Digital Dilemma

As anyone that knows me can tell you, I am a consumer of media. I listen to music, I watch streaming movies and television, and other digital content. I own several titles of music on CD and own a great deal more that I’ve purchased through my digital music subscription. I also own movies on DVD and Blu Ray formats and own a great deal more on digital media. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to tell you that I own 30 DVDs, and even more shows on digital. I have feature films, movies, documentaries, TV shows, Christmas specials, and more. I tend to buy musicals, like “Jesus Christ Superstar” on Blu Ray, as the picture and audio quality is phenomenally better than DVD or digital format.

A few years ago, I began donating my DVDs to my local library. There are many movies that I love, with certain scenes that are special to me. But, several of those movie clips are available to watch on YouTube. So why keep a DVD of a movie because you like one or two scenes? Once I had donated several DVDs, I then began to replace the movies I love and want to own on digital format.

For those who aren’t digital consumers, digital libraries are wonderful. Once you buy a movie or TV show or episode on your account, you can then access the titles you’ve purchased on all your devices associated with that account (cellphone, tablet, smart TV, etc.) It’s great to have access your content anywhere and everywhere.

If you have any digital media subscriptions, like Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Max, many subscription providers allow you to download episodes of content on your devices. This comes in handy when traveling, especially when you don’t always have access to public Wi-Fi.

However, digital media isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve learned the hard way that digital content is a double-edged sword. For example, I bought a CD several years ago, and added it to my music account. A few months ago, I went into the album on my phone, to listen to a certain song. To my shock, the album had been erased from my library! To listen to that song again, by any digital means, I will have to add the physical CD into my music account again. It makes me glad that I’ve kept the CDs I’ve purchased over the years! If it happens again with another title, I can add just it again.

Another recent example, a few months ago I had an extended vacation. I decided to binge watch one of my favorite television shows of all time, “Fame.” For the choir kids and theater kids in the early 80s, it was appointment television. Every weekly episode had one musical number and one dance number, if not more. I loved the cast, the characters, learning the songs, buying the cast album on vinyl, playing it on my record player, singing along to the songs, and tuning in every week to be entertained.

About ten years ago, I bought seasons and one and two of “Fame” on DVD. (There were two more seasons of the show, but, frankly, seasons one and two were the only released on DVD, because they’re the best. In my opinion.)

A couple of years ago, I saw that the show was on sale on digital media. I couldn’t believe it! Fame had finally shown up to stream! The only caveat: viewers had to buy it to see it. Individual episodes could be purchased for $1.99 each. Or, the entire season could be purchased for $19.99. There were some episodes I loved more than others, so I decided to purchase those episodes only. I then donated my “Fame” DVDs to my local library.

So back to my week of vacation. I had wanted to watch “Fame” for some time and decided to wait until my vacation to watch them. When my vacation finally arrived, I went to my digital library, and into the “Fame” episodes. However, I came to find that the episode I wanted to see was gone from my library. It felt like purchasing a leather jacket, and then going to put on months later, only to find it missing from your closet. How could that episode be missing? I paid for it, with my own money, it should be there for me to watch and enjoy.

I then made note of the “Fame” episodes still in my library. To my complete shock, 4 episodes I had purchased were no longer there. They’d been erased. Gone with the wind. (Not the movie, I hate it.)

I then learned a hard lesson about digital content: just because it’s available for purchase doesn’t mean the studio or provider will keep it in their library. The film studio, or provider, erased my content because they no longer offer the title for purchase. That sent me into a quandary: why would the studio or provider erase some episodes and keep others?

Therein lies the digital dilemma: just because you buy it on digital media, it doesn’t guarantee that you will have it forever. (Like owning the item on DVD would.) That was a valuable, and costly lesson. Buyer beware: the digital content you purchase might not always be available to you, even though you’ve purchased it.

So, there I was, on my vacation, completely let down by not being able to view the “Fame” episodes I wanted to watch. If I wanted to ever see those episodes again, I’d have to purchase the episodes on DVD again. Resigned to my fate, I watched the episodes that were still in my digital library, and then began my search to find the show. As the show came out in the early 80s, and the DVDs came out ten or more years ago, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find them anymore.

A few days later, I found seasons one and two of “Fame” on DVD, in separate sets. I purchased them both and waited in eager anticipation for their arrival. In perfect comic fashion, season two arrived first, and then season one.

When I had both DVDs in my possession, I opened each set to check the condition of the discs. The Season two discs looked immaculate, as if no human being had ever touched the discs. Season one, however, was a travesty. I had purchased brand new discs and got sent a set of used discs instead. Every disc was horribly scratched. There wasn’t a decent disc in the bunch. I then had to send them back and wait for a replacement set to arrive.

A week or more went by until I received a new copy of season one of “Fame.” The new DVD set was perfect. It was a brand-new copy, wrapped in cellophane wrapping, the way you’d buy a DVD in a store. The discs were as perfect and pristine as those of season 2, brand new, never been shown or handled in any way. Now that I finally had both seasons available, I began my binge watching. To have those episodes again, and to be assured that they will last as long as the discs themselves last, fills my heart with great joy.

The stories have shared with you have happened more than once in my life as a digital content consumer. After this happened with “Fame”, I began to buy DVD copies of some of the titles that I own on digital. If I lost them on digital, and didn’t have them on DVD, I’d be heartsick. I’ve also purchased some TV shows on DVD since then, as the titles, like “Fame”-aren’t available to stream anywhere.

Therein lies one solution to the digital dilemma: owning a Blu Ray player. New Blu Ray players are versatile in that they can play DVD, Blu Ray, and music CD formats. I’ve owned my current Blu Ray player for 4 years. But, like anything else, it won’t last forever. As I’m buying more content on DVD, especially things that aren’t available on any digital platform, it makes sense to protect my investment and purchase another Blu Ray player. When my current one dies, I’ll have a new one as a backup that will ensure I can enjoy my content for years to come.

You know, now that I write this, it’s been months since I had my binge watch of “Fame”, my “Fame-a-thon” as I call it. I have this weekend off, actually. I should have another “Fame-a-thon” this weekend!

I guess that’s how I’ve learned to live and navigate the digital dilemma, with a foot in both worlds. I own and play DVDs and Blu Rays on a Blu Ray player, and I own and play media on digital platforms. But, that’s how it works for me.

How does it work for you? How do you go about solving the digital dilemma?