Are they talking about DVD or Blu-ray or 4K Ultra HD? When people use DVD as a catch-all, any distinction around video and audio quality gets muddied, since you can't even know what format they're actually referring to.
If someone wanted to start a DVD collection in 2023 (as in the actual 480i/480p DVD format), I'd have the same reaction as the author's wife. Blu-ray or especially 4K? Go for it.