What do you prefer physical media vs digital media?

[Ivan The Insect]

Books, Comics, Magazines, Manuals - Physical
Movies, Games, Music - Digital

My childhood was dominated by a certain drive to preserve everything I like and cherish, I ended up having half the guest room filled with books, magazines and even school notebooks because I didn't want to detach from them. Eventually I came to terms with the fact that everything fades away and the harder you hold on to something the more it hurts when it crumbles to dust inside your fist.

All and all if you really like something you'll rediscover it again and again during your lifetime. I know it happened to me a lot, games I used to obsessively collect and preserve only to lose just end up showing up years after I've forgotten them. So that's a compliment towards digital media, Steam alone helped me reconnect with my earliest gaming moments.

[Xenomrph]

Prefer physical media for most things (books, comics, movies, console games) but I'm open to digital with PC games and music. Even then I have a lot of ebooks and have contemplated transitioning a lot of my collection to ebook format just to save space. I'll always be a hardline physical media person when it comes to movies and comics though (it helps that I don't have a tablet I could use to read comics anyway).

[Wysps]

Books, Comics, Magazines, Manuals - Physical
Movies, Games, Music - Digital

My childhood was dominated by a certain drive to preserve everything I like and cherish, I ended up having half the guest room filled with books, magazines and even school notebooks because I didn't want to detach from them. Eventually I came to terms with the fact that everything fades away and the harder you hold on to something the more it hurts when it crumbles to dust inside your fist.

All and all if you really like something you'll rediscover it again and again during your lifetime. I know it happened to me a lot, games I used to obsessively collect and preserve only to lose just end up showing up years after I've forgotten them. So that's a compliment towards digital media, Steam alone helped me reconnect with my earliest gaming moments.

I feel this so much.  Our family is growing, and I'm in the process of coming to terms with the fact that in order to make room, a lot of stuff is just going to have to go.  I'm hoping that if it's meant to be, later in life these things will circle back to me. 

It sucks so much though, because truly physical media is so special - the physical representation of it in your life, the joy of just being able to look at it from time to time, it all adds value.

[OmegaZilla]

digital as it occupies less space

overglorifying physical media is a sign of other issues

[Corporal Hicks]

I appreciate both. I want to own what I own. I don't want my purchases taken away because a service shuts down. But I do appreciate having a digital copy for access elsewhere, or for space if it's a problem.

[Local Trouble]

I appreciate both. I want to own what I own. I don't want my purchases taken away because a service shuts down. But I do appreciate having a digital copy for access elsewhere, or for space if it's a problem.

Do you have entire bookcases filled with assorted physical media?

[Xenomrph]

overglorifying physical media is a sign of other issues

.....go on

I like having physical movies because it lets me have the best possible version of a movie (without being at the mercy of my internet connection, if a 4K version is even available for streaming) with all the special features I like, in the nice packaging that I like. If my internet is down I can still pick out my copy of 'Alien' on 4K and fire it up, and then watch all the supplementals. A ton of my movies just full on aren't available to stream anyway.

A good chunk of my appreciation of physical media for movies was working for Blockbuster Video for like 7 years, too.

[Local Trouble]

digital as it occupies less space

overglorifying physical media is a sign of other issues

Underrated post.

[Xenomrph]

How so?

[TC]

I want to own what I own. I don't want my purchases taken away because a service shuts down.
...

This applies to software apps too. The infuriating trend is for SaaS ("Software as a Service") replacing permanent licenses. Adobe went subscription-only years ago, Autodesk (Maya, 3ds Max) soon followed, Avid (Media Composer, Pro Tools) have dumped permanent licenses or are about to at the end of the year.

DVDs and Blu-ray are another sad manifestation of this: call it "Entertainment as a Service", just like music went Apple Music and Spotify.

Luckily for me I like old music that sells cheaply as CDs at thrift stores. But movies and TV and streaming shows are a different story.

TC

[Stitch]

I appreciate both. I want to own what I own. I don't want my purchases taken away because a service shuts down. But I do appreciate having a digital copy for access elsewhere, or for space if it's a problem.

Do you have entire bookcases filled with assorted physical media?

I do

[Local Trouble]

How so?

I suspect you're in danger of losing your soul and being encased in necrodermis.

[Xenomrph]

How so?

I suspect you're in danger of losing your soul and being encased in necrodermis.

I get the reference but don't see how it applies

[Local Trouble]

Okay, if you insist: In my experience, a lot of collectors are basically just hoarders.  My own dad is like that.  He still has entire bookcases filled with degraded VHS tapes, for example.

[Crazy Rich]

I mean, I love collecting but I've also sent quite a bit of stuff to the thrift store over the years, other stuff I need to get around to selling.

I guess with my small room I'm pretty mindful of what space I have.