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The Return of Physical Media

The Return of Physical Media

by | Mar 2, 2026 | Blog, KMB Communications, Magnetar Audio

Streaming is the king of all media—sorry Howard Stern—but that doesn’t mean that everyone is happy with streaming music and video. Physical media is making a comeback and it’s more than just the revival of vinyl.

The Los Angeles Times recently published a story called, “DVDs are the new vinyl records: Why Gen Z is embracing physical media.” The story highlights the shifting attitudes of young Gen Z (generally, the demographic is defined as the generation born between 1997 to 2012) consumers that are tired with the growing mountain of streaming media subscription fees, and the happiness they are finding in reconnecting with their childhood physical media experiences.

In the story the author Cerys Davies visits a handful of video rental stores in the Los Angeles area such as Vidiots and CineFile Video Movie Rental and she asked patrons why they were renting videos.

Her findings come down to a few key points: Gen Z is tired of subscribing to multiple services; physical media allows for complete ownership of content, and in many cases DVDs and Blu-ray disc bring back childhood memories.

Davies points out in the story that before the explosion of streaming media, consumers could access physical media rentals from stores such as Blockbuster (the last store remains open in Oregon) and RedBox vending machines.

Coinciding with the rise of streaming media the story continues, sales of physical media began to fall. The story says that DVD sales fell more than 20% in 2023 and 2024. In 2025 however, Davies emphasizes the sales decline of DVDs, Blu-ray discs and 4K UHD discs slowed to just 9% based on data from the Digital Entertainment Group.

Validating the increase in sales Davies asked the Blu-ray disc company the Criterion Collection, and Criterion confirmed that year-over-year sales are increasing. More anecdotally, the story notes that this past January (2026) Vidiots had a record-breaking month renting an average of 170 movies per day with a high of 500 videos in a single day. Each disc carries a rental fee of $3.00 each, and since 2023 the amount of disc the store has rented has more than doubled jumping from 22,000 discs to about 50,000 discs.

Gen Z Lays Out the Benefits of Physical Media

A closer look at the reasons why Gen Z is turning to DVDs and Blu-ray discs beyond the outright ownership of the content, the story lays out other factors that are sparking a renewed interest in physical media. Those elements include the ability to access special features that may include director’s commentary and video shorts.

Davies also cites the ever-changing content libraries of the various streaming services and the constant churn of titles appearing and disappearing making some movies unavailable.

Maybe the most undervalued attraction of DVDs and Blu-ray discs is the emotional connection that is like the relationship music fans have with vinyl. Davies in the story does underscore the emotional attachment to physical media by underscoring, collecting and owning DVDs is more than a trip down memory lane.

This trend if it unfolds in the same way as vinyl grew in popularity throughout the 2000s, it means that integrators will see more demand for disc players and likely disc players as a complement to Kaleidescape systems and streaming media. Those near-future equipment racks could resemble audiophile systems with turntables, media players and DACs, and CD players all living peacefully together.

Currently, Sony, Panasonic and Magnetar are still among the companies manufacturing disc players with companies like Oppo Digital and Samsung notably ceasing player production.  Soon there may even be opportunities for integrators to partner with stores such as Vidiots and CineFile Video Movie Rental in their local areas to promote video rentals and sales, and home theater demonstrations that highlight the power of today’s home AV equipment in tandem with physical media.

People say that fashion runs in cycles and now maybe with the resurgence of vinyl and the possible reemergence of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, those same people will say the same thing about physical media.

Here’s a recent post on KMB Comm that looks at the emotional attachment music fans have with vinyl.

Don’t Overlook the Emotional Attachment to Physical Media

Don’t Overlook the Emotional Attachment to Physical Media

by | Feb 19, 2026 | Blog, KMB Communications, SONOS

Recently, Spotify reported a record number of subscribers. The streaming service says the surge in users can be attributed to several factors, including its free tier. Other streaming services such as Apple Music and Netflix are also reporting increases in their subscriptions.

This type of news shouldn’t surprise anyone, streaming content has long been established as king of all media, but it’s not all peaches-and-cream with the streaming services. There’s a term associated with the streaming market known as “churn rate.” Summing up the term, it means a consumer will subscribe to a service for a certain period, for example to watch, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” on HBO Max, and then once the season is over, they drop the subscription.

Conversely, with physical media, once someone buys a record, CD or Blu-ray disc, they typically keep those purchases so they can build a content library.

Physical Media Produces Intangible Emotional Connections

Dealers looking to form relationships with their clients can leverage the allure of records, as well as CDs and Blu-rays, Ultra Blu-rays, and DVDs to become a resource to help maximize the playback of all these forms of media.

A good example of the bond between enthusiasts and physical media can be seen in this newly released video from the YouTube channel Drumeo. In the video, the drum education channel goes into a record store with Chad Smith of The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Chad is seen walking around the store picking up his favorite records and recounting stories about each of the records that sparked his initial interest in music. Chad’s reactions to these records are not uncommon. Physical media and vinyl often illicit these types of responses from fans. Streaming media while convenient and readily available, doesn’t produce the emotional connection that vinyl does.

Dealers looking to tap into the intangible connections with physical media can start by setting up turntables, CD players, and Blu-ray disc players in addition to streaming boxes and digital media systems to cover all the bases. The best part about today’s generation of turntables is they perform better than ever and they offer connection versatility.

Yes, dealers can still take the audiophile approach by installing a high-end turntable, a phono preamp and amplification, but companies such as Victrola and Sonos provide installer-friendly modern wireless connectivity solutions. Additionally, there is an ever-growing number of turntables that include built-in phono preamplifiers and factory setup with pre-fitted phono cartridges that ship from the factory already aligned.

These turntable products deliver near-turnkey setup flexibility to pair with AV receivers, integrated amplifiers and multizone audio components.

Regardless of what type of physical media the user favors, the important takeaway is today’s consumer has the best of both worlds at their fingertips with accessibility of streaming content and the performance and value of a new era of source components.

KMB Communications hosts a podcast called AV Trade Talk. Listeners can check out the podcast to learn about the latest happenings in the custom installation electronics industry. To listen to the KMB AV Trade Talk Podcast, click here.