ease? Convenience? I ripped my physical media, stuffed it on my file server and now have both.
I have a ton of my blurays and dvds ripped to my media server, but there are some films that aren’t worth the size. Anything recent that makes use of 4k/surround i like to watch on disc rather than take up 50GB on my drive. H265 makes this a little more bearable, but I’m also really lazy and I don’t watch the high bitrate stuff THAT often.
I’m tired of pretending [piracy of lossless rips of] physical media isn’t still better than streaming digital.
It is fun to own a physical version for my favorites though. Especially when effort goes into crafting an actual souvenir and not just a money-grab.
I like collector’s editions that are actually nice. I have an edition of Dune (1984) on DVD that includes multiple versions, the soundtrack and an actual frame from a movie roll.
Yeah, I haven’t dealt with actual physical media before Netflix was even an option. Piracy is becoming the best experience again.
This is basically my pseudo-legal solution to modern media collection and consumption.
I buy physical copies (or get DRM-free downloads) of the stuff I intend to keep and use more than once or twice, making my own rips using the settings I like.
Then I subscribe to streaming services that have all the other stuff I want… and just pirate it instead of using the service. Because torrenting and queuing media on my computer or phone is easier than using their players! I can download Japanese TV shows and find fanmade subtitles for them even if the streamer doesn’t have it. I can shoot the content to any device I own. To multiple devices at once. I can make screenshots. It’s the experience streaming platforms SHOULD be offering.
No, officer, I paid for it. But because their software is shit I rolled my own stream of their content. No sudden quality drops, no freezes, no “you cannot play this file you downloaded to your device because we cannot ping the home server” bullshit.
Okay, but this still requires the physical version, so the author’s premise holds.
Physical media without DRM is better than streaming.
There’s a funny story about DRM on physical media.
When Sony/Philips/etc. were first designing the Audio CD format, they didn’t bother adding any DRM or copy protection schemes, as they figured that no one would have the capability to rip them to their devices. And then CD burners/rippers entered the market, which proved them terribly wrong. In later years, the record companies tried adding DRM to CDs, but that came back to bite them when someone sued them, because the CD wouldn’t work in their player.
So, long story short, CDs are legally prohibited from having DRM of any kind.
My not-so-funny story is: about a decade or so ago I had an Xbox with a blu-ray drive. I wanted to watch one of my discs on it, but couldn’t because the Microsoft DRM servers were down.
The end.
The irony is that some folks probably skipped Blu-Ray on purpose because they didn’t like the DRM. Then they got streaming instead, partly because Blu-Ray sales flattened which allowed the industry to more quickly focus on streaming and subscriptions.
Had more people bought into Blu-Ray despite the DRM, it would be more difficult for the industry to get away from physical media.
But this is a common trick, also. Both streaming and DRM are bad. The optimal solution (physical media without DRM) is something the industry just won’t do.
The irony is that some folks probably skipped Blu-Ray on purpose because they didn’t like the DRM.
Yep! I sure did!
Then they got streaming instead, partly because Blu-Ray sales flattened which allowed the industry to more quickly focus on streaming and subscriptions.
Yeah. That too. Damn it.
Now I’m buying DVDs, again.
I would be amazing at piracy, but I have too much to lose.
It is probably worth mentioning that Blu-Ray DRM at this point isn’t the pain it used to be – in fact Blu-Ray can also be ripped like DVD, so it’s still an option if you want a hard copy of something in HD (specifically 1080p Blu-Ray – 4K Blu-Ray is a different beast).
That’s good to know. Thanks.
That sucks, I’m sorry to hear.
The Blu-ray DRM isn’t as bad now, because everyone’s focused on digital and streaming.
What commercial physical video media doesn’t have DRM?
I have a simple rule: if I love it, I buy a physical copy
Is this a ad for physical media? Who’s pretending?
I’m tired of “I’m tired of pretending”.
It’s almost as annoying as “who says X can’t Y”.
They’re so rhetorically empty.
DVD extras forever.
I got a special edition of ‘Buckaroo Banzai’ with an added on-screen commentary that is hilarious.
In the original, we see BB get into his JetCar with a brief case. Thanks to the subtitles, we know he’s heading into the 8th Dimension carrying Einstein’s brain and a tuna fish sandwich.
That must be in case he needs to stop for lunch on the way to delivering that sandwich
Bought my daughter a multi region blu ray player along with Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall, The Mist and a handful of Ghiblis for her birthday next year.
I love the fact you can get films and shows for next to nothing from the charity shop / eBay etcBlu Ray disks can be region locked…fuck the studios!
Region-free players are the way to go!
But most of them are 10 - 20 years old, will soon fail. Which is why i kept the player to rip the disks and give her a fancy thumbdrive once she’s 5.
Here in Australia physical media releases are becoming more rare, or we don’t get the 4k releases. Disney and Disney owned studios are gone, and paramount is becoming rare. I understand we are a smaller market, but it still a pain, I subscribe to Disney+ but the day might come when I dont want to, and only want the movies or shows I actually want to watch again. I understand there is a component of manufacturing and shipping in a reduced market, seriously just sell me the file DRM free in AV1, I’ll throw it on my jellyfin server, if ebooks and music can do it, what makes TV and Movies so special - but that’s it, its about control
As I’ve been getting more physical copies of my favorites, I’ve been looking into backing up all my physical dvds on digital storage so I don’t have to handle the actual dvd and risk scratching it.
I rip my dvd’s to use on my media serve, they then go in a plastic, water-resistant container stored in a dark, cool storage area.
But plug it on at least once a year or you face data corruption.
Not that there aren’t significant advantages to things like ownership comparing to licensing fees, but this article seems like satire.
People without kids liking bluey?
People like it enough, that they buy the soundtrack to a tv show for toddlers, one that they have no nostalgia for, and also buying it on vinyl?Yes, but there’s no reason it can’t be streamed at exactly the same bitrate if you have a decent connection. They’re both just data.
Why would anyone pretend otherwise?
Streaming DOES have a purpose… for media I don’t otherwise CARE about. Media I don’t feel the need to own.
I will 100% stream the America’s Test Kitchen channel, but I’m BUYING their cookbooks, not their videos.
I dearly love the Doctor Who channel, but I’m saving my money for when I can get a complete set of Tom Baker (it’s getting super close now!)
I pay for Max for John Oliver. Creature Commandos is a nice bonus. I THINK I bought Peacemaker on physical? Can’t remember. I definitely THOUGHT about it when I bought Suicide Squad.
THANK you for POSTING
Streaming digital, and owning digital, are two different things.
Does anyone really “own” digital?
Unless you’re talking about piracy.
I mean, a digital copy of your physical media isn’t piracy, and is ownership.
Unless you’re talking about piracy.
What about it?
I want cartridge based physical media like how Nintendo does it. DVD storage is my main issue but if I could do the significantly smaller size I would buy way more
I talked about this in another thread, but there are many reasons we do not use SD cards/flash memory devices for movies and TV:
- SD cards have extrenely slow read rates compared to optical.
- Optical discs are a much more reliable data storage format than flash memory devices. SD cards and other flash memory devices need to be used every few months, or the electric charge will wear out, causing the data to be unreadable. On the other hand, a professionally-pressed Blu-ray disc can theoretically last 50-100 years.
- SD cards are more expensive to manufacture than optical discs.
I think their point is more putting technical or commercial feasibility aside, cartridges would be the better UX. I agree with that sentiment, cartidges are way cooler.
There are large communities around cassette futurism/retro futurism for a reason. There is something much more satisfying about thwacking in a cartridge than inserting a disk or just pressing play on a screen.
You are right that as things are disks make more sense, but it’s a different discussion. what is vs what ought to be
In a perfect world I’d rather have storage crystals with programmable stable display voxels inside. But that’s not realistic any time soon sadly.
Where is a good place to buy physical media? I recently got a Blu Ray player and have been picking up some movies and a couple of shows. If I’m really honest about it the selection seems kind of limited. I’ve been browsing Gruv anr Amazon.
Might just be me not remembering how to shop for movies though. If so any pointers?
I check new releases here:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/releasedates.php
Then, once I know what I want, I run it down either through Amazon or directly from the publisher.
Good indie physical publishers:
Arrow:
(Their Shaw Brothers sets are amazing!)
Criterion:
Shout Factory:
Kino Lorber:
Vinegar Syndrome:
BFI:
Second-hand stores, bookstores, and sometimes even libraries
Goodwill often has a selection as do garrage sales.
