The future of television, as the industry would have us believe, is streaming. Youtube, Vimeo, Netflix. The future of DVD/Blu Rays is iTunes and similar services.
While I enjoy YouTube for free videos, I have definitively decided against going the iTunes route. I thought it would be easiest to purchase iTunes versions of my VHS and DVDs, but I discovered several things that have convinced me that buying physical media is the right way to go:
- Quality - at least as it stands, iTunes movies are all sub-par to their physical counterparts
- Ownership - you own a license to view the movie on your account. They can pull the movie when licensing expires without notification or permission
- Price - physical media on the whole is still generally cheaper. There is competition between vendors that drives prices down.
- What will happen in 10 years? Apple could disappear, as unlikely as it sounds.
- Availibility - as large as the offerings are on iTunes, there is a dvd for every video availible, but not vice-versa
- Ownership (cont.) - you can't sell or share a digital download, due to DRM or legal reasons. I can loan out a DVD or borrow a DVD to no consequence.
This may very well change as time passes, but there is something to be said about owning something in your hand than purchasing a non-guaranteed license. Some things, like games, only come out on services such as Steam, so choices are limited, but when it comes to movies, this is by far the right way to go.
