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Post by StarFuryG7 on Jun 5, 2014 12:42:14 GMT -5
If they pull back on hard copy media in favor of streaming, they'll be doing a lot of patrons a grave disservice in my view.
Speaking for myself, I'd like to be able to pull out a disc of a movie or show when I feel it, which I actually own, without having to turn to a streaming service in order to view it.
And streaming isn't perfect. I don't have Netflix, but I've watched plenty of movies on Crackle, a number of them without any problem at all, but streaming can get hung up and freeze, skip, etcetera. Problems you wouldn't have to worry about with a DVD or Blu-ray disc obviously, unless it gets scratched.
And if you have kids, that wouldn't be uncommon.
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Post by TrekBeatTK on Jun 5, 2014 15:46:32 GMT -5
If they pull back on hard copy media in favor of streaming, they'll be doing a lot of patrons a grave disservice in my view.
Speaking for myself, I'd like to be able to pull out a disc of a movie or show when I feel it, which I actually own, without having to turn to a streaming service in order to view it.
And streaming isn't perfect. I don't have Netflix, but I've watched plenty of movies on Crackle, a number of them without any problem at all, but streaming can get hung up and freeze, skip, etcetera. Problems you wouldn't have to worry about with a DVD or Blu-ray disc obviously, unless it gets scratched.
And if you have kids, that wouldn't be uncommon.
I'm with you, I want physical media. Streaming seems to me something of the moment but without permanence. While one can argue tech changes mean my physical media is impermanent as well, I can still pop my VHS tape in my VCR and play something from 20 years ago (as I did this weekend, converting it to DVD). Yes, these things last only so long before they degrade. But streaming means you're at the will of the streaming company's library. Everybody loves Netflix until it's suddenly "Why don't you carry Babylon 5 anymore?" or something like that. Then we physical media types win out. Revenue for physical media may decline in the short term, but there are many reasons for that. We're in a recession, meaning people may be more inclined to spend 8 dollars on a streaming service than 20 dollars at once. Also, as blu-ray gains popularity the companies are shafting DVD users by holding out special features as blu-ray exclusives. Good for Blu-ray users, but bad for others of us who won't spend the money for something if we aren't getting our money's worth. Ten years ago I'd buy a DVD and usually get a commentary or a trailer or something. Now it's not uncommon for all that material to be left off the DVD for no reason other than to promote the blu-ray. So if the choice is buy the disc and only get the movie or stream the movie, some may opt for the latter a lot more now than they used to, and hold off on buying until they have a blu-ray player. Contrary to what the market projects, many many homes still have not "upgraded" yet, and some curmudgeonly refuse to (::raises hand:  . But what this means is stores are now devoting less and less space to physical media in general, and what is there is mostly blu-ray. So some of us have to resort to buying online in order to get what we want, and that takes away the impulse buy or the act of physically holding an item in hand before purchase. All of this means of course people are buying less: there is less to choose from. But for all that, I refuse to believe that physical media will ever go away or that streaming will overtake it in the long run. I just don't buy it. -TK |
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Post by CRAMBAM on Jun 6, 2014 6:01:24 GMT -5
Unfortunately, it's supply and demand. My purchase of media has dropped considerably since I got netflix.
That said, I feel Netflix's streaming library is a lot less than I thought. So there are plenty of movies and shows that won't be on it that I would want. I'd like that option.
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Post by captainbasil on Jun 6, 2014 6:55:22 GMT -5
I enjoy Netflix streaming and other services, but I like to have hard copies of a lot of things. This is never good news. It puts other people in charge of your media. It's the same thing with an ebook. You never realy own it.
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. But what this means is stores are now devoting less and less space to physical media in general, and what is there is mostly blu-ray. So some of us have to resort to buying online in order to get what we want, and that takes away the impulse buy or the act of physically holding an item in hand before purchase. All of this means of course people are buying less: there is less to choose from.
