The Importance of Physical Media

Growing up, I always loved movies, from Disney classics to superhero movies and as an adult, action and drama movies. I enjoyed a variety of movies throughout the years in different ways. I love a good trip to the theater to see a new movie and sometimes an old classic depending on the circumstances. Yet one medium that made it possible for me to love movies in the first place is physical media.

Before streaming, physical media played a big role in getting me into movies. Before I saw my first movie in theaters at a young age, I grew up watching classic Disney movies on VHS, which my family collected. When I used to visit my grandma, she didn’t have a lot of channels to watch, so I would either bring my VHS tapes or watch her tapes. She owned classics like The Wizard of Oz which helped me love old movies. It was renting a physical copy of the 2002 Spider-Man movie at a young age that got me into the superhero genre. In middle school, I was part of a movie club where the teacher would bring in DVDs of classics like The Karate Kid and Rear Window, movies I would later fall in love with, buy for myself on DVD, and watch daily. It was taking a chance, and buying movies like the 2009 Sherlock Holmes and 2012 Best Picture film Argo that gave me the chance to watch these movies and become a fan of them.

I owe a lot to physical media and soon I began collecting it. Having a copy of my favorite movies became a passion. It was nice to have the movies I love. Most of these movies I would watch at least once a year. Streaming is fine and all but movies come and go on them. Take the Harry Potter franchise for example. Sometimes, the movies will be on Max but then leave for a while, sometimes going on a different streaming site. Luckily, I can watch Harry Potter anytime I want with my DVD copies.

People can rent or buy digital copies these days, but it’s not the same and not every movie is available for digital copy. A movie talked about a lot on this site is Dogma. For years, Dogma was unavailable on any streaming service or to rent due to issues with the producers. That wasn’t a problem for Dogma fans who were able to obtain or still keep their copies of Dogma. What if a similar situation happens with another movie.

Physical media isn’t just important for movies. Television series are also released on DVD and Blu-Ray. Yes, streaming services have old and new shows, but they don’t stay on forever. Max recently removed a lot of fan favorite Cartoon Network shows. For fans of animation, this was a huge slap in the face to them. Luckily, some of these cartoons like Teen Titans and Ed, Edd & Eddy have their complete series on DVD to give fans a chance to buy and own these shows for as long as they want.

At a time where streaming services are raising their prices, people limit themselves to a few of them or maybe just one. Some people only watch Netflix. Not every movie or show goes on Netflix. Some people only watch Disney +. Most of the movies on there are Disney, which is still a big library of content, but also limited. The few non-Disney movies on Hulu are streaming at that time. Some streaming services remove movies and shows and never bring them back. Disney + faced some scrutiny when they permanently removed some shows and movies a couple of years ago. Physical media helps keep the hard work of directors and actors alive.

There’s also no guarantee these services will last forever. For example, there used to be a streaming service called DC Universe where people paid a subscription to watch DC movies and shows. It didn’t last long though and most of the shows and movies moved to other sites, mainly Max, although they don’t stay on forever. What happens if Paramount decides to give up on Paramount +? What if Disney decides Disney + is no longer needed? These companies aren’t giving up on these streaming services anytime soon, but a lot can change within a few years if the services aren’t doing well or the companies shift their focus to other things.

Physical media isn’t perfect. You have to take care of the movie discs. You still have to buy the movies. New movies being released on DVD are usually more money than you want to spend. A complete series of a show on DVD and Blu-Ray most of the time is expensive. At the same time, you can pick what you want to buy. As long as you take care of your physical copies of the movies and shows, you only pay for them once. You can use physical media to show friends and family your favorite shows and movies. Physical media allowed me to watch some of my all-time favorite movies for the first time. It’s allowed me to show movies to friends and family for the first time. Inception, one of my favorite movies, is a movie I have on DVD, and got to show my mom the movie for the first time during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Physical media can help study film, especially older movies. Throughout school and college, my teachers and professors showed movies on DVDs, whether it was for media classes or history classes. Except for TUBI, older movies are sometimes hard to find on streaming. Physical copies of classic movies make it easier for movie fans to watch and study them.

The special features on DVDs and Blu-rays help out as well. They show how the movies are made and add commentary from the directors and actors. I learned a lot about how Spider-Man 2 was made from the special features on the Spider-Man 2 DVD. They provide useful information on the making of the movies. Disney + and Max sometimes do this, but only with some recent projects like the new MCU movies or new Max shows. They don’t do this with the older movies. DVDs and Blu-Rays on the other hand do, although some DVDs recently have done away with these special features. Disney DVDs no longer prioritize special features.

Lately, stores have been pushing physical media out. Best Buy ended it when 2024 began. My local Target where I used to always buy DVDs stopped this past fall. Wal-Mart still sells them and has a good selection, but I have a feeling they’ll soon faze out. Not every store has done this. Barnes & Nobles, at least the ones I shop in, still have an impressive selection of movies and shows, from 1930s classics to new modern-day hits, and a fair range of prices. Amazon sells a lot of DVDs and Blu-rays with a lot of variety. It’s these places where I still purchase my physical copies of movies and shows.

Overall, physical media is still important in my opinion. People still buy DVDs and Blu-rays, but not as much as they used to. They are phasing out in popular stores, but are still available to order online or in other places. I recommend supporting physical media but don’t go all out. Buy the shows and movies you know you’re going to watch. Make a movie night with friends and family. Form a movie club with fellow movie fans and use your physical copies.

Do you believe physical media is important? Are you a collector of physical media yourself? Let us know in the comments below.