nerd radio

Get ready for the new daily show

FEATURE: Why you should get rid of all your DVDs and Blu-Rays

September 2nd, 2013 by Marc 4 Comments


Yes, I’ve taken the plunge. I have sold all my DVDs (hundreds of them) via musicMagpie and decided not to go with Blu-ray but with instant streaming. Why do that I hear you ask?

Well, it’s a decision that suits me and while it won’t keep everyone happy to do the same, I think it’s the smartest one if I plan on saving money, storage etc. Of course, over time I could spend more on streaming and downloads, whereas I’ll always have the DVD/Blu-ray at hand, but let’s be honest, 99% of people eventually move on from what they had before. Remember VHS?

With the growth of devices such as iPads and the Kindle Fire, people, like myself, are now watching their favourite shows and movies on such handheld equipment (I regularly watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on my iPhone). While a lot of people still prefer to have that physical property in their hand it’s interesting to note that there is now an increasing number watching things online via the likes of Netflix.

According to a report last year by research firm IHS Screen Digest, digital viewing is on course to outpace the physical medium. It says that the main force behind the growth in online content is the aforementioned Netflix and Amazon Prime, which made up 94% of all paid movie viewing in 2011.

“We’re looking at the beginning of the end of the age of movies on physical media like DVD and Blu-Ray,” said Dan Cryan, senior principal analyst for IHS.

In recent months, of course, there an has been an effort to increase the sales of Blu-rays because of the growing popularity of online streaming, through the release of combo packs with Blu-ray Discs and DVDs as well as digital copies that can be played on computers and iPods. For me, this doesn’t help as it is still taking up valuable space at home.

While Blu-Rays obviously have their advantages (superior picture quality being the most pertinent), it’s only a matter of time before online streaming catches up. Until then (and it should happen a lot quicker than people think) I’ll continue to watch content online and save that extra space for my books, but that’s a topic for another day…..

Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….