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I'm sick of subscription services, and I'm going back to physical media and downloads. About ten years ago I fully dove into Netflix and Spotify. My music consumption went way down, and now if I want to watch the shows I want I have to have multiple subscriptions.

I'm going to kick the subscription addiction. Have any of you folks gone this route? I've started looking for dvd/blue ray options for things, and it seems like anything other than the new Star Trek shows are stream only. Where do you folks buy your shows and music?

For music I'm going to buy what I like on bandcamp, but for more big name kinds of stuff it looks like Qobuz might be the way to go?

For movies and shows, it really seems like you're sol if you want to buy a download movie you can watch offline. Amazon forces you to use their player, and you don't actually own it. It seems like buying discs when they're available is the best option, and for everything else there's ad block and questionably legal free streaming sites?

I feel you and agree… like 6 years ago I found a site that sold dvds/Blu-ray’s cheap and started buying stuff but… but then they went under.. I miss doing the Netflix dvd thing.. I had a pretty good setup for copying….

Anymore… I have a vinyl habit I try to keep under control..

It looks like you could still do the Netflix by mail thing by using this service:
https://scarecrowvideo.org/

They supposedly have 10 times the number of movies Netflix does. They have 14 day rental policy that includes the shipping time, so, I doubt it'd work outside of North America.

I might get an HDMI capture card and just cycle through my subscriptions.

i never stopped using physical media.

Just last week at the flea market I bought season 1 of Cheers on DVD for $6.

I'm lucky that my local library system is still investing in physical media, so I have a reasonable amount of stuff coming through that I can get my hands on.

For music otherwise, I've been mostly leaning on bandcamp for a while now. Physical media I'm pretty much down to merch I get at shows.

I prefer physical media (mostly CDs, I have a cd player in the kitchen and in my office and in my car ( it’s old) and those things just work and nobody else owns them. They do eat up space admittedly! I like the fact that they still exist if a hard drive dies or a subscription deal changes… not that I’ve ever subscribed to one and hope to never have to! I don’t like buying digital files and prefer something real, but I know this is an older person thing and nobody young owns any physical media anymore, but I wonder if that will change back again once people realise they do not own anything they have paid for…

I still have a vast horde of VHS tapes from my childhood and recently. Unfortunately, the player built into my TV finally shit the bed, so I need to source a new VHS player ASAP.

IDK if theres a good place to buy restored ones online or if I should just go the flea market route.

A big reason why I went with streaming services was because I sold all my stuff after college. I bet streaming services are popular with younger folks for similar reasons. If you only have $20 for entertainment, why would you limit yourself to one show when you can just start a subscription?

Libraries are an excellent idea! I need to get set up with my local library.

Recently cut cable, so I've been deep into the free side of streaming, of which my favorites are Kanopy & Hoopla, two services that are free in most USA places with a local library card number (easy to obtain online, also completely free), and each "rental" (you get a set amount of credits per month) is 72 hours. Excellent selections/choices 2 be had, but like any streaming service, you really sometimes have to dig to find specific titles. With hoopla, there is a tag system, so it's easier to search by film distributor or actor, but it can be a little janky depending on your device. However, they have a ton of Shudder titles, as well as some recent television, but also audio books & full albums to stream. Kanopy has an easier to browse library, & vast across most disciplines. Both these services are highly compatible with just about any device, and are completely ad-free.

I also would suggest visiting your local library, as most bigger branches are well-stocked with physical media, though mine has a quicker turnaround than most local locations. I've always had the best luck with downtown branches, but also the same goes for more obscure book titles, as well.

I still use eBay primarily for physical anything (mostly OOP dvds), though most of what I look for is somehow popping up for free on Tubi (the best commercial-based non-subscription service with the deepest well of obscurities) or in restored 4K (I don't have a 4K player, but I do have a few 4K discs, of course), and it keeps me hunting for wilder stuff that's been released in other countries, etc. I got a free 3-month Mubi account to watch The Substance a month ago, but their selection overall is so/so, with a few gems here & there, but I can't recommend really paying for it outright.

While I only subscribe to Hulu (mostly for FX series which I've pretty much tapped out on), I'll probably stop & switch to Criterion for a little while, only because they are sitting on a deep well of restored titles that haven't made their way to physical for years, and probably won't unless Timmy Chalamet or Oscar Weiner Horse Rundables or whomever gets their attention and tells them to directly to do sew.

Also big & I endorse: seeing matinee movies in a theater! Whatttaconcept! However, not musch out there at the moment, but this is also coming from someone who just bought the blu-ray of The Brutalist, even though I haven't seen it yet, and because I felt like a big shot paying for a New Disc Edition of anything in a Public Place with Cash Money. Honest answer: I bought it for the full-length Director Of Photography Lol Crawley commentary track, because his work RULES. I know the filmb will SUCK but who cares!?!

BIG ALSO: Youtube! It's almost free, and many movies 2 be had that site (some are just OK!), like mebbe this 14hr Argentinan jawn I still want to finish!

And if you're the realest of the real, there's always the Internet Archive

Also forgot to add Hamilton Book for all your discounted physical media kneeds!