he battle continues as digital and hard copy forms of music, books, and movies become increasingly available. The battle is, of course, what form is better digital or hard copy? To answer the question for yourself it may be more prudent to ask the following questions: what are the benefits and what are the downsides of choosing a disc or a digital copy of a movie?
Here are some Pros and Cons on both sides of the battle that will better help you to make a more informed decision:
Digital Pros
When you choose to purchase a digital copy of a movie you get the movie instantly and it usually costs less money. There are tons and tons of websites that allow you to purchase movies and television episodes the day they come out and for a small fee you can usually download the video you have purchased right onto your machine. Having a digital version of the movie means you are not limited to only watching your movie on your TV or your laptop. You can take the digital version and watch it on your phone, your gaming devices, an IPod or even a tablet. The digital option also varies because of the different streaming possibilities like Hulu and Netflix and YouTube, if you are not interested in owning the movie than these are great options.
Digital Cons
The cons of watching your movies digitally are as follows: sometimes the company or service you have been using to watch/stream/purchase your digital shows and movies can shut down for a period of time which can limit the availability of the movies you wish to watch. You also run the risk of the format you purchase becoming obsolete or corrupted.
DVD Pros
When you choose to purchase a hard copy of the show/movie you wish to watch there are a myriad of benefits, some of these benefits include: When you buy the physical DVD it belongs to you and cannot strangely disappear, you can lend your hard copies and borrow other’s hard copies, you can purchase used discs at a discounted price (if the price of a new disc is too much for you to swallow).
DVD Cons
The cons for actually owning the physical DVD copies of your movies include:
- The DVD discs take up physical space that make it more tedious when moving
- Hardcopy DVD discs are also more expensive
- Comparison (a season of a television series can cost up to $60 or more but digital copies are usually around $20)
- Older movie formats become obsolete when the formats change. For example the last few generations have seen the change from VHS to DVD discs and now they have added Blue-ray discs to the mix. It can be difficult to keep up a collection that is big and also up-to-date with the newer hard copy formats. And of course, DVD replication or duplication stirs up legal formalities so it may be a good idea to stay away from some of those options.
The answer to the big digital VS hard copy battle can only be answered by each individual who wants to watch a movie. Do you want the ease and access of a digital movie? Or would you prefer something more stable and physical? The choice is yours, what side are you on?