Do you still purchase physical media?

[+longgonebn Subscriber²]

I have been 100% physical media free since about 2005, about 2 years after Steam came out, and I also started with the first Cloud Storage services, I think dropbox was 2007. Music used to be always illegally bought, so never had discs for it, now I use Rdio or Google Drive. The only thing I needed to keep for awhile was discs for Windows, but that quickly went away when I figured out how to use USB drives.

[Stokkolm]

I haven't purchased a physical DVD since my last tour in Afghanistan in 2012. I hope the reasoning for that is obvious. I've never purchased a Bluray movie ever. The only physical media I buy would be Xbox games, but you didn't have a Video Games only category in the poll, and since even that is very rare I went ahead and marked the I have gone completely non-physical.

[macoman]

I have not purchase any type of disk since early 2013. The only media that I will purchase if I see a movie that I didn't watch yet is blu-ray. In Walmart they are sometimes at $7 bucks.

[ryoohki]

Nope not since at least 2 years

[Xerino]

with the exception of used PS3 games, I cant remember the last time I actually bought brand new physical media, I think it was FF XIII on release day.

[nvllsvm]

All my media is digital. I hate streaming and nasty DRM, so anything legally available only with those is acquired through other downloadable means.

[pack34]

I do a mix. Physical media for the music and movies I want to keep. Then I use subscription services like Netflix and XBox Music

[theyarecomingforyou]

I don't have any optical drives anymore. I used to have a Blu-ray drive for my computer but found I didn't use it and replaced it with a HDD. For TV I use a streaming box networked to my computer. Physical media is simply impractical.

[blank]

for my very important files such as photographs, i like to have multiple sourced back ups.

I have them on local drive, external drive, a copy up in the cloud, and a static copy on disc.

i'll probably get rid of the external drive copy since its not really needed since i recently subscribed to online back up.

however i don't have to buy discs that often anymore. i got a spundle of 50 dvd+r DL which seem to be lasting a very long time.

I never use discs for media, music, or anything like that. just static backup.

[MorganX]

I understand the question, but really, it ends up on physical media, only the customer pays for it. Whether it's an HD platter or burned to DVD or BluRay. A digital download ends up on physical media.

 

Having said that, I guess Adobe CS5 would be the last time. Though I bought physical media to store all my ISOs on ...

[ybrett23]

only media i purchase is blanks, so i can "assist" friends

my bb is well "tuned"  :D

[LittleNeutrino Veteran]

I bought Hesitation Marks (Nine inch Nails) got the Deluxe Edition of the Album, The Next physical edition of something i will be getting is the Destiny Limited Edition.

[LimeMaster]

For games, physical because it's usually always much cheaper. As for everything else, digital.

[x-scratch]

I buy physical media often. I like to physically own and control my content (ripping, converting, transferring etc.)  :)

[jerzdawg]

I still purchase blurays, games are mostly physical media but I also won't pass up a digital deal. I own approx 250 blurays, I prob own 20 games between xb1 and wii u, handful of digital games between those 2

[Gromvar]

It depends on the platform for me. If I'm getting a game for my 3DS it's only digital. Simply because I don't want to carry around cartridges with it. 

 

If it's on a home console I go 50/50 with it, and then if it's movies I like to have the physical copy. 

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I buy films and shows that I love in Blu ray. Music I buy in physical form if I'm buying for someone else, otherwise I just do it digital these days. Finally, games I buy digital on the computer, for the PS I normally buy physical media.

[Zidane]

The only physical media I'll buy is games...cause I love to see the case art and it looks great under my TV.

[Xeron]

Music - 'rent' from Xbox Music or buy in MP3/m4a, not drm'd so yes its quicker and easier rather than buying a cd.

Movies - I generally rent from Xbox video or Netflix/Amazon however, this is yet to be drm free when you buy them. I could build up a video library of things I've bought but then not be able to access it later - yes maybe in 5 years but what about in 10 years? So I still only buy movies in physical format.

Games - I buy digitally on Xbox one. I think it's much easier than having to deal with media. Don't have the same nostalgic feelings with these that I do with movies or music, so I am aware that maybe in 10 years I wont be able to play these games, but it doesn't really bother me. I may listen to old music and watch old movies, but I don't really play old games.

 

DRM opens the rental and streaming market for video and music, so I think its great for allowing that to happen, but I have no interest in buying something digitally for what is generally a higher price than physical media and not having the same rights for it, and even potentially losing access should any one of the companies involved stop trading or decide it was no longer commercially viable to provide it.

 

The derestriction in the music market seemed to be the point at which music downloads really went mainstream, and I don't feel the video market will take off until the same happens with that. I can see it potentially has a bigger problem in that a new movie will cost much more than a new music track, and therefore is much more desirable to acquire for free, but I don't see any way around it. Blu-ray discs might as well be DRM free as most are copyable as soon as you've bought them. Perhaps if when you purchased a movie, they made a contractual obligation to you to provide you with a DRM free download after say, 6 months of purchase, that would help.

[Kronir]

I still prefer buying movies on Blu-ray and usually music on CDs.  For PC games, I generally have gone pure digital unless there's a good Collector's Edition.

[taim]

I wonder what the poll would look like on a non tech site.

[compl3x]

^ Good point.

[macoman]

I am totally digital... If i want to purchase a movie, I have amazon video... want a game? I go to the PS3 store.... stream movies? got Netflix.... so I don't need anymore physical media.

[+DDG3595 Subscriber²]

I buy blank discs (DVDs, CDs, Blu-rays) and purchase movies and games on physical media too.  I've purchased a few games from GOG recently so I do buy digital downloads but they don't constitute the bulk of my library and I make sure, if I like the game, that I have a physical copy as well.

[+virtorio MVC]

Consoles: Physical and digital, depends on price

PC: All digital

Music: All digital

Movies/TV: All physical