Physical Media Vs Digital Media
Physical Media Vs Digital Media
Physical Media Vs Digital Media, a clash of two multimedia titans. The first, having been around since what seems like forever, and the latter, somewhat of a newcomer in the entertainment world.
While things like records and CDâs dominated most of the industry for years, the advent of the digital age was nothing short of revolutionary.
This coupled with new services like streaming made content delivery effectively instant. In todayâs day and age this is especially true.
Even in the music business, one of the largest industries in the world, digital media is absolutely crushing the physical format.
However, this in turn raises a few questions; the first revolving around staying power.
Will there be a day will come where the physical format is no more?
With how fast itâs seemingly become popular, itâs beginning to seem like an increasingly likely scenario. Now the second question sort of stems from the previous one.
Would there actually be any caveats if such a thing ever did happen?
This would obviously leave a lot of power to content providers, which could be a good or bad thing depending on their intent.
No doubt, thereâd certainly be a great deal of variability at play there; further complicating things. So my answer to both of those questions lie with the very benefits that each provide.
I feel itâd be smart to first go over these to really get a good idea of whether this will ever come to pass.
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The Benefits Of Streaming & Digital Media
#1 Ease Of Access
A huge benefit when it comes to streaming and digital media has to do with the very premise of the format itself. Being that users are able to simply log on and play a piece of content via desktop, tablet, or even smartphone; this introduces a certain level of accessibility that the physical variant simply canât match.
I mean think about it, having the ability to play any of your favorite movies and shows without even having to leave the comfort of your own home definitely constitutes as a huge perk in my book.
If anything, even the need to get up just to change what youâre watching is mitigated, allowing you to change the channel via remote or even your smartphone.
It might sound like a simple advantage, but thereâs no denying the level of convenience the digital format affords and over time, it certainly becomes appreciated.
Imagine youâre planning a vacation and you want to watch a few shows or movies while relaxing.
Well with digital, rather than having to lug around a bunch of cumbersome tapes that you could potentially lose, if you have say an iTunes or Disney Plus account, remote access to all of your favorite movies and shows are only a click away.
I really donât think that level of access and ease of convenience with the digital format can be understated.
All of that, and you donât have to go to the movie store either.. (remember those?)
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#2 Itâs A Space Saver!
Nothing more inconvenient than having thousands of movies and random CDâs scattered all around your house. I can personally vouch for that statement. I canât even recall the amount of times I was looking for a specific Blu-ray to put on, but couldnât find it.
With digital media, you donât have that issue; just press play and thatâs it.
No more clutter, no more headaches.
Plus you end up having a much cleaner looking entertainment center overall since you donât actually need to have those physical movies placed somewhere.
It might be a non factor when you only have a few physical tapes, but when your movie catalog starts to get into the the hundreds or even thousands, you really begin to appreciate the benefits that digital offers.
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#3 You Canât Lose It
I kind of touched on this one earlier and itâs kind of obvious but a huge advantage of digital media is that you really canât misplace it. All of your stuff is in a central location, allowing a certain level of accessibility and even portability that the physical medium does not.
This is especially true of course when it comes to actually looking for your movie since you really canât physically lose it.
Itâs definitely not fun when everyoneâs ready to watch a movie, and you happen to suddenly realize you have no idea where it is. So losing it is sort of an impossibility with this one.
Then again, you could of course always lose your phone or PC, but thatâs another story for a different time.
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The Disadvantages Of Streaming & Digital Media
Now everything in the world of digital media isnât all sunshine and rainbows since there are definitely some real disadvantages present as well.
#1 Bandwidth Limitations
Well the first obvious drawback with streaming has to do with internet.
Not only is an internet connection often required, you also need one thatâs fast enough. If you have a connection that doesnât have sufficient bandwidth speed, the video might buffer for what seems like every 5 seconds, and in many cases, wonât even play at all.
Now of course you might be able to download the movie if the content provider allows it and circumvent this issue entirely, but even then after a while thatâll add up when it comes to storage.
What proposes an even bigger issue though is that in many countries, there are still no internet connections at all; which effectively renders streaming anything there an impossibility.
Even when there is internet, a lot of these places arenât at the adequate speed where this could be normalized quite yet, further complicating any attempts at mass adoption. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-bandwidth-bottleneck-that-is-throttling-the-internet/ Â
However if you happen to be using using wifi, there are devices called wifi repeaters which work by extending your signal in a sense, so that you get a more uniform connection.
Hereâs a good resource that goes into detail on those as well as one that shows you how to improve the wifi you have now.
https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-wi-fi-extendersÂ
https://calgary.com/home-wifi-improvement-guide.php
If you just so happen to speak spanish by the way, hereâs another article that goes into it with even more information. https://buenasopiniones.com/el-mejor-amplificador-de-senal-wifi/
All of this leads into the next caveatâŠ
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#2 Data Throttling
With the whole net neutrality topic becoming such a prevalent means for debate, this does lead to the possibility of companies deciding to throttle user data at their discretion.
With companies having full control over internet speed, itâs very possible that you could begin to notice slowdown that was not present before.
And with no certainty as to whether or not this may or may not happen on a mass scale, itâs definitely something that youâll likely want to remain aware of.
On that same topic of data altering, thereâs also been suggested instances of media companies altering the original source material when offering its content to customers.
This includes things like changing the aspect ratio of wider screen movies to fit a more square scene.
Now whether this is definitively true or not is up for speculation, but it does further reinforce that sentiment that users arenât as in control with their content when it comes to receiving it through this medium as theyâd like to be.
Especially when things can be changed behind the scenes without their knowing.
While things like that may not necessarily be as big a deal for some, for others who are cinema purists that want to view their content exactly as the director intended, it can be a little concerning; especially considering our inevitable move toward more streaming.
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#3 Going Over Data Caps
Similar to throttling, another issue you may run into when streaming often (especially if you donât have unlimited internet data) is going over the data caps of your internet provider.
Now different providers have different policies surrounding this so youâd have to check your respective provider, but if you have a certain amount of data allotted for a specific month and you go over this amount from watching a surplus of content, it could ultimately end up effecting your bill.
With physical media, you donât ever have to worry about this and can pop in your favorite movie whenever.
With more and more companies looking at potentially imposing data caps, this could be a ding against the digital space. For example in 2021, Comcast is looking at bringing about a 1.2 TB data cap to its customers in 39 states in the US, so this is something companies are actively looking at and something you may want to keep mind.
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#4 Storage
Sure being able to watch whatever you want is nice, but if you do decide to download them, it is likely youâll still need somewhere to store all those movies.
Youâll typically get an allotted amount of storage thatâs fine for the short term, but might not be enough down the road (especially higher bitrate content that might be encoded with higher resolutions like 4K and HDR)
When this happens, you might have the option of acquiring more storage on the platform, but thereâs usually an added fee associated with this.
You could also use an external device like a USB hard drive or external SSD to store your movies too, but this is an extra step thatâs just not needed when compared with the physical medium.
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#5 You Donât Actually Own It
While thereâs definitely a satisfying feeling of being able to physically hold a movie, it helps to further reaffirm the fact that youâre the owner of it.
With digital media, this simply isnât the case. The company that youâre streaming from is the owner of the that piece of content.
If you cancel your membership, then youâll no longer be able to view whatever it was that you were watching. Then, if they randomly decide to pull that show or movie for whatever reason, youâre out of luck (itâs happened to me before on more than one occasion)
Whatâs more, digital movie releases often lack a lot of the extras that use to often come with a tangible release like extras, posters, memorabilia and behind the scenes looks.
These allow fans to learn even more about their favorite actors and shows, and connect with them even more.
Whether this changes remains to be seen, but this current trend of often omitting those may be somewhat of a disappointment to more hardcore fans.
Now when it comes to another entertainment medium, video games, even the physical tapes now a days utilize DRM, so even the physical version of the game you donât technically own since the CD merely acts as the license to allow you to play.
But still, even just having it in your hands makes it all the more tangible and still makes you feel like you own it even if you technically donât.
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The Benefits Of Physical Media
Now with physical media meaning things like CDâs, Blu-rays, etc, thereâs certainly a few noteworthy benefits over digital thatâs worth pointing out as well.
#1 Youâre The Real Owner Of It
Remember how with streaming I stated that you donât really own that piece of content?
Well with the physical you do. You can watch it as many times as you want without worrying about any sort of subscription service or it magically disappearing.
Youâre even free to resell it down the road if you chose to do so.
Thereâs a certain sense of ownership you get with actually having a physical version that you just donât get with the other format.
Plus letâs say you were creating a custom movie room in your home, having your entire catalog of tapes on display can really help with that feeling of authenticity and help give it that home cinema feel.
Furthermore, if you planned on giving someone a present for a holiday or birthday, rather than simply giving them a subscription, gifting them a Blu-ray would allow you to well for one wrap it, but two, actually allow them to be able to say they physically own it which is nice.
Of course video games are the exception to all of this like mentioned previously since itâs just a means for licensing, but you still at least get to have it in hand.
Thatâs not even mentioning the fact that many people have very fond memories of certain movies and being able to pass them down though generations and share those same memories with their loved ones canât be understated.
It might be a momento from an important, time, moment, or even person in their life that they want to keep as a reminder.
Thereâs nostalgia involved sure, but for some, owning and watching a favorite physical movie that theyâve enjoyed for years isnât just about watching it, but rather sharing an experience, and creating a long lasting memory.
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#2 No Data Limitations
One of the major advantages of physical media is you donât have to worry about any external factors like data restrictions preventing you from actually being able to play the movie as opposed to the digital format.
This is especially important for the people with slower internet connections. By purchasing physical multimedia, there arenât any arbitrary data limitations imposed; meaning youâre able to play it anytime you want.
You wonât have to worry about hitting any data caps or throttled connections since it would be done the good ol fashioned way.
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#3 Better Quality/Sound
Until data transfer is made so advanced that things like compression and artifacting (distortion) are minimized, physical media will always be the better choice in terms of better picture quality and sound.
You get a much better bitrate, and way less digital noise overall.
Now mind you, while digital technology is certainly improving and getting respectably close, itâs still not there. For now, youâll always have the best experience on a disc and serves as another reason as to why physical media is better in this regard.
Hereâs an article that goes over this along with some of the newer formats.
https://www.whathifi.com/features/4k-streaming-vs-4k-blu-ray-vs-blu-ray-which-best
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The Disadvantages of Physical Media
There are of course drawbacks to going this route, so itâs only fair that we cover these as well.
#1 Breaking/Losing It
If youâre a clumsy person (trust me, I am) then you do always run the risk of breaking it. Once itâs broken, thatâs really it until you buy another one.
The same could be said for losing it. If you have a lot of movies, then it makes finding a particular one especially difficult if not organized in a way you can remember.
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#2 Clutter
The more DVDs, CDs, and Blu-rays that you purchase, the more of them youâll be tasked with finding space for.
Now at first this wonât be an issue of course, but as the years go by and your collection increases, youâll likely find it difficult to keep up. This is another reason people tend to go digital as it avoids this all together.
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#3 Portability
Another disadvantage to physical media is the issue of portability. Watching a movie on the go becomes nearly impossible unless you have a dedicated device with a disc drive and screen.
Thatâs not considering the fact that having to carry all of those tapes around can unwieldy and inconvenient.
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Will Physical Media Ever Become Obsolete?
Here is an interesting thought that really makes you wonder. Even though technology is advancing at breakneck speeds, will there ever come a day where things like CDâs are no more?
Now this is purely speculative since I canât see into the future, but in my humble opinion I think it will.
However, the catch is I also think this wonât happen for a very long time.
With a good portion of the world still not even having access to basic internet, it would make no sense for companies to no longer support CDâs since they would lose huge portions of market share. This due to those same people not being able to really use it.
Couple this with the fact that as things like 4K and HDR become standard, data rates are likely to go up since itâll take faster speeds to transfer these gigantic files over the network.
Thereâs enough trouble as is trying stream these newer formats with modern connections, so if we were left with this as the only option so soon, it just wouldnât work logically.
Plus, with the better experience still technically on a disc, I donât foresee it going away any time soon. Until industries figure out how to allow for better quality even on slower speeds, this switch is still at least a couple decades away.
Heck, could you imagine trying to stream 8K?
Now thatâs not to say that this couldnât also happen sooner than we think either.
For example, there was a rumor that came out recently about Disney that said that going forward, it was planning to cease production on live action 4K Blu-rays and would rely solely on its subscription service, Disney+ for its movies in a move that shocked the world.
However this was recently walked back, and a spokesperson stated they they werenât abandoning the format and would be looking at releases on a case by case basis.
But what if thereâs preliminary planning in the making for exactly this, and itâs just not the time for it right now?
I mean this could serve as the inspiration for another major company basically coming out and saying that it doesnât see the need for the physical medium for its own content, and that due to a low demand for it, the digital space would serve them better.
Now this just could be a one off thing of course that we wonât have to worry about any time soon, or it could be a sobering reality of things to come that many may not want to hear; at some point, our content will likely become all digital.
Viewers are already embracing streaming as their primary access point, and if the current trend continues, it could lead to it becoming the only access point.
What that means in terms of our entertainment culture as a whole remains to be seen, but it certainly seems like we are currently heading that way.
Even with the recent announcement of WarnerMedia stating that for 2021 all of its movies would release simultaneously in theaters & HBO Max, and HBO Maxâs recent deal with Roku, this all further affirms that theory.
This also has an indirect but cyclic effect on the movie theater industry as well since more people will be streaming due to being inside more, which may lead to more movie theaters shutting down and in turn, more people streaming because of that.
What ultimately ends up happening though remains to be seen.
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Final Thoughts
So in terms of physical media vs digital media, the physical definitely wins, at least for now. Itâs the most stable, and still offers the best picture quality all around.
However way down the road, this may change and perhaps weâll be singing a different tune.
In any case, itâll be interesting to see how this all plays out and what dramatic changes the future holds for the entertainment space.
But thatâs it for now, if you have any questions, you know Iâm always there. Like always, make it easy, keep it simple. đ
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Hey everyone itâs nice to meet you. Iâm Jasmere, the founder of Easy Home Theater. Iâve been with this hobby for many years now, and decided to create this site to share everything that Iâve learned from personal experience with you. I also happen to be a huge gamer, lover of all things tech related, and a major fitness buff. Feel free to say hey!
6 Comments so far:
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Yeah I definitely agree. I donât know what it is, but the feeling of actually owning a CD is just so unique compared to simply streaming it.
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What an insightful post. Thanks for all the info, will certainly come in handy!
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No problem, glad you liked it.:)
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Iâm a bit old school and love having physical media. Even if its on a harddrive, I can watch it whenever I like without internet.
In saying this, I havenât bought much on physical media in the past couple of years and I think weâll be forced to move this way whether we like it or not. Just Wait till they make 8K content. Weâll need some serious bandwidth to stream that.
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Yeah I definitely feel like thatâs the way the industry is heading regardless. But 8k, man thatâs going to be crazy! Could you imagine 8k cable? haha
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Itâs sad but the truth is, my CD collection is collecting dust. I really like the feeling of having âownershipâ of my media which I think is the reason people are still buying them. However, as you noted, the initial convenience of digital media is attractive: I donât have to worry about losing my CD or it scratching which results to my songs skipping. I just recently bought a new car and havenât used my CD player once, I Bluetooth my songs on the radio from my phone. I think this will also affect your predictions on the longevity of physical media. What do you think? Really nice post and I look forward to seeing where the future of media will end up!