Hard to believe that it has been three years since Netflix discontinued their physical DVD service. I always enjoyed that service. However, being part of the “next best thing” crew, I went to streaming. Was physical renting perfect? Not at all. Scratched discs. Disc unable to read. Wrong disk in wrong sleeve. Maybe you were renting a TV show, instead of receiving disc one, you got disc three. In the intervening years of numerous streaming services and relentless price increases, there has been an interest in physical media again. If you are one of those, DVD Inbox may be the one for you.
For those people that hate having multiple subscription based services, having one account for content that isn’t the newest may be for you. While physical media may not be in all those brick and mortar stores, they are still around. You can purchase them online. Walmart, I respect, has physical media in their stores. Granted not all of them are Blu-ray or 4K, but it seems like more people aren’t interested in the latest and greatest formats anymore.
Recent pieces show that Gen Z is leading the revolution for physical media. In a society that is increasingly becoming “you own nothing”, physical media is the best way to own something. Anything. Even if you are downloading content (nefariously or not) you still have it. That is until your hard drive gives out. The same is true for physical media. CD and DVD rot is a thing. However, it greatly depends on how (and more importantly where) you stored it.
DVD Inbox Allows You to Physically Use Something
If you’re old enough to remember how the DVD portal of Netflix worked, that is how DVD Inbox works. The prices are reasonable. $10/month is the lowest plan they have. 2 DVD or Blu-ray discs a month. Their description for this plan is a bit fuzzy. It allows you two discs a month but only two discs during each billing cycle. However, it seems that this plan is for people that are not avid movie watchers. Plus, with no late fees, you can have the same movie for a couple of weeks before you watch it.
You can select in your queue which version of the movies you want. You have the option for DVD, Blu-ray, or no preference. They do offer a 4K option, but that is at an extra cost. For one 4K disc, you need to add $5 or $9 if you would like 2.
Many people know this, but this is the internet so there will always be someone asking: why are the movies old? Many of the movies available on the site will be available when physical media is available. Probably not day one, but Netflix never had that either.
With the newer release model, you can catch on streaming first. However, if you are signing up for this service, you are not the kind of person that is waiting for release day. I, personally, have a lot of movies stored digitally and have yet to watch. Those that game know what I’m talking about.
Physical Media is and Should Make a Comeback
Many of the movies on their homepage in F1, Superman, The Smashing Machine, and Nobody 2. Now, even with streaming services offering their content in physical form, you may be able to catch some of them. If you like to have an inexpensive streaming app, you could try Howdy. As someone online said, Howdy is for people that like free streaming services without the ads.
There have been market indicators that movies and TV shows are being purchased more. Music seems to be seeing a resurgence. In the area of Arizona, where I currently reside, there are a couple of old school stores that sell physical media. Used and new. There is even a spike in purchasing of physical books. However, I would grab those from a second hand store. Much cheaper.
What is the point of having Peacock for Harry Potter movies, only to lose access to them because they went to Netflix? What’s the point if that’s the only reason you have that service. For me, The West Wing and The Newsroom was one of the huge reasons I had HBO Max. However, The West Wing vanished and is now on Netflix. Same thing with Paramount Plus when Star Trek moves to Peacock. Time for us to dictate where and when we want to see what we want.