Well, I don't know about anybody else, but for me, the point is to have the movies and TV shows I enjoy and be able to watch them whenever I want.
I'm sure most everybody else would say the same.
why buy DVDs?
- Thread starter RobertScorpio
- Start date
Well, I don't know about anybody else, but for me, the point is to have the movies and TV shows I enjoy and be able to watch them whenever I want.
I'm sure most everybody else would say the same.
I think physical media in general has more life to it than people think. When people spend money, they generally like to have something tangible to show for it. I do at least. It will be curious to see how willing people are to cede control to "the cloud" in the decades to come.
Having said that... me personally, I only own a couple dozen DVDs in spite of being an avid movie watcher. I have 730+ returns with Netflix since 2004. More importantly, however, is that I am very seldom interested in watching a movie twice. There are lots of great movies waiting to be seen and it doesn't make much sense to watch Back to the Future Part II again when I could be seeing something "new."
Having said that... me personally, I only own a couple dozen DVDs in spite of being an avid movie watcher. I have 730+ returns with Netflix since 2004. More importantly, however, is that I am very seldom interested in watching a movie twice. There are lots of great movies waiting to be seen and it doesn't make much sense to watch Back to the Future Part II again when I could be seeing something "new."
I like to have the physical media. I tend to watch a single episode per day at my lunch break of any tv shows. I don't think I could do that with streaming media. Netflix (or the UK) equivalent would probably let me but a lot of the time, it's a day by day thing for what I fancy watching.
For the moment, it's just easier to own what I want for me on dvd
For the moment, it's just easier to own what I want for me on dvd
Where is it written that I have to watch my entire collection at once? I like have my options open for entertainment and, yeah, I can put in pretty much any of my movies, or TV shows and enjoy it always and I always want that option. I love collecting them and I would be severely disapointed if I couldn't have a physical copy of what I'm collecting.
I've hundreds of DVDs, many of them TV shows, and I'm always getting more I watch many of them all of the time and, yes, there are some I haven't watched in years, but if I suddenly get the urge to watch "Waynes' World" I can, because I have the DVD. I don't have to rely on it being on cable.
Another problem I forsee with downloadable movies/streaming it is that only the "newer" stuff will be available. Do you think they're going to have some old, rare, classic on there or, hell, even some the real decade-defining classics?
That's part of the problem I have with the popularity of Red Box rentals it only has the 20-or-so most recent and popular titles in it, the Red Box in my store already doesn't have Abrams' Star Trek in it which means, effectively, if you're a person who only rents movies from Red Box you'll never see Star Trek it's now a "forgotten" movie for those people and, hell, it may likely be that way for Net Flix renters too. I remember just walking around in video-rental stores and seen tons of old titles and picking one up out of curiosity or nostalgia. In 20 years or so if all movies are only available as streaming ones over the 'net who will ever see, say, "Ghostbusters" or the "Indiana Jones" movies again? You can't just "happen across" them by browsing like you can in a store, you can only find them by looking for them.
No, sorry, give me a physical copy in day of the week in a store where there rare, odd, "classic" can be found, discovered, and enjoyed and not just the most popular titles that've been released over the last couple months.
^If downloadable films end up anything like downloadable music, they'll help preserve older films forever, not destroy them.
My Sky Player subscription allows me on demand access to films currently showing on Sky Movies Classics and Sky Movies Modern Greats, for instance as well as other older movies also currently in rotation on their genre based channels.
My Sky Player subscription allows me on demand access to films currently showing on Sky Movies Classics and Sky Movies Modern Greats, for instance as well as other older movies also currently in rotation on their genre based channels.
Why buy DVDs?
So I can watch / rewatch whatever I want to, whenever I want to. I pay for it once and it's there for good (or until the disc(s) die(s)
). No waiting around, no paying rental fees, and if I want to watch it it's there. Why rent when I can (usually) buy just as easily and have it there to watch whenever I want to?
Streaming is all very well for people with good enough connections (and, where applicable, data caps), but - news flash - not everyone has a connection capable of downloading, in a reasonable time frame, the sorts of file sizes we're talking about for even episodes of TV shows, never mind movies. I realise this is an extraordinary concept for some, but it's the reality for plenty of people and it isn't going to change in a hurry for many of them. Until the sorts of high-speed services required are more widely available people are going to keep buying (or renting) DVDs rather than stream the things they want to watch.
So I can watch / rewatch whatever I want to, whenever I want to. I pay for it once and it's there for good (or until the disc(s) die(s)
). No waiting around, no paying rental fees, and if I want to watch it it's there. Why rent when I can (usually) buy just as easily and have it there to watch whenever I want to?Streaming is all very well for people with good enough connections (and, where applicable, data caps), but - news flash - not everyone has a connection capable of downloading, in a reasonable time frame, the sorts of file sizes we're talking about for even episodes of TV shows, never mind movies. I realise this is an extraordinary concept for some, but it's the reality for plenty of people and it isn't going to change in a hurry for many of them. Until the sorts of high-speed services required are more widely available people are going to keep buying (or renting) DVDs rather than stream the things they want to watch.
No, they won't be destroyed but no one will watch them if they don't know about them.
Well sure, but that's true of any entertainment media. I don't see what them being out on DVD does to help that.
Take the iTunes Movie Store, for instance. They feature "selections" of films based on a theme on the front page.
Just looking at the UK store right now they're featuring Teen Favourites which includes newish films like Superbad and Mean Girls through to older films like The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Heathers and Risky Business.
Underneath that is a selection of Low Budget Horror films with recent films like Quarantine to older films like Night of the Living Dead and The Thing.
With online services, whether you're buying a DVD or streaming on demand, a service can pick up on the films you like and make recommendations too.
My argument was less about DVDs in general and more about renting/buying them on line. If shop for DVDs in a store or go into a storefront to rent them you're more likely to run across the odd, old, classic than you are searching on line for a rental.
One of the things I like about Amazon. They've steered me towards both movies and books I became interested in, but didn't know about beforehand.
I've bought a ton of DVDs, over 1,000, and don't see that stopping anytime soon. I'm a collector and I much prefer physical objects over digital files or streaming stuff which I can't really "own". Plus, my computer's sound system, even though it's pretty nice, can't hold a candle at all to the system connected to my DVD player.
As for BD, I'm not willing to invest in them for a number of reasons:
A) I can't see the supposed visual difference between DVD and BD/HD because of my vision.
B) It's not a significant enough "upgrade" in technology to justify me buying whole new equipment like DVD when compared to VHS.
C) Pricing. I'm watching my money, now that I'm back in college, and DVD is less expensive than BD.
As for BD, I'm not willing to invest in them for a number of reasons:
A) I can't see the supposed visual difference between DVD and BD/HD because of my vision.
B) It's not a significant enough "upgrade" in technology to justify me buying whole new equipment like DVD when compared to VHS.
C) Pricing. I'm watching my money, now that I'm back in college, and DVD is less expensive than BD.
Why buy movies on disc? Availability on demand has been mentioned by other people, but Netflix and others are working to provide that option.
My answer is not only the availability as long as the disc survives, but the movie is then available at guaranteed visual and audio settings.
The other big piece of this picture is bonus features. I love learning about the movies in my collection, and the best commentaries and documentaries get multiple viewings. Again, you can get some with a rental, but there's no guarantee that you're getting the special edition, and any bonus disc features must be rented separately from Netflix or not at all.
My answer is not only the availability as long as the disc survives, but the movie is then available at guaranteed visual and audio settings.
The other big piece of this picture is bonus features. I love learning about the movies in my collection, and the best commentaries and documentaries get multiple viewings. Again, you can get some with a rental, but there's no guarantee that you're getting the special edition, and any bonus disc features must be rented separately from Netflix or not at all.
RobertScorpio
Pariah
Global Warming concerns will make it 'trendy' not to own DVDs. For the sake of the rain forest, mankind will no longer want DVDs, or plastic diapers.
Im so glad my wife and I had kids when we did. Disposable diapers were far more easy to use than cloth ones...thank God Al Gore came along later in my life.
Rob
Im so glad my wife and I had kids when we did. Disposable diapers were far more easy to use than cloth ones...thank God Al Gore came along later in my life.
Rob
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