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Retro media is making a comeback, and in some cases, for good reason. People are increasingly moving away from digital-only experiences, like digital photography, and toward more traditional, tangible formats, like film cameras. The same thing is happening even with retro handhelds, where age-old designs are making a comeback and iconic PCs from the 80s are being reimagined as clamshell handhelds. Wouldn’t you know, the same thing happens with physical entertainment media, especially DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
A report from the Digital Entertainment Group highlights that 4K Blu-ray sales increased 12% in 2025 compared to 2024. This occurred despite an overall decline in physical media sales of 9.3% from the previous year, falling to a total of $870 million in 2025 in the United States. This drop, however, is much lower than the 20% drops in previous years. And when you consider how prevalent streaming media options have become, a 12% increase in 4K Blu-ray sales represents a remarkable number of people investing in physical media.
There’s no particular reason why physical discs are making a comeback, but the trend may have something to do with the fact that Blu-ray can maintain 4K quality consistently, while media streaming resolution can change depending on bandwidth. There’s also the argument that when you buy digital media instead of a physical copy, you don’t necessarily own the content: it can still be taken away from you if a platform stops working or access is revoked. Blu-rays and DVDs are immune to these problems and, as a bonus, you can always sell them used if you need some extra cash. Whatever their motivation, it appears that younger collectors – from millennials to Gen Z – are increasingly choosing physical ownership over digital purchases, slowing the market’s decline in recent years.
Blu-ray offers much higher video and audio quality than streaming
Simply put, Blu-ray discs, especially 4K UHD formats, offer significantly better audio and video quality than streaming thanks to much higher bitrates. In a direct comparison between 4K Blu-ray and 4K streaming, the former supports bitrates ranging from 72 to 144 Mbps, while the latter typically falls between 8 and 16 Mbps. So for content quality, Blu-ray takes the win. Lossless audio is also a possibility with Blu-ray, and if you have a really good home theater or surround system, that makes a world of difference.
But owning Blu-rays or even DVDs of some older movies has other benefits. You don’t need internet access to watch the movie or content, so if your internet connection goes down but the power is still on, you can watch it just fine. Additionally, most discs come with bonus features and content, such as deleted scenes, creator or artist commentary, gag reels, and other content that you can watch separately. Plus, a physical disk is always yours.
If you want to collect physical media, you’ll need to start with the drive itself. Some top-rated options are the Sony BDP-S1700U, Panasonic DMP-BD84P, or any of the best 4K Blu-ray players for movie buffs, specifically. They are sure to provide an incredible experience. As for DVD players, they are not as common at local retailers. Second-hand may not be a very good option either, as many people have explored various ways to reuse old CD and DVD players. However, you can find relatively inexpensive models on Amazon.