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Do you still buy physical media? (DVD/BR)

  • YES

    Votes: 314 55.0%
  • NO

    Votes: 186 32.6%
  • STREAMING ONLY (Netflix/Prime etc)

    Votes: 71 12.4%

  • Total voters
    571
Living in the sticks as I do, internet is very limited. So the few movies I acquire movies I do so on dvd, but music mostly streamed on iTunes. Except when I’m in a thrift store and see music CDs for $1 - $3, in good shape. Those I rip to my iTunes library.

For music yes, but for ministry (sermons) and such CD is still far from dead. One ministry only releases certain content on CD and not on the web.
 
I'm not a bug movie buff or anything, but my wife and I have recently started trying to acquire most of the movies that we enjoyed as children. We've collected many of them on VHS. Obviously the image quality is far from HD but we enjoy the nostalgia factor and the fact that they're usually only about $0.50 at thrift stores and yard sales. ;)
 
Nope. I do wish iTunes would offer better audio codecs for purchases though... lossy streaming audio is no match for a well-mastered CD or TrueHD track.

Time for lossless AAC in iTunes! (stereo AND multichannel) :)
 
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Nope. I do wish iTunes would offer better audio codecs for purchases though... lossy streaming audio is no match for a well-mastered CD or TrueHD track.

Time for lossless AAC in iTunes! (stereo AND multichannel) :)
As much as I love the idea, I can't see Apple ever offering lossless for film (iTunes would of launched iTunes music downloads wayyyy back in 2012 in lossless if there was a demand for it) - apart from the few AV guys, there just does not seem an interest in it from the public. And Apple knows this.
What I have learnt from browsing through AV forums is that AV guys are NEVER happy - they'll find fault with LG OLED, they'll moan about SONY, they'll moan about black levels, they'll complain over grain whilst complaining over a soft image. They'll complain over streaming whilst saying that physical disc is the only way and then find fault with that. In reality, Apple does not need these kind of people.

In all honesty, I'm very very excited for iTunes film and Apple Tv's future. IMO it's incredible right now and can only get better.
 
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As much as I love the idea, I can't see Apple ever offering lossless for film

I agree that, for now, Dolby Digital + is the way to go for video. Though Apple needs to work on ATV 4 audio conversion to realize it's true potential. (As many have noted, DD+ audio on ATV4 doesn't sound as good as DD "passthrough" on ATV 3 or lower.)

In regards to iTunes music however, offering higher-quality format for downloads would be an incentive to keep music fans interested in purchasing music to support an artist, versus streaming only (of which artists see almost nothing from).
 
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I agree that, for now, Dolby Digital + is the way to go for video. Though Apple needs to work on ATV 4 audio conversion to realize it's true potential. (As many have noted, DD+ audio on ATV4 doesn't sound as good as DD "passthrough" on ATV 3 or lower.)

In regards to iTunes music however, offering higher-quality format for downloads would be an incentive to keep music fans interested in purchasing music to support an artist, versus streaming only (of which artists see almost nothing from).

Sadly the opposite my happen Jeff, where we see Apple stopping music downloads in time in favour of Apple Music. I hope that never happens but didn't I read online that Apple were stopping downloads of new albums from March of 2019? It was in a UK newspaper website. I hope that they got that wrong as I buy all of my music from iTunes!
 
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I only buy physical media when it comes to music and films. I may rent the odd film from iTunes every now and again, but if it's a film I really like you bet I'm buying the physical copy.

It'll be a sad, sad day when the last brick and mortar store selling either music, films or both goes away and everything has to be ordered online, even in physical form. The plan currently is to amass an entertainment collection of sufficient size in preparation for the end of days; the time when everything has to purchased in digital form.
 
I purchase blu-rays when they are around $5-$15 (currently have around 240), and try to get films that include digital copies whenever possible in order to get the best of both worlds. If I want something quick and easy, I stream off iTunes. If I want the best quality available, I pop the disk into the blu-ray player. Worst case I can always sell the physical copy and still have access to the digital copy.
 
I have never bought (nor rented) a Blu Ray movie. And I had the PS3 since 2008. The only BR disks I buy are for videogames, but I may stop doing that as well. Digital is too convenient (and in the case of video games the quality is the same).
 
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I have a 3D TV and it's the only real way to watch 3D movies. Also, some ballets and operas that I want to watch are on Blu Ray only. But most things I stream.
 
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I buy physical copies of games and the occasional 4K blu ray but everything else is streaming - the 4K apple tv sees a lot of use.
 
For Movies/TV: Never. Occasionally I may rent a movie out of a redbox to save a few bucks over what Apple charges to rent via iTunes, but this is super rare.
For Music: I've went streaming only. But I think it's easiest to do this with Music over anything else.

The only thing I really still buy physical are games.
 
Since I bought a big 4K TV and new sound system recently I have gone back to buying movies on physical media for the best picture and sound. I must admit I kinda enjoy the collecting aspect of it too.
Since I only watch 1 or sometimes 2 movies in a night I don’t find getting up to change discs inconvenient enough to balance out the benefits of physical media.
I do stream TV on netflix, the occasional movie rental on iTunes, and Apple Music. I jump around listening to different music, which is much more convenient streaming. I have thought about getting a turntable and starting a vinyl collection though.
 
This is a very interesting debate. I'd love to know the demographics from this. Reading this to me, it looks as though the disc buyers are aged 40+
As a marketing guy i'm trying to build a picture here. When i see the kids with iPhones i'm wondering if they even know what a disc is? When I pick up a DVD case in a supermarket, I find it really bizarre as though i'm going back in time to 1999 :)
With my friends, I've seen a HUGE increase this year of them switching to Apple Music from Spotify. A lot of us are with EE for our phones and we all get given 6 months free Apple Music. I still have not got it though as I'm worried that it will mess up my beautiful iTunes collection that i've built over the last 15+ years :)
 
This is a very interesting debate. I'd love to know the demographics from this. Reading this to me, it looks as though the disc buyers are aged 40+
As a marketing guy i'm trying to build a picture here. When i see the kids with iPhones i'm wondering if they even know what a disc is? When I pick up a DVD case in a supermarket, I find it really bizarre as though i'm going back in time to 1999 :)
With my friends, I've seen a HUGE increase this year of them switching to Apple Music from Spotify. A lot of us are with EE for our phones and we all get given 6 months free Apple Music. I still have not got it though as I'm worried that it will mess up my beautiful iTunes collection that i've built over the last 15+ years :)
If it helps, I'm 28 and collect Blu-Rays :)
 
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When i see the kids with iPhones i'm wondering if they even know what a disc is? When I pick up a DVD case in a supermarket, I find it really bizarre as though i'm going back in time to 1999 :)
We as parents shall make sure that our kids get to know what Hi-Fi means and what high quality audio sounds like. It is difficult to understand having only experienced music from iPhone earbuds or those funny bluetooth speakerboxes.

I mind the sound much more than looks of media. For me, it all seems to end up on my hard drive anyway, as I am also too lazy to walk up to the player every single time ;)
It works very well, every format except Dolby Vision bluray can be enjoyed from a file on hard disc or pendrive.

PS have you noticed that sales of LPs and Cassette tapes is going up again? Beats me!
 
No. I have a blu Ray player but I much prefer to just buy my movies and TV shows from iTunes. I also use Netflix and amazon prime. Digitial media is much more convenient as it doesn’t take up space and I can watch it on multiple devices like my TVs, laptop, phone or tablets. With physical media you are restricted to a tv.
 
No. I have a blu Ray player but I much prefer to just buy my movies and TV shows from iTunes. I also use Netflix and amazon prime. Digitial media is much more convenient as it doesn’t take up space and I can watch it on multiple devices like my TVs, laptop, phone or tablets. With physical media you are restricted to a tv.

Absolutely! I'm with you 100% on this! :)

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We as parents shall make sure that our kids get to know what Hi-Fi means and what high quality audio sounds like. It is difficult to understand having only experienced music from iPhone earbuds or those funny bluetooth speakerboxes.

I mind the sound much more than looks of media. For me, it all seems to end up on my hard drive anyway, as I am also too lazy to walk up to the player every single time ;)
It works very well, every format except Dolby Vision bluray can be enjoyed from a file on hard disc or pendrive.

PS have you noticed that sales of LPs and Cassette tapes is going up again? Beats me!

Haha great thoughts! I've actually gone the opposite - in my teens I spent hundreds and then thousands on HiFi and video etc. Then came my first car and I bought a BLAUPUNKT system which was perfect :) and then I got into competing in natural bodybuilding and my love of sports went through the roof along with travelling. I realised that my happiest way to listen to music was not sat in my bedroom listening to a posh HiFi BUT on road trips with friends or running in the street or eating dinner with friends and using a bluetooth speaker. I realised that all of those brought my more happiness. And guess what music system brings me the most pleasure out of every single HiFi component I've ever owned???

My lovely iPhone with its built in speaker!!!

Why? Because it goes everywhere with me, allows me to have a lifetime of music with me and has opened my eyes and ears to new music. For me, it's the best electronic invention of all time. And I actually like the Apple Earbuds - and that's coming from £200 Atomic Floyd SuperDart earphones which were very very very overrated and sadly fell to pieces on me!

The iPhone made me fall in love with music all over again but in an even better way!
 
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