No More DVDs from Ellen

[Joni O]

Earlier this morning Ellen retweeted something from Greenpeace about plastic polluting our oceans, and said it was the #1 reason she’s not releasing any more DVDs - streaming only. Regardless the reason - bummer.

[JackieB]

Originally Posted by Joni O

Earlier this morning Ellen retweeted something from Greenpeace about plastic polluting our oceans, and said it was the #1 reason she’s not releasing any more DVDs - streaming only. Regardless the reason - bummer.

I think she made a statement similar when she said her 7-Day was her last dvd. I'm curious about her streaming as I've been on an Ellen kick lately.

I do like to use dvds, though. I like to own the workout, and have something physical. My internet isn't always reliable, either.

[Pat58]

Alice Bracegirdle will no longer produce DVDs and her reasons are the same.

[ardnas]

I find this very disappointing.

If they are concerned about plastic, they could sell DVDs in cardboard cases made with recycled paper instead of plastic. I would still purchase.

I will never pay to stream workouts. Glad I kept all of my DVDs.

[Mickey12]

Eoin Finn stated the same reasoning a few years ago. He is very big into trying to save the oceans. I'm still in favor of DVDs though for the same reasons as Jackie.

Kim

[yogapam]

I'm not a big fan of streaming subscriptions, but I'm happy to purchase downloads. They are definitely are greener and, because I live in Canada, much more affordable as cross border shipping can be $$$.

So I hope Ellen will sell downloads!

[starbelly]

Plastic waste is a big problem, but the servers that power streaming services consume enormous amounts of electricity, much of it produced by burning fossil fuels. Living in the Netherlands means that postage prices are often outrageous-- one quote was $42 for one DVD!-- so online options are typically the only realistic way to get videos. When I buy digital videos, I always prefer downloads to streaming for environmental reasons as well as convenience. There is also no (legal) secondary market for downloads so it is easy to understand why people might hesitate to spend the money on something with no resale value.

[laurajhawk]

Let's be honest; the problem of plastic waste in DVDs and their packaging isn't us vidiots. We keep those DVDs on our shelves for years; even with good intentions, I throw away more non-DVD plastic waste in a month than I do in five years of DVD usage. The problem, to the extent there is a problem, is the large number of people who buy large numbers of workouts and then throw them out later because they've never used them.

[TinaT]

I'm not sure if I buy into the plastic statement, but either way she's choosing to go the way of streaming... like so many others. I'm just not ready to jump on that "bandwagon". I know so many have posted that it works well for them. I still enjoy owning the physical copy of the routine/workout.

I don't have a huge library of workouts to begin with, so having a place for them has never been an issue.

I wish her luck and hope it all works out for those who enjoy her.

[eam531]

Originally Posted by ardnas

I find this very disappointing.

If they are concerned about plastic, they could sell DVDs in cardboard cases made with recycled paper instead of plastic. I would still purchase.

I will never pay to stream workouts. Glad I kept all of my DVDs.

I've seen numerous complaints here on VF about instructors who have issued their workouts in cardboard cases, because these workouts don't shelve well with their plastic-cased DVDs, or the DVDs get scratched because they are loose inside the cardboard case, etc.

IMO DVDs are quickly becoming obsolete. It is way cheaper for instructors to issue online-only workouts, and let's not forget the complaints about poor DVD processing on DVDs from Cathe and Jessica Smith, among others, and people not being able to play DVD-Rs, etc.

I think instructors should issue their workouts as downloads OR streaming. If you buy a download, it's yours to keep, and if you like streaming, you have that option. My issue with streaming workouts is that they can disappear if the instructor changes platforms or just purges older workouts in favor of newer ones. Like many, I dislike the idea of paying for workouts that I cannot keep.

Anyway, the majority of the workouts and yoga practices I use now are from YouTube, and I plan to convert the DVDs I have to files that I can save on our computer.