What is a term to collectively describe the state or condition of a piece of media's "being" as it pertains to being either physical or digital?
Solution 1:
Message versus "Media"...
What may be creating a mental block for you is your use of "media" to mean two different things: the movie and its container. This is, strictly speaking, incorrect. You do not watch media; you watch the thing that's contained in it.
- medium (n., pl. media): - a channel or system of communication, information, or entertainment
The DVD disc is the medium that carried the movie to you. The movie itself is an example of "a work" or "an asset" or just "content", depending on the industry you're in. A book is a medium for conveying writing (and writing is itself a medium for conveying ideas).
So, the word meaning "state of being" you're looking for is... "medium", or in plural "media".
Can you touch it? Tangible and Intangible
If you're looking for an adjective that describes the difference between digital media (downloads, streaming) and physical media (DVD, vinyl, print), without using "digital", then perhaps tangible versus intangible would fit:
- tangible (adj.) real and not imaginary; able to be shown, touched, or experienced.
- intangible (adj.) impossible to touch, to describe exactly, or to give an exact value.
The "describe exactly, give a value" sense is primarily used in financial contexts, and that's usually the most common place you hear the word. However, the literal meaning of the word is "touchable", and that meaning will suit your purpose.
Thus, tangible media are things like printed pages, Blu-ray discs and video-game cartridges, and intangible media are things like news websites, television, streaming services and game downloads.