Physical media have almost fallen into oblivion today; No more endless piles of CD/DVD/Blu-Ray, no more scratched CDs that ended up as coasters… and no more the second-hand market, collections, and many other advantages that this type of media provided us.
Advantages of having a Blu-Ray player
Although streaming makes it much more comfortable and easier to watch multimedia content on the TV in the living room (or on the PC, or on the mobile while traveling, etc.), and although many services currently offer content at 4K resolution and even with HDR , really the physical means are the ones that Best Quality they provide because they do not compress the content, delivering the highest audio and visual fidelity in multimedia content.
Furthermore, the quality of streaming services is highly dependent on Internet speed and fluctuations in network traffic. This means that even if you have a 4K TV, you may not be able to stream at that resolution if your Internet speed is not sufficient or if the network is currently down. Physical media is not subject to any of this, 4K UHD Blu-Rays will always be 4K.
Potential quality issues aside, another advantage of owning a physical Blu-Ray player is that you will always have your collection at your disposal to use it whenever you want. On the contrary, streaming services modify their catalog arbitrarily and constantly, which means that if a title is available today, it may not be there next week and you will no longer be able to watch it.
Another advantage is that most Blu-Rays contain additional content that is not available through streaming services, such as deleted scenes, alternate endings, director’s commentary, etc. Plus, Blu-Rays can include the “director’s cut” of the movie, so owning a Blu-Ray player is a no-brainer if you’re a movie buff.
Finally, another advantage has to do with collectors, who like to have the titles they like the most in physical format. This also includes the possibility of accessing the second-hand market for both buying and selling, something that is impossible with streaming services because what you are watching never belongs to you.
There are also some disadvantages
Obviously, there are also many disadvantages to owning a Blu-Ray player, starting with the fact that you’ll need to have some space on the TV table for the “hulk”, which needs to be physically attached to the TV just as if it were a game console. This includes another of the disadvantages, and that is that you will be limited to where you have the device, that is, it is not like streaming services that you can watch on any device and anywhere, such as on your smartphone while traveling by train. (There are also portable Blu-Ray players, but they’re pretty clunky, too.)
Another disadvantage is also directly related to the above: you need to buy and spend money on a physical device, although it is true that streaming services are also paid. In general, the investment is much higher, although it is also true that what you buy is yours forever.
So is it worth it or not?
We have already listed the advantages and disadvantages of having a physical Blu-Ray player, so from there it is up to you to decide if it is worth it or not, because that will depend on your user profile. Really, if you are a movie/series fan and you like to always have the highest possible quality, additional content and you don’t mind spending more money and reserving a space in your living room for it, then of course it’s quite worth it. Otherwise, streaming services will be the best for you.
Now, if you want us to recommend a Blu-Ray player, that’s something we can do:
This SONY player supports 4K UHD Blu-Ray resolution with high-resolution audio, and it is also one of the most compatible because it is capable of playing practically any file format and any type of disc. In addition, it is one of the ones with the best quality / price ratio on the market, so if you really want to go for a physical player, you will not regret this purchase.
