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A Third of Americans Still Buy and Rent Videos (qz.com)
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.
Blu-ray video quality is still superior to most streamed video, in my experience.
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".
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
We often "rent" videos from our local library. We don't pay anything for them (apart from our local tax dollars which I consider well spent on the library system and any late fees) but I guess you could consider them rentals. Yes, there is often a wait, but my library has an app to manage requests between library branches and renewals which makes it very easy. I'm currently on the waiting list for Spider-Man: Homecoming when a copy is freed up - and I'm the first person in the request queue - the copy will be sent to my library of choice and I'll be notified to come pick it up.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
I still rent and buy discs, in addition to cable/DVR and also streaming. I consider it a perfectly valid content format for a variety of reasons:
1) A disc never stops working (when treated right) :) )
2) Disc has best picture quality.
3) Disc has 3D capability (which I like, so shove it
4) Disc requires no internet access (which is important to many who have no, limited, slow, or capped Internet)
5) Disc rentals cover almost ALL movies out there, not just a sub-set available through streaming.
6) Purchased discs gives me the option to save it in varies different formats, resolutions, etc, and use it on any device I like, immediately, with no outside connection.
7) High-quality video on disc with no impact on network quotas.
8) Purchased discs give me the option to sell it later, or lend it to family/friends.
9) Discs have extra content- some of which is very interesting.
10) If you wait a while, prices on discs can be surprisingly, even shockingly cheap.
Of course, there are a some issues with discs:
* "Unskippable" content on discs I buy, which is infuriating (and they are shooting themselves in the foot.
* And discs CAN be damaged when not treated correctly- but I have never had that issue (except on some rentals, not discs I own).
* Rental discs often do not contain the "extra" content and sometimes have limited audio choices.
* Some [even natively shot] 3D titles are not being released on 3D discs, which is a shame.
* Having to physically store them... although this is hardly a big deal if you are willing to depart with the large, stock cases.
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.
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.