I’ve been considering buying some of those giant DVD lots that come up on Craigslist from time to time, or checking out flea markets for good deals.
With the way things are heading, one of my fears is I will get old and lose access to some of the shows are movies I loved in my youth. Licensing with streaming services are so fickle, and some others are removed or edited if they around found to be politically incorrect a decade or two after being made. I want to make sure I still have access to the original versions.
I do often wish I was one of those people who didn’t care, and could be happy with an iPad as my main computer, but it’s not in the cards for me.
I have been hunting down the movies that I was watching when growing up and it's been a real mission, especially the really old ones that were made before I was born.
Do you know what version of the Abyss you are going to get? Is it that theatrical version that cut out a major plot point or the director's cut that includes it? What about Blade Runner? Do you want the original theatrical version or the super duper pointless extended Director's Cut? You don't get a choice with streaming, and you often don't even know what version it'll be.
I find this is even worse with music. Take the Beatles. Their songs have been remastered many times. Some of the remasters are good, and some of them ruin the music for me. But what version are you going to get? And, you may be listening to a good version today, but due to label negotiations, have it swapped out with a different version tomorrow.
I take a lot of pride in curating my personal media collection. I know these issues aren't important to everyone (and some people who might care are just unaware), but they are incredibly important to me.
Anything I want to keep I'll make a specific decision and move it to my RAID1 drive which is backed up off-site.
