Tangentially related, I've been toying with the idea of just buying all my film and series content again rather than maintaining subscription services. My SO and I watch TV maybe once a week yet we maintain a subscription to Crave & Netflix.
I'm pretty sure it'd work out cheaper to just buy box-sets of a series when we start watching it but haven't done the deep dive yet.
I’ve been buying dvds and surfacing a lot of the content to Jellyfin and Tailscale, it’s a lot easier than it used to be and they even have smart TV apps on some of the platforms. Don’t even have to pirate to get use out of it.
I'm not sure this makes sense for most people who watch a series once and then never again. Physical media makes sense for movies and shows that you'll watch multiple times. So you might buy Firefly, but not Reacher (please, not Reacher). With kids it makes particular sense - kids love watching the same thing over and over (I'm not sure why). If Wreck It Ralph was on VHS it'd be worn out by now...
I'm not saying I disagree, but very interesting how this contrasts with attitudes people have towards books. People keep physical books around just for kicks. Often times they haven't even read half the books on their shelves.
I am in this camp, my office (and overflowing to the living room) have a lot of physical books in them. Most I only read a single time. I do think they add something 'homely' though, as if they are part of the furniture / decoration.
Also, when I notice a particular book it can spark a memory (even about the surrounding context of when I read the book) which are small but nice moments.
I'm not sure I'd feel the same about DVD / Blu Ray boxes though. I'm pretty sure the VCR boxes I used to have were just kept in a closed-door cabinet and I barely looked at them unless I wanted to watch a particular film.
Physical media can be had for very cheap on the second-hand market, so it also makes sense if you do not watch all that much.
The further your timeline goes into the future the more sense owning your media makes. You might not want to rewatch this movie in the next ten years, but what about the next thirty? Fifty years? Inflation will only make subscriptions more and more expensive. Thirty years ago a yearly salary of $40k was the same as a yearly salary of $100k now. It's funny how so many people think they earn more than their parents did, when in reality they earn way less. And that won't get better in the future. Maybe you won't even have enough money in your retirement to afford a subscription.
There's a ton of streaming content that is stuck in streaming, so you can only "buy" it, not buy it. Oscar-winning movies that you can't get on physical media.
Have to take things into your own hands these days and grab the 2160p Dolby Vision streams and stuff them onto a BD-R, if you know what I mean.
Yeah, I've thought about that too. Original content for e.g Netflix probably never sees a physical release. As my earlier post probably alluded to though, we don't really watch a lot of TV in our household so narrowing my 'options' is not per se a thing that would impact me.
But it does suck for those who want to move to more physical-based media _and_ enjoy original content from the streaming providers.
Netflix does surprisingly release physical media now and then. EG: Stranger Things just got a complete 4k UHD physical release.
One very nice thing about physical media is the quality is often far better than you will ever get streaming, and this is true even on non-4k releases (though, especially on 4k). Audio is often the thing the streaming providers compress the heck out of.
IMO, Blu-Rays often go too far and waste bits on multiple multi-gigabyte tracks of lossless audio that would have been much better spent on increasing the video bitrate. Less of a problem with 4K on BD100 discs but still...
I've been wondering this some myself, how many services I could drop and just return to a physical media budget.
One of the factors contributing to it not necessarily being cheaper to buy box sets: Target, Best Buy, and other big US chains have given up on physical media for movies. Last I heard Wal-Mart is on the fence about long term support for it. (At the moment the only chain I know that seems still in it for the long haul seems to be Barnes & Noble, but they could have one bad quarter and change their minds quickly. My local store the DVD and Blu-Ray section is somewhat obviously what used to the Music section and still has a bit left of that old focus.)
Even the manufacturing side seems to be disappearing. Sony has flirted with dropping physical media sales of movies. Warner Brothers and Paramount seem likelier to drop physical media sales if they are allowed to merge.
Netflix lets very few originals make it to physical media. Most of the exceptions I'm aware of are Sony projects. Sony Animation being one of Netflix's last exclusive deals from a studio that isn't themselves. A lot of Prime Originals don't make it to physical media. It seems a mixed bag for HBO Originals and Hulu/Disney+ Originals, presumably based on some internal formulas of popularity. A lot of Apple TV Originals seem to get delayed physical output, but that's largely been because Apple TV doesn't have its own studio, but that changed relatively recently with the purchase of Red Hour (Ben Stiller's studio, of Severance and The Dink fame).
It certainly feels like physical media is dying right now. Maybe more reason to switch to investing in it over streaming services, not that an individual's budget decisions in this vein will affect the company's bottom lines enough that they will notice.
"It certainly feels like physical media is dying right now. Maybe more reason to switch to investing in it over streaming services, not that an individual's budget decisions in this vein will affect the company's bottom lines enough that they will notice."
As others have said, it's certainly justifiable for anything with rewatchability. You can find 1080p Bluray players at thrift stores for under $20 (it took some patience for me to find a relatively newer one that was more compact and didn't have a slow interface), and Blurays are usually under $5.
I've come across sealed Blurays or even the occasional former Blockbuster rental so it's actually kind of fun in a record-crate-diving sort of way, if you're into that. But of course you can always just buy new, which you'll probably have to do in some cases: the odds are against me finding Koyaanisqatsi at the thrift, let alone the Criterion Collection Qatsi Trilogy, but I'm okay with that.
I don't know about libraries, but from my experiences buying second hand DVD's and Blu-Rays, unreadable discs are very rare. Pressed discs can take a lot of abuse and still read fine.
I started doing this after having a child so that we could have kids movies on hand in Jellyfin, but am now having a lot of fun collecting DVDs and Blu Rays. I’ve also toyed with the idea of using ErsatzTV to have channels to bring the kids back to the old days where things weren’t always on demand.
Thrift stores are a good way to find DVDs (usually $2-4 a DVD, slightly more for Blu Ray). Estate sales are typically better (under $1 a DVD/BluRay).
The most expensive part of this so far has been obtaining storage drives.
Check your public library. If you are lucky enough to live near a big one, they may have all the shows you want to watch on DVD already.
I live in a large metropolitan area and belong to 4 different public library systems. Two of them have branches within walking distance of my house. For either of them, I can go to their website, search for a dvd, and have it delivered (for free) to the branch closest to my house.
It's not instant gratification -- it takes a couple of days. But in some ways, that's a feature, not a bug.
On top of that, they also have Kanopy (a streaming service offered via libraries). The selection is NO WHERE NEAR as complete as major streaming services... but, it's certainly nice to have.
If you do go the box-set route, you might want to be careful about which editions you buy.
Alec from Technology Connections[0] about a year ago put out a video detailing frustrating trend: many modern DVD box-set re-releases of popular series are being quietly downgraded in quality.
Basically publishers are taking content originally authored for dual-layer discs and cramming it onto cheaper single-layer discs to cut costs. The result is aggressive over-compression, terrible macroblocking, and sometimes outright playback issues.
It really sucks: you try to do the "right thing" by paying for a legitimate, physical copy to own your media and you end up getting ripped off with crap.
Apparently Alec has contacted the studio that makes the discs; they don’t make single-layer discs for the Frasier box set. Alec seems to have purchased a bootleg sold at retail.
I wish that for cases where they don't do HD remasters they would at least release the SD versions on Blu-Ray with higher bitrates, improved codecs and if possible at the original film frame reate rather than telecined to NTCS/PAL which was needed for broadcast/DVD limitations.
I want to cancel my Disney+ and then once in a month I play some movie for my kid, which would probably cost more if I bought it on a piece of media. So, eh.
It really depends. I've been on the physical train for movies and TV shows (after pirating, not streaming) and it can be as expensive of a hobby as you want to make it. Out of print discs can go for really high prices and of course many shows will only be available on disc many years after initial broadcast/streaming availability.
Insanity · · focus · HN ↗
I'm pretty sure it'd work out cheaper to just buy box-sets of a series when we start watching it but haven't done the deep dive yet.
codechicago277 · · focus · HN ↗
simpaticoder · · focus · HN ↗
phs318u · · focus · HN ↗
seizethecheese · · focus · HN ↗
whall6 · · focus · HN ↗
Insanity · · focus · HN ↗
Also, when I notice a particular book it can spark a memory (even about the surrounding context of when I read the book) which are small but nice moments.
I'm not sure I'd feel the same about DVD / Blu Ray boxes though. I'm pretty sure the VCR boxes I used to have were just kept in a closed-door cabinet and I barely looked at them unless I wanted to watch a particular film.
OroPla · · focus · HN ↗
The further your timeline goes into the future the more sense owning your media makes. You might not want to rewatch this movie in the next ten years, but what about the next thirty? Fifty years? Inflation will only make subscriptions more and more expensive. Thirty years ago a yearly salary of $40k was the same as a yearly salary of $100k now. It's funny how so many people think they earn more than their parents did, when in reality they earn way less. And that won't get better in the future. Maybe you won't even have enough money in your retirement to afford a subscription.
qingcharles · · focus · HN ↗
Have to take things into your own hands these days and grab the 2160p Dolby Vision streams and stuff them onto a BD-R, if you know what I mean.
Insanity · · focus · HN ↗
But it does suck for those who want to move to more physical-based media _and_ enjoy original content from the streaming providers.
cursuve · · focus · HN ↗
One very nice thing about physical media is the quality is often far better than you will ever get streaming, and this is true even on non-4k releases (though, especially on 4k). Audio is often the thing the streaming providers compress the heck out of.
account42 · · focus · HN ↗
account42 · · focus · HN ↗
That just seems counter productive when a hard drive that can hold hundreds of them is much more convenient.
WorldMaker · · focus · HN ↗
One of the factors contributing to it not necessarily being cheaper to buy box sets: Target, Best Buy, and other big US chains have given up on physical media for movies. Last I heard Wal-Mart is on the fence about long term support for it. (At the moment the only chain I know that seems still in it for the long haul seems to be Barnes & Noble, but they could have one bad quarter and change their minds quickly. My local store the DVD and Blu-Ray section is somewhat obviously what used to the Music section and still has a bit left of that old focus.)
Even the manufacturing side seems to be disappearing. Sony has flirted with dropping physical media sales of movies. Warner Brothers and Paramount seem likelier to drop physical media sales if they are allowed to merge.
Netflix lets very few originals make it to physical media. Most of the exceptions I'm aware of are Sony projects. Sony Animation being one of Netflix's last exclusive deals from a studio that isn't themselves. A lot of Prime Originals don't make it to physical media. It seems a mixed bag for HBO Originals and Hulu/Disney+ Originals, presumably based on some internal formulas of popularity. A lot of Apple TV Originals seem to get delayed physical output, but that's largely been because Apple TV doesn't have its own studio, but that changed relatively recently with the purchase of Red Hour (Ben Stiller's studio, of Severance and The Dink fame).
It certainly feels like physical media is dying right now. Maybe more reason to switch to investing in it over streaming services, not that an individual's budget decisions in this vein will affect the company's bottom lines enough that they will notice.
tuna74 · · focus · HN ↗
What is an ocean if not a million drops?
settsu · · focus · HN ↗
I've come across sealed Blurays or even the occasional former Blockbuster rental so it's actually kind of fun in a record-crate-diving sort of way, if you're into that. But of course you can always just buy new, which you'll probably have to do in some cases: the odds are against me finding Koyaanisqatsi at the thrift, let alone the Criterion Collection Qatsi Trilogy, but I'm okay with that.
hobo123 · · focus · HN ↗
The kids tried renting some kids series from the local library, but none of the DVDs were readable.
account42 · · focus · HN ↗
oplav · · focus · HN ↗
Thrift stores are a good way to find DVDs (usually $2-4 a DVD, slightly more for Blu Ray). Estate sales are typically better (under $1 a DVD/BluRay).
The most expensive part of this so far has been obtaining storage drives.
jwrallie · · focus · HN ↗
emacdona · · focus · HN ↗
I live in a large metropolitan area and belong to 4 different public library systems. Two of them have branches within walking distance of my house. For either of them, I can go to their website, search for a dvd, and have it delivered (for free) to the branch closest to my house.
It's not instant gratification -- it takes a couple of days. But in some ways, that's a feature, not a bug.
On top of that, they also have Kanopy (a streaming service offered via libraries). The selection is NO WHERE NEAR as complete as major streaming services... but, it's certainly nice to have.
rudolftheone · · focus · HN ↗
Alec from Technology Connections[0] about a year ago put out a video detailing frustrating trend: many modern DVD box-set re-releases of popular series are being quietly downgraded in quality.
Basically publishers are taking content originally authored for dual-layer discs and cramming it onto cheaper single-layer discs to cut costs. The result is aggressive over-compression, terrible macroblocking, and sometimes outright playback issues.
It really sucks: you try to do the "right thing" by paying for a legitimate, physical copy to own your media and you end up getting ripped off with crap.
[0] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzz_d9Y44ZE" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzz_d9Y44ZE
aspenmayer · · focus · HN ↗
<a href="https://youtube.com/watch?v=RfjH4lO241I" rel="nofollow">https://youtube.com/watch?v=RfjH4lO241I
Apparently Alec has contacted the studio that makes the discs; they don’t make single-layer discs for the Frasier box set. Alec seems to have purchased a bootleg sold at retail.
account42 · · focus · HN ↗
karel-3d · · focus · HN ↗
account42 · · focus · HN ↗