>"physical media & a Jellyfin install" is going to be more sensible.

Physical media is only cheaper if the user is ok with re-watching the same videos repeatedly. The higher cost of the DVD/Blu-ray discs can be amortized over multiple repeat viewings. (Good example is a 5-year old kid wanting to re-watch Frozen or Shrek cartoons again for the 100th time. A DVD player is cheaper than a Disney+ subscription in that scenario.)

Digital streaming subscriptions are cheaper if the user almost always prefers watching new shows instead of re-runs. That's the viewing habit of the vast majority of subscribers. Trying to only buy physical media to get a constant diet of new shows -- even buying the cheaper used discs from thrift stores -- will cost more than a subscription. Also, the physical discs are not immediately playable on an iPad/smartphone so requires extra hassle of ripping/transcoding that most normies don't want to do. Also, buying harddrives for the NAS server to store the rips isn't cheap either.

I'm all too aware of people preferring brand new shows because I've ripped several hundred DVDs to a stack of terabyte harddrives that nobody ever watches. Instead, they'd rather see what's new on Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ ...

EDIT to add an update of a previous comment about my friend's defiance against ads added to Amazon Prime Videos by borrowing DVDs from the public library. She lost that battle because she finished all the DVDs she wanted to watch so had to go back to Amazon Videos for new content. She now endures the Amazon's ads. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42388626

She really tried to fight ads by avoiding the platform but couldn't sustain it because she ran out of free DVDs to checkout from the library. This means buying DVDs to get something new to watch if trying to stick with physical media and unfortunately, that costs more than streaming platforms. She deals with the ad interruptions by multitasking on an iPad when they come on.

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mitthrowaway2 4 hours ago | parent | next [-]

This is why we used to have blockbuster!

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jasonjayr 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

We still have public libraries. They usually have a pretty sizable collection

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jasode an hour ago | parent | next [-]

>We still have public libraries. They usually have a pretty sizable collection

The public libraries in major cities like the New York Public Library have sizable collections. The smaller libraries in the outer suburbs have a much smaller selection. Yes, there's also inter-library loan system for the suburbs to pull from the big city library but there are restrictions such as only having 3 items at a time.

The neighborhood public libraries are wonderful resources but there can be limitations (quantity of titles) that prevent it from being a sustainable substitute for streaming for someone that wants to watch ~2 hours of content every day. My friend tried the public library and it was only a temporary reprieve from the ads on streaming platforms. The library simply didn't have enough content for her to watch.

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nradov 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That sizable collection is often scratched so you watch half the movie and then it skips or fails completely. Just like what used to happen constantly with DVDs from Netflix.

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brushfoot 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Not in my experience. My library's DVDs and Blu-rays work great. I check one out every week or two.

I'd encourage anyone reading to go to your local library if you haven't been in a while. Check out a book. See if they have a makerspace. Do some remote work there. They're wonderful places. They become more and more important with every passing year.

	▲	dingaling 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> Check out a book Not many of those left in my local libraries. They downsized to popular fiction and a rack of magazines to introduce more sofas and space for charity cake stalls. And "mindful colouring-in" if you're around for the 4.5 days of the week that they're open. Libraries threw away the one thing that made them unique, curated knowledge, in order to compete with Starbucks as a "third space".

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skyyler 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The libraries near me have disc resurfacing machines. I've never had an issue playing a DVD or CD from the library.

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doikor 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Here you tell them that it was scratched/failed to play properly and it gets resurfaced or replaced (if still available from vendors).

In general library stuff is of relatively high quality and they have budgets for taking care of the collection.

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dh2022 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Tell me you never borrowed movies from a library without telling me you never borrowed movies from a library.

	▲	nradov 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I have borrowed movies from local libraries. It's hit or miss.

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rascul 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

We still do

https://bendblockbuster.com/

https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Blockbuster

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bzzzt 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> The higher cost of the DVD/Blu-ray discs can be amortized over multiple repeat viewings.

For now. Physical media is being phased out. Sony just quitted the blu-ray player business after others also did and Disney already stopped releasing new discs in Australia.

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SoftTalker 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

That's why I stopped buying physical media years ago. Once I watch a movie, I've seen it. I don't really want to watch it again. And each viewing is a diminishing return, where I feel more and more like I'm just wasting time by doing it.

Music somehow is different, but movies, sporting events, dramatic series, etc. where the hook is that you don't know what's going to happen I can really only enjoy watching once.

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bunderbunder 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I get most my physical media from the library. It really doesn’t get any cheaper than that.

A smaller portion comes from used bookstores. For TV series in particular it’s still very cost effective on a money per viewing hour basis. Especially for kids’ media because my kids do want to watch the same thing over and over.

I also do some à la carte rentals. Maybe 3-4 movies per year, so the total cost is low.

That said, you’re absolutely right, this only works for me because I don’t particularly care about new shoes and streaming exclusives. If you’re willing to take the view that media doesn’t need to be new to be good then we currently live in a post-scarcity society where video entertainment is concerned. Which isn’t to say that people who prefer new things are wrong, but I am genuinely impressed by the amount of enshittification that people will tolerate (maybe after some grumbling, but still) in the service of that preference.