Do you all still buy blu ray and DVD or do you just stream?

OP, I second exactly what you said. I will never give up my DVDs. Streaming movies will always be second best.

I prefer physical media. I don't want to be beholden to streaming platforms that yank stuff all the time.

Well, for music, I have noticed that streaming "lossless" files sound duller than my self made lossless files. I'm looking at you, Apple Music. Is this true for movies as well? Advertised as HD but somehow you can see or hear that compression has been made, even if they pretend otherwise?

[quote] streaming "lossless" files sound duller than my self made lossless files.

R3 Are you using Bluetooth earbuds or headphones? If so, Apple Music streams in lossy AAC, not lossless ALAC (see link). It seems you have to use wired headphones or play from a Mac computer to get an ALAC stream.

For those that use Apple Music Match: if you upload an ALAC rip from a CD, it is stored as AAC in the cloud, and that is what will stream no matter what kind of earbuds or headphones you use. So don’t delete the ALAC version that’s on your computer. I use a non-Apple app to play my ALAC files on my iPhone.

So much for Steve Jobs’ “It just works” slogan.

I am a cinephile and have a large collection of movies that I’ve accumulated over the past two decades. As Blu-ray and now 4K have come along, I have gotten rid of some of my DVDs if I have upgraded the title to a better format. I prefer having physical copies of films I love l, and I own quite a few that aren’t even available to rent or stream digitally.

I do appreciate some of the free streaming platforms like Tubi just because they offer a lot of weird curious, but the quality of the prints there can vary significantly. Some films are almost unwatchable.

I like physical media because it won’t disappear in a few months when the contract is up. That being said, I appreciate streaming for getting to browse stuff I’d never buy otherwise.

^ Jesus Christ, I riddled that with typos—meant "curios", and added a couple of words there

I recently realized that I had stopped watching movies because I hate browsing around a shitty app trying to find something. I'm back to buying used DVDs. I enjoy the physical act of picking out what I want to watch from a store.

I've got plenty of blu-rays for films I enjoy - eg the Star Wars trilogy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, etc. But I very rarely buy new ones.

I love watching DVDs with commentary (Criterion is great for that), and many of the films I’m interested in just aren’t available to stream. I also hate knowing that, if I buy music or a film virtually, it can be pulled, so - yes - I like having physical coplies of films, at least.

Depends on the extras.

[post redacted because independent.co.uk thinks that links to their ridiculous rag are a bad thing. Somebody might want to tell them how the internet works. Or not. We don't really care. They do suck though. Our advice is that you should not click on the link and whatever you do, don't read their truly terrible articles.]

All my favourite films and tv shows I prefer to have on blu ray or maybe dvd. I do use streaming, but it’s a lottery what kind of content you’ll get there. Nothing will replace physical media for me.

Of course. Streaming still cannot match the bitrate of 4K Blu-rays. I’ll stream garbage but I still buy all my favorites on Blu-ray and 4K.

I too have a big collection of DVDs. The last time I did a completist screening of one actress I found nearly all her films online either streaming or YouTube. But I did need to get one or two DVDs from my library.

A downside of relying on online streaming is that the fear that the films will be culled. But then DVD's can wear out and need replacement. I bought a lot from a private collector that are not official studio releases and sometimes they only play the movie once! It's like Mission Impossible.

I have copies of my favorite movies on DVD and don't go looking for random new ones. If I discover a movie on streaming that becomes a favorite, I will buy a DVD copy.

Elder here, and I prefer to own the physical copy, OP.

I own bootlegs of the entire tv series Family (Sada Thompson, 1976-1980). I rely heavily on these, and wouldn’t you know it, Tubi seems to have yanked this beloved old series from their programming.

Streaming is so…ethereal. I don’t trust it.

I stream as much as possible. I have a lot of DVDs, but my new-ish smart TV doesn't have any useful aspect ratio settings, and some of the older DVDs I have won't display correctly. They look stretched.

For music, I ripped my own lossless versions from CDs and play them anywhere with Plex. Basically my own Spotify.

I’ve thought about doing this with DVDs, especially when movies I love just disappear or go to obscure platforms. Netflix DVDs by mail seemed like a stable way to have access to movies you loved but didn’t need to own. Now it’s the opposite.

R19 it’s hard to believe there isn’t a remedy for this

Datalounge is the only place you’ll find a need to own bootlegs of Sada Thompson.

When Criterion holds its sale, I pick up a few favorites. When shopping thrift stores or dollar stores, I check out the DVD selection. I own maybe 25 Blu-Rays and DVDs.

Think there is better quality to Blu-ray and CDs. Some people like vinyl. I don't miss it one bit and the record-pressing process is enviromentally-unfriendly.

Criterion DVD purchases include:

Mildred Pierce: an improvement, but not a whole lot. Lots of extras on a second disc.

Now, Voyager: considerable improvement. But some outdoor scenes seem washed out and overexposed.

The Lady Eve: a major disappointment. Only noticed the texture of Henry Fonda's suit late into the film.

Gun Crazy: considerable improvement.

CDs;

Recent Beatles remixes have improved the sound. But Sgt Pepper, White Album and Abbey Road all sound quite different than I remember them.

Rolling Stones recordings always used to sounded terrible to me in vinyl. Exile on Main St. Remaster sounded much cleaner. Ditto for Mama's and Papas reissue.

Have gone through CDs to see if I want to listen to them again. Rejects include:

Greatest Hits by: The Righteous Brothers (just don't want to hear them anymore), The Monkees (perhaps there is a later remaster but I'm not looking), Herman's Hermits (crummy remaster), Bill Haley and Comets (warm and clear but monotonous 3/4 time on almost all songs and occasional exploding syllibants), Madonna True Blue (don't care for her in general, but like her Something to Remember album). Like Kraftwerk's The Mix album.

R24 You'll See from Something to Remember is the last Madonna-type song she made. After that she did Evita and then the Ray of Light album. She became unrecognizable to me, in looks and in sound. But I'm a fan of Madonna from '83-'95.

I just love my new Betamax

I had a multi-region DVD player but got rid of it and the DVDs when I moved across an ocean. A couple of times in 5 years I've thought, "oh, too bad I can't play that DVD that I used to have [or buy it new]."

Other than that, it's not been something I've missed. It's a somewhat different of availability in streaming, but streaming platforms are much cheaper and there are several excellent choices that specialize in films that often fit my tastes so it's never as though I have nothing to watch. And it's not such a bad thing to see films I haven't seen rather than 9bes that I have (many times.)

I never found the extras of DVDs as interesting as many do. But for rare instances, it seems better to consider a film as what is is. My mind does enough re-editing and reworking of films as it is.

I am fan of the DVD commentaries of Eddie Muller who specializes in film noir. He is not as pretentious as some of the other film historians and mostly talks about the film we are seeing. I hate the ones that drone on about backstory and ignore the actual film.

I think if you’re watching Survivor or Barbie and listening to Taylor Swift, streaming is ok. These big hits are going to be easy to find and likely won’t disappear from platforms.

If your tastes are more niche, physical media is a necessity. I just went to Academy yesterday and picked up a recording of Vert-Vert (the first complete recording by Opera Rara) and am thrilled to own it. The booklets that come with opera recordings are invaluable too.

R28 For me (and many, I presume), extras are dependent on the film itself. Some movies I couldn’t give a flying fuck about what happened behind-the-scenes. Others, I want to know every detail I can find.

My unsolicited advice for anyone collecting physical media is to make sure it's something you're really REALLY going to watch and not just take up space on the shelf. Someday there may not be devices that will play your media so don't overspend!

R32 I think Blu-ray and DVD will still be around for a while. I do think it’s time to dump those laserdisc collections though.

I buy 4Ks or why else did I spend so much on an OLED TV.

I try not to physically collect anything these days, as I’ve discarded so many boxes of this stuff over the years. You know what you get for a bulk trade-in of your DVDs or Blu-rays? About 4 cents per disc.

[quote] I think Blu-ray and DVD will still be around for a while.

Link?

I used to belong to a Reddit group about collecting VHS and these people are crazy! Someday they're going to drop dead and some poor survivor is going to have to get rid of all that shit.

R37 there's still quite a few films that were only released on VHS and never made it to DVD or Blu-ray.

You can get most blu rays and DVD from public libraries (which have wide-ranging interlibrary loan systems in place). Your taxes go to this, why not use it? Unless you want to own something forever. Why pay some streaming service for a one-time viewing of something?

It really depends on what you want. If all you want to do is watch the latest blockbusters and the latest TV shows, and listen to Taylor Swift, then streaming is fine. But if you enjoy watching and listening to things that are harder to find, you need physical media.

So, for those who have large collections, how do you store them? Are they on a shelf, displayed like books? Or in boxes? Or taken out of their cases and put in binders like photos?

R41 in a cabinet with closing doors to keep the dust out.

In a perfect world, I would stream everything. But, streaming is just like syndication - you cannot rely on a movie or tv show to always be on a streaming platform. For this reason, I continue to purchase box sets of certain shows that I want to always have available. I also use Handbrake to make digital versions of these shows.

I discard the DVD box and store the discs in paper sleeves then in plastic sealed tubs with the discs collected alphabetically according to category eg. favorite actor, director, film noir, classics, modern, TV shows etc.

Neither. I usually just wait for a favorite movie or show to be on TV. TCM says they don't censor or alter anything and most movies are available later on demand at no extra charge. I don't mind commercials on on other channels for stuff I've seen dozens of times, although 3 hours to watch 'The Bad Seed,' a 126 minute film, on Movies! was a slog. I just missed the Margaret O'Brien episode of 'Adam-12' on MeTV and it's on Freevee, but I'll probably wait for it to come around again.

[quote] But if you enjoy watching and listening to things that are harder to find, you need physical media.

Or learn to pirate.

The streaming services will always push their newer, original product right? Because that ultimately will be more profitable than showing old black and white films.

So as years pass .. will the TCM era films just not be shown? Because of the demographic of the viewers?

And, if there is no physical media..... it seems like they will be very hard to access, because there is no profit incentive.

and, the whole notion that Disney/Fox could censor The French Connection as mentioned in link above.... egad.

"The Digital Bits has learned from industry sources—and we’ve confirmed it with multiple sources now—that Best Buy plans to exit the physical media business for good next year, possibly as soon as the end of Q1 2024.

This includes not just their in-store Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD sales, which the retailer has been gradually phasing out for a couple of years now in their many store locations nationwide, but online sales as well. "

Muriel won't let me provide a link but:

"The Digital Bits has learned from industry sources—and we’ve confirmed it with multiple sources now—that Best Buy plans to exit the physical media business for good next year, possibly as soon as the end of Q1 2024.

This includes not just their in-store Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD sales, which the retailer has been gradually phasing out for a couple of years now in their many store locations nationwide, but online sales as well. "

It comes as no surprised that DL is peppered with hoarders. I can envision your creepy bedrooms and basements, loaded with old stuffed animals, snow globes, dusty VHS tapes and DVDs.

R50 is tiresome and unfunny (although possibly accurate)

I buy movies that are rarely shown anywhere. I recently bought Blue-ray versions of Body Heat and Quiz Show and The Naked Jungle starring Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker. It was a week of 90+ degrees and high humidity in New Yawk City and I was feeling mighty steamy.

[quote]3 hours to watch 'The Bad Seed,' a 126 minute film, on Movies! was a slog.

Why don't you DVR it and then fast forward pass the commercials?

R49 I was in Best Buy for the first time in years last night for a replacement phone

The store was virtually unrecognizable ... and clearly all the dvds, etc are a very low priority now.... so not hard to imagine them disappearing altogether...

It's hard to remember they ever sold music. I remember when they opened in the 90s in my SW town, I loved their huge selection of music on pre recorded cassette tape!

It all feels very cold and dreary in there now, all phones and nordic track machines.

Meant past for pass & R53.

Apparently this may have to do with Walmart coming in to manage the joint home video operation of Universal and Warner Bros. If Walmart exclusively sells all Universal/Warner physical media, then there’s no point in Best Buy having a selection.

[quote] It all feels very cold and dreary in there now, all phones and nordic track machines.

Now this I didn't know. They sell exercise equipment?

R54 I was in a Best Buy last month. There was something about it that felt unwelcoming. The carpet was dirty and there were boxes piled up where they shouldn’t be. It was as if customers were no longer meant to be there.

Visiting Best Buy is like visiting the DMV.

Streaming libraries are getting smaller and you always end up need too many accounts to watch a handful of movies or shows you want to - I think it’s worth buying physical media, you can probably find cheaply on eBay. Searching is worse piracy is harder etc.

I just stream. Used to go to the Red Box a block away from me but I haven't been there for a couple of years.

I buy Criterion blu-rays for films that are hard to find on streaming platforms, or films that I love and will always want to be able to watch on moments notice. I also check out discs from the library, and have been tempted to rip them and finally making my own Plex server. I just saw this news article about how Best Buy is ending physical media sales; it might be a good way to get a best buy, pun intended, as they liquidate stock.

I don't buy them anymore, but I know many people who still do.

I do still have a DVD player hooked up, as my stereo receiver plays CDs and DVDs, as well as my Playstation does Blu-ray, although I can't remember the last time I've used either since it's often just easier to stream stuff.

Is there any way to truly rip a DVD? I haven’t researched heavily, but it seems that you can’t replicate the menus and extras with Handbrake or whatever. If I could go to Plex and have the same experience as loading a DVD, I’d be a happy man.

R64 yeah, you extract the iso which can be mounted and replayed in dvd playback software or burned to disc. That’s the .iso file you see in most DVD torrents.

I'm in the same boat R64. I am not opposed to sailing the high seas of piracy, but building a Plex server is something that my semi-technical literate self has had trouble with. Plus the investment in digital storage.

[quote] Is there any way to truly rip a DVD?

Yes. I used to do it all the time. Rent a dvd from Netflix or the library and make a copy of it. I believe the software was called DVDFab but there are others.

Thanks, r65 and r67. I use Plex for audio, but they don’t allow iso because they wanted their own user interface. If you care to recommend a playback software that allows access on multiple devices, I’d be very grateful.

Please think twice about pirating. There’s a reason that movies suck now.

R69, ripping isn’t necessarily pirating. I keep my physical media, but want the (legal) convenience of digital copies. Some of which I have bought multiple times (LP, VHS, CD, DVD, Blu-Ray). I don’t feel responsible for the industry’s struggles.

R68 the native windows media player can access dvd menus. dvdfab works, just google how to burn an iso or how to rip DVD with menus and you'll find some software, look for search results from 2019 onward or so

R69 buying a used dvd is no different in terms of the industry profits - the issue with pirating is new movies being available during their theater runtime and when their retail shelf life is actually relevant. a lot of films and tv shows aren't legally available anywhere. I realized that just last week when I tried to find a way to rewatch Naoki Urasawa's Monster - an excellent historical thriller set in cold war germany. There's just no legal way to watch it at all, not even by purchasing used physical media. Piracy is the only option despite it being critically acclaimed and everything, it's not even something obscure.

I stopped buying DVD years ago. I ripped all mine to quicktimes and store them on external hard drives that are backed up to another drive. DVDs, Blu rays and CDs are al just unnecessary clutter.

I gathered a large collection of DVDs and Blu rays over the years. My favorite TV shows on one storage cabinet, and films on another cabinet. Like some others I prefer the physical version as well.

I still buy physical media if it’s one of my absolute favourite films or series. I bought big dvd storage albums a while back and keep discs in there. It’s a big improvement over shelves full of plastic boxes.

I also purchased a number of physical media over the years and have them on shelves - but watched only a handful of them in the past.

While I haven't purchased any more in a while, this past year I made a New Year's resolution to start watching them.

So far I've seen all of Endeavor; several seasons of Luther; the boxed BBC sets of Dickens, Austen and Eliot adaptations; I Claudius; and season 1 of The West Wing - and now I've just started The Pallisers.

Upcoming are Kurosawa, Verhoeven and Wertmuller films; Stranger Things; and Legion.

R53, I've never had a DVR/Tivo. I used to record stuff on VHS back in the olden days, but half the time I never bothered to watch it, so I don't record any longer. If I miss it, I miss it. I don't think I've ever recorded anything with my phone.

[quote][R53], I've never had a DVR/Tivo. I used to record stuff on VHS back in the olden days, but half the time I never bothered to watch it, so I don't record any longer. If I miss it, I miss it. I don't think I've ever recorded anything with my phone.

These days, there is very little to "miss" anymore with streaming and even youtube.

There are a bunch of movies and tv shows that are not available online. That's about the only reason to be bothered about it anymore.

I just watched 'The Curse of the Cat People,' one of my favorite movies, on TCM. The DVD has been loaded in my computer for months.

We keep the DVDs of stuff we really enjoy and have found that streaming and digital media is just not the best quality sometimes. I'm a huge movie lover and we've sometimes started watching a movie we like on a streaming app but switched over to the DVD. I think movies look and sound better on physical media. Streaming can also be a different version. Like when a streamer can't get all the music rights cleared for a tv show, they will put in some cheap replacement music.

We tried watching the US Queer as Folk on a streaming app and when the first episode got to the scene with Michael & Brian on the hospital roof, they CUT the iconic "Proud" by Heather Small and replaced it with some generic track. Not cool.

[quote] this past year I made a New Year's resolution to start watching them.

I can't quite articulate why this made me laugh but it did.

What 's a DVD?

Sometimes streaming is better. I watch I Love Lucy on Pluto Tv and the quality is noticeably clearer and sharper than it is on my ILL boxed set DVDs.

R82 that's because it was remastered from the original film negatives in 1080p. If they put out an I Love Lucy boxset on Blu-ray with a nice bitrate, it would look better than the PlutoTV stream.

[quote]R79: We tried watching the US Queer as Folk on a streaming app and when the first episode got to the scene with Michael & Brian on the hospital roof, they CUT the iconic "Proud" by Heather Small and replaced it with some generic track. Not cool.

There were problems with the US 'Queer As Folk' the moment it originally landed on DVD. From the first episode, there was a scene between Justin, his mom and his sister (Sister: "He doesn't 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 to drive. He doesn't 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑙 like it. He-" Justin stops her with a look) which was cut from the episode and placed with the 'deleted scenes.'

That kind of shit drives me crazy. (In the case of QAF, though, I no longer care - it's been too long, and I've completely detached from it, and probably will never watch it again.)

Crossroads and Spice World are not on the streaming services apparently

this article says it's DVD viewing only

non paywall link below

They're re-tooling and re-releasing a lot of classic films in 4K. As a film buff I like owning the physical asset so for me a 4K DVD/BluRay player will always be a must.

The Warner Bros 100th anniversary movie re-releases alone this year make it worth it.

Hollywood figured out a way to get you to pay every time you want to watch something, And at the same time, pay for a streaming service.

You could have owned your own physical copy that they cannot extract any more money out of you for, no matter how many times you watch it. But people didn’t want the clutter.

Similar to music. I still buy physical CDs (not many, the ones I really want) because my car is old enough that I can listen to them on a CD player. Very easy and convenient. You don’t need to own the phone, or pay for the phone service, to plug in, in your car. You just buy one CD for 9 or 10 bucks. But they want to sell you phones, and music streaming services, or sell you digital singles. And they make way more.

You're right r88. I'm still raging about the demise of iTunes. All that money spent on music (I have about 10,000 songs and an iPod Touch that no longer gets updates from Apple) and the only way to listen to them is the stream Apple Music for $9.99 / month.

I love Ron Perlman's big fuck you rant about this.to Apple.

Only physical media can safely stand the test of time.

R89 Agree, except they will take away the means to play it. As they did with car CD players. VCRs. Quality DVD players in your home. Etc. Though for some reason they want to sell you LPs again. But since few people have the equipment to play them, they will sell you cheap portable record players to play them on.

(Not cheap in price.)

R89 What are you talking about? iTunes is still around and you can still buy music from them and play it on all of your Apple devices.

Buy used DVD/Bluray players, now. They are beginning to go up in price. You can find them used, online at decent prices. Shop around, don't pay exorbitant prices. I've seen them at ridiculous prices... $200 and even higher. You can still find them at under $20. Make certain they have remotes and cords so there is no need to search and pay for those extras. I have purchased a couple of nice, high end machines.

R93 Is $200 really that much money? My blu ray player was $450, of course it’s a good model that was also modified to be region free so I can watch movies from anywhere in the world.

R94 I paid almost that much about 5 years ago for a good model region free blu ray player, but it doesn't play the majority of the blue rays and DVDs that are from other regions. I was renovating my home at the time I purchased it and I didn't get around to hooking it up and trying it for three months which is when I found out it that with few exceptions it doesn't work on foreign regions discs. I was unable to return it.

HD BLU RAY DVDs provide the highest bitrate video and audio transmission available today. At least in my audio/video system, the realism is spectacular. Even with my appleTV and a ten gig internet connection, streaming does not provide nearly the bitrate transmission. I have a MARANTZ home theater receiver that can display the bitrate on the screen so that I can keep up with these tidbits of technical data.

R92. Only on Windows PC or older Macs, pre 2019.

Apple no longer supports it. They replaced it with Apple Music.

The last time I moved house I had about 15 large bags worth of DVDs. I have a helluva stash.

R92 here's Ron Perlman. He can explain it better than me lol.

R93 New blu ray players don’t cost that much.

I paid. $350 CAD for my Sony 4k player recently. They're not cheap.

My brand new iMac 🖥️ uses iTunes. I have over 10,000 songs on it, most from CDs or purchased from iTunes.

I am not using Apple Music.

Apple had (or still has) a nasty feature. If you have ripped versions of music, but then subscribe to Apple Music, it replaces your music with the streamed versions. If you end your Apple Music, you lose access to the streamed versions. Without your ripped music, which no longer exists, you have nothing. You can opt not to replace your music, but it’s not the default.

I am not subscribed to Apple Music, and all of my music is safe in iTunes.

That’s the point, r102/104. If you took a free 3 month trial to Apple Music, you would find that your “safe” music was replaced. When your trial expired, your “safe” music would no longer be accessible unless it was not streaming on Apple Music.

Right, but you said that iTunes didn’t exist anymore and was obsolete, only on pre-2019 PCs, which is untrue.

No, I didn’t, r106. That was someone else. I rip my music to my own server.

iTunes still exists, still sells music, video, podcasts, etc. Apple Music has not wiped away the iTunes business.

The Music app on new Macs still incorporates iTunes. Your old music is not replaced with streaming versions unless you choose to sign up for the "Apple Music" streaming service. You aren't forced to.

If you choose to use the "Apple Music" service, that's on you.

R101 You chose to buy something that expensive, and fancy. But just buying a very good or good blu ray player doesn’t cost that much. Stop misleading people.

R109 $350 CAD is only $255 USD. That’s not that much money, unless you wash dishes for a living. If you’re going to buy a really cheap player, expect it to break within a year.

Anyone pick up the new Rosemary’s Baby 4K?

Incidentally, i don’t use Apple Music, but I use iTunes Match so I can play my entire music library on all devices. Works great and isn’t too expensive either.

Criterion flash sale is going on right now btw. Y'all getting anything good?

R110