Why Physical Media Matters & Where To Get It
In an age where we can have constant access to just about every form of media we could want, you might be wondering why anyone would bother investing in physical media. But physical media is still important! Maybe even more so now than it used to be.
Physical media refers to the material, collectible objects that you can buy and keep, like DVDs, Blu Rays, CDs, vinyl and books. With these, you can enjoy your favorite movies, songs or stories over and over again.
The Rise
of Digital
Physical media used to be the standard. Just about everyone had a DVD player 15 years ago! And then came the rise of digital streaming, which changed things completely.
Now, for the price of a single DVD or Blu Ray disc, you can pay to use a subscription service like Netflix or Amazon Prime for a whole month. And these subscription services have thousands of different movies and TV shows you can watch whenever you want.
Something similar has happened with the rise of music streaming and e-books.
But while this might seem like a convenient and cost-effective step in the right direction, streaming has taken away the emotional connection, nostalgia and experience of tuning into your favourite content.
So, let’s take a look at exactly why physical media still matters, and where you can go to get it.
Why is
Physical
Media
Important?
Films, TV shows, books and music never used to be about just tuning into something when you were bored and then moving swiftly on to the next thing, never to think about it again.
industry was on the rise in the
1920s.
Back then, people used to dress up just to go to the movie theater to see the latest Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton picture. Movies back then were an experience! And one that everyone could look forward to and value.
They had no choice but to wait and put the time and effort into getting what they wanted!
While those days are very much behind us, for a while the prominence of physical media allowed us to hold onto some of that excitement.
Digital Media has Lost the
Excitement and Experience
Digital media is far less of an experience, though, because it is just so easy to access everything now through a cell phone or laptop.
And it’s not just that you lose out on the joy of finally getting your hands on something you’ve been waiting for. You also miss out on a lot of the benefits that streaming platforms don’t offer.
Think of it like this: you can’t access film
commentary, behind-the-scenes reels, outtakes and
interviews all in one place on Now TV or Disney+.
But you can with a DVD!
Digital Media: An Artform
That’s Appealing
Not only that, but physical media is really visually appealing too.
Let’s face it: eye-catching album artwork and book covers were never intended to be displayed just on a small screen!
When you have the real thing right there in front of you, you can really appreciate the detail in it and the creative process behind it.
And the pluses don’t stop there! With physical media you can also keep hold of all your favorites, including special editions and limited releases, and either watch, read or listen to them whenever you want.
All you need to do is take a quick browse through your collection, which you can keep for as long as you like.
Is
Streaming
Now the
Frontline
Media?
It’s true that streaming has plenty of benefits, too. That’s why it’s become so mainstream!
For starters, having all your favorite albums available on your phone and a huge library of movies on your laptop is convenient and takes up way less space than a whole bookcase worth of discs.
Plus, you can get a lot more bang for your buck! If you want plenty of options constantly at your fingertips, then streaming is very attractive.
Accessibility of Digital Media
But while streaming services do give you access to thousands of titles – some of which you might not have discovered otherwise! – you can’t guarantee which ones will be available.
At the end of the day, the consumer has no control over what is shown on any streaming platform and when a title might be taken down without warning.
Not to mention the fact that you miss out on all the benefits that being able to hold, keep and dig deeper into your favourites affords you.
Is Physical Media Becoming
Obsolete?
You may be thinking that it’s all well and good talking about how great physical media is, but does it really matter?
Well, while some people do think that physical media is becoming obsolete, they’d be wrong. And that’s not just an opinion! Sales of some forms of physical media are actually on the rise at the moment, as more and more people look to enhance the experience of consuming their favourite media.
Are DVDs
and Blu
Rays still
Worth
Buying?
DVDs and Blu Ray discs are some of the most contentious forms of physical media available right now!
And it’s probably because of just how tight a hold all these super convenient streaming services have. Many might even say that DVDs and Blu Rays are dead and there’s simply no point in investing.
- Picture and sound quality
- Uninterrupted viewing
- DVD extras
- Keeping all your favorites in one place
- The home cinema experience
- Forming an emotional connection with the movies you love
But let’s forget about that all-important emotional connection for just a minute, because there are some more objective reasons why choosing to watch DVDs and Blu Rays is better for enjoying your favourite movies.
Can you Beat a Quality
Viewing Experience?
Quality is probably the most important point here. Because the fact is that the best quality viewing experience you can get isn’t available on streaming sites – it’s on Blu Ray!
Blu Rays discs, which first came out back in 2006, were designed to have improved storage capacity and better sound and image quality than the DVDs that came before them. And so far, nothing has managed to beat them.
Sound quality is usually better with Blu Ray, too, and most Blu Ray players support high-quality sound systems that can enhance your viewing experience even further.
Dolby True HD, for example, is a lossless audio format that perfectly reconstructs a movie’s soundtrack,
Dolby Atmos provides the sort of immersive audio experience that you just don’t get with digital streaming.
Particularly for people with home theaters, quality is vital. These are the sorts of movie fans that want to make the most of their sanctuary and really value the viewing experience. And the best way to do that is through the top-of-the-range sound and audio features that are only available with Blu-Ray discs.
Streaming services just can’t offer you that sort of quality on movie night.
Physical Media: Smooth
Uninterrupted Viewing
Another thing that streaming can’t offer is smooth, uninterrupted viewing.
You see, no matter how much you might pay for any given streaming service, you will always be at the mercy of your internet connection. And nothing kills a good film quite like bad Wi-Fi does!
Especially when the hero is dangling off the edge of a cliff or a movie’s big twist is just about to be revealed.
Imagine if, at the climax of The Empire Strikes Back, your internet stops dead just as Darth Vader is about to say that line. It definitely wouldn’t have the same impact, would it?
At this point you might be thinking: “Okay, I can get on board with Blu Ray, but what’s the point in DVDs anymore?”
The Old Classics: Only Viewable
in Physical
While the quality of many DVDs will probably be the same as (or maybe even worse than) what you would get on a streaming service, particularly for older discs, there are a few good reasons why DVDs still matter.
Particularly shocking is that there could be any films by the legendary Alfred Hitchcock missed out. But his 1940s masterpiece Rebecca is unavailable everywhere you look. You can’t even buy or rent it on any of the online streaming platforms!
The only way you can watch it then is by buying the DVD – unless you want to watch the not-so-hot 2020 Netflix Original remake!
Other films that aren’t available as part of any online subscription service include cult classics like Truly, Madly, Deeply and Dawn Of The Dead. Now, both of these films are available to buy or rent on online streaming services. But if you’re going to splash the cash, why not buy the DVD and get all the added extras that come with it?
Physical Media Maintains the
Aspect Ratio
Another big reason to stay loyal to your DVD collection is that very often films on streaming services will be shown in the wrong aspect ratio.
And while some fans won’t care all that much if a movie is cropped, there are plenty of film buffs out there who will want to see the movie as it was intended!
With so much of the experience of cinema lost in this day and age, surely that reverence for the films you really love is worth holding onto.
Is Vinyl
Making A
Comeback?
If you’re not so sure that DVDs are worth the hype anymore, you might be even less convinced about vinyl.
But actually, vinyl is more relevant today than it has been in years! The number of people buying vinyl records has exploded in a phenomenon that is being called “The Vinyl Revival” – it even has its own Wikipedia page!
The Revival of Vinyl
Since 2006, vinyl sales have been growing steadily. And then, when 2019 hit, they started to absolutely skyrocket!
In that year, 18.84 million vinyl records were sold in the United States alone, which was up by almost 15% on the previous year. This becomes even more impressive when you realise they only count the sale of new vinyl. Who knows just how massive the number would be if they counted used vinyl sales too!
vinyl records were sold in the United States alone
And speaking of new vinyl, it’s worth mentioning that just about every artist these days will release their music on vinyl as well as on CD and digital formats, no matter how big or small they are.
That’s pretty amazing when you think about it, because vinyl first fell out of fashion all the way back in the 1980s and early 1990s when CDs were introduced. At that time, it looked as though vinyl was going away and never coming back!
Vinyl: The Magic Never Disappears
But even after all that, it’s actually not that hard to see why vinyl is doing so well.
With streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music dominating the music scene, it seems a lot of people are looking for ways to enjoy their music that will bring something more to the experience.
When you listen to a new song or album through a streaming service, it’s so easy to lose the magic that comes with seeing the artwork for the first time, reading through the lyrics as you listen and having a look at the track list.
With a vinyl record, you get all of that printed onto a 12-inch sleeve, often with extras inside, too!
And that’s as well as the immensely satisfying feeling you get when you hold the brand new record in your hands, put it on your turntable and watch it spin.
People clearly want the music they love to matter. The extra effort that it takes to search through music stores or change the record as you listen gives you that.
Vinyl Records Support the Artists
Plus, buying physical copies of an album you love is one of the best ways you can support your favourite artist! This is along with buying other merchandise and tickets to a gig.
And since it’s fairly well known that streams don’t pay artists very well unless they get millions of them, if you want to show an up-and-coming musician some love then why not invest in their album? You can grow your eye-catching collection of beautiful vinyl records as you do.
Why Have
CD Sales
Dropped?
At the same time that vinyl sales have been rapidly growing, CD sales have plummeted since their heyday in the 1990s.
Even as people have been looking for more ways to support the artists and albums they love outside of digital media, they have continued to decline steadily over the past few years. They’re actually at their lowest levels since 1986!
Unless nostalgia ignites a revival a few years down the line just as it did with vinyl!
Unfortunately, though, it’s not looking good. With streaming accounting for more than three-quarters of all music industry revenue, CD albums have taken a back seat.
But that’s not to say that no one out there is buying CDs. And those that still do will likely be doing so for a few very good reasons.
The Physical Touch of CDs
For one, it’s pretty clear that most people still love having a physical product that they can feel, look through and ultimately keep for however long they want.
Again, it all comes back to feeling connected to the music you care about.
And the sound will also be better on most CDs than it is on digital formats as well!
DVDs and CDs: A More Enjoyable
Experience
Just as with DVDs, physical CDs are still the best way to enjoy your favourite music at the highest possible quality.
This has to do with the fact that digital files, whether audio or visual, have to be compressed, which inevitably leads to information being lost.
While there are some streaming services that are capable of offering lossless audio – for example Tidal
pretty expensive.
Why Do
People Still
Read
Physical
Books?
This brings us onto the least high-tech of all physical media: books!
Books have never been overtaken by e-books, thankfully. Although it did look as though they were under threat for a while.
Back then, publishers and book-lovers alike were all worried that the sales of the real thing would drop dramatically!
Physical Books Still Leading the Way
But while e-book sales were on the rise for a while, by 2020 they had settled.
Today, e-books only account for about 20% of all book sales and the rest are physical books. So why is that?
Maybe it’s because books have been around for so many years and never really changed. Or maybe it’s because a lot of people like to read in order to get away from the screens they stare at all day.
And in any case, holding a physical book and flicking through the pages have always been a big part of the reading experience. Plus, people love the smell of books and the way they look displayed on a bookshelf!
Independent Bookstores are
Still Big News!
One thing that has changed though is where people go to get their books.
Many people do still go to bookstores and sometimes libraries for their latest literary fix. But in a lot of cases, it is just a lot more convenient to order a book through an online delivery service and have it sent straight to your door.
Which brings us on to another surprising trend: the recent rise of independent bookstores!
So even though there are websites and apps out there that allow you to order whatever books you want, whenever you want, the physical stores that also sell them have still managed to survive and even thrive.
Independent bookstores in the US and other countries have been pushing back against hyper-competitive online marketplaces. Even after the numbers of indie bookstores in the US dropped massively between 1995 and 2009 to 1,651, they have come back fighting.
Clearly, then, physical media isn’t just about the product you get. It’s also about where and how you get it!
In a bookstore, you can find a sense of community that your Kindle just can’t provide!
So, while a lot of book-lovers will for sure read e-books and order some of their books online, many of those same people will probably still end up in a bookstore at some point or another.
In other words, physical books and the stores that sell them are here to stay!
Why
Should I
Invest In
Physical
Media?
While on the surface it might sound a bit pointless to invest in physical media, clearly there are plenty of reasons to keep growing your collections of DVDs and Blu Rays, CDs, vinyl and books.
For one thing, they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon! In a lot of cases, sales of physical media are on the rise.
- Better Quality Movies and music are better quality on physical media
- Get Extras You get extras with some physical media, mostly DVDs and vinyl
- Don’t Have To Pay For Loads You don’t have to pay for loads of different subscription services
- support your favourite artists Sales of physical media support your favourite artists
- Keep and Display You can keep and display physical media
- Attractive & Eye-Catching Physical media is attractive and eye-catching
That could be when you’re out in the stores or showing off your impressive selection to friends, family and fellow collectors.
Either way, you can make more in-depth connections with physical media than you can with digital media, both with the items themselves and other fans!
Where Can
I Buy
Physical
Media?
If you’re looking to invest in your collections of physical media, then there are plenty of places you can do just that!
For convenience, big online marketplaces like Amazon are your best bet. They sell just about every form of physical media you could wish to buy, and many also offer next day delivery.
You can also buy in-store or online from stores such as Best Buy and Walmart.
But if you’re looking for more underground, independent websites and stores to buy from, take a look at the lists below.
Movies
For people who want to buy independent or cult movies on DVD and Blu Ray, Criterion is a website that sells “classic and contemporary cinema from around the world.”
If you want to browse a wider selection, though, check out:
Zavvi
Blu-Ray.com
Decluttr
Movies Unlimited
Alibris
And, if you’re looking for places to buy DVD and Blu Ray players, you can go
to the websites of these electronics stores:
B&H
Newegg
Micro Center
Music
If you’re on the lookout for vinyl, then you can keep your eye on what selection retailers are offering on Vinyl Finder, or get save and get cash back on your purchases when you sign up to Rakuten.com.
Other than that, you can find a wide selection of music on:
Amoeba Music
Music Stack
Books
If you’re looking to support a local independent bookstore but aren’t sure where your nearest one might be, then not to worry.
You can easily find one using this Indie Bookstore Finder tool! Just input where you live and how far you’re willing to go to buy a book, and it’ll come up with a handy list.
And there are plenty of other bookstores around if you can’t find a good independent nearby, including Barnes & Noble which has 627 stores across the US.
However, if you’d rather shop online, you can visit:
Powell’s
Book Outlet
Thrift Books
Better World Books
It’s worth bearing in mind that these lists are not exhaustive! And that you can actually buy other forms of physical media at a lot of these websites, too.
Why
Physical
Media Still
Matters?
So, by looking at all the many reasons why physical media continues to matter in the modern age, it’s clear to see why it’s still managing to thrive in spite of the rapid rise of digital streaming.
Because digital platforms do sadly pose a very real threat to things like music, movies and books. The rise of streaming has changed whole industries!
Whether a person keeps investing in physical media simply because they like the way it looks and feels when they hold it in their hands, or whether it’s because they want the highest quality versions of the media they care about the most, it doesn’t matter all that much.
Thanks to them, beautiful book covers won’t be confined only to dark e-reader screens anytime soon, and DVD extras such as commentary and behind-the-scenes footage will continue to reach fans all in one neat, convenient package.
And not only does physical media give fans the satisfaction of getting to own and keep a tangible record of something they love – which very often offers more than any digital stream would! – they also get to directly support the artists and stores they buy from. There’s something to be said for that alone.