Digital vs. Physical: Movies & TV

This is Part 2 of my “Digital vs. Physical” series. For those just joining, that have not read the prologue post, this series is about digital and physical media, such as games and TV shows. 

It feels like just yesterday the world was moving from VHS to DVD’s. For my family, this was back in ~2004. Sure, we had CD’s for several years prior to acquiring our first DVD (Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring Directors Cut), but switching to DVD’s kind of felt like a huge leap. The ability to jump from one scene to the next, and never needing to rewind a movie before returning it to a movie store (pretty sure newer generations will never know of places like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video), or putting it back on the shelf. But it already feels like that time has come and gone… more or less. Blu-ray almost feel obsolete already. Why? Because digital content has made a big impact on the video industry.

When it comes to purchasing a physical copy of a movie or show, we used to have quite a few more options. From mom & pop video stores, to chain stores like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video, there really wasn’t a shortage of varying prices on used videos. Of course there are also a large variety of stores to purchase new copies, as well. To top that off you could (and still can) buy collectors editions, directors cuts, complete (i.e. LOTR Series) and semi-complete (i.e. Harry Potter 1 – 4) series,  regular, HD, widescreen, Blu-ray, multi-disk with different versions of the movie, and even triple(+) packs that included multiple physical copies and a digital (usually “violet”) copy of the movie. Of course there are also options like 3-for-1 movie packs (Disney has taken to doing this for short movies). With Amazons frequent sales of DVD’s (movies and shows) for dirt cheap (purchased Warm Bodies for $3 last November), what’s not to love?

Queue the next generation of media: Digital. Xbox Video, Amazon Instant Video, the iTunes and the Google Play store offer similarly priced digital versions of movies and shows, with the benefit of mobility. Own a smart TV or console? Why not play your recently purchased movie on the big screen for everyone to enjoy? Of course you can also load that movie or show on your tablet, phone or computer. Pretty great right? In many ways, the prices are pretty comparable. Let’s take a look at Disney’s recent release, Frozen.

Unsurprisingly Amazon is pushing purchasing a digital copy, over “waiting” for a physical one.

Walmart offers a digital copy of Frozen through VuDu, but they only list the rental price on the search page.

However, I know very few people that have purchased digital copies of movies. Why? Because the limitations to viewing and accessing a digital copy of the movie. Amazon works out one of the better options, as it’s viewable on computers, consoles and 2 of the 3 main mobile ecosystems (Windows Phone being the odd-man-out). The services that allow you to download the movie, such as Xbox Video or iTunes, use DRM’s that prevent you from using it on other systems. Personally, I am primarily in the Micrtosoft ecosystem, more than the others, so this wouldn’t necessarily be an issue for me. But one of the intersting parts of digital versions, is being able to purchase a season in advance, and view it as it airs. Lets use one of my personal favorite shows, The Simpsons, as an example.

The Simpsons: Season 25 on Xbox Video

The Simpsons: Season 25 on Google Play

While I love The Simpsons, I could never seeing myself paying $40 or $50 for a season. I’d much rather wait a few years for the price to drop. Plus, for a little more than the cost of one season, I can view several shows and movies throughout the entire year.

Enter the binge-watchers best friend: streaming. A few years ago Netflix started the slow migration to streaming. You could say that the industry was paying close attention. Admittedly, much to my surprise, the concept took off like a rocket. Sure, when you stream through Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime + Instant Video, you’re not always getting the latest and greatest, and you only have access when internet is available. But that seems to matter very little to the masses. For those who want the latest shows, and don’t mind commercials, there’s Hulu. If you’re okay with waiting till a show is available on DVD, than Netflix may be more your cup-o-tea. Amazon is pretty hit or miss in terms of what you’ll be getting, but it’s usually older content (though they’re working on bridging the gap). Here’s a quick break down:

            For the purpose of this breakdown: Movies = $20; Seasons = $30

Netflix: $8 a month = $96 a year = ~5 movies = 3 seasons of a show

Hulu: Free – limited shows though

Hulu Plus: $8 a month = $96 a year = ~5 movies = 3 seasons of a show

Amazon Prime + Instant Video: $100 a year = 5 movies 3 seasons of a show

*Added benefit of all the various perks of being a Prime member

The main drawback to streaming is the frequent lack of newer content isn’t always available. Case and point, Netflix’s lack of Disney’s Frozen:

Disney's Frozen on Netflix for Windows 8

This is an area where digital purchases could fill the gap. But, while digital copies seem nice, most people prefer the idea of streaming, despite the lack of newer content. It’s easy to understand this though, as streaming is truly flexible. You’re not tied down by a DRM, and you can access it from all over the place.

Sure, it doesn’t necessarily work well for in-travel entertainment, like flying or road-trips. This would be a great time to use downloaded copies instead. But this seems to be the point that consumers turn to eBooks and music, rather than catching up on a show or movie. Unless of course you’re on a flight that offers movies and/or shows for your entertainment needs. Which can be a nice perk.

Similar to gaming, digital movies and shows lack certain appealing “benefits”. Digital copies from most services take their time quite a while to drop in price. In fact, I find it a bit comical when Amazon drops the price of something they have to ship to me, but doesn’t decrease the price of the digital version. And of course, being able to resell physical copies and get awesome collectors additions such as the Stargate SG1 collector’s edition or the Superman: Man of Steel collector’s edition.

Stargate SG1 collector’s edition

Superman: Man of Steel collector’s edition

From a personal standpoint, digital content purchasing would be much more appealing if it was priced more competitively. But for now, I think the average consumer is going to stick with purchasing physical copies and streaming. To be honest, collector’s editions could still be amazing if, instead of disks, you received a download code that went along with the collector’s memorabilia.