You don't own your digital media

[Marvolo]

I like having a physical copy myself. It feels more "real" to me that way. Especially with collector's sets from like Criterion or something. It's really nice to have those. I don't use my digital codes at all.

Agreed about the bolded part. Some of Criterions films have digital releases from other studios but they are usually inferior quality so I always buy the physical Criterion releases. They charge a premium and that's a PIA, but between the routine sales and the guaranteed quality it's worth the price and the shelf space. Can't go wrong with a Criterion release.

 

[C. Lee]

Even all your Hype posts and banning orders?

Yep....I have a warehouse full of printouts of everything I have ever posted on the Hype.....one day I will have a giant bonfire that will be seen from the space station.

 

[Iceman]

Yep....I have a warehouse full of printouts of everything I have ever posted on the Hype.....one day I will have a giant bonfire that will be seen from the space station.

Doing this when the current sun runs out could prolong this galaxy.

The universe at large is doomed either way of course.

 

[C. Lee]

Doing this when the current sun runs out could prolong this galaxy.

It's been my job for the last 10,000 years or so to protect mankind.

The universe at large is doomed either way of course.

Pessimist.

 

[Iceman]

Pessimist.

If C Lee's remit was the entire universe rather than just this galaxy then there would be no doubt that we would thrive.
​

It's been my job for the last 10,000 years or so to protect mankind.

You have been the bane of vampires, aliens, pirates, zombies, Cerberus, Medusa and the Kraken. They are all counting down the days to your retirement.

 

[KillerMcQueen]

This is why I don't buy anything digitally if I can't download a copy that they can't take away.

 

[terry78]

I always envisioned C. Lee to look and sound like Uncle Pecos from Tom and Jerry, but now I think it may be Gandalf.

 

[Aximili86]

Yep, physical media for the win. Especially with music, none of this compromised MP3 ****.

 

[Marvolo]

Yep, physical media for the win. Especially with music, none of this compromised MP3 ****.

Physical music CD's are 16 bit. These days music is available in 24 bit digital format (studio master quality). So if you really want "uncompromised" music you should be downloading or buying 24 bit digital files. Not cds.

Also all modern music and many old school remasters use audio compression to normalize all the sound from soft to loud so that every sound in a song is of equal volume. Old music and original old releases that predate audio compression are better because the sound is presented as it was originally recorded.

 

[Schlosser85]

That's why whenever possible I prefer to torrent movies directly onto my computer over buying them where I'm dependent on a site to host them.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I will go physical unless the price difference is significant. For gaming, that frequently happens. Especially with obscure games that had a limited print run and even more for old retro games. It isn't uncommon for old games to be a few dollars on the PSStore/Nintendo EShop/Etc. and a couple of hundred for used physical copies (and that's assuming you have the system in question).

But all things being equal, I'll go physical every time.

 

[ComicChick]

i have over 1000 tv shows and movies on digital services across Vudu, itunes, MoviesAnywhere and FandangoNOW

i have over 1500 physical copies of movies and tv shows. I simply don't have the space for a lot of these anymore. I've sold off a lot, converted some via Disc to Digital as well. This worries me some, but the movies i really enjoy, i've kept physical copies of.

Flixster is a streaming service that went to the wayside, but Vudu and Movies Anywhere seem to have very strong holdings.

 

[C. Lee]

I always envisioned C. Lee to look and sound like Uncle Pecos from Tom and Jerry, but now I think it may be Gandalf.

I might if I didn't always cut my beard before it got too long.

 

[Teelie]

i have over 1000 tv shows and movies on digital services across Vudu, itunes, MoviesAnywhere and FandangoNOW

i have over 1500 physical copies of movies and tv shows. I simply don't have the space for a lot of these anymore. I've sold off a lot, converted some via Disc to Digital as well. This worries me some, but the movies i really enjoy, i've kept physical copies of.

Flixster is a streaming service that went to the wayside, but Vudu and Movies Anywhere seem to have very strong holdings.

Vudu is owned my Walmart and Movies Anywhere is a Disney company that is licensed with several other studios to stream movies you "own" digitally so neither of those is likely to go away any time soon.

 

[Boo Boo]

Technically you dont own your physical library either. Not entirely. When you buy any media (movie game music) you're buying the license to use that media. But because of End User License agreements the publisher retains rights over the product and can dictate how that product is used. This is the case for physical and digital media and has been for a long time. That's why they can tell you you can't have theatrical viewing parties of their movies with your own physical copy of their movie. For example, if you had a viewing party of 20+ people at your house and advertised it a studio could shut that **** down if they wanted to. Fox has done this with viewing parties of 35 mm screenings of A New Hope. They can do it with bluray screenings. Or any other format.

It's easier for them to exercise their right to the product with digital media but there are ways to do it with physical media as well. For example, bluray players require updates to function properly with certain discs. It was a real problem in the early days of bluray. People would buy discs and they'd be entirely unplayable in certain bluray players. Some discs wouldnt work at all until the player was updated with a firmware patch. The studios and bluray player manufacturers didnt always get those patches out in a timely manner. Nor did they have to. They could let some owners of a movie wait forever not being able to play the discs on certain bluray players. Also recently a game publisher, bethesda, sued a person for selling their unopened copy of a game because the person sold it as a "new" product. Bethesda said there was no way for them to know the game is in fact new and since this individual wasnt a licensed retailer Bethesda wouldnt allow him to sell it as new.

Bethesda blocks resale of a secondhand game (update)


So whether you buy digital or physical there are always risks that a studio or manufacturer could screw you and your media library over in some way.

I buy some digital for the convenience and to save space in my home. My library of physical bluray and UHD is approaching 1000. Movies that I dont watch but once in a blue moon I'll buy on digitalHD. Buy a lot of tv shows on digitalHD as well. But other films like Star Wars and the MCU I buy in physical copy.

We do factually own our physical media & what you said only applies to people who wrongly advertise these products. They can't take away physical media regardless of reason. No accounted cases of anyone having a physical copy of a movie or media being taken away because they result in either a fee or sueing not taking the copy.