PHYSICAL MEDIA ENSURES YOU TRULY OWN A FILM 

If you purchase a film digitally, you only own the right to stream it via that streaming service for as long as they retain the distribution rights to said film. Whilst streaming services promise that you can watch whatever you want, whenever and wherever you want, a film that you have bought at full price can be removed from your possession due to loss of rights and other negotiations. What’s more, streamers like Netflix and Disney+ routinely remove their content without warning. This means that not only could you lose access to your favourite films and TV shows without knowing, but you’ll have to pay an additional subscription if you want to watch them on the streaming service where they’re available. Paying for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, etc. in order to access all the films and TV you want to watch is simply unaffordable.

Additionally, streaming services have been known to edit or censor content, so streaming-exclusive content can be changed, leaving no record of its original cut. There have already been many instances of streamers editing potentially offensive jokes out of sitcoms or making those episodes unavailable. So, physical media is a way to ensure you have an unchangeable version of that content.

IT LOOKS AND SOUNDS BETTER

Streaming is reliant on the quality of your internet access. I personally always have issues when streaming, finding that dark colours are always pixelated, fading colours don’t render properly, and varying Wi-Fi speeds impact the sound, which is of poorer quality regardless. Even though some streaming services support 4K or HDR, you need high-quality, very consistent internet, not to mention zero bandwidth limitations, to get the best results. Even then, it's not perfect.

However, DVDs and Blu-rays reflect how the film was intended to look, with a lot of effort going into their high-quality production. Of course, physical media deteriorates over time, but when well looked after this won't happen for many, many years.

CONTENT VS. CURATION

This is incredibly subjective, but I believe that going out of your way to find a film specifically after you made note of it from a positive review, or because it was recommended to you, is a rewarding experience. It’s personal. On the other hand, navigating streaming services feels like social media, with everything compartmentalised into inpersonal categories or being recommended by an unknowable algorithm. In my view, this way of consuming film and TV is one of the biggest contributors to the view that everything is “content,” and it hurts the visibility of smaller productions that can fade into the vast digital libraries.

Not only this, but again, streaming-exclusive films can be deleted from these platforms, quietly removed and their existence lost to audiences without a physical copy. However, with physical media, those films or TV shows would have a place to be discovered and re-discovered.

PHYSICAL MEDIA SUPPORTS FILMMAKERS

Before the prevalence of streaming services, physical media generated huge revenue and was more effective in supporting filmmakers in the long-term. Now, the profitability of a film on streaming is heavily reliant on being successful in the first few days of release, or it risks being lost in the shuffle of options without the promise of the revenue of physical sales.

Recently, Matt Damon in his appearance on Hot Ones spoke on the issue, commenting “DVD was a huge part of our business” and “the movies that we used to make, you could afford to not make all of your money when it played in the theatre because you knew you had the DVD coming behind the release.” He believes a lack of physical media has “changed the type of movies we could make,” which is hard to deny when looking at the type and quality of films that dominate most streaming services. This sentiment also has been reflected by others in the industry, especially Christopher Nolan, who similarly has spoken on the fleeting nature of films on streaming services, which especially negatively impacts “filmmakers who want their films to have a life beyond…whatever their initial release is.”

This speaks to the issue of viewing film and TV as disposable content, resulting in a contemporary cinematic landscape that is risk-averse and lacking in the theatrical release of mid-budget films, mostly notably romantic comedies and dramas, and films that aren't associated with IP or a franchise. Relying on popular IP and foregoing the extra costs associated with a theatrical release is generally safer for studios, and since more content means more money, there is an abundance of very average film and TV. In my view, there is an obvious difference between the quality of theatrical releases vs streaming-only releases, and watching a film in the cinema will always be superior to home viewing. It’s a shame to withhold the opportunity to experience a film in the most immersive way possible, or decide that some films are undeserving of a theatrical release.

I, personally, will continue to invest in physical media, for all the reasons stated above, as well as the sentimental value that my small collection holds for me. Whilst I do not dislike or discourage streaming services, I believe it's important to preserve physical media in an increasingly digital world and an industry that's driven by prioritising profits over art.