A few years ago I used to work as a film journalist for DVD Monthly magazine. As well as watching films and cackling like a madman at the idea that I was actually getting paid for it, I was also the mag's hardware editor. As such, my finger was (and still is) well and truly on the pulse when it comes to the latest and greatest innovations to hit lounges around the world to make our viewing experiences a little sweeter.
Over the past decade, the downloading of movies (both illegally and legally) has gone through the roof. Now, for me, that's a pain in the arse for a number of reasons. Firstly, if more people bought DVDs instead of nailing the torrent sites then maybe DVD Monthly wouldn't have shut down and I'd still be in the best job I ever had. So it's worth remembering that every time you download, I blame you a little bit more for the demise of the magazine and my sweet, sweet full-time film journo career.
Secondly, and more obviously, illegally downloading is very flippin' naughty! Yes, everybody does it but if it became the norm then studios wouldn't make any dollar to make new movies. As cinema prices are already sky high, it's worth not exacerbating the situation. Still, it's a vicious cycle as the more expensive cinemas get, the more people will download. I could go on but I'm starting to bore myself which can't be good news for any readers.
Thirdly, and this applies more to legal downloads, if I'm paying £15 for a film then I want something tangible for my cash. I have downloaded films over the years but I don't hold any of them in the same high regard as even a DVD I've paid less for. Maybe I'm on my own with that one, I don't know.
Anyway, the reason I'm grumbling I guess is that I can see how things are going to be in ten years or so. downloading WILL overtake DVD and Blu-ray sales just as iTunes and Spotify have kicked the shit out of CD sales. Similarly eReaders will see books taking a major hit. The really annoying thing though is that I can see why downloading will take off and why I'll eventually be on board with it to a greater extent. Digital files take up sod all space compared with a DVD or a Blu-ray. You can also get them without leaving the comfort of your sofa/table/bed/toilet and they'll arrive a damn sight quicker than the postie can bring a disc to you. To top it all off, as legal downloading increases, it should see illegal downloading start to decline. Still, it's not the same as having a funky Blu-ray with nifty packaging and special features etc. You can't get the Bumblebee figure edition of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on download for instance. While it's just aesthetics and superficial, it's important. Artwork and all that jazz is a big part of film culture and shouldn't be overlooked. Who ever looked at somebody's hard drive and was impressed at a film collection? Nobody - and that's because a file isn't held in the same regard as a disc. I love it when mates come round my place for the first time and their jaw hits the floor when they see my wall of movies. Smug and snobbish, I know, but I've been collecting for years and I'm kinda proud of it. Imagine the bit in Hot Fuzz where Nick Frost shows Simon Pegg his movie collection - the scene wouldn't have had the same wow factor has Frost just whipped out a hard drive would it?
Still, at the end of the day, I know I'm being hopelessly sentimental about technology that's not even that old. One positive about all this downloading malarkey is that we get dirt cheap DVDs and Blu-rays just weeks after release, so it's not all that bad. I don't implore people not to download as that's fucking stupid and it'd be a hypocritical statement in a few years I could be showing off about my 32 TB hard drive loaded with a fuckton of flicks. But what I will say is you should download legally if you can. If not, I'll blame you for the magazine's closure - and that means you're off my Christmas card list.
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