Streaming Killed The Video Store

I like technology. I think technology has made an invaluable contribution to the way we live our lives. I might not be a techo-geek, but I like to embrace new technology when I can afford. Nevertheless without sounding hypocritical, I still feel I can lament the loss of the old way of doing some things, and argue that some technological change is not necessarily for the better.

So it is in this post, I want to talk specifically about video streaming.

Now again, don't get me wrong...I have found services like Netflix, LoveFilm and other online movie streaming facilities a phenomenally good thing, and I am an active user of the former two. Having thousands of films and TV shows at my fingertips has certainly allowed me to watch many things I would probably never have gotten around to otherwise. And, it's right there, at the click of button, whenever I want it.

BUT IT'S JUST NOT THE SAME!!

It's not the same as that trip to the rental store on a Friday night, looking at the new releases, browsing the shelves, and then trying to narrow your choices down. You go to get just one for the evening, you return with three for the weekend.

Online film sites might give you access to a movie instantly, but sometimes, I don't want it to be in an instant. I want to take my time over what to watch. I want choosing to be an experience, something I share with others, as we can pick up boxes and look at what a film is about, sometimes just guessing as to what it is we might be taking home with us.

I like choices, and there's no denying that the internet has meant millions of choices when it comes to what to watch. But sometimes, there is just too much to choose from. By the time I've scrolled to the end of the page, I've picked about 15 different things to watch, and I've forgotten what the original film I looked at was! In a shop, there's only so many cases you can hold in your hand.

Going out to a rental shop just makes the whole film watching experience that much more sociable. And personal. It's all very well getting computer generated recommendations based on what you have previously seen and rated, but in a store you can actually talk to someone. They can suggest something out of the blue to you, something completely different that you never thought of, but something you might actually really enjoy.

I like to look at covers and see films on a shelf, where they are meant to be. I want to be able to discuss the merits of a particular film with friends and family, argue over which would be the better one to watch, and perhaps even decide which one to watch simply by holding one in each hand behind my back.

For this experience, I will happily get out of my pyjamas and drive a few minutes to the local rental place.

So Netflix, LoveFilm etc. are great inventions, but they should never have resulted in the rapid decline of local rental places. I mean, what happens when you are on holiday in a foreign country, and due to streaming restriction rights, you can't watch anything?

I'm hoping their fall will be short-lived, and that rental stores will be back very soon. I fear though, that I may be waiting a long time.

Oh and don't get me started on music; I still collect Vinyl for goodness sake. I'm a bit of a walking contradiction really!!