Physical Media VS. Streaming?

In the war on physical media, is there a middle way where both streaming and physical ownership can happily coexist? Let's talk about that today.

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[Anonymous-wbnz]

I just witnessed a 16 and a 14 year old purchase an original XBOX and a handful of physical games. They explained to me that they are tired of the lack of art in new games, and that streaming feels soulless. These are just kids, and they get it.

[Henkibojj]

You haven't mentioned libraries. They are subscription services that are completely free, but you're still handling and enjoying physical media with all the extra material that brings in terms of behind the scenes in movies or CD folders. There is also the quality and fidelity of the physical media that the streaming services don't want to distribute because of the bandwidth it requires. A Netflix movie is 20-80 times more compressed than a bluray movie.

[golith]

We have 500+ movies in binders, my daughter has her own, the best way to keep tabs on what your kids watch.

[trypn]

Cds are the way to go. You own it, it's the best quality, and you can sell it if you no longer want. With your digital purchases your money can never be recuperated.

[msandrini]

I tend to listen to the same music and rarely change my preferences. When I try new music, I listen first and only purchase it if I'm genuinely interested. Because of this, a subscription service doesn't suit me—I feel like I spend more than I can actually enjoy and don’t own anything by the end of the subscription period.

[Steve-ph]

I cancelled all my paid for streaming services this year to. I had YouTube and YouTube music and Spotify and a whole host of other subscriptions which also got cancelled.
I've been collecting cds again for several months buying them from ebay and local charity shops. Got many at really good prices and been replacing the cases if they were too crappy so look like new again.
It's fun, not just listening to the album as the artist intended, but also the searching, looking, and discovery of the next album on your list of what albums you want to get for the collection. Don't feel anything like that with steaming. I think it's quite souless to be honest with you.

[robjlang]

Definitely the storage aspect that meant I had to cut back on collecting physical media. I am now far more conscious of buying only films and tv series that have a special meaning to me. But recently I’ve also thinned out the streaming subs. Worth seeing what bundles you can get too. My bank gives me ad-supported Disney+ as part of my account.

[gabberna]

I now use hoopla and YouTube for music. Hoopla is free with the a library card. It’s nice because it’s not an endless library and you can rent a certain amount a month for usually 7 days. I love this. I’m enjoying albums in full like you’ve talked about in the past. You can download it to your device so that period too. Great free option, along with Libby and libraries in general.

[antonioafrussell]

Hey Spencer, I liked the arguments presented on this debate: I prefer physical media in terms of its quality and compatibility and versatility - you do not require good internet connections to stream a lossless/4k content you get that content as part of a cd/vinyl/blu ray - which can all be digitally archived for ones own use. However as you mentioned the ability to try something out before a thoughtful and mindful purchase is key to people who are mindful or on a limited budget who still want to support the artists/actors etc in a more financially viable way, really liking the free thought no edit policy you are undergoing, get a podcast on the go asap :) all the best from scotland. - Antonio.

[LJP]

I canceled all streaming as well as internet a couple of years ago. I have unlimited data for YouTube watching on an iPad to keep up to date with current events and a little entertainment. I have a chest of drawers where I have about 100 dvds of my all time favorite movies. I have four dvd players, 3 of those are standby that family members have donated to me when they wanted to ditch them. I purchased complete sets of my two favorite series (King of Quenns and Frazier). I watch an episode at night. I’m happy and content. I love owning my dvds. I’ve had a few experiences when our town had no internet or signal…I was having a movie marathon 😊 I also have vinyl records and cds I enjoy just as much. I enjoy your videos. Thanks ☺️

[yochrisnelson]

I’ve loved revisiting my DVD collection this past year. I love the menu design of the era and the special features, and organizing my collection. Its made me much more intentional and excited to rewatch some old favorites.

[adamwragg]

Physical all the way as I find digital absolutely soulless 😅 I like something physical. I see your point though on a bit of both, trying it on steaming first and then buying it after if you like it, might try that. We have to have streaming services though as my girls love disney plus, think we have prime and Netflix too though

[jonathanmeyer]

Referencing Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees? A man after my own heart. Anyway, i prefer physical, but i can see a use case for streaming. As a musician, im all for buying an LP or a cd of my favorite artists because they get more for their art, as opposed to what they make from someone streaming that same song or album.

[scally]

This is the exact conversation i’ve been having with myself in regards to music streaming. I still have my Spotify Premium subscription, but choose to buy only full albums that are good enough to really listen to over and over again.

Physical stuff and DRM-free ownership is cool, but yes streaming allows you to try things out before committing. If I find that I haven’t used Spotify to find new stuff for quite a while, i’ll just cancel it. No problem. It’s not like cancelling my streaming will leave me with nothing because i’ve slowly been buying almbums that I enjoy.

Great vid.

[lauren]

I've built my physical media collection and I adore it. They're all mine and I want to be intentional about the media I consume. I've got a tone of old and new films even complete series. I bought a Blu-ray player through the store. However I forgot to consider that it needs a remote and I'll have to get one from Amazon but I want step closer to cutting the cord. You are correct when it comes to free streaming services those are where the true gems are.

[Landon-vpun]

I still do both l like DVDs better
Great advice thanks

[rockcaholic]

I love digital & physical media. But I have subscriptions.

[erikT]

I'm going to only use one video streaming site at a time; I can trade out the sites every 3-4 months of so. As for music I use apple music to try things out. I will cancel once I have around 300 albums that I like and then I will buy those slowly.

[sebastiansanhueza]

Hey, Spencer: where so you get your DRM-free music?

[nickthompson]

When I buy DVDs and blu-rays I buy a single copie of the dvd or blu-ray but if I see a boxset at wal-mart or Amazon that I want I pick up the boxset then I just giveaway the single copie cause it’s pointless to own duplicate copies