I came across an interesting video about something I didn’t expect to see again: VHS tapes and DVDs becoming popular with younger generations.
Searches for VHS players are rising, vinyl sales continue to grow, and nearly half of people still watch DVDs or Blu-rays. One reason mentioned is streaming fatigue. With so many subscriptions and constantly changing catalogs, the movie you want often isn’t available.
Physical media solves that in a simple way: if you own it, you can watch it anytime.
It also seems like many people are rediscovering the appeal of more intentional, tangible tech experiences.
Curious what the Mudita Community thinks:
Do you still have DVDs, CDs, or even VHS tapes?
I still have DVDs
I also gave away my VHS tapes because the VCR used to “eat” them and then they were ruined
But I still have a whole shitload™ of CDs and DVDs (mostly music videos / live concerts and important movies). I never ever streamed anything. Although I do watch music videos on Youtube often. But if I want a complete album, I buy it in material form, not virtual.
We have a DVD player and older TV and so far we have been borrowing DVD from the library. I like this setup for how intentional it is, I did not care for streaming and was quite relieved when our smart TV broke.
I see VHS tapes at the thrift store and want to get a VHS player just to share this experience with my kids.
I started re-building my CD collection last year, and it’s already pretty sizable. I enjoy supporting the local music/book shops by purchasing used CDs, and I support new artists by purchasing their music files from bandcamp.
My city also has a DVD/VHS rental store that I just got a membership from. It’s donation based and a non-profit AND It’s cheaper than all our subscription streaming services combined for the year. It’s super fun just browsing for new films to watch (especially when I can’t just look them up on my Kompakt, everything new is a true suprise!). The only streaming service I personally subscribe to is PBS Passport here in the US. I am slowly trying to ween my husband away from streaming services, but he is finding the rental store very fun. I finally got to see the long lost Simpson’s episode “Stark Raving Dad” through the rental store, and that can’t be found streaming ANYWHERE!
I didn’t know they were making a comeback. I haven’t seen a video rental store in years, they were fun places take a friend along to browse - more to that too.
Physical media seems to be truly experiencing something of a minor renaissance. And there are, after all, good reasons for this—reasons that are addressed in the video. That said, I have to admit that you’d have to be somewhat clouded by nostalgia to actually want to go back to wrestling with VHS tapes again.
I must confess that, for about ten years, I, too, viewed physical media as obsolete and largely ignored it. Lately, however—much like many others—I’ve found myself in a different situation. The sheer volume of streaming services has long since become overwhelming for all of us, and it now represents a constant source of mental overload. Fortunately, I never parted with my CDs, and I now tend to my collection once again with a certain passion. The situation is similar when it comes to movies; I never actually stopped buying films on Blu-ray. I only recently brought my DVD collection back out into the light of day, but I very quickly realized that the DVD format no longer meets my standards for picture quality at all. Consequently, I now purchase selected films on 4K UHD, finding joy in the tactile experience and the sense of mindful ownership that comes with it.
I know of people who collect DVDs of movies because they want the original content, knowing that streaming companies or the motion-picture companies themselves will edit those movies years later because of political correctness.
Here is another example of why people collect DVDs of content in its original form:
I’ve got enough DVDs, CDs, and physical books that most people in my life think it’s excessive, including folks older than me. But it means anytime someone else is looking to get rid of their collection, I get free additions!
