Submitted by Silversleights04 t3_10eefoi in movies
I know, I know, "physical media is dying," "ugh, that's dinosaur tech," "why would I buy it if I can just stream it?" "That takes up space," "OP, how's your back pain?"
Look, I get it, I've said all of those things before too, but the facts are inescapable now. If you truly love watching and rewatching a particular movie or show, you'll want to buy the DVD or blu-ray so you have it and it's yours. In the last 3 years how many new streaming platforms have we seen rise and fall? We've seen entire network catalog licenses change hands and entire libraries of content have migrated, gone from where they were. Face it, your favorite show or movie won't be on that one streaming service you pay for forever. You'll wake up one day, get that feeling like you want to watch it again, dive back in to that world you loved, that story that impacted you, those characters you obsess over; so you check on good old Chexflix and Fulu, and Nile Prime, but oh no... it's not there now... You google it. Oh no... it's on a crumbier streaming service, one with a new fee to pay, a new broken interface and a new ticking clock. Why bother playing these games?
If you really love a show or movie, the only way to guarantee you can watch it when you want AND show support for the creators in a meaningful way, is by buying the DVD's.
Edit: I'm aware I can pirate anything I want, but piracy doesn't support the thing I like and show producers that I want more of it.
Edit2: obviously I also mean the blu-ray or 4k, whatever, I just mean get a physical copy if you love it.
Edit3: some of y'all have brought up the excellent point of streaming services selectively censoring content retroactively or removing episodes of shows. They won't come to my house and edit my disc's. Soundtrack licensing, people have mentioned they notice the soundtrack on a show or movie as changed in streaming, that's also due to licensing rights. Also, there's region specific restrictions with streaming some content, it might not be available to stream in your country or its only available in one country, so now you're having to pay for some youtuber recommended VPN.
Edit4: Director's cuts, unrated editions, and extended editions RARELY make it to streaming, so you may not even get the best version of the movie. That matters for some films. Also, commentary, special features, and deleted scenes typically don't exist for streaming films, unless it's an original title for that platform.
Some people also mentioning the sub par audio streaming, it's a real problem.
Those of you saying "just buy a digital copy" have clearly never had a purchased digital copy vanish from your account, it changes your opinion. Learn more about streaming rights and licenses, you own the right to rent.
And if you can buy a physical copy, and you can digitize it yourself, you should.