Hi Distribution Lounge Fam!
Confession time. While I've enjoyed the perks of streaming libraries as much as everyone else over the past decade or so, I've also quietly continued to collect physical copies of films and series that I genuinely love. My VHS tapes of my favorite Disney classics AND childhood films are still safely stored away. My husband's and my combined DVD collection from before we got married is still going strong. And I've amassed so many Blu-rays over the years I've genuinely lost count.
I've also always prioritized owning boxsets of my favorite series, because if they're ever removed from a streamer, I need to have them for comfort watches. Every season of BUFFY, SMALLVILLE, LOST, WILL AND GRACE, SMASH, ARCANE, BAND OF BROTHERS, GAME OF THRONES (although in fairness, we never took the final season out of the plastic, we just needed to complete the collection), WESTWORLD, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, and so many others. If it's a favorite, it's on my shelf.
In my family, we have a tradition started by mom where every year for Christmas we each get each other a movie for our stocking. So my sister, husband, and I still get at least one new physical movie to add to our collections.
So many of our friends and family members have gotten rid of their physical media over the years, treating VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray collections as outdated relics. And for a while, I understood why. Streaming was easier. Cleaner. Cheaper (in theory). But I just couldn't bring myself to let mine go, and now I'm SO glad I didn't.
Because now, classics are being pulled from streamers regularly, sometimes with no warning
Subscription costs keep climbing, and consumers are pulling back
Studios are removing their own titles from streamers for tax write-offs (and sometimes those titles never resurface anywhere)
Younger generations are surprisingly interested in less-electronic experiences, including physical media
Boutique labels like Criterion, Arrow Video, and Shout Factory are thriving with beautifully packaged restorations
Vinyl already made its full comeback, so why not physical film media?
But what about you? Are you still holding onto your physical media collections, or did you let them go years ago? What are the titles you own physically because you can't imagine losing access to them?
Ashley Renée Smith I'm with you. I still have over 100 Blu-rays and DVDs that I can't let go of. Pre-streaming, it was much, much larger... And there have been quite a few times it's come in handy when we discover that a movie we want to watch isn't streaming. No need to give Jeff Bezos another $4 to rent it...we just pop it in.
I think it's slowly dying off - but there will aways be someone who collects.
DVDs have almost no resale value, so I’ve kept mine. It’s nice to dig into the collection on occasion, but if something I own is on streaming, I prefer to watch it that way, in HD.
I moved about 700 discs into Mylar sleeves to reduce space. Amaray cases got tossed. The other 300 are in special boxes or box sets, which still take up shelf space.
Blu-ray’s are mostly in a three drawer unit, but there’s an overflow area near the TV.
I’ve reduced my spending — I have a tendency to buy, but not watch — but there’s special animation and cult releases I still buy.
Ashley Renée Smith I've started buying DVDs and Blue-rays of my favourite series from back in the day like the original 80's Thunder Cats for example, because I hate the fact that streaming platforms can remove content at any time and you have no way or guarantees of going back to watch them high quality. I've even found out that when you buy digitally, they can still be removed if the platform no longer wants to host the files on their servers. So, yes, I can see physical media making a comeback. I am going to continue buying physical.
Love physical media, although now I’m more selective about what I purchase.