Yes, I know it’s 2020, but when I’m looking to buy a movie, I opt to buy the DVD, even if it’s slightly more expensive than a digital copy. This is primarily because I’m paranoid — my computer may crash, the file type may be phased out, a company’s server may crash, the company may revoke my purchase at an undetermined future point, or the company/platform I bought the video through may shut down, leaving me no way to access my purchases. With DVDs, they can’t disappear unless I lend them out to a careless friend, or lose them myself.
I, like many millennials (and honestly most of the entertainment-consuming public) love a good rewatch. I buy DVDs because I want to watch my favorite movies and TV shows again and again, without following the shows to various streaming services. If I want to watch Ten and Donna meet Agatha Christie, I just have to pull my Doctor Who box set off the shelf, not pay for the HBO Max streaming service. Maybe I’m feeling like crap and just want to binge the BBC’s 2009 Emma starring Romola Garai (it’s the best adaptation, fight me). I have it on DVD, so I don’t need to buy a Hulu subscription.
Certain people in my life used to roll their eyes at my DVD collection, but I’m happy to report that society seems to be coming round to my point of view, just look at this op-ed in the New York Times.
Veronica Walsingham makes the argument that DVD box sets are the most economic option for nostalgia viewing, and we here at Media Services agree. In fact, you can rent everything from Friends to Grey’s Anatomy to Spongebob from us… so why not give DVDs a try?