Where’s my digital movie? A rant from the digitec Community
29.3.2022
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
Reader Elias has a problem: his digital film collection is both everywhere and nowhere. This rant isn’t just his way of venting – it’s also a cry for help.
Picture this: you’ve got an idea in mind, but you can’t quite turn it into reality. Sound familiar? I, for my part, was struggling to write an article. I wanted to write an ode to the DVD. Or: why it’s so dang hard to bring any semblance of order into a simple digital library. One that I don’t have to scatter across umpteen streaming accounts.
That was the idea, anyway.
I’d sat down to write the piece many a time. But I was just never happy with the result. Enter Elias, a reader I’m often in contact with. He wrote me an e-mail on the exact same topic – and managed to find the words that escaped me. What can I say? Not much more. I’m turning the mic – err, keyboard – over to Elias. This is his story.
Elias’ afflictions
Sent: Tuesday, 11:13 a.m.
Subject: «About digital film collections …»
Hi Luca,
I need your advice again. Or that of the Community. I’m certainly not the only one with this problem. But let me start from the beginning: I used to own a large DVD and Blu-ray collection. Back then, the world was still in order – albeit expensive. I clung to my DVDs and Blu-rays for a long time. Clung, past tense. After two moves, my collection had become rather small. So, I dove head first into the world of streaming.
I sought advice from you at the time. I wanted to know how to watch Disney+ on my old, anything-but-smart TV. I ended up getting a new 55-inch Samsung TV, Disney+, and an Xbox Series S – though I really only wanted to watch «Mandalorian» ...
As you can imagine, I didn’t just stop at Disney+. My girlfriend and I have become real streaming pros: subscribe to Netflix, watch series, cancel Netflix; subscribe to Sky, watch series, cancel Sky; subscribe to Netflix again, and so on. But the problem at hand is a different one. namely, digital movies I’ve actually purchased.
I’ve got two of those on my Swisscom Blue TV box; three more on my girlfriend’s rather old Apple TV box; and some, format unknown, on my laptop. Just recently, I wanted to buy two more documentaries online, since they’re being distributed exclusively in digital format. What’s annoying is that, nowadays, each movie or documentary is typically only available on a few selected platforms. But I want to have them all in one place. And, of course, in a way that I can watch them on my TV. After all, that’s where you get the most out of a movie.
One of the two documentaries doesn’t pose too big an issue: it’s available on Prime Video, Vimeo, Google Play, Microsoft, Apple TV and iTunes. I even have an account on Google Play and Microsoft. On YouTube, too – but the second documentary isn’t available there. It’s a Swiss documentary, by the way: «La Liste: Everything or Nothing». And the availability of that one leaves more to be desired. It’s only on Apple TV, iTunes, Vimeo and Prime Video. I don’t have an account on any of those platforms. Sure, my girlfriend has iTunes on her Mac, and there’s the ancient, Apple TV box we barely use. Besides, I’m the one who’ll mainly be watching the documentary, not my girlfriend.
So, what should I do? Create another account, of course. On Vimeo. I purchased the movie on my browser – only to find that the Vimeo app on the Swisscom box doesn’t allow you to log in. You get an error message, which has apparently been showing up for years now and hasn’t been fixed to this day. Great. I go ahead and look for the Vimeo app in Samsung’s own app store. No luck. There is an app, mind you. But, due to licensing reasons, it’s only available in the USA. Eventually, I managed to log onto vimeo.com through the TV’s web browser – oversized mouse pointer and all, coupled with the awkwardness that’s part and parcel of attempting to navigate from field to field using the D-pad on a remote control.
Alright. I managed to watch the film – it’s a good one, by the way. But this is definitely not a long-term solution. Video on demand dragged me down before I even really got started.
Here’s what annoys me: I have so many accounts – Google, Microsoft, YouTube. And I have so much hardware – Swisscom TV box, Apple TV box, Xbox Series S, laptop, NAS. And yet, it’s shamefully complicated to organise anything in any consistent way. Even assuming you have the right account for one movie, there’s bound to be another movie that’s only available on a platform you’re not (yet) subscribed to. And sure, after googling about, you’re bound to come across Plex and the like. But is that really any less complicated?
My point is this: yes, the huge selection is nice, but things were so much simpler with DVDs. Sure, the IKEA Kallax shelf in the living room was filled with DVDs. But that looked kind of cool, too. I do miss the old days a bit.
Alright, rant over. But I’m definitely not alone in my struggle. Maybe you or the Community have similar experiences. Or maybe you even have some advice – I’m all ears.
Have a great week!
Cheers, Elias
Your turn!
Thanks for your contribution, Elias. I’d like to now pass the ball to the Community: how can Elias better organise his digital library? Is Plex really the mother of all digital movie and series libraries? What about Kodi? Or is there another, better tip?
The comments section is all yours!
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
