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…..
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