Here's my perspective on that. Whether I plan to watch a given Blu-ray more than once is beside the point. I'm not purchasing Blu-ray's to build a collection. That's just the icing on the cake. Even if I only intend to watch something once I'll still purchase the Blu-ray. I purchase the Blu-ray, because it delivers a consistent high quality experience with no strings attached. It's just my home theater system, my Blu-ray player and the Blu-ray disc. I want that experience whether I intend to watch something a second time or not. In fact, I especially want that experience on the first viewing which is the same thing as my only viewing if that ends up being the case. It's no different than when someone goes to see a movie at their local cinema, albeit on a smaller scale.
With Blu-ray there's also no surprises. It's a format with standards. With Blu-ray I know what I'm getting. I want to know what I'm getting when I spend my money on something. With Blu-ray I know what aspect ratio the given presentation will be in, what specific audio and subtitle tracks are included, what bonus features are offered if any and so forth. And if the product packaging isn't detailed enough I can confirm any of the details I'm looking for at websites like Blu-ray.com. And yes, the icing on the cake is that I own the disc. I can watch the disc as much as I like. My friends and family can watch the disc as much as they like. I could sell the disc to someone. And all the while, no strings attached. No Internet connection needed. No online subscription. That's a beautiful thing.
As I mentioned previously, if it weren't for AnyStream I wouldn't be paying for these streaming subscriptions. Accessing all this streaming content the traditional way is not friendly to the consumer. You have no idea what you're getting. None of these streaming providers disclose the aspect ratio of a given presentation. Saying a given presentation is in "Widescreen" doesn't cut it. That could mean anything and certainly doesn't mean the presentation is in the original aspect ratio which is important to me. The same for the audio. It's bad enough the audio is lossy and not lossless like we get with Blu-ray. Saying the audio is "English" just adds insult to injury. That doesn't tell me anything. Am I getting 2 channel audio, 5 channel audio, low quality Dolby Digital, higher quality Dolby Digital Plus, what?
I look at it this way. My purchasing a Blu-ray is no different than someone else paying to watch the same title via cable, satellite or via some streaming subscription. Whether any of us watch the given presentation a second time is beside the point. Either way, we're all paying to watch the content that initial time. The difference in my case is that I'm paying for a higher quality experience, a theatrical quality experience with no stings attached. Yes, I own the disc(s) which provide for repeat viewings or viewings by family members and friends, but again, what I'm really paying for is that higher quality experience, knowing what I'm getting ahead of time, knowing what aspect ratio the feature presentation will be in ahead of time, knowing what audio and subtitle tracks are included ahead of time.
People talk about cutting the cord all the time. Well they're really not cutting the cord. All the content they consume is still being fed to them through a cord, their ISP. Sure, there are many benefits naturally over traditional cable or satellite TV. It's still not cuttting the cord though. In the end everyone is still paying to watch what they watch. All these streaming subscriptions can really start to add up. The same for people's cable and satellite televsion bills. I can purchase a lot of used/new Blu-ray's each month for the same money. I have subscribed to DIRECTV off and on over the years, but purely for the sports programming and content not traditionally released on DVD or Blu-ray. Basically since the DVD format I've only watched movies and TV shows on disc. If I missed out on something so be it. I don't care. There are more important things in life than sitting on my rear end watching television.
I'll also mention this. I've purchased many TV seasons and movies on Blu-ray at the same cost or less than the watered down version being offered by some online content provider. In fact, I just purchased a Blu-ray from the bargain bin at my local brick and mortar store for the same price as the streaming rental. Why I keep buying these Blu-ray's is mystery to me. Why would I want to watch a movie on Blu-ray that weighs in at 36GB, is in the correct aspect ratio with 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, a Blu-ray that also includes a commentary track and bonus features? Why would I want to watch that when I could spend the same money purchasing or renting the stream that weighs in at 8-10 GB if I'm lucky, includes lossy audio and may or may not be in the proper aspect ratio? To each his own, but this streaming is the future nonsense is not a future I will ever be taking part in.