It should come as no surprise to you that I am a proponent for collecting physical media whether it be DVDs, Blu-rays, novels, manga etc. In an age where streaming services have rapidly grown and with the rise of eBooks, many people have questioned me on my preference for physical media. Allow me to explain.
The first and most obvious answer is that I like to collect. While I can collect eBooks and digital film and TV shows, I feel a great satisfaction from having a physical collection that I can reliably pick up. Apple’s terms of service for iTunes states that should something be removed from the store, you may not be able to re-download it even if you have purchased it. This factor alone puts me off of digital media and makes me appreciate the physicality of my collections.
While I believe that my previous reasoning is applicable to everyone, my next reason is more specific. When I feel passionate about a film or TV series, I will watch the extras contained on the DVDs/Blu-Rays. A recent example is when I watched Rick and Morty for the first time. Having got the Blu-Rays, I was pleased to see that every episode had an audio commentary from the creators and production crew. These commentaries were insightful and entertaining and gave me a greater appreciation for the show and how much work went into it.
With regard to books, I used to subscribe to the digital release of Weekly Shonen Jump from Viz Media. However, as I read the releases on an iPad, I steadily realized how I prefer the feel of the pages on my fingers and how I found the light from the iPad irritating at such a close distance. While I know that some people will not have an issue with these aspects, that experience showed me how greatly I preferred my physical books and that I would not be collecting digital books in the near future.
Having given my reasons for preferring physical media, I do feel that it is important to explain some of the disadvantages compared to digital media. For one, having an extensive collection of DVDs, Blu-Rays, books or anything else physical will inevitably consume a lot of space. There have been frequent times that I have had to buy new shelves and expand my rooms in order to store my collections. This is certainly not feasible for many people where space is a luxury that they may not have.
It is also worth noting that consuming only physical media can be quite limiting. Going back to my Rick and Morty example, despite the show beginning near the end of 2013, the DVDs and Blu-Rays did not begin to be released in the UK and Ireland until 2018. While I have been known to be patient when it comes to waiting for things to be released and for special offers, I know that not everyone can be as patient and such a lifestyle might not suit them.
In reality, a mix of digital and physical media would probably be the most logical way to consume media. By watching and reading things digitally that you have passing interest in and only buying physical media that you truly cared about, you could probably limit the disadvantages of both. Despite this, I will not be devoting myself to digital media in any capacity in the near future due to the lack of security and how I feel that it provides me with a subpar experience.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk, amazon.com or bookdepository.com for all of your needs!