Today, Star Wars gets re-released yet again.
This time,its coming to iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.
Whether or not youve already bought this specific collection a dozen times, digital libraries arent going away.
But is it worth buying from them?
There is no shortage of ways to purchase a movie these days.
With digital libraries,your access can be revoked.
But what if those servers go down?
Tech companies shutter services all the time and theres no knowing when a company will go out of business.
Now, if Comcast craps the bed, your entire media library is gone.
Unlock codes can give you access to films on sites like iTunes, Vudu, or others.
If you’re able to have both, why spend $20 on just one?
However, that only covers a small portion of use cases.
Today, thats more possible than ever.
Now, to be fair, that process is simpler than ever.
Work thatstechnically illegal, by the way.
Put another way, youre not going to be able to rip a Blu-Ray with iTunes any time soon.
In fact, the only real hangup is matching your ecosystem.
If you buy from Amazon Instant Video, you cant stream to a Chromecast.
iTunes movies wont work on an Amazon Fire TV Stick.
And Googles had to work out some sneaky backdoor shenanigans toget Play Movies onto Apple TV.
But if you have a fairly consistent set of devices, you shouldnt have too many problems.
They have to be packed up in boxes.
If you rip your movies, they fill up your hard drive.
Simply put, digital libraries look way cooler.
you might watch trailers and even get info onactors or soundtracks while you watch.
Blu-Ray players havesomeof these features, but they also come with a bunch of extra junk.
This shouldnt be big news to us.
This is a license thats controlled by digital rights management tools.
Blu-Ray discs in particular have some of themost complicated, over-engineered DRMof any medium out there.
Mostof the time, this isnt a problem with a licensed Blu-Ray player.
However, Blu-Rays often require updates so you can keep their DRM functioning.
Not everyone was affected, but a bug in the system resulted in some users getting the shaft.
However, this raises a key issue.
Requiring software updates for Blu-Ray players isntmuchbetter than storing your movies on a remote server.
Both can go down some day.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Of course, this doesnt mean that you cant trust Blu-Rays.
This couldnt be further from the truth.
Part of buying new media is paying for the tech upgrade, not just the movie license.
Even if wed all like it to be.
If you dont want to pay the premium, it would be hard to blame you.
However, some people (myself included) still like buying films.
Personally, Ive always wanted to buy discs because I like how they look on a shelf.
Its like a movie-aficionados version of having many leather-bound books in your home.
However, as time went on, I discovered that watching my movie collection became a hassle.
And even in 2015, there is still no free software for watching Blu-Rays on my computer.
However, digital movies from online stores are an attractive option.
And if youre worried about your library disappearing, dont fret.
