In an earlier column from six years ago, I sang the praises of physical media ownership (“Still crazy after all these years; why I continue to collect physical media”). And I still do.

I’ve been watching a few recent YouTube videos which make the case for collecting VHS tapes, DVDs, Blu-Rays and 4K discs, even in the age of streaming.  Some of the reasons are purely sentimental (“I grew up watching these” “I miss Blockbuster,” etc), while others are a lot more pragmatic.  My own reasons are a mix of both.

But first, a confession: I don’t buy nearly as much physical media as I used to, even from a few years ago.  This is partly because my own physical media collection (somewhere in the low thousands) looks healthier than most brick and mortar store inventories, and because fewer places are stocking physical media these days. Best Buy recently pulled out of the game, and Target may or may not be following suit.  

Sadly, there’s also a dearth of good old-fashioned used bookstores and/or record shops in my corner of SoCal, making my current inventory all the more precious to me (cue Gollum jokes). The recent COVID pandemic sent many of these places out of business. So…

Where To Buy

This leaves, for the time being, Barnes & Noble (my first choice), Walmart (stock varies by area) and local thrift stores as my few remaining sources for brick and mortar physical media shopping. In fact, my heart still skips a beat whenever Barnes & Noble hosts one of their 50% off all Criterion or Arrow BluRay/DVD sales.  Only yesterday, I bought 1984’s “Dune” on an Arrow Blu-Ray sale, and I can barely wait to dig into it.  This is a big upgrade from an old, non-anamorphic letterboxed DVD copy that my wife and I have had for 26 years now.

Yes, there is online shopping such as Amazon and eBay, of course (just bought an import CD of the “Godzilla Minus One” soundtrack”), but the pricing is capricious; and sometimes you don’t necessarily get what you order (as I discovered last Christmas).  Or your item arrives damaged or unplayable.  At any rate, Amazon will certainly do in a pinch.  However, I would advise readers to check the specs regarding region coding and other details carefully before you order a DVD or Blu-Ray online. If you live in North America, remember to order Region 1 or Region-Free, unless of course, you own a multi-region DVD/BluRay/4K player (I keep meaning to get one, and I keep putting it off…).

I also browse conventions and other flea market-style vendors for good used DVDs and Blu-Rays whenever I can. I don’t yet own a 4K player, but if push comes to shove, I’ll gladly upgrade. I haven’t upgraded to 4K yet mainly because 1080p HD is about the current limit of my increasingly crappy eyesight (old age…it sucks).  After seeing 4K in person on many occasions, I’m sad to say that my old eyes failed to see a significant difference, though I realize the shortcoming was mine, not the format’s.

Why Buy?

So, with so many choices of content via streaming, why buy physical media?  Why not just buy a digital copy via Vudu, iTunes, YouTube, etc?  Well, primarily because you won’t really own it when you buy a digital copy. You’re a renter, subject to the whims of lost licensing, legal snafus, or platforms eliminating certain titles for tax write-offs.  Any of these scenarios (or others as-yet unimagined) can take your digital ‘purchase’ away from you with little-to-no notice. 

Others might argue that if you subscribe to enough streaming services, you already have an extensive ‘library’ at your fingertips.  But here’s the rub; how much does having multiple streaming services cost every month vs the occasional Blu-Ray or DVD purchase?  At my ripe old age, I’ve seen this exact same scenario play out before, in the 1980s and 1990s during the cable TV wars.  Even in those bygone days, the prices for premium channels only went up, too…

Back in those days, I collected laserdiscs and the occasional VHS cassette (I preferred laserdisc, which was the Blu-Ray of its day), so I more or less avoided adding premium cable channels, since I didn’t have the disposable income then to pay an extra $10 or so a month or so for every single premium channel that had one or two movies and a TV show I liked.  I could simply buy the movies on video (a one-time cost), or wait for a ‘free preview weekend’ of the desired cable channel (which happened fairly frequently in those days). I would then tape those shows/movies I wanted for however long the preview lasted.  Easy-peasy.

In the spring of 1998, HBO premiered Tom Hanks’ amazing new series, “From the Earth to the Moon,” and being a space geek, I had to watch this show. So I ordered HBO and let it ride.  Yes, it was nice to see (and tape) “From the Earth to the Moon,” and now I own the series on DVD, which I received as a Christmas gift three years later.  So, it’s becomes a choice to own one DVD box set vs. years of paying extra for HBO (aka Max) just to keep it available for me.  Math may not be my strong suit, but I know it’s enough.  Sure, HBO has other plenty of other programs. In fact, my wife loved “Game of Thrones” (before the final episode shat the bed), but I really don’t watch it anymore. Now we have streaming services instead of premium channels, which is much the same song, but with a different tune.

Ironically, the streaming service I watch most these days is arguably one of the most troubled. Paramount+ had a series of rollout issues (including a name change from “CBS All Access”) until it finally became a bona fide player in the streaming game.  Most recently, they shot their own foot by getting rid of one of their better shows, “Star Trek: Prodigy,” which was recently picked up by Netflix, and which I found to be head-and-shoulders above the more popular “Lower Decks.” Despite their many goofs, Paramount+ has a nice enough library of oldies content, including classic “Twilight Zone,” most of the Star Trek shows, and a season of “Happy Days,” (season 2, at least). There is also “Mission: Impossible”—both the classic TV series and the ongoing Tom Cruise movies; all of which I’ve recently rediscovered in a big way.  I also enjoyed the underrated Buffy-esque teen horror-comedy series, “School Spirits.”

That said, I was also warming up to their TV reboot of “True Lies” when it was (like “Star Trek: Prodigy”) unceremoniously cancelled and eliminated from Paramount+’s platform.  Granted, it wasn’t the best show, but it only had ten or so episodes to prove itself.  These days, you can’t even watch the episodes that were produced, since they’ve been yanked from the platform—it’s as if “True Lies” and “Star Trek: Prodigy” never existed.  

I’m not cool with streaming platforms that simply erase content from existence like that. I could see broadcast TV doing so, with its implicit impermanence, but I used to assume that streaming platforms would keep old libraries of their shows indefinitely (to their credit, HBO/Max still carries “From the Earth to the Moon,” 26 years later).  Imagine all those great TV shows with awkward early seasons (looking at you, “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) that would’ve been erased from pop culture history with such thinking…

Tips On Media Storage

One very valid argument against collecting physical media is space.  No, not the final frontier-kind, but the storage space requirements.  I have a small house, but I have a few cheats for this; the first of which are slim cases (for DVDs and Blu-Rays) which can be purchased online from any number of sources, usually in packs of 25-100.  You simply pull the DVD/Blu-Ray’s paper inserts out from their clear plastic sleeve, shave a few millimeters off the sides of the insert with scissors, and slip them into new slimmer cases for easier storage. In the space of 50 DVDs, you can fit 100.  They’re readily available on Amazon or eBay.

However, if you’re hesitant to mutilate your DVD’s paper inserts, or if 50% space savings aren’t quite enough, there’s another alternative; one that’s only recently come to my own radar. Flexible protective sleeves. These are from a company called Tarifold (available on Amazon) and are soft plastic sleeves that will fit your old paper inserts into their outer covers for ease-of-identification, with a closing flap for disc safety, as well.  These Tarifold Protective Sleeves also come with holes along the outer edge for fitting them into a binder for uncluttered storage.  A 100-pack of these Tarifold sleeves will cost roughly $27 on Amazon, and they’re a nice alternative (so long as one isn’t too in love with traditional DVD or Blu-Ray cases).  At the end of the day, it’s about the disc and its content, not the clunky cases. 

The Issue of Disc Rot

For those concerned about the decaying image quality known as “laser rot”?  Laser rot is typically characterized as a blizzard of electronic ‘snow’ appearing in the video image over time, and it’s sometimes found in early DVDs and older laserdiscs. The condition was caused by a (discontinued) defective glue used in the disc manufacturing processes (usually two-sided discs that were sandwiched together).  I have a few first-generation DVDs in my collection, and none of them have yet exhibited signs of laser rot, though I did have an old laserdisc of mine that showed early symptoms.  My advice; keep your discs stored in relatively cool, dry places, as you would any valued collectible. That’s not a guarantee against disc rot, of course, just a wise precaution. Fingers crossed.

We held a movie night in our ‘garage theater’ about a year ago for an old family friend of ours who loves the Indiana Jones movies. We sourced “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” from the 22-year old DVD box set, which still looked and sounded terrific on our upscaling Sony DVD/Blu-Ray player, even when projected onto a 7 ft screen. I’m not saying laser rot can’t happen; I’m only saying it’s somewhat rare, especially if the discs are stored carefully.  As those old LP jacket sleeves used to warn us, handle with care. Personally, I’ve found DVDs to be surprisingly durable.

Sadly, such durability does not hold for old VHS tapes, nor would I advocate collecting them, since they look like mushy garbage on any screen over 20” (50 cm), and they’ll only rot with time just sitting on the shelf, shedding oxide particles like leaves in autumn. Last time I tried playing a VHS cassette about 20 years ago, the VCR ate the tape (and that was after I’d just cleaned the heads).  After seeing a VHS tape playing at a convention recently, I was reminded of just how godawful the picture looked, even to my aging eyes. I was never a fan of VHS as a collectible format, even back in the 1980s, and I never will be. Moving on…

Grab It, If It Comes Your Way

If you’re a passionate lover of films and TV shows as I am, I would say that if you ever come across a desired DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K that’s within your budget?  Buy first and ask questions later.  As physical media moves more into a niche collectors’ market, prices will inevitably go up.  Even last weekend, my wife and I went to a local antiques shop where used DVDs and Blu-Rays used to go for around $2-3 apiece, and which were now doubled or even tripled in price. I suspect this is just the beginning.  

Browsing eBay one morning, I recently saw an original-pressing gatefold album of Electric Light Orchestra’s “Out of the Blue” on vinyl going for $400. Other eBay sellers had it going for $500.  This was an album my 11-year old self once bought with my allowance money at a record store back in 1977 for a whopping $10. Yes, ten bucks. I’m not saying DVD and Blu-Rays will skyrocket to such prices right away, but I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if I live to see a boxed set of “Charlie’s Angels” at an antiques store someday going for $150-$300.  If they stop making DVDs and Blu-Rays altogether (blasphemy), prices will inevitably soar.

Thrift stores are beginning to set their prices closer to those set by online collectible traders. That said, you’re still likely to find more than a few good bargains to be had in thrift shops and antiques stores. I highly recommend giving them a healthy browse every now and then.  One thing online shopping can never replace is the thrill of the hunt—the excitement of not knowing what you might bring home that night…

A New Hope?

On YouTube, I’m seeing scores of late-Millennials and Gen-Zs making videos where they sing the praises of owning/collecting physical media.  Some of these videos are being produced by kids who were probably born well after the debut of DVD back in 1997, or even Blu-Ray in 2006. I suspect I own a few shirts older than some of these content creators.  

While there may be a hipster element to this resurgent passion in physical media, that’s just fine. So long as newer generations recognize the value and security of owning a beloved film or TV series, rather than submitting to the whims of streaming platforms or impermanent digital copies. For oldsters like myself, such extensive media libraries also make nice legacies for loved ones someday, or as tax-deductible donations for local schools and libraries (or even museums…).

Here’s hoping there will always be a place for physical media, just as LPs enjoyed a healthy renaissance in the last decade or two after they were presumed dead at the turn of the millennium. Thanks to a dedicated following of DJs and collectors, LPs returned with a vengeance. Prices of new DVDs/BluRays/4Ks for collectors shouldn’t be too unreasonable, so long as a niche market for them remains open and viable. Speaking of which, three of James Cameron’s best films are finally coming to 4K/Blu-Ray in March of 2024, including The Abyss: Special Edition,” “ALIENS,” and “True Lies.” If these three long-anticipated HD releases generate healthy sales, it might continue to fan the flames of physical media viability.  That sound you hear is me, preordering my copies…

So, if you really want to own that cherished movie or TV series?  Buy it on physical media if possible; otherwise, you’re just renting.  Take care and good hunting!