HTF Members' opinions needed for an upcoming magazine article (2 Viewers)

[BobO'Link]

How often do you purchase physical discs and why do you like them?
On average I purchase a physical copy of a movie or TV season/series once a week. I purchase physical because it's not constrained by bandwidth, whims of a studio to edit for any reason, isn't subject to the whims of licensing/availability on a streaming service, and offers higher quality than streaming. I watch mostly "catalog" movies (20s to 80s) and TV series (mostly 50s-90s with TV - very few post 2000 titles) which are typically unavailable on any streaming service. My discs are available whenever the mood hits.

How often do you purchase/rent titles (not watch them on streaming services) and why? Why do you like digital ownership?
I do not purchase or rent anything digitally (in all fairnes I never rented physical either - it's more cost effective to own). You don't "own" a product you've purchased digitially, just a license to view it until the licensor decides it's time for it to end. The version of a streaming product can change at any time to suit the whim of the studio/distributor and be edited with no recourse. The only benefit digital offers over physical is space and that's not enough of a counter to all the negatives with digital. I *have* redeemed a few digital copies that came with a physical copy of a movie just to sample the product/delivery method. I've found the interfaces to be kludges at best and the quality of the product to generally be lacking compared to a disc. For me, it's a wholly unsatisfying experience.

 

[Clark Green]

Hey Everyone!

A major industry magazine is looking for consumer quotes for their top retailers feature, which covers physical disc and transactional digital (rental or EST purchase).

I suggested that perhaps our members could help since all of you have been at the forefront of disc and digital purchasing.

If you would like to be part of this article, with a possible quote inclusion, please answer the questions below. Please avoid discussing the answers of others. I am trying to make it as easy as possible for all the answers in this thread to be compiled.


Here are the questions:

How often do you purchase physical discs and why do you like them?

I stopped buying physical media of any kind several years ago.

AND/OR

How often do you purchase/rent titles (not watch them on streaming services) and why? Why do you like digital ownership?

I have rented and purchased digital movies several times over the last few years due to cheap prices and 4K availability and I love the convenience of all digital. Discs are a dead format as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

As someone who has multiple rooms filled with movies, I have come to the point in my life where I no longer have the space to support them.

For that reason, I have embraced digital purchasing. It's more convenient and I can take and watch my library anywhere I travel.

That being said, I still buy an occasional first-run or favorite catalog release on 4k when I prefer to have that superior picture and audio presentation.

 

[bmasters9]

How often do you purchase physical discs and why do you like them?

I purchase most every month; I get it like that (whether DVD or Blu) because, when you consider it, digital (streaming) has the pitfalls of not being able to be held in your hand, having high subscription prices, and possibly having something taken down that you were enjoying.

For instance (albeit I've never been the fan of such a show), let's say you were enjoying Friends on Netflix, and you had gotten to the point of the fourth go or somewhere in the middle of there. What if Netflix all of a sudden decides that Friends was not getting the view numbers they wanted, or that Warner Bros. wasn't making the money they wanted, or some other similar reason, and then Friends went poof-- no more of it on Netflix?

If you had the DVD/Blu releases, you'd have a measure of security, because you could come back to it whenever you wanted; not so with a streaming service, because you'd have to try to find another one that had it (and you may run out of luck even faster on that front, because possibly you might be unable to find any other services that had it).

This of course is hypothetical, because Friends is a remarkably popular show, and seemingly a lot of people have it on either DVD or Blu, or maybe more might be streaming (just a matter of preference, of course).

 

[John Dirk]

As someone who has multiple rooms filled with movies, I have come to the point in my life where I no longer have the space to support them.

I might. Interested in selling any titles., especially 3D?

 

[Jesse Skeen]

How often do you purchase physical discs and why do you like them?

Well, since 1998 I had been buying close to 100 discs per year, sometimes more (I was buying laserdiscs before that starting in 1993 but they were just priced too high to buy too many of), but my purchasing has declined lately mainly because of the absolutely pathetic retail situation in my area (Sacramento CA, former home of Tower Records.) We have NO more regular media stores aside from a few places that sell used items, so any boutique label release has to be ordered. The only places left here to buy new discs are Walmart, Target and Best Buy, and all of those have reduced their selection lately, so even a mainstream catalog title on a major label is now harder to find in store. I used to make tons of impulse buys at Target when going there for food and other stuff, but their movie section has shrunken so much it's hardly worth looking at now. I've had to order much more in the past couple years than before, which I don't like because of the waiting for it to get here and the chance of it arriving damaged (I got the wrong title one time, after an extended wait!) I also miss browsing stores and finding stuff I didn't know existed. Buying online just isn't the same.

I like physical discs because aside from Sony's recent titles with their forced pop-up menus at the end credits (which has caused me to simply stop buying anything from them), they allow you to watch movies and shows complete and uninterrupted from start to finish (unlike streaming services which interrupt end credits and show on-screen prompts to skip sections). I also like having access to them as I wish (as long as the disc doesn't rot at least, which happened with 58 HD-DVDs!) without possibility of them being taken off-line, edited, revised or remastered- even if a movie gets remastered in better quality, I still want to have the transfer I originally bought. If the new one is better, I'll buy the new disc also.

How often do you purchase/rent titles (not watch them on streaming services) and why? Why do you like digital ownership?

I used to rent a lot of movies on VHS in the 80s and 90s, but now rarely rent. Rental stores of course are history aside from Redbox; oddly I've found those a bit inconvenient as I don't want to make the trip back to return the movie. Digital rentals are convenient and I've rented a few that I didn't think I'd like enough to buy, but the prices on those (usually $6 for a new title) are a bit too much. I used to rent from Vudu a lot when they had daily 99 cent rentals but they stopped doing those a few years ago.

I don't like "digital ownership" because there really is no ownership- the studios and services are free to take any movie offline at any time for any reason or change it (like has happened with Star Wars at least once since it went on digital). I've bought a few $5 movies since that's about the same price as a rental, but I don't kid myself that I "own" any of them. I watch them while I can and just feel lucky if I can watch them again later- if I end up liking it I'll still buy it on disc. Movies Anywhere has taken some of the risk out of buying but not enough to make me feel as secure as buying actual media. Vudu's new interface on the Roku is awful, and I'm going to feel really burned if that gets moved to all of the other devices and I'm forced to use it to watch any movies that are only available through that without having Movies Anywhere or ITunes as a backup.

Admittedly the technical quality of digital has gotten a lot better, but it's still more compressed than discs and even if there isn't much of a visual or audible difference, I don't want to settle for less than the best possible quality.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

HOW OFTEN DO YOU PURCHASE PHYSICAL DISCS AND WHY DO YOU LIKE THEM?
I purchase about 15 titles a year, of new catalog items or improved transfers of favourite movies. Hence my order just made of the new Blu ray of Judy Garland's 'For Me and my Gal' and my purchase of various UHD upgrades .. most recently of 'Singing in the Rain'. And I'll soon be upgrading to the new UHD Clint Spaghetti Westerns coming from Kino.
I like the sheer physicality of a disc . as I loved the tactile quality of LPS in their heyday. And, since I have invested in a region-free UHD player -- an Oppo 203 -- and in a 4k (or simalucrum thereof) HD Epson projector and 150 inch projector screen, I am happy to continue to maximise the benefits of those investments.

How often do you purchase/rent titles (not watch them on streaming services) and why? Why do you like digital ownership?
Never. I dislike the idea of streaming. I'm not sure why -- maybe it reflects a deeply innate conservate streak in my nature -- though I did help just now throw out our ghastly Australian right-wing government! I don't like the possible impermanancy of digital libraries we don't control. I enjoy seeing my collection, browsing the shelves and finding something I wouldn't have ever thought of streaming.

 

[Worth]

How often do you purchase physical discs and why do you like them?

At the height of DVDs popularity, I was buying a couple of discs a week. Now I purchase maybe one per month, or one every couple of months. I think discs still have a slight edge in picture quality over digital, but it's so close now as to be almost moot. I was never much of an audio guy, so the difference in sound quality is lost on me. If it's a movie that I want to own, I prefer the disc, as I know the edit, transfer etc. can't be updated or altered.

How often do you purchase/rent titles (not watch them on streaming services) and why? Why do you like digital ownership?

I mostly stream everything these days via subscription services or rent from iTunes. I've come to the realization that I just don't rewatch very many movies. Most of the ones I do, I already own, and the few that are MIA, I'll buy on disc if and when they're released. I do buy digital versions that either aren't available on blu-ray, or that are priced low enough to make it worthwhile. If it costs about the same as a rental, I figure it's worth it even if the service goes bye-bye, though I don't expect Apple to go under anytime soon.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

How often do you purchase physical discs and why do you like them?

Probably 4-5 Blu-rays per month. I've always been a film collector starting with 16mm and 35mm back in the 70s, so the idea of permanently owning a film in high quality form still appeals to me. Collector's Editions with extensive special features are a nice bonus, but I don't base purchases on added content. Picture & sound quality are primary, along with 3-D availability for titles filmed that way. I mostly collect pre-1980 films.

How often do you purchase/rent titles (not watch them on streaming services) and why? Why do you like digital ownership?

I rarely purchase or rent digital titles but that can change if the titles I want start to pop up that are not available on Blu-ray.

 

[Interdimensional]

Here are the questions:

How often do you purchase physical discs and why do you like them?

I buy physical discs on at least a monthly basis. I could attempt to rationalize it, but I know at least some of it is just down to habit. I have been collecting from the VHS era through to dvd.

However. I dropped out of collecting altogether for a five year period during the mid-2000s. I was getting burned out for a variety of reasons. The Bluray/HD DVD format war was a factor.

What brought me back in a big way was the 3D-Bluray format, and deep catalog releases. 3D-Bluray presents something you just can't seem to get anywhere else. They are something to treasure. I will not buy a flat release of a 3D movie.

It's been a revelation to see just how good many older movies can look with modern remastering. I used to be somewhat put off by the murky colours of older releases that now shine. I find them a lot more accessible, including titles that used to be near impossible to track down in any kind of watchable quality.

There has never been a better time for collecting movies.

How often do you purchase/rent titles (not watch them on streaming services) and why? Why do you like digital ownership?

I don't. I'm glad it's available, and hope it offers unparalleled choice going forward but I have more than enough to keep me busy.

 

[Rick Thompson]

How often do you purchase physical discs and why do you like them?
I buy disks when I see a film or series that interests me. Unless a film or series is highly popular, I don't expect to see it on streaming services. This isn't a criticism of those services. I was in business myself, and you want to maximize profits. Carrying limited appeal products isn't a recipe for success. As a result, if I want to watch an episode of, say, the David Janssen series Harry O, I can because it's on my shelf. Can't do that if the streaming service doesn't carry it. (And it probably doesn't!)

Why do you like digital ownership?
This one's academic as I live in an area without hardwired cable. Satellite and Verizon Wireless doesn't cut it for blu-ray quality viewing — unless, of course, you're a fan of that circle that rotates while the screen is frozen!

 

[Dick]

I refuse to "purchase" a streamed movie, for all of the aforementioned reasons (bandwidth, lack of permanency, PQ, dearth of extras). I have thirty-five hundred Blu-rays - 230 of them 3D - and almost two thousand DVD's, and I'll watch them whenever I damn well please in top quality and many with commentary tracks, documentaries, deleted scenes, extended editions, etc. I buy discs that I am fairly certain I will be rewatching after a time, whereas there is no guarantee I would be able to do that with streaming.

 

[Museum Pieces]

I will never "buy" a movie that isn't on phusical media I can hold in my hands. That said, I'm not sure I'm purchasing fewer physical discs by choice. The problem is, there are fewer physical discs available that I want to buy anymore. If The Mandalorian was released in Blu Ray, for example, or the Rings of Power got a Blu Ray, I'd snap them up. But the streaming services seem to want to keep their HD availability dependent on a subscription. So that has frustrated the "completeness" of my collection, leaving me with less enthusiasm to keep it "complete," even if other series I want are out on HD disc.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

How often do you purchase physical discs and why do you like them?
I buy on average 1-2 discs per month, though some months will be heavier than others (October-December are particularly big for new horror discs, Black Friday sales and Boxing Day sales). I like physical media for the ability to call up movies I really like in a more on demand scenario than many streaming services can offer. I’m also a special features junkie and love to get into the filmmaking process.
How often do you purchase/rent titles (not watch them on streaming services) and why? Why do you like digital ownership? I will purchase titles on digital about once a month. Usually, they’re titles not readily available on disc in my area, and frequently on sale. I like digital ownership to fill in gaps in my collection that may not be obtainable otherwise.

 

[Robert Crawford]

How often do you purchase physical discs and why do you like them?
I buy on average 1-2 discs per month, though some months will be heavier than others (October-December are particularly big for new horror discs, Black Friday sales and Boxing Day sales). I like physical media for the ability to call up movies I really like in a more on demand scenario than many streaming services can offer. I’m also a special features junkie and love to get into the filmmaking process.
How often do you purchase/rent titles (not watch them on streaming services) and why? Why do you like digital ownership? I will purchase titles on digital about once a month. Usually, they’re titles not readily available on disc in my area, and frequently on sale. I like digital ownership to fill in gaps in my collection that may not be obtainable otherwise.

Are you asking anybody to respond to your questions?

 

[YANG]

What i see is Stephen quoting and answering the initial questions in an odd way of presentation... that's all.
It may seems to some that making the fonts bold, is a sign of response in anger... but to me, it's readability to some folks whom are old with aging eyes.
The quoting of the initial questions is poorly presented to some, but to me... it seems it's just kind of limitation of using different device.

 

[YANG]

...If The Mandalorian was released in Blu Ray, for example, or the Rings of Power got a Blu Ray, I'd snap them up. But the streaming services seem to want to keep their HD availability dependent on a subscription. So that has frustrated the "completeness" of my collection, leaving me with less enthusiasm to keep it "complete," even if other series I want are out on HD disc.

Mandalorian is... Disney "owned" production title, while Rings of Power is Amazon?
Well... you know Disney... they're slow now on releasing optical disc medias. As for Amazon... Rings of Power is now still in the process of streaming right? Once the streaming schedule is over, optical media release could be scheduled to be release... probably 3months later after the last episode ended streaming. It's just about which publishing studios going to handle the release that's all.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Are you asking anybody to respond to your questions?

Fonts defaulted to bold. Thought about reformatting but can’t be bothered.