Look, I’m happy when physical media gets attention like this but why is this article all about DVDs? Collectors are not remotely focusing their purchases around that format in 2025. It just always shows when these pieces are written by people who don’t collect. sjuhawknews.com/36267/featur... - ThreadSky

jlalibs.bsky.social • 44 days ago

Look, I’m happy when physical media gets attention like this but why is this article all about DVDs? Collectors are not remotely focusing their purchases around that format in 2025.

It just always shows when these pieces are written by people who don’t collect.

https://sjuhawknews.com/36267/features/physical-media-collections-streaming/

Comments

denofcinema.bsky.social•44 days ago

To be fair, the article is about niche collectors, and generational nostalgia. That said...whereas "vinyl sounds better than a CD" is a credible notion, I doubt anyone could say "DVDs look better than Blu-rays!" with a straight face.

mcswagger.bsky.social•41 days ago

It absolutely depends on who is doing the remastering, whether the extra features are also ported, and a host of other factors. It's not just about more data on a disk, it's how much the conversion project was given care an opportunity to be better than the original.

psfilmsbob.bsky.social•44 days ago

Yeah, that's odd. "Collectors" aren't buying DVDs at all. Casual movie enjoyers? Sure, that's why the $5 bins at Walmart are always a thing. Institutions buy DVDs, thus the 50%+ market share...

But hey, if it triggers even one person to buy ANY physical media, it's a win for all of us.

paulpendell.bsky.social•44 days ago

📌

teawhilewriting.bsky.social•44 days ago

Yeah, I'd call that movie enthusiasts instead of collectors... I guess that article was written by a Millennial (I can say this because I am one, lol) because there's no mention of LPs/records

jlalibs.bsky.social•44 days ago

I’m a millennial too though

dandalek.bsky.social•44 days ago

That's not altogether true. I love bluray and ultra HD for films but DVD is still where it's at if you're an avid collector of archive television. Just depends what you're collecting.

jlalibs.bsky.social•44 days ago

I can safely say that I wouldn’t buy a DVD in 2025 regardless of what is on it, if they want to sell me something, put it on a bluray or a 4K. Perhaps this might be different with used media or media from 10-20 years ago, but that’s not really the same conversation either.

squaresville.bsky.social•44 days ago

I’d never buy any TV series finished on video from like 1980-2001 on anything other than DVD. The upconversions are always ugly and unless they have film masters to go back to you aren’t getting a “better” version. Players are going to upscale anyway.

jlalibs.bsky.social•43 days ago

But plenty of them do have film masters available that are going unused. The Seinfeld 4K is a good example of doing that properly.

squaresville.bsky.social•43 days ago

I literally made an exception for shows with film masters.

jlalibs.bsky.social•43 days ago

Sure, but how many TV shows with film masters still haven't been properly upgraded? It's a lot of them, we just keep getting the same recycled video masters over and over again, often on DVD and blu-ray. That could and should change.

flicksfan.bsky.social•44 days ago

In my country multi region DVD players are cheaper and easier to find than multi region BluRay ones. There is drip feed of Criterion titles, and others, that make it out of the Region A BD US-centric box. Sometimes it's expeditious to choose the DVD if you want to own the film

jaredauner.bsky.social•44 days ago

My experience with normies on this stuff is that they have no idea what "Blu-ray" even is. You mention it and they give you a blank stare. You say "DVD" and they nod in comprehension. So I usually just say I sell DVDs when asked what I do for a living. Similar thing going on here I guess

jlalibs.bsky.social•44 days ago

That would be less weird if Blu-ray hasn’t been around for like 20 years now!

jaredauner.bsky.social•44 days ago

Haha, preach! But there's often no accounting for what the mainstream/public/hivemind thinks about things

paulhurt.bsky.social•43 days ago

The reason i championed HD-DVD during the format battle was for the name recognition - when it was over I still vainly hoped Blu-ray would be allowed to call itself some variation of DVD. But no. Even now I’m frustrated how many ppl don’t know what a Blu-ray is.

restructures.bsky.social•44 days ago

Aren't DVDs still the best-selling format vs. Blu-ray & UHD?

supertheandres.bsky.social•44 days ago

A lot of that can be attributed to institutional purchases, mainly libraries and schools.

jlalibs.bsky.social•44 days ago

I think the bigger issue here is many boutique releases aren’t factored into those numbers, they’re mostly derived from Walmart etc which is a DVD dumping ground.

supertheandres.bsky.social•44 days ago

Was not aware of that. So direct sales from Criterion and Vinegar Syndrome, or indies like Diabolik and Orbit aren't accounted for at all then?

jlalibs.bsky.social•44 days ago

Correct, it’s very skewed

frankbannister.bsky.social•44 days ago

I never knew that. That's wild.

restructures.bsky.social•44 days ago

It'd be interesting to see a breakdown of trends from mass retailers vs boutique sellers, for sure.
And to get a bigger picture beyond the US market.

jlalibs.bsky.social•44 days ago

I don’t think anyone is going to give out that data though

ignatzkat.bsky.social•44 days ago

What's interesting to me is that it's an article from a college paper, & the interviewee who says "DVDs look better" is also a college student. Are the Kids These Days maybe just calling all discs DVDs? Or maybe idealizing the limits of old technology as an aesthetic, like xers/millennials with VHS?

jlalibs.bsky.social•44 days ago

I highly doubt it’s the latter

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