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A Third of Americans Still Buy and Rent Videos (qz.com)

Posted by msmash on from the where-we-are dept.

An anonymous reader writes: One-third of Americans still buy and rent videos, in addition to using streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, NPD Group found in its annual Entertainment Trends in America report. The research firm surveyed more than 7,000 members of its US online panel about their entertainment consumption during August 2017. Family films are still popular buys because kids will watch them over and over again. Spotty broadband service in rural America makes buying and renting more reliable than streaming for some. And some people just like to own and collect movies. Overall, 54% of people surveyed said they still buy or rent video.

8 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. I'm not surprised by Harold+Halloway · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Blu-ray video quality is still superior to most streamed video, in my experience.

    1. Re:I'm not surprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I would say FAR superior. Not to mention streaming is not viable for many due to broadband limitations. Amazon Prime works great for me for checking things out, as I have a pretty stable 25megabit connection and only a 42" TV, but when I want to enjoy a film, bluray is a much better experience every time. Perhaps in the future that will change. Plus, I like extras and simply enjoy having a plastic box to look at.

      I still buy CDs too, even though the quality of a lossless codec is just as good. Putting a disc in and pressing a physical play button just does something for me. I always read the liner notes too and kinda miss vinyl for the artwork (though prefer CDs for sound quality and hassle reduction).

      Until streaming surpasses bluray quality and reliability and the extras are there too, I will keep buying spinning plastic.

    2. Re:I'm not surprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Blu-ray video quality is still superior to most streamed video, in my experience.

      At is much less likely to randomly disappear from your video collection like on a streaming service.

    3. Re:I'm not surprised by fatwilbur · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Having grown up in a rural area and moving to a city for school/work, it's really surprising the number of things city dwellers take for granted: high speed internet, water, electricity, etc. It's a comforting life with so many services so close by, in fact I know a number of people who are scared to even leave a city. It would do a lot of people a whole lot of good to go live on a farm on acreage for a year.. as Calvin's dad used to say, it builds character.

  2. FFS You can't stream what doesn't exist by OzPeter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Netflix has both streaming and physical movies. But the catalogues are not identical, so there are many movies that you can get on disc that you can't stream.

    In addition movies on Netflix come and go with their streaming service. Thus it is possible that a movie you watched previously is no longer available for streaming.

    And that doesn't consider that I have had my Netflix streaming service seemingly disappear for days at a time, only to mysteriously re-appear for no reason at all.

    So in reality the Netflix situation is just another example of a cloud service ebeing "someone else's computer".

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  3. Selection by jabberw0k · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How many Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Alfred Hitchcock, or Charlie Chaplin movies are on Netflix? About half a dozen total (with zero Chaplins). A video store or your local library will probably have a few more. Every time I search my brother's Netflix for a movie or show (hmm, let's see... I'd like The Ghost and Mrs Muir, or Fantasia, or how about the real Avengers with Steed and Peel) it's not there.

  4. Re:Connections and streaming libraries are limited by MDMurphy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I still prefer "owning" movies I really like rather than streaming. You aren't subject to the whims of the streaming companies that have libraries that are constantly shrinking ( Netflix ) or rights holders that pull their movies to stream on a competing service (Disney).

    Like streaming music, the rights holders are slowly moving in the direct of a model where you'll pay every time you watch or listen to their product.

  5. Re:I don't know about renting ... by omnichad · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Exactly. Rent on Amazon for $3.99 or buy for $5.

    And for me, the secondhand market is fine. If it's not too scratched, I'll buy a movie for $1 at a yard sale. That same movie is not available for rental/subscription streaming and would be $6.99+ to buy a perpetual streaming copy. And minor scratches only matter until I rip the disc and or it in a binder. There condition of the physical artwork is irrelevant, because I use a pristine version on my media server.