It's a shame that streaming is becoming the only way to watch most new movies/TV series

It just hit me how in the last few years the only way to watch most new movies or shows is to pay a company $10-15 each month, just to stream them in garbage "4K" quality (or in the case of HBO, garbage "HD" quality). It probably won't be long before it is the only way to watch anything. Ownership will disappear.

I just recently bought the 4K blu ray of the Martian for $10. It also comes with the standard blu ray and a digital code. The quality destroys streaming, does not require internet, has WAY better audio, and will play on any blu ray player that has ever been made or will be made. I get all of that for a one time fee of $10 and I OWN it. I don't have to care about a "license" expiring and it leaving a "service".

The thing about streaming is that it seems cheap due to the monthly cost and just how much you get "access" to. But the costs add up. I've had Netflix and Disney+ for the past 2+ years. That's probably over $600 I've spent on them and I sure as hell haven't watched $600 worth of content if I'm being honest. And by content I mean quality content that was actually worth watching, not some dumb Netflix original that you just play in the background. I could buy physical copies of all of the movies/shows I like and spend FAR less money than that.

Except nowadays that last sentence is not even an option. I would love to buy The Mandalorian seasons 1 and 2 on 4K blu ray or the upcoming Obi Wan show and ditch the Disney+ sub. But I'm stuck paying a recurring sub whenever I feel like watching. Not even an option to own it digitally. Just keep paying a monthly "access" fee.

We used to be able to have our own collections. Now we all have glorified YouTube subscriptions instead. And the monthly subscription price will continue to increase for all of the services while the streaming quality will continue to decrease as more and more users subscribe and eat up bandwidth.

Submitted November 30, 2021 at 07:32AM by GlobalAdhesiveness6 https://ift.tt/3lmjhfz