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Aaron Williams's avatar

I've been into physical media since I started collecting vinyls in high school, but there was a point in my life where I really felt like streaming was incredible. I literally gave away or sold my movies and video games to people and pretty much cleared out my collection, but I ended up buying a lot of it back over the years.

There's just something about being able to pull a box off of a shelf and show it to someone or letting a friend borrow a movie or game that is so enjoyable and exciting. I've come to appreciate collecting and curating as a way of expressing myself and sharing experiences with others.

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Ron Vitale's avatar

To my knowledge, the only streaming service that matches a 4K UHD disc is the Kaleidescape: The Ultimate Movie Platform (but I'm not going to be shelling out up to $24,000 for a server). I agree with you and also support the purchase of physical media. I can watch any film I own at any time. And there's the added bonus is that as TVs get better (and bigger), I've seen the quality of the films only increase over time.

Sure, investing in 4k can be expensive, but you can build your collection over time. And if you haven't seen a film like Top Gun: Maverick in 4k UHD in Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos--wow, that film just blows you away.

I've been collecting movies since the mid-90s and I have an extremely small collection. I own the films that I love and want to see over and over. Now that 4K UHDs are out with HDR and Dolby Vision, we're at peak collecting. Each year, more and more films are coming out on 4K. And if you're not into 4K, you can easily pick up used Blu-rays for under $7. If you're going to rent a film for $6, why not spend a buck more and own it?

Great post!

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Robert Rudd's avatar

Yeah, I would love to have one of those Kaleidescapes! Are they ever going to come (LIke WAY DOWN) in price?

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Ron Vitale's avatar

Unfortunately, I haven't heard of any price drops. For me, I prefer 4K UHD discs. The cost is within reason and I own them.

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Huw Profitt's avatar

I liken building a movie collection especially on blu ray and 4K UHD to when I first started collecting vinyl.

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Doug Hesney's avatar

Yes very similar!

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Robert Rudd's avatar

I wish I had saved my VHS tapes. On the Ferrari comment, I would liken it unto "it's like putting regular gas in and not premium so the get up and go is the power it has to perform". Isn't Kanopy basically using your local library as your source? I requested that at my local library, but nothing happened. I just watched today on the Cheap Audio Man's youtube channel where he spent the whole video discussing how CD's are making a huge return, with the point being that they point to time in our lives that the music brings the emotional attachment. This is awesome though because I'm going to show this to my wife because she doesn't understand why I collect all of these videos!

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Mar 28
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Jeff Rauseo's avatar

That just isn’t true. Streaming is capped on the service end. They don’t want to send a full quality picture. It’s expensive.

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Mar 28
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Jeff Rauseo's avatar

The 4K likely looks fine on your TV. It’s not you. It can look great. But not as great as a disc.

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Doug Hesney's avatar

Do you like movies or do you just like streaming? Both the level of access to films and the quality are far inferior on streams. Even with extra bandwidth, even with Apple TV. It’s the same argument that streaming music on Spotify is “just as good as vinyl”. It’s not. It might be *good enough*, but if you’re seeking reference quality and access - streaming (outside of like Criterion) kind of sucks for movies

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