“On September 29th, 2023, we will ship out our final red envelope. It has been an honor to share movie nights with you. …We sincerely thank you for joining us on this amazing journey of 25 years.” -The Netflix DVD Team
With Netflix discs closing its doors on the 29th, where will you get your DVD’s, Blu Rays and UHDs?
This raises a few questions for discussion:
- What services do you use?
- Whats your experience with any of these services?
- What do you do with your physical media?
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I know, I know, yes, its 2023 and people still get physical media. A physical disc can have many advantages over a streaming service, such as:
- Control Over Content
- Quality
- Sound Profiles
- Extras
- Back Ups
Here is a list of popular Rental and Buy services:
Rent:
Buy (New):
- https://www.amazon.com
- https://www.hamiltonbook.com
- https://shoutfactory.com
- https://grindhousevideo.com
Buy (Used):
I almost always prefer digital to physical. A few exceptions are a) picture-heavy books and b) books for learning.
But there have been a few times when I’ve been forced to get physical discs without wanting to. One was Amazon selling a CD that comes with the MP3s for less than just the MP3s. I guess that’s only kinda forced ;)
Then there’s a Danish metal guy who doesn’t like digital and his online shop consists of filling out a form of what CDs you want to order, and him sending you a PayPal invoice… I used to have to wait for my next visit to my parents to rip the CD’s as my computer doesn’t have a drive anymore.
Then, I wanted to rewatch ReGenesis. No streaming in Germany, in the US with a VPN, only weird low-quality ad-supported streams. No place to buy the digital version. No good torrent either. Amazon only had extremely expensive DVDs or slightly cheaper but still expensive BlueRays. Finally, I found a merchant on eBay who sold the DVD box set (it’s 4 seasons) for a reasonable price, and I ordered that + an external DVD drive. It goes on from there, because I needed tools to crack the encryption and the help of AI to convert or create subtitles :D