Is Physical Media Worth It Anymore?! 

I prefer physical media over streaming anyday, especially since you own a movie and not have to deal with it being removed off any service. I rather watch what I own instead of pirating

When Disney removed some dialogue from The French Connection I knew that owing physical media was paramount to preserving the films I love.

At least with physical media, you don't have to worry about someone hacking into your streaming service to delete your digital media library

As much as I like streaming, I say physical media is still better cause when it comes to streaming, that movie or tv show could disappear from your list at any time. Not to mention, your WiFi could go out at any time as well, which prevents you from streaming. But you don’t have to worry about that kind of problem with physical media. PS, some people on social media are thinking about ditching streaming and going back to physical media.

I started buying physical media. Last year after a thunder storm. Knocked out wifi for a week. My family made fun of me for buying blu-rays but I got the last laugh . While they were bored I was watching movies😅

Great video man! Everyone collects for a variety of reasons and as long as there not hurting themselves or their families financially, I think it can all be valid. Thanks for the shout man!

Always collect for yourself, not others. I see that a lot in the community people picking up films they don't even watch!

Count me in, Brandon. I love physical media. When I was younger, I used to have a huge Blu-ray collection. Until I had to sell half of it due to dire times. I still keep most of the movies I love. Nowadays, I've transitioned more to music. I have over 500 cds in my collection. And I've started getting into vinyl, and I plan to only getting albums that I think are even better on vinyl. Until the day I die, I'll never stop buying physical media.

I have a CD player at home, and in my car. I would not own a car that did not have a CD player. I have nearly 300 CDs that I play all the time. I own around 200 Blu-Rays and DVDs and have a few VHS tapes of rare stuff. I'm not ever going to cease preferring physical media. There you have it.

Physical media is beautiful and still king ❤

For me, avoiding the completionist mindset is most important. It really add more shelf space and funds for film I like.

Physical media is always worth it because streaming subscriptions suck and need to go away already!!

Great video Brandon, it’s a cool topic and many of your points I share as well! 👍

What factors into my decision when purchasing a movie is 1) rewatch ability and 2) if the movie is rare to find available on Netflix or other streaming services I’m subscribed to.

This was one of the most interesting videos concerning physical media collecting that I've seen in a long time. Bravo!

You are a great RU-vidr! This week I had a marathon of your old videos! Great stuff! Stu (from Australia).

I have torrented movies and still do and if i enjoyed the movie and can see myself watching it again I'll buy a physical copy

I can’t look at my whole collection. Because it crosses three rooms.😅

As a person with a physical disability, it is very difficult for me to stream, use an APP, or whatever everybody is doing today. I need physical media. Apart from the fact that sometimes I have to put physical media in cases or collection boxes that are more accessible for me (easier for me to use), physical media works for.

Many of the tv shows aren’t on streaming, so I started looking for those shows. Found almost all of them.

Internet wasn't working for over a week, still needs work

It’s worth it imo. I don’t have too much disposable income so I don’t really care about upgrading formats and I can’t afford to anyway. Hell my family capped off at DVD so I wouldn’t know what the quality of blu ray and 4K discs are like. Also I’m a big fan of thrift stores. They let me pick out what I really want for cheaper instead of just what Walmart is putting on the shelf. They’re my first resort. If they don’t have it AND I can’t find one on eBay for a good price, then i go to Walmart. I love my dvd and vhs collections! Also if someone doesn’t like physical media that’s fine! My parents just like having it all built into the TV. Heck my dad called having a shelf of DVDs when prime is already built into the tv retarded. I don’t give a rat’s ass what he thinks about MY stuff that I bought with MY money!

I have a substantial collection, but as I get older, I realize there is less and less time to ever revisit all these films. If I could snap my fingers and trade my entire collection for what I originally paid for it, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’m scared to even think how much money that would be.

Depends what it is, do your research and get what you actually want. It may take time but that's a hobby, just make sure it's fun!

Studio Albums and Singles and Greatest Hits

i work in a charity shop in the uk, we sell DVD's at £1 for 20. Not a typo, 20 dvds for £1!!

This is a great topic to discuss. People definitely collect for different reasons that’s for sure. I try to avoid double dipping but alot of times you get the Blu ray then here comes the 4k and I’ve picked and chosen which ones are worth the upgrade and which ones I’m fine with the Blu Ray. I’ve pretty much fizzled out any DVDs unless that’s the only format they are on. I have gotten rid of movies I don’t need but I’m still at 1100 at the moment.

Although I probably have over 1,000 movies in my collection, every single one of them is a movie that I love a lot. That limits the expense to the point that it's not much of a drain on my budget.

Physical media - books, movies, music - whatever will remain unaltered. All things digital is being altered, or deleted for one reason or another, it is happening left, right and center. With modern technology possibilities are endless.

I have around 600 discs. I keep them in binders for space saving reason. One thing I notice is I for the most part watch something once and never again. I think I could have around 100 discs and be happy. I find myself watching the same things over

most of those so called collectors like midlevel don't buy their movies anymore. They get them sent to them for reviews for free. That is why most of those ratings for subpar movies are overrated so they can still collect free movies.

The one I’ve probably spent the most on over the course of my life is Night of the Living Dead. I had numerous VHS tapes with various covers in multiple editions. Same case with the dvd, including the infamous “special edition “. Then of course the Blu Ray and 4K UHD. And also consider the various multi packs that include the movie. The kicker is that the movie is in public domain!

I own like 10 physical DVDs, but they’re really really good. To me it’s worth it.

I always first watch movies online and if it connected me any way and want to recommend it to others or feel that i could watch this movie once more i will buy it on DVD. If that movie has spectacle visuals then i buy it on Bluray. And if i love that movie so much that i feel like i could watch it every month or so because i love the dialogues,story telling,music,visuals,atmosphere,the time capsule how things were that time and even makes me rethink my life that's when i buy every version format. That means VHS,Laser Disc,DVD,Bluray,3D Bluray....i don't know why but 4K to me is worthless.... It's just nice to look at my favourite movies that shaped me who i am today in every version because each release looks and feela differently. VHS has that old but gold cheap tv looking,Laser Disc was the first wide screen format and closest to the old cinema feel,DVD has that filter color adjustment to make the sceen look sharper but sometimes the colors a bit bright or dark depends on the movie and when it originally came out. Then the Bluray that cleans the image but also makes old movies a bit blurry or pixelated because the original format wasn't made for this digital upgrading. I also love behind the scenes bonus features when you actually realise what the team had to deal and what scenes was the hardest to make because the actor/actress couldn't pull it off easily or technical difficulties etc. These little extras help you understand the film even more. And sadly streaming services almost never care about or adding them...Huge W for Netflix for the Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio documentary because it was very interesting. Maybe the only streaming movie where they really wanted to show how it was made. Also love the "making of" books. As far as i know the only DVD's that i have in my collection and i don't like are sequel movies but i decided to not buy them anymore if it's trash the original ones. For example i watched Jurassic World 3 in theater and after i didn't buy it on DVD. Most of these bad sequels are the old school Disney direct to DVD sequels and the only reason i will keep them because at least it was hand drawn(by mostly cheaply paid korean animators) and not CGI.

I do own Pet Sematary (1989) on vhs, dvd and blu ray! Its one of my favorites

Pawnshop,thrifty stores that’s where I get most of my movies..1-2$ for dvd(BD-4k)..It’s not gonna be the latest movies but I’m totally fine with that..

Absolutely. I do it all though, physical, stream, and movie theaters and buy digital.

I am sure I have one of the biggest collections out there. With around 19K discs, I have been collecting since about 1997. I have DVD, Laserdisc (about 300 LD), Blu Ray, 3D and 4K. The biggest section of my collection is Blu Ray now. Being the sweet spot between resolution and cost. But I have definitely cut back on buying this year. As the cost of 4K discs are getting to be too much. $25-$40 for a catalogue film from the age 90’s is wild. When the same movie was going for $3-$5 on DVD and Blu Ray in the store bins for years. It has made me really be careful with what I buy on 4K. I only buy the movies that benefit the very most from the 4K resolution in my theatre. Should have probably started a film channel years ago. But I just truly enjoyed watching my collection. 🤷‍♂️ My hope is to donate my collection to a archive when I pass.

I've only really upgraded the player, since the new players play the old stuff - 4K also plays BluRay and DVD, and BluRay also plays DVD. Any changes in discs have more often been when they put out an entire series that takes up the space of only a single case, for space saving/room for new titles.

1000 Physical Studio Albums and 1000 Digital Studio Albums

I am now getting through my backlog of unwatched movies by the 3:1 ratio method Watch 3 movies before buying 1 new one

I was almost caught in the FOMO mentality and spent lots of money and decided to rethink this. 1) No more blind buys. This is the biggest waste of money. Watch it free first then decide. 2) Do I really need to watch it in 4K? Majority of the movies I watch is a flash decision. I can watch the DVD and not care about the quality of the movie. 3) Buy used DVDs for $1. This goes back to Number 2. If I watch this movie more than once, then I can decide if it's worth an upgrade. 4) Life is short. How many movies do I really need to own to make me completely happy? I found out that the more I own, the more I get suffocated. I keep my collection under a limit.

As a decently enthusiastic physical collector my biggest recommendation is to do research before upgrading to a better format, 4k for example lots of releases aren't really worth upgrading and have pretty bad transfers, planes, trains and automobiles for example. I use to be a huge steelbook collector and bought all the newest movies that I heard good things about but was often left disappointed if I hadn't seen the film before, I still pick up stuff but I'm a lot more conservative about what I actual want and try not to get caught up in the "limited edition" craze unless I really love the set and generally stick to something I already love unless I get a good deal.

It's been said by some sources that most people who torrent movies usually end up buying them. Given the expense involved it's obvious it becomes a way of 'trying before buying', and also, therefore, that it doesn't cost the industry as much money as they claim it does - I don't actually know if that's the case or not but there are definitely people who subsequently buy a large percentage of what they torrent

Phenomenal video! I felt called out a lot 😂 but now I can be more aware for sure.

You seem like a good, well rounded collector. You have a similar goal as I do with my collection. I want to be able to close my eyes and point to a random spot and have that be my favorite movie. If that means I have fewer movies in my collection, so be it

I like the convenience of a digital collection. I still have some dvds and blue rays, but I’d purchase them in digital if I could. I’ve been lucky so far that none of my purchased content has been lost. Even in that format I still overbuy for some movies. I have three versions of the Reeve Superman movie. Just recently got different versions of both Spider-Man No way Home and even Green Lantern. I also got all the elvis movies on sale. I’ve only ever seen blue Hawaii. I like having the option to watch them on a tablet as well as on a tv.

Brilliant video everything you said was spot on

Great video my friend! I’ve definitely come off collecting as much through the years and really only buy a physical copy if it’s a boutique label or a 4K (Oppenheimer, dune, etc). I’ve been leaning more and more to liquidating the collection. I already do to a certain extent, but even more so. For example, I was a completist for all the Disney animated movies, despite owning some I don’t care for. I’m looking at drifting away from that mentality and only keeping the ones I like. Then only keeping physical media that, like you said, means something to you.

Physical media plus streaming is the way. Ultimately, we want as much access as we can get in our region. I like to buy HBO titles in physical format because there is no Max in Taiwan. Hopefully 4K is the last format. I also recently decided not to upgrade a lot of my blu ray titles to 4K. I just don’t care about those films enough to repurchase them again. DVD, Blu Ray….let’s stop there.

Over spending can also be relevant on streaming there are too many streaming services and everyone of them have its own exclusive movies and shows!

That reminds me my favorite movie of the year comes out on blu ray Tuesday haha gonna get the steelbook

If you collect classic tv shows as I do you can find that different versions have different extras. My main double dipping has been British tv series from the company ITC such as Space 1999, Man in a Suitcase etc. I do less double dipping on movies though I have bought The Beastmaster in DVD, BluRay and 4K Blu Ray. Each of these have great packaging. Feeling compelled to get stuff is a problem for me. I do struggle to get the time to watch all my BluRays and watch all the bonus features. I have more time to watch stuff now that I am semi-retired. When I was working full time I would buy stuff as a substitute for actually watching stuff. Accumulating stuff felt like a stress buster- but of course it isn’t. The compulsive element of my collecting got less once I had more time to watch.

I gave up physical media for two main reasons. One, space. If you build up even a half way decent collection then it's going to require space. I'd rather use that space for something else. Secondly, convenience. When I want to watch something, I want to start watching it immediately. I don't want to have to go through a menu, FBI warnings, or any of that kind of stuff.

Great video and very enjoyable also your eyes and jawline are exquisite and perfection Hahaha

The most physical media copies I have of one movie is, Titanic. Last time I counted I had 16. From the VHS tape, Laser Disc, Blu-Ray, and 4K. Some of them are European copies, and one from Australia. The next movie is The Batman, and I think I have 7-8 copies, including the Steelbook from Australia to which the US received later on. Long story.

1000 Physical Pay Per Views and 1000 Digital Pay Per Views

Pay Per Views and The Television Series and The TV Specials

Hi, thanks for your talk on collecting physical media, while I own a small library of movies, I have watch all of them and rewatch them all the time ,, and I am also guilty of replacing bvb with bluray or 4k.

As I get older and have less time for movies and video games, I still buy physical media but FAR less then before. I love my collection but I’ve become very selective nowadays only getting what I truly want. I would rather use the money I save for travel now.

I have a region free Blu Ray player. It’s awesome sauce. I get a lot of stuff from the UK.🕺😎

Nowadays you can play video games, read books, watch movies and listen to music for free, I choose to pay and collect in physical format, but the industry has made a bad bet and has accustomed people to the fact that intellectual material is worthless and new generations will not even want to pay for Netflix

It really all boils down to mental health and/or boredom

I am very disciplined in my collecting as I no longer buy titles day one I wait till they are on sale I no longer double dip I buy mainly second hand from op shops etc now I never buy collectors edition's I want the movie not posters and postcards etc which I'll never display I have cut right back on blind buying full price titles

Anything you purchase digitally has no resale value, and is almost guaranteed to be taken away from you at some point in the future, because it is not actually yours. Buying physical is the only way to protect yourself from increasingly predatory business practices.

Personally I FIND MYSELF ONLY BUYING blu rays and 4ks that are on small boutique labels like Radiance. I think a mainstream film such as Alien; Romulus will be mass marketed and somewhat easy to see and find. Its value as a future investment, even as a 4k will be minimal as there will be massive releases of it in all formats.

I have more than triple-dipped on various editions of "The Wizard Of Oz" (1939), "West Side Story" (1961) and "The Sound Of Music" (1965).

I can't even remember the last time. I bought a DVD or blu-ray. I have like 25 DVD

When you add up the streaming services and all it's flaws......Physical Media is still worth.

There's no doubt-I will always want to own physical copies of my favorite films and albums. I only collect what I genuinely enjoy. When the internet goes down or streaming services remove certain titles, I'll still have my personal collection to turn to. I’ve kept my DVDs because I’ve always loved watching special features and listening to audio commentaries, which are becoming harder to find on modern releases.

Always and forever. Physical media is the way to go.

I have ended up with a few duplicates or quasi-duplicates either through double dipping or being gifted stuff. I used to think I should keep them as spares and in case one had extra features that the other didn't, but now I'm leaning towards eliminating duplicates, but I might make a couple of exceptions. I've just moved house and I'm still unpacking and sorting through my collection, which I think is about 450 strong, so fairly small I guess. I have three region-free players (although one is only for DVDs; the other two are properly region-free for DVD but for Blu-ray you have to enter a code on the remote to switch between regions). I have quite a few I haven't watched, I still intend to get through them at some point but often I find I'm in the mood for revisiting an old favourite instead.

I don’t have any problem you reported.. I collect only blu ray I want to watch(4k only if doesn’t exist BD edition) , and only movie I like 😊 congrats for the video

It's always worth it having a movie collection, just only buy what you absolutely want to own. Don't blind buy, and stay away from the majority of 4K releases, most are not true 4K (which involves going back to the original camera negative for movies shot on film). Don't get me wrong though, there are some very good 4KUHD releases.

I have a PS5 that I put all my DVDs and Blu-ray, etc, into. And besides, I always want to get a movie on DVD because you never know when it’s gonna be taken off of streaming service. Even Christopher Nolan said there is a concern about movies being taken off streaming services and that physical media will always be the best format because if you can touch it, you can own it For example Frequency (2000) with Dennis Quaid is one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s three dollars to rent on prime video but if I want to watch it again, I don’t really want to rent it again which is why I bought the movie on DVD so I don’t have to worry about that issue. Though to be honest, I don’t really care about special editions. If I own the movie on DVD or Blu-ray, that’s all that matters to me. I see your point though good video as always I highly recommend Frequency (2000). Excellent movie if you’ve never seen it. I don’t want to give away anything about the movie. I’m gonna say is that it takes some very interesting unexpected twist and turns that will blow your mind if you’ve never seen.

I have only my favourite movies and tv shows on dvd or bluray. So I think I've done a good job of my collection representing me. If there's a show that I get through someone's recommendation and it turns out I don't like it at all, I will try to sell. If I can't sell it goes to charity.

For 40-45 years ago, you could get a movie on super 8. 20 min of Enter the Dragon it cost 55$ so A movie on VHS cost about the same,and so on... Now the quality is perfect on 4k and the price is about 20 to 40 $. I have collected movies from age 14 till now,iam 60, i will collect till i can't no more. It's the magic of film, and to own them you like, that never goes away.❤

Since the 90s, I’ve owned 5 plus versions each of Die Hard, Alien, Terminator 2, The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly, Blade Runner, The Shining, etc. It happens… And I want to spend time with old friends.

I missed the boat on physical media collecting and haven’t been tempted to dive in. My hardrive of movies my dad and I have collected over the years from…sources, satisfies my needs more than enough 😅

I can assure you that no one would ever look at my movie collection and think "Wow! This looks like Blockbuster!". Thank God.

I used to have a huge physical media collection but had to sell it when I moved. I couldn't take it with me. The drawbacks for me are the cost, collections can take up a lot of space, which I don't have, and sometimes the discs quit working over time. I did rebuy some movies and TV series, there's a lot of content that I enjoy that isn't on streaming, or some without subscribing to multiple services. Streaming services will also pull content. I was watching the Simpsons early seasons on Disney + and they didn't have one episode, it was the Michael Jackson guest voiced one. I wish I had the money and space to continue with discs.

Those audits are so hard to watch hahaha

I've bought Jurassic Park at least 3 times. DVD, Bluray and 4k. I cant remember if I had the VHS or not, but I may have had that too as a kid. But for sure I spent my own money on that original trilogy 3 times.

I have not kept physical media for years now I use a Apple TV instead because it’s much easier the 4k movies are half the price of physical media and the new movies come out before physical media does and I can take my entire collection of movie with me when I go away on my holidays plus i can keep my house clean and tidy and not have big ugly bookcases around my house with Dusty blu-ray case on them that you have to constantly clean to keep them dust free

Yes I have more then 7600 movies in my collection

I don't double dip on anything we'll outside of getting rid of my vhs and getting them either to dvd or blu ray. I won't do more than that. That is it. I won't keep buying every different version of the film. Dvd or blu ray is good enough for me. I make my own digital copies and that is that.

I will only collect by favorite films and series and 4k is not such a giant leap in quality for me to buy in go 1080p is just fine for me. But i just hope this streaming war will soon be over soon because every studio having a streaming service stinks.

It can be hard watching a movie on streaming that you have seen elsewhere. You can always see the difference in picture quality. I used to keep my discs in watched before, and not watched yet sections. I’m pretty good about not double dipping though. The few exceptions were when I was dissatisfied with an edition.

Thinking about all the petrol spent now knowing that a lot of thrift stops are upping prices or not stocking physical full stop. We only have one primary retailer in Australia selling physical media now JB HI-FI so it's the end of an era

Physical media is the way to go!! I love having my favorites and as a kid we recorded everything on VHS and later I grabbed my favorites by themselves on VHS like Star Wars BTTF Rocky Indiana Jones and so on! DVDs were new and the future so all my favorites plus ➕️ later blu-ray and I've had cassette tapes cds and my video games had to be a physical release. Sadly I lost so much due to a flood 😞 😢 I love movies TV and my music that I've slowly got my favorites again but blu-ray and cds for music. I don't need the same thing because of different versions. Im handicap and streaming is easier because I'm on bedrest and in my wheelchair a lot but so many movies and TV aren't available so I can get up and grab some movies most days. I don't have much money and I shop cheap but I have to have what I love.

Adults have to be responsible for their own budgeting and the choices they make. That answers all five of your negative list.

I buy it because I like it.

I usually get 1 copy of a dvd. The only times I get another copy is when there was a problem with the first dvd. I bought them from a supermarket and they are in a rush to get the dvd on shelves and then the disc doesn't work probably. Sometimes the time to return has passed by and I have to buy a replacement. Completing a franchise collection is a thing I try to do, I don't have all the dvds in some franchises. But I do watch all of them at least once. Some movies are on television all the time and others are never on so its nice to have a dvd copy in case you want to watch the movies that are never on tv

I think collecting only becomes a problem when you’re hoarding. If someone has to collect every edition of something, that’s hoarding. There are some movies in my collection that I have two of but that’s only because I felt like it needed an upgrade. For example I have two of Lost Highway, I had an old Blu Ray and I found that it was getting a Criterion release so I thought yeah it needs to be upgraded. I have two Candyman’s because I had an old Blu Ray and found that Arrow was releasing a 4K Limited Edition and I thought yeah it needs upgrading. But those old Blu rays of Lost Highway and Candyman will be out of my collection at some point. I also have two copies of A Clockwork Orange because I found a nice steel book and I thought okay i need that, but I like both my Blu Ray and Steelbook versions of A Clockwork Orange so the Blu Ray of that isn’t going anywhere. But if I feel like I already have a nice version of something I won’t be buying anymore versions of it unless it’s one of my favourite movies, has a nice steelbook, or is a franchise and a cool box set comes out. But other than that no. Like for example I have a really nice Arrow Limited Edition of Wolf Of Wall Street, and I won’t be buying any other version. I have bought a few Blu rays that looking back were a mistake where I felt like I needed to get some old black and white movies on Blu Ray that I haven’t seen just to I don’t know validate my film cred or something, I don’t know, looking back that was a mistake that I won’t be making ever again. Luckily it was just 5 Blu Rays, so not many. It’s important to remember to just collect movies that I like and want in my collection and not to feel like I need to own something that I haven’t even seen.

There are lots of ways to keep budgets in check. The thing I focus on is correlating how much I am willing to spend on a title with how likely I am to enjoy it and watch it multiple times. Favorite SciFi movie with tons of special effects? Maybe worth spending $30-$40 for that brand new 4K copy. An enjoyable comedy from the 90s? A $1 dvd from the thrift store could scratch that itch. Any movie you know deep down inside you have no interest in even if it is very popular? There is no need to buy that movie.

Cassette and Compact Disc and Vinyl and DVD and and Laser Disc and VHS

Streaming DOES NOT rival physical. It isn't even close. 4K disc will have 70-100Mbps bitrate. Streaming is around 20-30Mbps. Streaming shouldn't even be allowed to call their 4k streams 4k. 4k below 50Mbps is not 4k.

I generally only buy boutique label stuff. For mainstream releases, I'd rather just rent it digitally, watch it once then typically do not revisit most things. I really do not mind a digital copy most times because I watch things in multiple areas of my home, plus I travel for work. I have all my Blu-rays/DVDs and 4Ks ripped and often stream these through Emby.

I'll always buy Physical Media Brandon it's a form of freedom not having to rely and be a slave to WIFI and all these insane streaming services but these are good points. as long as I have a Blu-ray or even a DVD and a few 4k's of a movie or tv show that I really enjoy and love it's all I need I do however have some complete movie box sets like the Saw franchise the Alien movies Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th as well as the Resident Evil movies but I rarely buy those now. I don't buy many steel books or collector's editions that much unless it's a movie I love that has an extended director's cut Terminator 2 Aliens for example. I'll only buy movies tv shows and games that I really like and will watch and play over and over again

Feel personally attacked. HAHAHAH