Physical and Digital Media

[ghostfreak]

So what do you prefer or would rather have?

I love physical media, have a shed load DVDs, Blu-rays and now 4K discs. Absolutely love getting the physical product (especially limited edition or new releases).

I also use digital media when the films aren’t available physically or really cheap that I can’t turn down. I know you aren’t buying the film to own but just a license but i seem to be ok with that lol.

 

[Max Power]

All my media consumption is currently digital.

Mainly because I pirate everything.

But also because it's just entirely way more convenient. Physical media takes up space. You have to change out discs. You have to get up and find shit. Additionally, I like watching some harder to find films (lately it's old kung fu films) and it'd be way too much effort to try and hunt down a physical copy and hope it's in good condition. And what if I don't like it, I'm stuck with a fucking disc.

The same applies for music. And I consume more music than movies.

And so digital it is.

The only caveat is 4k. With internet speeds + storage concerns (there's that S word again), it's not the most practical for me to download and stream ultra high definition 4k. This isn't a huge problem as I am more than fine watching movies in 1080p. Lossless FLAC files are less of a concern. The only time it's a problem for movies is not having my all time favorites in 4k (if and when they are available in 4k). One day, updates to compression/codecs/storage/or stream speeds will make this a moot point but until then . . .

C'est la vie.

 

[ghostfreak]

All my media consumption is currently digital.

Mainly because I pirate everything.

But also because it's just entirely way more convenient. Physical media takes up space. You have to change out discs. You have to get up and find shit. Additionally, I like watching some harder to find films (lately it's old kung fu films) and it'd be way too much effort to try and hunt down a physical copy and hope it's in good condition. And what if I don't like it, I'm stuck with a fucking disc.

The same applies for music. And I consume more music than movies.

And so digital it is.

The only caveat is 4k. With internet speeds + storage concerns (there's that S word again), it's not the most practical for me to download and stream ultra high definition 4k. This isn't a huge problem as I am more than fine watching movies in 1080p. Lossless FLAC files are less of a concern. The only time it's a problem for movies is not having my all time favorites in 4k (if and when they are available in 4k). One day, updates to compression/codecs/storage/or stream speeds will make this a moot point but until then . . .

C'est la vie.

I have a Plex server with a lot of foreign horror on it I already have and I love being able to access it from anywhere. Love it.

 

[paranoid android]

I have alot of DVD's which i like because my net currently sucks so much i cant always stream movis. But i like digital because some movies i like are almost impossible to find on physical media

 

[The Shadow Self]

I prefer physical media far and away over digital. I have thousands of CDs, digital books and documents (that were downloaded and are all kept offline), and lots of film content that I acquired over the years. Perhaps a couple thousand films, mostly Blu Ray and many older DVDs, and don't even have cable TV in my home because it's not worth paying for it. If want to download anything, I do it mostly at my office (which I own), and then take it offline and store it there. The whole idea of not really owning content is what corporations have been moving toward for decades, obviously, which I have a problem with. It should be noted that I tend to not be online as much as many other people. But yes...physical media and owning something tangible, while antiquated by some people's standards, is good for me. In the future, the whole idea of essentially renting everything; cars, homes, content, services, etc., will be more common than not. And to that I say, as far as many types of content go, do you really own something if you cannot hold it in your hands? Well, we can say that about lots of things, but you get my drift.

 

[Max Power]

I have a Plex server with a lot of foreign horror on it I already have and I love being able to access it from anywhere. Love it.

Giallo?

Yes, easy access is another huge benefit. Moreso with music. If I have all my music on physical format (e.g. vinyl), what am I supposed to do in the car? Or even if I have all my music in FLAC format, it's not very practical to carry around a fucking hard drive lol.

One benefit that just hit me of physical media, and something that is in the back of my mind is that digital media is very easily . . . lost. A server can go down. A hard drive can crash. If you don't have any backups, everything is lost (or at the very least, very annoying to recoup). Sure, you can lose your Blu Rays in a house fire or flood, but it just feels like digital is more . . . fragile.

 

[Cream Gravy?]

Or even if I have all my music in FLAC format, it's not very practical to carry around a fucking hard drive lol.

Large capacity cell phone? I have a 128gb iPhone 6 that I put all my music on. I'll probably get a 256gb next time I have to replace it.


I'm a huge fan of physical media, when available. Vinyl has gotten pricey for originals, some movies have been out of print since before the inception of Blurays. But I've got a decent collection going.

Movies I've had to pirate because I cannot find a copy are definitely a thing. I'm like... let me give you my money man, c'mon! Salome's Last Dance comes to mind. $200 for a mint dvd copy now I think.

One benefit that just hit me of physical media, and something that is in the back of my mind is that digital media is very easily . . . lost.

That's my biggest reason; along with modern censorship. I have the 'lost' episodes of several tv series on dvd that you cannot find on streaming services anymore.

 

[Max Power]

Large capacity cell phone? I have a 128gb iPhone 6 that I put all my music on. I'll probably get a 256gb next time I have to replace it.

I guess. Before streaming services like Spotify were a thing, I was up to about 500gb of music. All FLAC. Wasn't very practical back then when storage was at a premium. A bit easier these days. The benefits of streaming is that I don't have to download anything, as soon as I search, it's there. Eliminating a step. If I want to listen on my phone, I can. Switching to my desktop at the office? There. Laptop at home? There. Xbox in the living room? Spotify is there. Playlists are there. That's nice.

Also, being the wannabe audiophile that I am, I'd have to get an amp/dac combo to listen to FLAC on my phone and does my wallet really want to go down that rabbit hole lol.

Vinyl has gotten pricey for originals

YES. I used to be into waaayyy more into vinyl and grabbing everything I wanted because it was cheap. And then everyone and their mother got into it and prices skyrocketed and things got harder to find. Part of the reason to push me more into digital.

Now I try to get on vinyl only the albums that I can listen to forward to back instead of before, even if I liked a portion of 1 song and hated the rest, I still got the vinyl lol.

Salome's Last Dance comes to mind. $200 for a mint dvd copy now I think.

Why does this title sound familiar . . .

That's my biggest reason; along with modern censorship. I have the 'lost' episodes of several tv series on dvd that you cannot find on streaming services anymore.

Are we talking about the same thing? When I say lost, I mean like, referring back to me having 500GB of music: my hard drive crashed and I lost everything. It's happened a couple times.

I agree though, sometimes Spotify or Netflix or whoever take down content. Neil Young, for example. Can't do that if I own the vinyl or FLAC.

 

[Cream Gravy?]

Are we talking about the same thing? When I say lost, I mean like, referring back to me having 500GB of music: my hard drive crashed and I lost everything. It's happened a couple times.

Yeah sorta lol. I also backup all my music/media on an external HDD for redundancy. Been meaning to get another for an extra layer of protection. But I’m so busy working these days I find little time to make huge media backups.

YES. I used to be into waaayyy more into vinyl and grabbing everything I wanted because it was cheap. And then everyone and their mother got into it and prices skyrocketed and things got harder to find. Part of the reason to push me more into digital.

Fo reallll. I used to go to thrift shops and pick up stuff worth $100 today for like $3. Or there was that time my father in law just gave me a shit ton of original imported Beatles records. He was about to toss em in the garbage and I was like nah bro I’ll take ‘em.

Why does this title sound familiar . . .

 

[Foreigner]

All digital because I pirate.

 

[ghostfreak]

Giallo?

Yes, easy access is another huge benefit. Moreso with music. If I have all my music on physical format (e.g. vinyl), what am I supposed to do in the car? Or even if I have all my music in FLAC format, it's not very practical to carry around a fucking hard drive lol.

One benefit that just hit me of physical media, and something that is in the back of my mind is that digital media is very easily . . . lost. A server can go down. A hard drive can crash. If you don't have any backups, everything is lost (or at the very least, very annoying to recoup). Sure, you can lose your Blu Rays in a house fire or flood, but it just feels like digital is more . . . fragile.

Giallo, a lot of foreign horror (French, Japanese, Chinese, Thai etc).

Totally agree that digital is more fragile yeah.

 

[Max Power]

weren't we just talking about this