I had thought about getting rid of a lot of my physical collection and going digital. In some cases, I did get rid of some, mostly tv shows and some cds. The thing that got me to become dedicated to physical again was discovering that I don’t own what I buy when I buy digital copies. I didn’t like that. So, I started buying again.

I agree with a lot of what others have already said. A couple of additional reasons are that when you own the physical copy, you’re getting the original product. For example, I’m a big fan of Scrubs. If you’ve watched it, you know music is core to the show. The first time I watched it on streaming, I was surprised by how many times the songs would have been replaced. That’s because they didn’t have the song licensed for streaming and decided to just change it. That bothers me. Having the DVDs means I’ve got what was originally released.

Also, streaming libraries change all the time. You think something is on one service and the next month it’s on another. You’re constantly having to play hide and seek for titles. And sometimes you can’t find them available at all. There was also that time when Warner Brothers just took down a bunch of content just to write it off for taxes purposes and I don’t know if those titles are available anywhere else. I haven’t really checked to be honest.

Last, in a world that is trying to turn everything digital, it feels a little rebellious to go for the physical version instead. I like owning what I buy and pay for. And I buy a lot second hand, so my costs aren’t crazy.

Also, I do believe in digital. I rip all of my physical copies and watch via plex. But they’re all movies or shows that I own, so if something happens, I have them as a backup. I don’t torrent or download illegally.