It also must be much harder to actually watch reel-to-reels. You can just pop a DVD into any computer at any time without worrying about the additional logistics of space, trained projector operators, and time constraints.

I was a protectionist during college and your number one enemy with film is dust and dirt. I would imagine the prints would be unwatchable after a dust storm in Iraq.

do people actually refer to celluloid movie prints as "reel-to-reel"? i suppose the term is technically accurate, but i've never heard it used for anything other than the pre-cassette magnetic tape audio format (or i suppose very occasionally its data-tape derivatives).