Is this really something to be proud of?
Over the past year, I’ve been gradually selling off my dvd collection on Ebay. Last Sunday, I listed the final stragglers. Once the auctions are paid for and shipped, I will be, in effect, dvd-less for the first time in 10 years.
And that fills me with a mixture of loss and freedom. A dvd collection is like an extension of one’s soul, a filmic phenotype of plastic, cardboard, and silicone. I had built up an impressive collection of oeuvres: the near complete works of Bresson, Kurosawa, Rohmer, and more — delicacies hard fought and won through online dvd stores, brick and mortars, and internet auction sites — items from every region code, PAL and NTSC — editions rare and out of print — artifacts enshrined in special collector’s tins, lunchboxes, and vacuum molded plastic. Many were linked with an emotion or the time in my life when I purchased them. And while I made sure to “back up” all of the dvds on hard drives anticipating a future home media computer (I’m not a fool), I felt like I lost a little bit of myself with every auction listed.
And then I smacked myself out of that sentimental fantasy world.
When you make a dvd purchase, you think you’re refining your collection, gaining grounds on a better definition of you. But in reality, you are slowly encasing yourself in a cocoon of junk. DVDs become closet-fillers, bookcase-hoggers, table decoration, and step-around stacks.
“But not me!” you say. “My collection gives me meaning and value.”
Bullshit.
Here are 7 reasons you’re irrationally clinging to your DVD collection:
1. I only buy films I watch on a regular basis.
That’s how it always begins. But as your collection increases, the time to watch decreases. With a steady stream of incoming Netlflix rentals, instant ques, Xbox live, video-on-demand, Tivo, Hulu, and torrents; the items you own always drop down a peg on your to-do list. You own them after all; you can watch them anytime.
You are an evolved animal, replete with cognitive biases. Your well-meaning buying strategy gets exploited by the dopamine rush of the hunt. “It makes economic sense for me to purchase this.” “Owning this product will give my life meaning and value.” But really, they’re all just excuses. The reality is it’s fun to shop. Even if you DO watch most of your collection at least once a year (which you DON’T), economically, it just doesn’t add up. You’ll still save money by renting instead of buying.
2. I like being able to pull any title on a whim and watch.
A few years ago, this argument made sense. If you wanted to watch something not in your collection, you had to go out and rent it or wait for your Netflix to arrive in the mail. But with the advent of instant streaming, you can watch titles you don’t own on a whim. And while the streaming selection is far from complete and the quality isn’t yet on par, both are increasing everyday. Digital songs killed CDs. Xbox Live, the Wi Virtual Store, Valve’s Steam, and the Playstation Network will one day kill physical video games. Kindle and iPad are already taking a chunk out of physical book sales. This is something you can champion or lament, but it is happening. The cold hard fact is that physical media is dying, and the sooner you make peace with that, the sooner you will regain your guest bedroom.
3. I’m waiting for the values to rise.
. . . because that worked SO well with CDs. With very few exceptions, DVDs will never increase in price above their retail value. Most will in fact plummet; and the longer you hold onto them, the less they will be worth. With instant streaming gaining more ground, prices are dropping even more rapidly. When you hold out for a higher worth, you are like the loss averse investor who irrationally clings to a withering stock in hopes that it will regain its value. Forget about recouping your dvd investment. But you will earn more overall by selling today than you will by selling in a year.
4. I can’t stop until I’ve collected the entire series.
“Just one more Warner Film Noir box set!” Maybe you’ve spent years collecting a particular director or series, and you can’t let all your hard work, dollars, and emotional investment go to waste. Besides, your collection would look silly without the 6th and final season of Lost sitting beside the first 5. But there’s another way: sell now and cut your losses. Humans are wired against cognitive dissonance — instead of correcting a past error and admitting we were wrong, we’ll continue making the error. Some wars should be pulled out of, and some Dr. Who collections should be dismantled.
5. I like the texture, smell, and tangibility of the physical medium.
This is the one plausible argument in the list. No matter how great the quality of digital media, we can’t touch a kilobyte, can’t thumb the pages of an e-booklet. I believe the resurgence of vinyl records is due more to the tangibility of the medium than any perceived difference in quality. But we have to weigh the benefits of each medium, and digital media has many compelling advantages. For one, digital frees us from the anchors of space-hogs. It’s nice to be able to walk into a clean room without having to brush past stacks of CDs, records, and DVDs; nice to be able to move to a new house without reserving an entire U-Haul for your preciouses. The accumulation of things can weigh you down. Shedding excess junk will set you free and help divert focus to the few items that are actually worth cherishing. And in an increasingly overpopulated world, your physical footprint may mean everything.
6. My DVDs are who I am.
Oh please. Wait until you’re over 30 and then get back with me on that.
7. I keep my DVDs for the sentimental value.
As humans, we tend to see in ordinary objects almost-supernatural underpinnings. This happens when we covet an autograph or a golden age comic book. In his book The Science of Superstition, Bruce Hood calls this our SuperSense; and we evolved it to help make sense of a world we couldn’t fully understand. It rained after we danced the Watusi, so we imbue the Watusi with the essence of rainmaking. Similarly, we attribute a sacred quality to the objects we collect. DVDs are more than just paper, plastic, and silicone. Perhaps by owning a physical copy of our favorite film, we feel an intimate connection with the filmmakers or that we can better absorb the film’s meaning. I would argue this is an urge we must curtail. Many a family has been broken up because of a collector’s obsession. I’m not advocating selling all of your worldly possessions or decoupling the sacredness from the objects you most covet (because, let’s admit it: it’s fun); just be aware of what you’re doing and recognize when your brain is talking you into a bad buying decision.
Sometimes we forget why we began buying DVDs in the first place: our love of movies. NOT gimmicky cases, limited pressings, or collectible booklets. And today, we have at our fingertips access to more films than ever before. And THAT is what we should be embrace. Don’t let your collection obfuscate the pleasure of watching a great film. Casablanca can hold a special place in your heart whether you own the Ultimate Edition or not.
8. I AM getting rid of my DVDs . . . to replace them with blu-ray!
Ummm. . .
Tony Youngblood is the current Foursquare Mayor of the Belcourt Theatre, a film and music snob, and producer of the experimental improv music blog and podcast Theatre Intangible. His favorite films include Eric Rohmer’s The Green Ray, Abbass Kiarostami’s The Wind Will Carry Us, Ingmar Bergman’s The Magician, Lee Chang Dong’s Oasis, and Rob Reiner’s This Is Spinal Tap. The irony of listing his favorite films to describe himself after writing the above article is not lost on him.
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5 is the reason that most resonates with me. However…one significant point I would make is that just about every one of the alternatives you mention are only available in the US, or against the law (though even torrents offend me esthetically than they do ethically). I have been buying far, far, far fewer DVDs of late, but that is because of a combination of lack of funds, and increased reliance on my very reliable DVD place, which is one of those places that has just about everything, and can get just about every edition (the only thing I have not been able to get through them is the British release of Dreyer's 'Day of Wrath', which I was interested in for the Guillermo del Toro commentary, not available on the Criterion set).
But technicalities aside- 5 is the main reason. I always feel kinda cheap when watching something that is not on an original DVD (heck, I even watch VHS tapes every few months).
Shlomo, excellent points. I had not considered Instant Queue's lack of international market, though surely it's coming soon.
I don't collect DVDs, but I know you're aware of my ever-growing vinyl and CD piles– personally, I consider my collection something of a personal museum. In the primary sense, the overall collection is a physical manifestation of my musical interests. I curate my collection through trades, purchases, downloads, etc. And you'd be hard-pressed to say that anyone could understand me well if they chose to ignore my musical interests, right?
On a secondary level, my collection is an archive of quite a few things that actually have a fair chance of disappearing entirely. There are discs that exist in super-limited editions (even a few that are totally unique)… I think there's a bit of responsibility for SOMEONE to maintain these and keep them available in some fashion. Maybe it's not so important with a store-bought DVD that exists in a run of thousands, but is it the same for a unique cassette tape with handmade artwork? Surely some of your DVD collection was similarly unique, so let's hope it ends up in more particular hands.
I have one small bookshelf I use exclusively for DVDs/BDs. When that's full, I have to offload titles I don't watch anymore (or never really liked anyway). That way my collection stays to a pretty manageable level — I'd say around 180 titles.
I donate unwanted DVDs to an organization called DVDs 4 Vets that distributes them to VA hospitals around the country. Makes it a lot easier to part with them when I know it's for a good cause.
Interesting…someone told me a few years ago that if I downloaded all my CDs to iTunes and then sold them I would essentially be a pirate because I needed proof of ownership (the case) in case the feds came knocking. So I've continued buying…one thing you didn't mention is the practice of buying a movie you always intended to watch, and then you wait a few years or decade to do so. I think it took me 8 years and some months of unemployment to get through the 267 minute Hotel Terminus
Just thought of another good reason to keep DVDs, vinyl, CDs, etc… It encourages browsing. Did browsing/borrowing from your brother's books or music let you encounter new ideas and sounds when you were young? I know that my dad's bookshelves provided me with such opportunities. My oldest is allowed to paw through my records and borrow them– browsing a screen just doesn't have that kind of draw.
I haven't purchased a DVD in years. You're right with Netflix and other services, I can get what I'm looking for if not instantly, in the matter of days. I do plan on purchasing DVDs of stuff I do watch often, but I purchase used these days.
You make many great points. My favorite being that of vinyl. I started collecting vinyl three years ago after discovering the true quality and beauty that vinyl offers over other mediums.
I do feel that the studios profit heavily off of introducing new mediums to the marketplace. I've decided to skip the Blu-ray collection for the time, and instead enjoying others used DVDs.
Also, digital downloads rarely (never?) come with extras such as behind-the-scenes docos and commentary tracks. That's a major reason why I keep a lot of my DVDs.
I suppose the leap from DVD to digital copy isn't such a big deal for movie buffs, though– unlike an LP, which is the original object, a DVD is already a poor copy of the actual experience (going to the theater, seeing the actual film). Except for a very few bands, live concerts aren't considered to be a 1:1 experience with the album. So for a music collector to replace an album with a digital copy is actually more akin to having a collection of actual films replaced by AVI files.
I only have finite space, so my recent solution – since there's little cash value for selling on old DVDs, is to get rid of the boxes and keep them in a CD/DVD wallet that takes up far less space.
Nice article, well reasoned. I began ripping my DVDs a couple of years ago, but soon got fed up. Making a decision on what compression to use was too draining in itself. I kept changing my mind on what quality and format was good enough. To rip 500 DVDs x 5GB = 2.5TB. Forgetaboutit.
Some people collect figurines or decorate the house with nice glass and brass and silver ornaments. Some hang pictures.
I like the look of a wall of DVDs -call it interior design aesthetics.
And we all know a wall of books can look great, as well as being an excellent sound-deadener.
Even in this consumerist age not everything comes down purely to $$.
Dave, excellent point. And yes, I am keeping the handmade items, such as the Naked Arrival pressings. :-)
That's a smart way to cull your collection and a worthy cause to donate the excess.
Technically, it is illegal to rip a dvd and then sell it. The problem is that media companies are slow to listen to how the public wants to buy. I don't have the option to buy most films digitally in dvd quality. One of the big reasons I ripped my dvd's was because I didn't want to store the hard copies. Thus, I am a criminal. But it would be even more criminal to throw out my dvd's instead of selling them.
The one thing that gets left out of the torrenting discussions is the technology itself. Legalities aside, torrents are an incredibly sophisticated bottom-up information pipeline. The concept of peer to peer will play a major part in how digital media is distributed in the future.
I bought a blu-ray player just so I could rent blu-rays via Netflix. I will never buy a blu-ray disc.
True. But the rips of your DVDs contain everything on the original dvd.
That works, but you lose the one valid reason to keep dvds in the first place.
I agree not everything comes down to pure cash, and I hope that point was clear in my article.
Now that 2TB harddrives are less than $140, why compress at all? I rip my DVDs at full quality, which means over 7GBs for most.
I have less faith — perhaps misguided — that digital copies will last longer than physical ones. Hard drives can, and do, crap out. But for the most part, my collection's not all that huge.
Am I the only one that thinks the article's started on a slightly skew-iff angle? It doesn't seem like you've ultimately got rid of any content at all, by copying your collection to your hard-drive you've only adjusted the delivery format, kinda throwing out reasons 1,2,4,6&7 as they could pretty easily be applied to file-based content.
One question for Tony: when you rent your films in a physical format – do you then copy them to a harddrive?
I feel the more interesting point in the article is your choice to rent / stream from now on. Like you say, the quality and speed of streaming still isn't enough to convince many and am I right in thinking most of the Netflix items available to rent are film only? (forgive my non-US based ignorance of NetFlix!)
We all love the special features on DVD's / Blu-ray's, the additional insight being passed on can be invaluable. Having that insight on hand – whether in file-based or physical media – is awesome and no-one here should be made to feel silly about that because you've changed the way you digest your filmic content by renting instead or buying. Perhaps you should have always rented your content and it was only the collector in you that led to the wall of DVDs?
I think the drawing board should come back, the article should be '7 Reasons You're Irrationally Clinging to Your FILM Content'. The biggest purge is to be super honest with yourself and question whether you REALLY need to keep or watch some of those FILMS in whichever format ever again. Can you delete those files or sell those DVDs? By keeping them and watching them again will they add any additional meaning – in the content itself, NOT in the act of ownership – to your life? Can you move on to the next experience with only the awesome story or full understanding of the film's meaning and conception? Could you be looking for other films or, dare I say, be doing something else entirely?
The loss of sentimentality is the most liberating act. Limited edition prints or boxes or cardboard sleeves don't tend to change the content of the film, maybe the extra features, or perhaps a more faithful transfer could be found but ultimately you're there for the film, right?
_______________
FYI. I consume my formidable collection of films in many formats, file-based, DVD (in carry cases), Blu-Ray (on one teeny shelf). Except for one or two Blu-Rays which came with DVD and or Digital copies of the film, there are no duplicate versions of any media. I do not rent, but I hit the cinema at least 3-4 times a month.
I just discovered the following comment to this article, and I don’t know why its not showing. I’m posting it here because I wanted to respond.
It is simply signed as “A Listener.”
2010/08/02 at 8:08 pm
Am I the only one that thinks the article’s started on a slightly skew-iff angle? It doesn’t seem like you’ve ultimately got rid of any content at all, by copying your collection to your hard-drive you’ve only adjusted the delivery format, kinda throwing out reasons 1,2,4,6&7 as they could pretty easily be applied to file-based content.
One question for Tony: when you rent your films in a physical format – do you then copy them to a harddrive?
I feel the more interesting point in the article is your choice to rent / stream from now on. Like you say, the quality and speed of streaming still isn’t enough to convince many and am I right in thinking most of the Netflix items available to rent are film only? (forgive my non-US based ignorance of NetFlix!)
We all love the special features on DVD’s / Blu-ray’s, the additional insight being passed on can be invaluable. Having that insight on hand – whether in file-based or physical media – is awesome and no-one here should be made to feel silly about that because you’ve changed the way you digest your filmic content by renting instead or buying. Perhaps you should have always rented your content and it was only the collector in you that led to the wall of DVDs?
I think the drawing board should come back, the article should be ’7 Reasons You’re Irrationally Clinging to Your FILM Content’. The biggest purge is to be super honest with yourself and question whether you REALLY need to keep or watch some of those FILMS in whichever format ever again. Can you delete those files or sell those DVDs? By keeping them and watching them again will they add any additional meaning – in the content itself, NOT in the act of ownership – to your life? Can you move on to the next experience with only the awesome story or full understanding of the film’s meaning and conception? Could you be looking for other films or, dare I say, be doing something else entirely?
The loss of sentimentality is the most liberating act. Limited edition prints or boxes or cardboard sleeves don’t tend to change the content of the film, maybe the extra features, or perhaps a more faithful transfer could be found but ultimately you’re there for the film, right?
_______________
FYI. I consume my formidable collection of films in many formats, file-based, DVD (in carry cases), Blu-Ray (on one teeny shelf). Except for one or two Blu-Rays which came with DVD and or Digital copies of the film, there are no duplicate versions of any media. I do not rent, but I hit the cinema at least 3-4 times a month.
Dear “A Listener,”
Thanks for your comment. I think perhaps you’ve misunderstood my stance. I am not against dvd content such as audio commentaries, featurettes, etc. No one should be made to feel silly about enjoying extra features. My objection is the need to own the physical media.
>>t doesn’t seem like you’ve ultimately got rid of any content at all, by copying your collection to your hard-drive you’ve only adjusted the delivery format,
I haven’t gotten rid of the content. The content is the baby; it’s the bathwater I’m chucking. I don’t put it on harddrive because I want to “own it.” It matters little to me if the harddrive is in my possession or on a cloud somewhere. The point I’m making is that movie content is becoming easier to access without having to have a copy on your wall. Right now, you are not able to watch a commentary or change the subtitles via Netflix streaming (or, for that matter, watch Netflix streaming at all outside of the U.S.). But this will all change very quickly.
>>The biggest purge is to be super honest with yourself and question whether you REALLY need to keep or watch some of those FILMS in whichever format ever again.
I thought I made that clear. I don’t need to own them if I have quick access to them via online rental. And there’s less buyer’s remorse when you watch a film directly after you’ve rented it — rather than have it silently bore its eyes into you on your shelf for years to come.
>>Limited edition prints or boxes or cardboard sleeves don’t tend to change the content of the film, maybe the extra features, or perhaps a more faithful transfer could be found but ultimately you’re there for the film, right?
Again, you are lumping my actual argument against the physical, tangible medium with something I do not argue at all. I’ve been a longtime reader of DVDBeaver, which practically fetishises great transfers and bountiful extra features. For me, the transfer is the holy grail. But by not buying physical copies of films, you can rent new transfers and new commentary tracks as they are released, without feeling short-changed by your devalued copy.
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