Who here streams a lot but still prefers physical media?

edisonprime

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Dec 12, 2012
2,902
1,147
55901
I know I do. Hell, I even prefer VHS and Laserdisc to streaming. I like media I can own and have my hands on. Although if you look at my other thread here, you can see I subscribe to A LOT of streaming services.
 
I do, did and now that I'm running out of room to put them. I have found that having it in the Clo...cloggg....clod...the crowd. Anyway, with buying movies through numbers vendors it's been cheap and easy. Plus with all my accounts connected to "Movies Anywhere", I forget where the movies is suppose to be and go to Apple and find out upon import, they upgraded it to HDR/4K, if I bought a HDX. A lot of my collection got upgraded and does when a better version comes out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Foxbat
I have a Bluray player but rarely ever use it. I've never really been a disc collector. Own way more movies on digital than disc (and got most of those for free or very inexpensively). But I really am not one to buy content but rather just rent it via subscriptions or, occasionally, one-time rentals.

I did rent a Bluray disc the other day from Redbox, first time I'd used them since before the pandemic. Rented the latest Bond film for a buck. Good movie. I really wonder if their vending machines will even still be around come 2025.
 
I know that 4K Discs has a higher bitrate and because of that a better picture and sound, but it is not that much better then the video/sound quality of Vudu.

Nothing beats the ease of streaming, just hit a button on the Roku a few times, there it is ready to play.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MikeD-C05
Havent bought or watched a movie or show via physical means in a decade, and I have no plans to change that.
 
I have both. I find physical media a touch better than streaming but if you don't have a fine sound system, I do, audio is way better with physical. Video likewise. If you have soundbars and run of the mill 4K sets, little difference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: edisonprime and KAB
I have two bookcases in my office full of dvds and some blu ray dvds. I also have two blu ray players in the house. But since streaming with Netflix came out like ten years ago, I have been paying to stream my shows and movies. I also have a bunch of Music Cds that are setting on a shelf in the bedroom. I haven't listened to any of them since the Harvey Flood in 2017 took out my two cars with CD players. I also have a small case of tapes from the 80s and 90s that are sitting not doing anything and the tape player crapped out years ago. I might just junk those since tapes don't last forever. Last fall I did recently donate all my old records to a charity donation spot since I haven't owned a record player in over 25 years. Someday I will donate or get rid of the CDs and DVDS that are not being used and taking up room. I now prefer streaming to all the physical devices of the past, but I'm still holding on to the dvr. Even Sling tv uses cloud dvr. The cloud is probably the future for everything.
 
  • Like
Reactions: edisonprime
Since I stream the way we don't talk about here, I'd say I don't miss anything I had before streaming
 
There are some odd things I have on physical media, but I haven’t watched them because I don’t have a device currently attached to a TV.

In general, physical media takes up too much space and requires some form of cataloging. Of course, it’s also difficult do part with legacy physical media.

In general, I expect most mainstream content to be available through streaming. Some of the more obscure content may be harder to find streaming, particularly if the copyright owner reports infringements on YouTube. But, because it’s obscure, finding physical copies may be difficult as well.
 
In general, physical media takes up too much space and requires some form of cataloging. Of course, it’s also difficult do part with legacy physical media.

I had a friend a few years ago that has so many cd's that he took them all out of their cases and stored those away. He put the cd's in paper sleeves and built a slotted table like at the CD shop. He must have accumulated a few thousand. It was phenomenal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: edisonprime
I still buy the odd new or redone disks in UHD. I wouldn't say I have a preference to which media style to watch. Most of what I have purchased the last couple years includes a code to unlock a digital copy in Apple TV anyway.

Years ago I copied all my albums and CDs to iTunes. No longer have any of that.
 
I only prefer physical media when I can't get decent Internet service.
A plus side for physical media is that YOU OWN your content. Sure, you can can buy a movie on a streaming service, but what happens if that company goes out of business or simply stops distributing that service in the future? Then you lose whatever you bought. With physical media, as long as you take good care of it, will last a lot longer.
 
I've got probably 600 CDs, about 800 cassettes. Maybe 200-300 VHS. Maybe 100 DVDs.

I keep all my CDs in their original jewel cases and they pretty much still look like new. I bought 99% of them used. Same with all the media actually, if it wasn't given to me.

I prefer the original music because it's mine. I don't trust that anything on the internet will be available forever, or at least not for free. I also have CD changers in my cars, so the discs make it handy.

Back in the day it would have cost me a year's pay to buy all this. Nowadays I can get CDs from the resale for 50c to $1, DVDs for a few dollars, tapes for a dime if not free, VHS for a quarter. It's a great time in history to build up my collection.

Another reason (especially the VHS) is I can't stand modern movies. My interest is stuff from the 70s-90s. I like to know I'm getting the original content that was released for home video at the time. I don't trust that remastering for DVD won't edit out slips, or things not deemed fit for modern society.
 
A plus side for physical media is that YOU OWN your content. Sure, you can can buy a movie on a streaming service, but what happens if that company goes out of business or simply stops distributing that service in the future? Then you lose whatever you bought. With physical media, as long as you take good care of it, will last a lot longer.
I find myself increasing less likely to re-watch content, so it isn't really a factor for me personally. Much like my wanderlust, I am always looking for new experiences from my media as well.
 
I know I do. Hell, I even prefer VHS and Laserdisc to streaming. I like media I can own and have my hands on. Although if you look at my other thread here, you can see I subscribe to A LOT of streaming services.
I do it all. Dish is great, but the Roku/Fire Cube has a lot of apps I cannot get elsewhere. Like old rare TV shows on Crackle and Tubi. I still have my Beta and VHS collection going back to the mid 70s. Also a ton of DVDs.