The future of TV lies in streaming

Given time, every industry faces change. 

This post is about entertainment, specifically TV, but in 1997 — after 60+ years of selling gasoline — Morgan's Service in Clarkston, Mich., quit selling gas. At the time it was a major change, but in reality the times were changing. 

I don't like to say this because I have a large collection of DVDs (not to mention blu–rays). Before that I had a large collection of VHS tapes. I'm also the one who still has lots of CDs (and I still buy them), cassette tapes, and vinyl albums. I change with the times, but I've always liked to have the physical object. I never felt that DVDs or blu–rays were very well packaged — I think they missed out on a chance to include much information about the movies or TV shows. But streaming is going to change the game. It probably already has changed the game. You can watch the trailer, then watch the movie. 

When we originally tried Netflix when it was new we were frequently disappointed when the discs would arrive damaged. It happened frequently, so we decided to cancel our subscription. It took a few years but we returned when Netflix started offering streaming. I think the movie selection lacks, but the TV shows and original programming are good. Shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black are able to stretch the parameters of television and the audience has to choose to watch. And, apparently, they have chosen. 

We also are able to watch a great deal of movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime Instant Video. We watched the movie Now You See Me Sunday afternoon. We never even had to leave to go rent the video. I still find it amazing that you can rent a video that comes to your house over the Internet. Heck, I'm the one who still can't believe that we can get the Internet and all the information into our houses.