Isn't digital media part of an increasingly disposable culture?

[Stanis]

People nit pick the smallest details on physical media down to the bits and nits, while mass buying digital copies with almost no possibility of consumer knowledgeable info. Bit rates, audio remixes, high quality special features? Its all a gamble, and im only using it to reduce costs for titles my collection is too big for

[moreorless]

Originally Posted by DustnBones001

Honestly I think it's more about their not really being much of a value in having a collection of physical movies anymore. Let's be honest how many times do we buy a film and maybe watch it one time and then it sits on the shelf to collect dust? I stopped buying dvds and blu rays a long time ago for this very reason.

If there are movies that I know I will watch many times in a year then I will hit up the local second hand stores and pawn shops. Other then that my digital vudu collection does me just fine.

I think for many people this is the case. It's just more cost effective to store movies in a digital locker like vudu than buying physical discs.. Many digital codes can be bought online for as low as $1. It's no wonder why digital is getting more popular. Not to mention being able to download and store on a sd card on your phone to be able to watch your movies anywhere.

I will always support physical media in some capacity(renting,etc). I don't ever wanna live in a world where there is no physical media.

I suspect actually a lot of the divide between preference for physical and digital copies comes down to peoples viewing habits.

Those who tend towards viewing films/TV multiple times are more likely to still buy physical copies as this gives both access to them over a long period and offers them in the best quality with more extras. Those who tend towards rewatching films/TV less often are more likely to be digital only as there's less advantage of it to them.

In that respect yes I do think streaming has lead to a shift towards more disposable content. Most obviously in the massive growth of serial net series with high budgets, if you follow multiple such series then really re watching isn't going to be possible purely in terms of time needed.

[meremortal]

There are fair arguments to be made for either case. For example, environmental concerns are far more of an issue today than in decades past. There also seems to be far less of an emphasis on 'collecting,' especially among millennials and generation z. People are growing up 'digitally' and have basically been conditioned to brand themselves through social media. I know countless people who pretty much will find excuses to do stuff just as a conversation piece for facebook, instagram, etc. There has also been somewhat of a generational shift into the cities and so more folks are getting accustomed to a faster paced lifestyle and a living space without the room to store stuff. There's also no longer really a community nature of watching movies or listening to music outside of going to theaters and concert type venues. It's been ages since I've hosted or gone to anyone else's place to watch a movie. And there are perhaps stigmas/stereotypes. For example, I've noticed that a large bookshelf full of books may have the perception of a person being 'cultured' whereas the same shelf full of blu rays would signal to the average person as someone being more of a 'geek' who doesn't get out much. I say all of this as someone who is on the same page as many others around here who grew up going to the video stores and collecting dvds, blus, and uhds. Physical media is probably more for the home theater enthusiasts and collectors at this point. And that's not to say only 'true film fans' or home theater folks collect physical media. Some of the most knowledgeable film buffs I've ever known do not collect physical or even digital media.

[Batmobilly666]

Originally Posted by Stanis

People nit pick the smallest details on physical media down to the bits and nits, while mass buying digital copies with almost no possibility of consumer knowledgeable info. Bit rates, audio remixes, high quality special features? Its all a gamble, and im only using it to reduce costs for titles my collection is too big for

I don't know for sure but I doubt there's much of an overlap between the people nitpicking the picture quality of BDs and those buying large quantities of digital copies. I'd say that's two very distinct types of consumer groups.