

In this article, I will illustrate these points and so make a case for why iTunes is actually a great home video platform that combines the accessibility and preservation features of physical media with the convenience of digital streaming. It is still available for those Mac users that hang onto older pre-Catalina iterations of the OSX and allows purchasing the newest video releases. * Note that rumors of iTunes’ death have been greatly exaggerated.

In addition, it provides you with Blu-Ray-comparable audiovisual quality and extra features, while also making it easy to view and share your content abroad. But I also think there is at least one digital video platform that provides a viable alternative to it: “iTunes,” or as most likely know it today, “ Apple TV, ” as it allows you to legally download your purchased movies and shows, even Apple TV Plus originals, onto your hard drive. I have no argument against physical media, and indeed continue to regularly purchase Blu-Ray and occasionally rare, out-of-print DVD versions of movies. For many critics, insiders, and enthusiasts, the ongoing content ‘‘purge’’ begun by HBO Max last year is a textbook illustration of the central problem inherent to contemporary digital streaming platforms: the fact that we cannot truly own or keep the digital media we pay for, meaning films and TV shows can potentially vanish from a given streaming platform at any time without warning.Īgainst this background, physical media delivery technologies, especially Blu-Ray, are promoted as superior to streaming because of their ability to preserve audiovisual works. In other words, if a title is discontinued, you still own your disc copy.
