A recent visit to Walmart and Target has me wondering if physical media is slowly being phased out. The stores have been redesigned and the movie, music, and gaming sections are noticeably smaller. The media section used to take up half of the back of the store with televisions lining the walls.
The large $5 and $7 bins of blu-ray movies no longer exist. The bin has been relegated to a small basket tucked in the back of a short isle. In this lonely isle, we were still able to find a handful of $5 blu-ray movies to add to our collection. As I placed 10 good blu-ray finds in my cart, my eyes surveyed the isle back-n-forth. I could tell a change was coming.
The feeling of change coming was also deeply rooted in all the YouTube videos I have watched about Samsung’s decision to stop producing blu-ray players. Samsung is a big player in the electronics world so their decision to stop making blu-ray players is not to be taken lightly. Many other business brands still produce blu-ray players so we plan to stock up on an extra player or two so we can ensure our collection is always viewable. The question remains – How long before other brands follow suit and stop producing physical disc players?
The switch to digital media is the latest trend with movie fans having huge digital collections. We take the digital codes that come with our physical media purchases and enter them into our Vudu account. We consider a Vudu account as a bonus. I prefer to own physical copies of our movies.
Movies stored on Vudu or Movies Anywhere are just rentals. This has been proven by the closing of Flixster and UltraViolet. Recent CNet and Ajac.com news articles announced Walmart’s plans to sell Vudu. Walmart wants to dump a non-profitable business entity. Every person who enters a digital code causes the Vudu or Movies Anywhere businesses to use more server space. Housing all of that data on servers around the world is very expensive. Walmart has noticed and that’s why Vudu is for sale.
What does this mean for digital movie collectors? If Walmart doesn’t successfully sell Vudu, their next option is bankruptcy. Then digital movie collectors only option will be Movies Anywhere. Any time there is only one option of any service, price increases become a huge factor. Don’t believe me? Try to find another service provider for your home gas and light utility service. You only have one service provider and prices are a huge factor.
Another factor is Disney Plus and other streaming services. Like many other families, we signed up for Disney Plus immediately to take advantage of the annual deal. Disney’s online movie collection is extensive. How long before Disney stops producing physical copies of Disney movies in favor of their online streaming service? It is more profitable for Disney to stop producing physical discs. Because it’s DISNEY- the brand of all brands, families will still pay the same price for the online version as the physical disc. This is to Disney’s advantage because there are no disc manufacturer costs, store negotiations, or movie theater businesses to deal with. Disney can cut out all the media middlemen taking the cash straight from your checking account to Disney shareholder profits.
Disney isn’t the only streaming service profiting from online movie watching. We can see the change in our behavior as we use Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and even our local library’s online catalog for movie watching. We still prefer physical media, but we watch a number of movies or television shows each month on the various streaming services. Blockbuster movies go from retail theater to blu-ray disc in record time these days. The same movie is available for digital download weeks before the physical copy is available. We noticed this with the releases of John Wick 3 and Hobbs & Shaw. It’s a reality of the times.
Times are changing! 4K and blu-ray disc will go the way of the 8-track tape, VHS, and the cassette tape. Technology changes as time goes on and we all have to accept the change. Back in the day, I had a huge collection of cassette tapes with my favorite songs. Then I switched to CDs for music. Now I only listen to music online. I cannot tell you the last time I purchased a CD/album.
We know one thing for sure. Change is coming to the way we watch movies in the future. It will be online in the comfort of our homes without any physical media. Physical media is on the decline, but we will still purchase until the retail stores stop offering. Until then we will continue to purchase physical media limiting our purchases to no more than $5 per blu-ray, $15 per 3D movie and $1 per DVD.
