM-free.

[atomik kinder]

I have collected media for a long time. VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, Blu-ray, UHD Blu-ray. Recently I have been giving away much of my DVD collection and Laserdiscs. Movies I know I will never watch again or have already upgraded to a better format. I spent a lot of money on them. Do I regret it? No. A lot of people have spent a lot of money on disposable things.

So, yes I still do, but I have purchased a few digital movies that were much cheaper than the blu-ray, so I figure it it was about the same as a rental fee.

[TheSpruceMoose]

"If you don't hold it, you don't own it", and given the current outrage climate that would seek to bury the past than to forgive it, now is a great time to hold the titles near and close without the possibility of having it become lost. That's why I still collect physical copies of films, because I have the final say as to when and how I view my entertainment.

I also just love the appearance in my apartment of what's slowly becoming more and more like a video store shelf.

[Moviefan2k4]

I'm in the same ballpark, as those who cherish actually owning their films. I don't trust the studios to someday think, "Let's get rid of this or that", meaning a film someone loves is now lost forever.

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

I'm in the same ballpark, as those who cherish actually owning their films. I don't trust the studios to someday think, "Let's get rid of this or that", meaning a film someone loves is now lost forever.

I frankly prefer physical and at the same time made backups of just about every DVD/BD I own to my PC. It's so convenient to just open the folder, mount the disc and watch it. No internet connection necessary.

I know HDDs can be unreliable though I can't see myself pay $150 a month (Google Drive) to keep it all available through the "cloud."

By the way, on Android you can watch ISO files via Kodi (open them as video > Kodi). Didn't know this before, but it's pretty cool.