DVDs still offer the best way to watch movies at home

Above: A scene from "Casablanca." (Turner Classic Movies)

There was a time not that long ago when DVDs were the state-of-the-art means of seeing a home movie. Especially when Blu-ray came along.

But that was before streaming became possible. Now, DVDs are gradually going the way of videocassette players.

Or so it seems. No one can say when, of if, DVDs will eventually disappear. They’re still around, even if at least one 2011 story predicted they would be gone by now.

“The idea of placing a disc into a DVD player to watch a movie will eventually seem as outdated as placing a record on a turntable,” reported the website TheStreet.com.

Not so fast, buddy. But even if DVDs do finally go the way of the wooly mammoth, it’ll be hard for any streaming service to match their quality.

In a 2019 story titled “Are DVDs Making a Comeback?” a Milwaukee-based store called Record Head made a case that “DVDs and Blu-rays remain superior to streaming technologies when it comes to how you view a film.” Their explanation: “Physical releases don’t require the compressing of picture and audio that occurs with streaming.”

I can't say. I'm no electronics expert. I do agree, though, with something else the story pointed out: “Streaming services can’t provide you with special features, deleted scenes, outtakes, interviews and commentaries like DVDs and Blu-rays can.”

All of which is why, while they’re still available, I’ll be adding to my own collection. And is why I’ve been browsing TCM.com, the website for Turner Classic Movies.

Here are some of the DVD deals now being offered in the TCM Shop:

“Casablanca,” the 1942 Michael Curtiz film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Price: $9.95.

“North by Northwest,” the 1959 film by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. Price: $7.95.

“Silver Screen Icons: The Thin Man,” the two-disc, four-film Nick and Nora Charles collection starring William Powell and Myrna Loy (and Asta). Price: $11.95.

“Singin’ in the Rain,” the 1952 film by Stanley Donen/Gene Kelly, starring Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor. Price: $9.95.

“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” the 1939 film by Frank Capra, starring Jimmie Stewart, Jean Arthur and Claude Raines. Price: $8.95.

And all those are just the most classic examples from the TCM library of some 63,584 films.

DVDs may not be around forever. But I’ll keep buying them as long as they’re still on the market.

I’m old-school that way.