Physical Media vs Digital Media

It depends on the type of media for me. I've been streaming music for years. I've only had one instance of Spotify dropping an album I really love and it was back within a few months. And if there's something I really love that they get rid of our just don't have, I can but the album digitally (or dust off my CD collection and rip them to a computer) and add them to my account.

Movies and TV are more hit or miss. I've tried several streaming services -- Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Funimation Now, Shudder, etc -- and I'm happy with them for the most part. I've discovered all kinds of things that I never would have seen without these services but it is really frustrating when I can't get something that I want to watch. For example, over Halloween I wanted to watch the original Dawn of the Dead. I was able to watch Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead and TWO versions of the Dawn remake were available but not the original. Overall I prefer streaming, but it does have some major downsides.

I exclusively read digital books. I wouldn't read as much as I did if it weren't for ebooks.

Music is definitely digital for me, but I still buy/download mp3's and put everything on a 5th generation iPod.

I love streaming services for an easy option but I still have a movie collection and still add to it. I don't want to have to have 10 different subscriptions to have access to different things I want to watch and it's just going to go up and up and there will be more and more from here.

I'm also kind of a freak about having space not taken up by physical things but dvd/blu ray/ even some VHS where it's otherwise impossible to get are the exception for me. That's also because I'm a movie buff/film major tho.

I think as said above it just comes down to preference. If you like to collect things it's one thing but I have this overwhelming fear that some day some of these movies we own won't be accessible on a streaming service because of a rights issue or something and some do tend to just disappear off the face of the Earth all together (Amazon is actually really good about having great streaming transfers of obscure titles).

Books I'm indifferent as it's fun to read a physical copy but the practicality of a Kindle/reader (which isn't wrapped up in the same type of rights issues as many movies are, at least as far as I know as a not-so-avid reader) can't be beat. That having been said I don't own a digital reader.

We live in the wild west of digital!!!

Music is probably the one thing I'll get digitally. The rest of the time, I stick to physical.

Both honestly...

I'm in the process of digitizing my entire music, movie, TV show, and wrestling collection with the plan to view everything digitally via a NAS system connected to a raspberry pi running OSMC. However, I do plan on keeping hard copies of everything as well. Just want to have that physical media backup. I will say, however, that I don't care a spit for having full albums or most music (actually made collections of my favorite songs for almost all the artists I had complete with custom album art for that collection) and could not care less about special features for movies. Also don't really care much about packaging for physical media as I store everything in either discsox data disc sleeves or multi-disc CD sized cases with custom (and simplified) artwork so I can easily see what's what if needed. So, basically, I watch or listen to all that digitally, but do still like having the physical media, just in case.

Books are physical all the way. Just not the same reading on a tablet or computer screen and pressing buttons instead of flipping pages.

Video games are a mixed bag. Used to be all physical all the time for games. Lately though, it's just whatever version I can get cheaper.

I still prefer physical copies over digital downloads. The movie industry was way ahead of the game by giving us the digital downloads (as long as they were iTunes) with the movies. That's the best case scenario imo. I have the physical copy on my shelf and then the digital download for my phone.

I have zero issue with listening to Spotify at work everyday, but that's not stuff I own. If I actually want to own music I go buy the CD and upload it to iTunes (or get the CD for free because I bought concert tickets, which is an awesome thing now). I think music is different for those of us who were that first wave of Limewire kids and on. Even still, we put that stuff onto CDs after we downloaded it(32 hours for 12 songs, what what).

I'm still not onboard the digital downloads for video games. I think that's a sh*t gimmick industry if I've ever seen one. All of the "digital downloads" of PS1 games I bought on my PS3 are stuck on my PS3. So if I want them on PS4 I have to buy them over again. So yeah... that's some bullsh*t. It would be totally different if they were remastered, but they're not, just rescaled.

I still don't associate digital with ownership. It feels temporary and like something I don't own. Maybe that's a silly mindset, and reflective of growing up in different times, but that's how I feel. I definitely feel that way with comics. If I just want to read something I don't mind digital. If I love it and want it on my shelf though, I don't consider having the digital copy owning the book. But I'm a comic book, and movie, collector, and I just don't think digital ever lives up to the satisfaction of the physical medium.

That's precisely my biggest problem with digital. That, and it kinda feels like it could disappear at any second to me. Whereas, with a DVD or CD, I know that nothing is going to prevent me from using it - short of breaking it or being robbed. Not to mention, buying the physical copy affords you the option to make a digital backup if you want to anyways. And then there's the whole ability to resell it, which you can't do with digital. It just feels like the far superior medium, imo - even if digital can provide a touch more convenience.

Thank you all for posting replies. Seems to be a topic people have an opinion on. I see a lot of what I was going to say in here, especially since I am a physical media supporter, barely anything digital.

One glaring ommision is physical music (cd and cassette, and a little vinyl for me), normally, has better sound, be it your preference of vinyl, cassette, cd, or 8 track. Plus there is the intangible experience of buying it, flipping through the booklet, popping it on, and immersing yourself in it. There is the added wall/table decor aspect for the kids and oldschoolers.

Now, we all know the benefits of having a companion digital side, which is perfect to fill the gaps, give more access to people in other countries (some), and adjust for taste and portability, but it is encroaching much too far as to become harmful.

In my opinion, physical needs to stay the primary for a multitude of reasons. Imagine an all digital world:

Digital has already replaced physical so much, it has caused me, and surely others in small towns, more isolation. I have hardly anwhere to go in town anymore, of any interest, making me more of a hermit and less people to associate with. Isolation for big swaths of the population can cause restfulness, sadness, and potential lawlessness (wild n out), as the past has shown. Physical media needs more than to exist online, as well, as rental stores, cd shops, and arcades (for the vg heads and mallrats like myself) gave not just a place to go, but community havens for conversation, debate, safe fun, and places to make friends. Even digitally, forums, the internet equivalent to these places, are disappearing. Too, no digital platform can show you the vast array of titles and artwork and make you care.

I once read, digital, alone, leaves out a section of the world's population whom can't afford high speed internet, don't have access, are elderly, or uniformed and not as tech savy. Entertainment, or art, is for everyone.

punksnotdead , IRS and TurboEddie said it already, but it cannot be stressed enough. Digital can all go bye-bye in an instant. Maybe not all, but in a lot of cases where a company loses rights to a title, goes out of business, etc., you get burned. If it is stored on your harddrive in a non-proprietary format, you might still have it. You don't really own the material, ay a certain point.

Digital only gives the corporation or owner of the material too much control over the consumer. No more buying/selling used to save money, and in games specifically, no more taking them and playing at a friend's house (I am aware of online play). They are able to dictate your use down to a minute degree. When physical ruled the roost, they had to play ball to an extent, and we had many more benefits than today.

I leave the threat of an EMP for last, as it is quite imperative that we heed the warning and back the internet and media of the past, present, and future to books, hand writings, and a non-magnetic storage system like a cd for preservation of our collective knowledge and works. If an EMP hits, all digital info, if not backed up, autonomously, out of the affected zone, and even then if the infrustructure is down, we lose everything. Could we rebuild? We need to backup propietary info ala trade secrects to writings, to make sure we can get the infrastructure and necessary life components back, net loss of 0 for current day life, and back up everything else musically, non-printed books, videos, games, etc. to a non-magnetic format and then restore them after everything is back up and running.

I hope this wasn't tl;dr for most people. Thank you all for your input. @3nwpro glad you jumped in buddy. Much respect to you all.

VPV

I've dang near went full on digital with movies. I love vudu.

Definitely physical media. I just can't get myself to go digital.