Talking ‘bout the “Log”… Movies!
What’s this?
This is intended to be the first part of a series in which I attempt to examine and make sense of my habits regarding consuming media. I also hope to shed light of some resources and/or tools that others may find useful in their own journey.
Story Time
A brief trip down nostalgia lane.
Prior to the widespread availability of broadband internet, I had access to movies in a few different ways.
- Checked out from local library.
- Rented from local video stores.
- Purchased VHS or DVD.
- Copied VHS or DVD.
- Digital video files “acquired” from Usenet newsgroups.
Having permanent access to my favorite movies was always a big priority of mine. While growing up, I was almost always outdoors while the sun was out after school. After dark though, I’d be inside watching or listening to movies.
A limiting factor at the time was the space movies occupied. For VHS, these tapes took up a lot of room very quickly. For DVDs, the footprint was significantly smaller, but could be further mitigated by tossing everything into a large disc binder and scrapping the cases (which of course never existed for copied discs). Digital format was nearly impossible to keep available on hard drives I had available at that time, so these ended up being stored on discs as well.
The very first movie I ever had access to in a digital format was The Matrix (1999). I must have watched this movie at least a hundred times during the summer break from school.
Where we are today.
The limiting factors previously mentioned barely exist today. The internet and technological advances have went off the rails a bit.
Most people have a portal to infinite knowledge and entertainment at arms reach 24/7. Watching movies on a cell phone is not my preferred method, but I have done it from time to time.
Physical media has become less prevalent with the availability of subscription streaming services and digital format outlets, of course there will always be die hard fans on both sides of any advancement.
I personally have only a handful of discs laying around still. I have gone back and forth over the years on whether to keep discs or not, but it’s becoming clear that digital format is the less demanding option for me.
Final thoughts.
In my next entry, I will showcase some tools and resources that I have found useful since taking on the challenge of getting a handle on my movie addiction.
I thought it was worth laying the groundwork for where my habits began and to briefly explain the current technological landscape. It may or may not be an interesting read, but maybe it gets others thinking about their relationship with movies and technology!
Credits
Banner Image - The Matrix (1999) - Backdrops — The Movie Database (TMDB)