Streaming services have made home movie watching worse than the DVD era
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/frances-ryan. "The hill I will die on: Streaming is rubbish – take me back to the golden era of DVDs | Frances Ryan | The Guardian." March 16, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that streaming services have made watching movies at home more expensive and frustrating than it was during the DVD era. She believes the old system of buying or renting physical DVDs was better because it was cheaper, more straightforward, and gave you permanent ownership of films.
Conclusion
Streaming services are inferior to DVDs for watching movies at home and represent a step backward from the 'golden era' of physical media
Premises
- Streaming services charge excessive rental fees (up to £20) for recently released films, which is more expensive than cinema tickets
- Viewers must subscribe to multiple platforms to access different films, as content is fragmented across various services
- Finding specific films requires time-consuming searches across multiple platforms to determine which service currently owns the rights
- Streaming services employ 'double paywalls' where subscribers must pay additional rental fees on top of their monthly subscription for popular content
- Streaming platforms have introduced advertisements into paid services, forcing users to choose between higher costs or interrupted viewing experiences
- DVD ownership provided permanent access to films without ongoing costs or platform dependency
Assumptions
- Physical media ownership is inherently superior to digital licensing
- The convenience of streaming does not outweigh its financial and practical drawbacks
- The past DVD rental/purchase system was more consumer-friendly than current streaming models
- Viewers should have predictable, transparent access to content without hidden fees