Lionsgate removing DTS-HD Audio from its rentals

[maddog510]

Has anyone noticed that there's been a couple of titles from Lionsgate that don't have DTS-HD Master Audio on the disc if rented from Netflix or Redbox? 1st it was the Hunger Games & now the latest title to not include Master Audio is Cabin In The Woods. They only have Dolby Digital 5.1. Why are they doing this? Lossless audio is the whole point of Blu ray along with the 1080p. I hope other studios don't follow suit or Netflix is going to lose customers big time just like when they hiked up the prices. No one wants to rent Blu rays with lossy Dolby Digital. They might as well rent DVD's if that's the case.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

I expect all studios to follow suit in order to try and turn attention to purchasing instead of renting when it comes to physical media.

[maddog510]

1st it's a 28 day delay on rentals & now they're goin to remove lossless audio?? What's next???

[FrmPeru]

watermarks or something else of that nature to make buying to only way to go

[42041]

Originally Posted by maddog510

I hope other studios don't follow suit or Netflix is going to lose customers big time just like when they hiked up the prices. No one wants to rent Blu rays with lossy Dolby Digital.

um, that's the point.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by maddog510

No one wants to rent Blu rays with lossy Dolby Digital. They might as well rent DVD's if that's the case.

I think the majority of Blu-ray users (myself included) care far more about picture quality than audio quality. Dropping HD audio won't get them to lose a huge amount of rentals but it may drive some people to buy the Blu-ray instead of renting.

[ssjgoku90501]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

I think the majority of Blu-ray users (myself included) care far more about picture quality than audio quality. Dropping HD audio won't get them to lose a huge amount of rentals but it may drive some people to buy the Blu-ray instead of renting.

I think everybody wants the best in both PQ and AQ why would anyone not want to hear the full capabilites of their home theater and the movie at its best. But I can't stand redbox or Netflix

[Villiam Hayes]

Lionsgate removing lossless audio from their rentals is one thing but some Warner Bros discs (in the UK anyway) that you purchase having only dolby digital is another.
The Last Samurai,Training Day and Oceans Eleven spring to mind.

[Chloenator]

They want you to actually buy the Blu-ray to get the full HD experience, not rent it.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by ssjgoku90501

I think everybody wants the best in both PQ and AQ why would anyone not want to hear the full capabilites of their home theater and the movie at its best. But I can't stand redbox or Netflix

Not everyone has invested in full surround equipment. There are a lot of people out there who don't give two rat shits about audio quality because of that. I've even talked to a few people with projectors who absolutely despise anything beyond a stereo track as 5.1 (or more) is "extremely distracting during the movie and it takes me out of the story." Likely, those are people who also are far less likely to purchase Blu-rays anyways. So, in a way, the studios are starting to cater to their own needs regarding a specific demographic.

[bhampton]

I'm thinking most renters won't notice or care.

Thanks for the heads up though,... This makes buying used a bit harder. I buy lots of discs that were rental.

[Sky_Captain]

Honestly, I'm surprised that anyone is surprised by this, or that it's taken this long to happen.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Fragile Line

They want you to actually buy the Blu-ray to get the full HD experience, not rent it.

I can't blame them. Why should someone who rents for $1 get the same experience as someone who buys for $20?

Like someone said above, watermarks could be next.

[BigBlue10989]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I'm thinking most renters won't notice or care.

Thanks for the heads up though,... This makes buying used a bit harder. I buy lots of discs that were rental.

Agreed. The vast majority of people won't be able to tell the difference between lossy 640 kbit DD and lossless audio.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[nolfoc]

smart move by lionsgate

[Abaddon22]

I agree, most renters will not care. I mean, how many of those people know about loseless audio like we do? My buddy still thinks dolby digital is king.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

I think the majority of Blu-ray users (myself included) care far more about picture quality than audio quality. Dropping HD audio won't get them to lose a huge amount of rentals but it may drive some people to buy the Blu-ray instead of renting.

I strongly disagree! The blu-ray format was specifically designed to fully utilize an overall high definition presentation, not just the video aspect. Typically blu-ray enthusiasts want HD lossless audio to coincide with the 1080p resolution picture they're viewing. HD audio is equivalently important to the consumer as the video. Most blu-ray enthusiasts refuse to purchase blu-rays that doesn't include lossless audio!

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by 240C

I agree, most renters will not care. I mean, how many of those people know about loseless audio like we do? My buddy still thinks dolby digital is king.

Well if they're renting blu-rays, and probably own HD audio equipment as well, why wouldn't they care? The OP did!

[Sky_Captain]

Blu-ray enthusiasts do not equal 99.9% of people renting.

[yophoto91]

Not sure if this is old news, but it looks like some rentals are doing away with the special features as well. Rented The Grey from redbox last week and the features/director commentary were removed.