we dreamed of control. of being able to collect. to have the ether of film or TV in our hands. to be able to share or rewatch. to feel a touch of entertainment control. The VCR gave us so much. And now everyone is like "let the corporations have the control again."
I have abt 2000 DVDs/Blu-rays/VHS so far. I had some shelves specially made for them. All on a spreadsheet with subsheets for various actors/directors (I try to collect all their work) as I kept getting duplicate DVDs. Streaming is good but I particularly like 30s-50s films so much less available.
I hunted down The African Queen just so I can watch it anytime I want. Then, of course I also had to have Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, North by Northwest and other great oldies.
Yea once HBO started removing their own created content I realized the importance of having your own media. I sold a bunch but I still have about 300 movies still on physical. Eventually i want to make a server also.
It's why I really miss @netflix.com DVD service. I could find just about any movie I wanted to watch without regard to who made it and only paid about $17 a month. Now I'd have to subscribe to multiple streaming services to get access to the same selection of films, costing way more.
The, recently resolved, rights issues around Dogma was all the reassurance I will ever need to convince me that owning a physical copy of my favorite media is the way to go
Crumb. We still even have some VHS videos. (A bit of a hoarder, but we still watch them now and then.) Some cost beaucoup $$$ to buy or rent. The Internet isn't always up, so we also have small DVD players to hook to the Jackery if we want.
We have chosen never to us streaming companies or cable companies and have a wonderful collection of the movies and series we like. I like the fact I can choose the movie that fits my mood or interests at any given time.
Keeping DVDs isn't the problem, it's having DVD players. Once they go out, finding suitable replacements become harder. Like 8-track players, cassette players...
Yes, actual preservation involves considerably more effort and expense, both in terms of climate-controlled storage of the 35mm original (which should never be junked) and an ultra high-resolution frame-by-frame digital scan without the usual compression, plus backups of the resulting massive file.
I mean, a DVD is certainly better than nothing, but there was an astonishing outbreak of philistinism and technical ignorance on a classic British cinema forum when the BFI launched a crowdfunder to restore and preserve Hitchcock's silent output: "This is pointless; I've got them on DVD already!"
There's an interesting question (which I don't think is really settled yet) as to whether it is reasonable to destroy 2" and 1" video masters once a lossless digital preservation copy has been made.
Unlike film, the number of surviving players will decline to close to zero over the coming decades.
Yes, I remember it was hard enough for the BFI to play 2" tapes two decades ago when they were transferring ITV's entire 2" tape library to digital media. I can't remember what happened to the tapes, but a random spot check of the online catalogue suggests they're still in the archive.
The importance of physical media: the VHS copies of E.T. are the only home versions of the film where the feds pack heat instead of benign walkie-talkies. Likewise, the VHS Star Wars shows Han Solo shooting Greedo first.
Good news, the 2002 E.T. DVD is the only release that exclusively features the walkie talkie change. Spielberg changed it back after public outcry (and a particularly scathing South Park episode). The 4k release is the original cut.
What does it say about a customer base who throws away media they own and paid for because another company offers the 'service' of loading it for them?
After my wife passed, as part of a general decluttering I gave away our 1000+ dvds & cds to a charity shop so they could make a few $ out of them and gave my 100+ LPs to my son. I was told by many not to do this but 2 years on I still see it as one of the most liberating things I’ve ever done.
The DVDs from my local thrift store cost pennies. The cable company wants me to pay about 15x that. I’m just not going to pay that, especially for an old movie…
Donate old DVDs to your Public Library instead of throwing them out. They circulate or sell them. Let them make money--incoming administration will likely cut funding for public libraries.
While I generally prefer digital everything, I’m in the process of buying all my favorite movies that I don’t already have on disc and ripping them to my NAS. That way I can still stream them (maybe at higher quality) without having to worry about whether they’ll be available.
I was looking at plex, but people seem unhappy with having to rely on the central server, so I set up Jellyfin instead. But it wasn’t behaving (kept giving me the wrong language or bad subtitles) so I switched to using a zidoo player, which so far is working well.
I don’t care about streaming movies while traveling, and I wanted another backup of my main system, so I just set up the NAS to only be available locally.
That makes sense, as long as you have 1 good copy of everything, right? I've ended up keeping everything I can-even if I have multiple copies of the same movie. Someone I follow who's much smarter than me got it in my head that the version that gets put on Blu-ray isn't always superior in every way.
Not that I'm endorsing this _at all_ but...Download a torrent program like Transmission. Get a VPN. Connect to VPN. Go to 1337x.to, https://thepiratebay.org, https://torrends.to, etc. Search and download torrent file. Open torrent file with torrent program. Watch it download.
Same. Years ago I read about someone whose Kindle library was deleted bc she logged in or tried to download from a different jurisdiction and breached the agreement. Ever since then I've hung on to CDs, books, and DVDs. If it's precious it's physical. PS have you tried Bandcamp for music?
Oh, I have a LOT of books! 🤣 Though also use kindle for more disposable stuff. Bandcamp isn't so good for contemporary classical, which is my big area.
Umm, internet doesn't work sometimes. That's the reason I haven't gotten rid of physical copies. As long as I am able to access power, I can watch some of my favorites.
Only those who prefer to have the entertainment choices made for them, rely solely on streaming services. The streaming offerings are terrible! I continue to buy DVDs and CDs. I want the Netflix DVD mailers back, because at least I would have a nice queue of things I actually want to watch.
I’m converting my hundreds of dvd discs to files which can be stored on a hard drive. These can be played on a TV via usb drives. All dvds, even those bought commercially can be converted, it just takes some detective work. I am happy to help with info.
My new years resolution is to buy physical copies of my favorite movies. I have been burned too many times by streaming rotating in and out what is in their catalog.
I’ve found a lot of blu-rays are “all-region” anyway, and in at least one instance they said “A” on them but I can play then in region “B”.
The other “issue” with 4K discs is that if you rip them for backup purposes the movie is about 60GB and I’ve had issues with HDR not working well over Plex.
I own more than 600 DVDs and BluRays. I will NEVER get rid of them! I watch as Netflix (and others) remove shows from their line-up whenever they want. I watch what I want to watch whenever I want!!
Same here. I like picking from my collection for what I know is good entertainment, versus scanning Netflix for their typically disappointing content that often ends up ruining my movie nights.
They're made of plastic, which breaks down over time. You want to use a computer with a DVD drive to rip them to disk, and then store them on a home network. I use a Raspberry Pi computer that runs LibreELEC to watch them on my TV.
A friend and I are both downsizing and we both have large collections. We decided to keep them after he went to delete Amazon only to realize the few movies he purchased on Prime Video would no longer be accessible.
I tease my daughter that when the apocalypse finally comes, she'll be happy to have music and movies on disc, because there won't be streaming, but there might be enough generator or battery power to run a cd or DVD player for a couple of hours
I also love having a CD player in my vehicle so I can listen to what I want and not worry about cell service. Sorry, not wasting any phone memory on music, it’s all for cat pics!
One of the few decisions I deeply regret- donating/selling my dvds/blurays… I hate being at the mercy of streaming services - and the lack of the additional features/commentary 😡😩🤦🏻♀️
You don’t even have to own physical copies, just copies on physical hardware that you control. I digitized my entire physical collection and openly share with friends for free. Best of both worlds and it all fits on a shelf in a closet.
Thanks for posting an article from a year and a half ago. Really a credit to your timely journalism, alongside your anachronistic and frankly idiotic insistence on diaeresis in your publication. It’s 2025, NO ONE appreciates that or wants to see that shit. Thanks (edit due to year)
It doesn’t matter? We should be getting an indication the article is ancient at this point. It’s disrespectful to their audience, and it’s one of many reasons mainstream media has struggled in recent years
The integrity of the Fourth Estate is pretty vital. If we’re reduced to this kind of stuff on a pretty eventful domestic news day, that’s an indictment against the industry, because it’s not just The New Yorker that does it. Instead we’re getting out of date content about physical media. 😮💨
In other words: this wouldn’t be acceptable with a newspaper, it shouldn’t be acceptable with a digital publication. Glad you’re appreciative of it though
Be that of some importance for people who've already read it, I couldn't even access the article FGS. Apparently I'd already read my one "free article" at the subscribe page that popped up after I'd clicked through from BlueSky 🤡. But reading the comments thread may be enough (keep those DVDs & CDs)
Absolutely NOT! Don't do it! If you are going to, please give to your local library or school. I have found some wonderful DVDs at the library. When the weather is hot, I go sit inside the library & let my inner child out. I have a portable player.
I still sometimes get nostalgic about the cheesy, overwrought “Press your activation key” style DVD menus that were on every James Bond movie back in the 2000’s
All over the place. Some are so old I got them thru a couple of different movie clubs ( Disney for one) mostly Walmart and Best Buy but I do sometimes wait till they go on sale
Who throws out their collection? Savages. I burned my disks into a plex server. I keep all my disks in a disk binder in case I want better fidelity. Good compromise so I don’t use up all the wall space.
I saved and still buy physical media. And I have more and more turned to those boxes of DVDs to find something to watch over streaming because streaming is going downhill. Less quality content but higher prices when you stream. No ads on my DVD.
I will never make that mistake. I threw out cassettes & cd’s, but I still have a modest collection of cd’s & records. I will never throw out my dvd’s. I do trade stuff in at Local reseller.
I never bought any VHS tapes, since I just rented them from Blockbuster. DVDs and then Blu-rays changed all of that, and I have a large collection of my favorite movies.
It looks like DVD/Blu Ray sales are actually on the rise again because of people being able to find favourite shows. Unfortunately, most of them are being bought on Amazon, so not quite a win...
I have spent most of my adult life(40 years) collecting Dvds
Now have over 10,000 in storage cases so take up less room.
I will never give them up as most of the time you can't find a film you want to watch when it comes to the streaming sites and companies
We also have wall to wall books, as well as an extensive CD, cassette, and album collection... there's just no guarantee of permanency with streaming stuff. And if there's one main take away of capitalism, it's that they will take away whatever they can, just so they can sell it back to you for $$$.
Quite the opposite. I don't trust these streamers at all. I don't even own what I'm paying for. No, at least I'll continue to have my most important things in physical form. Currently 2000+ films and series.
Even if you BUY a movie from a streaming service, there's no guarantee you will always be able to access it. I have Ultra Violet copies I paid for that I cannot access as the codes don't work.
This happened to me as well. Luckily, in my younger years I bought out blockbuster’s dvds while they were 3 for $20 prior to them closing and close out sales when they finally closed. We went without internet for a week and it was fun browsing through them all.
I'm suppose the agreement says that you didn't actually buy the movie. Probably it was something abstract, like "right to watch" or something like that.
I have no plans to ever throw them out. In fact I have expanded my collection by about 25 DVDs/Blu-Rays over the past few months. All second hand from charity shops or eBay. All in great condition. None of them cost me more than £5 each, some way less than that. Physical media all the way for me.
Why watch any streaming movie? I watch YouTube videos. From documentaries to hula dancers. Screw up algorithms everyday. AI can assume. Just like Our NSA. Assume. (That’s all they’re getting.)
Yep. Titles randomly vanishing from streaming services, being edited (to cater for modern sensibilities) and being heavily compressed in streaming format are all good reasons for hoarding physical media... or so I tell Jeanette!
One day when the over lords want more money they will erase your hx, unless you pay. Unlearn your favorites, unless you pay. Some of the album, you want it all? pay! Finally, pay me rent for YOUR media, for ever. And, no, you cannot own it…. Sorry, I am being told, we are already there.
I have all sorts of physical media, in fact I bought the DVD of "Office Space" today. The man who sold it to me saved one of Albuquerque's video stores by buying all its stock to keep it going. My hat is off to him.
I have several DVDs of movies that are just not available to stream or would cost me 5-10 bucks every time I want to watch one of them because I have to rent them through Amazon. I will never let go of my collection.
I'm always going to buy my media, it's just making sure I have a spare Blu-ray player as backup. Streaming isn't my thing. Why rent a film for the rest of forever. When you can buy it once. Loose the Internet and they are gone.
If you have a physical copy of any media, whether it’s books, games, music, films, don’t throw that away, ever. I’m not a doomer but access to streaming services and even the internet itself isn’t permanently guaranteed. If you have a physical copy they can’t take it away.
My son is a huge movie buff and he has hundreds of dvd’s that he continues to watch. Same for me, lot’s of classics. Also have cd’s and back to vinyl.
Streaming service providers do not have an extensive library.
I have retained all my physical media, because I don't fucking trust streaming services not to yank my access to something, even if I've purchased it, if they run into some kind of "rights" issue. Or they could go out of business. Does anyone remember DIVX (Digital Video Express, not the codec)?
We got a Blu-ray player and are going back to physical media. "Buying" a license or renting is a rip off. For a little more, I could play it on a loop if I want - no commercials!
I'm talking sites with remux, and handjob encoding. Sites that are difficult to get invites to. Ratio minimums. I'm not talking The Pirate Bay but do love our roots.
We still have DVDs, CDs, vinyl albums, cassette and VHS tapes. Eventually, everything that has been considered old/outdated has become popular again. We still have our film cameras, too. There is no way to replace everything we have.
No way. I have a player that plays DVD and Blu-ray. Not throwing those out but couldn't even give away the Dukes of Hazard after that blonde douchebag called for Bidens public hanging. Fuck John Schneider and his brother by another mother Rob.
I am in the process of digitizing my DVD's onto 4TB SSD Hard drives I plug them into USB Cases and I have portability, & the security that they will not get wiped by a computer crash.
When iTunes first appeared, someone convinced me I didn’t need my huge collection of OST and classical CD’s. Then came the faff. Back-ups, iTunes upgrades. Then tracks started disappearing, THEN iTunes started not letting me play music I transferred from CD at all. It’s all a massive con.
I had ipods before apple phones. itunes wound up on my new laptop after Best Buy downloaded it from the cloud. The only time i have to listen to music is driving to and from work. Thank goodness for Sirius XM
I’ve many reasons of my own why I hang onto my DVD collection. I’ve recently been expanding it: favorite movies that portray each state of America, and now each nation of our world (including Palestine and Tibet)
On Utube. I listened to a book by Julia Garwood. "Hot Shot" but it's not available any longer. Or on Audible. The only novel from her entire collection of novels.
My eyesight is so bad that physically reading is a chore.
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Prime. Have an extra charge on a video I have in my personal collection. But I still prefer to hunt through my collection for that dvd to suit whatever my mood is.
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Totally agree! There’s an awesome place in my area. though it’s a bit of a drive (~45 mins) they have the best selection of DVDs, Blu-rays, etc. Totally worth the drive. I always get an awesome haul each time I go. Some are even unopened for less than $5 and others in perfect condition for even less
sure, but i don't mind paying $2.99 for a dvd loaded with extras. there's something satisfying about a tightly curated collection sitting on the shelf.
Comments
And records….
And CDs….
And cassettes…..
And VHS……
Minimalism is so good.
Research M-Discs that are supposed to last for centuries and hold 100 gigabytes.
That’s one reason why the piece’s assertion in the final paragraph that keeping a DVD collection is ‘archiving’ and ‘preservation’ is pretty dubious.
It’s great for the individual, but it’s not how we ensure that niche films and shows survive in perpetuity.
https://obsoletemedia.org
Unlike film, the number of surviving players will decline to close to zero over the coming decades.
https://www.plex.tv/personal-media-server/
I still add to my collection and I have no intention of parting with them. That’s a future problem for my kids.
Video gamers have already seen games they paid for just disappear from existence because the companies that really own them just shut them down.
Movies and music are next.
Yo ho.
Meh, you know the rest.
Pirate everything you value, and store it long term in case it turns out, decades later, that your copy is the only one left.
If you think that's impossible then read up on the lost episodes of 'Doctor Who'.
...and a VPN.
It's especially gratifying with old movies as they'll be better looking than they ever have been.
I have found though, that given the usually higher cost, it’s worth looking up reviews first as some 4K re-masters are clunky.
I only have a few foreign 4k discs but it's a few more than I would have had if 4k was region locked.
The other “issue” with 4K discs is that if you rip them for backup purposes the movie is about 60GB and I’ve had issues with HDR not working well over Plex.
https://thepiratebay.org/index.html
HUGE MISTAKE!!!
Convert them to mkv. Host them on a TrueNAS server running Plex. Enjoy them digitally forever.
Well at least as long as USB-A is available on computers to plug in our portable CD/DVD device.
You can pick up some high tech stuff for £10 these days
Now have over 10,000 in storage cases so take up less room.
I will never give them up as most of the time you can't find a film you want to watch when it comes to the streaming sites and companies
I am opposed to both consumerism and the wastefulness of this kind of media though.
However, streaming is NOT a replacement for physical media.
I stopped buying objects twenty years ago, but what I have is sacred.
Till I die, then it becomes landfill, like me.
How do you know the version of the film you're streaming is the same version you saw the last time that you watched it?
Witness the dreadful cut, missing all of Pottersville and George Bailey's non-existence, of It's A Wonderful Life.
Another risk of relying on streaming services is that they sometimes go under. Customers who purchased movies through Redbox are SOL.
Shall remain
In the game room
Till I pass.
Peace
Streaming service providers do not have an extensive library.
My eyesight is so bad that physically reading is a chore.
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Some very good bargains can be found!
When you have a film on DVD, you don't have to pay a subscription to stream it.
Especially if you're looking for a hard-to-find title.