Are DVDs a Rip-Off ?

[TR0N]

I like DVD's, especially when they offer commentary tracks that are unavailable via streaming services.

However, I must admit that I stopped buying DVD's a long time ago. Occasionally I'll pick something up (DuckTales, for example), but I actually forget to watch them.

My viewing habits are DVR/Netflix/Amazon Prime/iTunes. I watch free stuff 99% of the time, unless we are having "family movie night"....I watch some video via YouTube, but not much.

As you probably know, the big incentive to buy DVD's these days is when something isn't readily available for free/cheap via legit streaming.

Disney and Lucas are very restrictive with some properties...so buying the damn DVD is often the way to go.

I am NOT a big Lucas/Disney fan (sorry Pixar/Star Wars fans) but, nonetheless, there have been many things I have wanted (for me, or for my kids) and I was surprised that DVD was most feasible option.

That is the down side to streaming the rights for netflik,amazon etc.For when they can't the rights to a movie&tv show for being able to air it.I remember a few years ago after signing up to netflik.When i wanted to watch thundercats again it wasn't on there so i bought it on the dvd,since it was so cheap.

[esteban]

^ Yes, TRON, and, as I'm sure you already know, the contracts are constantly in flux.

I was watching many things that BAM! disappeared. Granted, it takes me a YEAR to get through 1-2 seasons of a show, but I was at the whim of the contracts.

It would mar the experience, but I wish I could have looked up the "expiration date" to see if I had a reasonable amount of time.

I am an edge use case, though. I started Howard the Duck and, over the course of 2-3 months, was inching closer to finishing it. Same with PEE-WEE films. Movies disappeared.

A year (maybe a few months, actually) later, they were back, I rewatched 'em from the beginning.

Netflix is cheap, so I'm not upset.

However, recently Disney (?) pulled a bunch of streaming/download content from all services. UNLESS you had downloaded a LOCAL COPY (on a tablet/phone/PC), you lost it. Yes, you paid for it, but the "terms and conditions" do not guarantee access, in perpetuity, to digital content. Now, this didn't affect me, but it shows how badly we (consumers) need protections from this ridiculous situation.

For all the convenience of not having local copies....damn, current contracts/laws/practices are so anti-consumer it isn't even funny.

I will admit, however, that for video, I love streaming most things.

For music, I'm still stuck in transition. I don't completely trust that I'll have access to a lot of wacky/obscure content, so I know I'll have to maintain some local copies. 95% of my music will be fine (but subject to issues already stated for film/video).

[Necromancer]

I don't do netflix because $8 a month is more than what I've spent building my DVD collection over the last dozen years or so, and some of what I have isn't available there anyway.

[esadajr]

They're a rip off when the bluray combo pack costs for example $14 and the standalone DVD costs $12.

[esteban]

I don't do netflix because $8 a month is more than what I've spent building my DVD collection over the last dozen years or so, and some of what I have isn't available there anyway.

You crazy.

[Sadler]

99.95% of my viewing is streaming. Prime is pretty damn awesome. Having said that, DVDs are $2 around here. Thrift shops, gas stations, whatevs. I've got no problem picking them up at that price.

[NightWolve]

I still collect a DVD now and then, but yeah, it gets rarer and rarer. New releases at $19.99 and for something that you will only wind up watching once 90% of the time, yeah, rip-off...  I mostly just rent them from the library or a Redbox kiosk now. Can't beat a rental for free or a dollar plus change.