Will you still buy Disney digital films?

[Steven101]

Well, will ya?

I won't but clearly some people do as Frozen II (in HD) is near the top of the I-Tunes charts. I don't see the point now that Disney+ has arrived. Have Disney shot themselves in the foot? Surely they will lose a lot of revenue from Marvel / Star Wars, Pixar and Disney purchases? Physically and digitally. There's no point in buying films on I-Tunes because they're in HD. Disney is saving 4K for Disney+

[Steven101]

Apparently E-Bay is flooded with Disney films as people try and offload them. Thankfully I was able to sell Frozen 1 and 2 and Moana. I didn't own that many as there weren't that many Disney 4K physical releases in the UK.

[disneywildcat]

Originally Posted by Steven101

Well, will ya?

I won't but clearly some people do as Frozen II (in HD) is near the top of the I-Tunes charts. I don't see the point now that Disney+ has arrived. Have Disney shot themselves in the foot? Surely they will lose a lot of revenue from Marvel / Star Wars, Pixar and Disney purchases? Physically and digitally. There's no point in buying films on I-Tunes because they're in HD. Disney is saving 4K for Disney+

The reason why Disney label films are not available in 4K through iTunes is not to promote Disney+, it's because Disney didn't allow iTunes to charge the same for 4K as HD. Other Movies Anywhere (MA) provider have Disney label films available for purchase in 4K, although they may be priced $5 more.

Still, buying a Disney label movie on 4K Blu-ray or 4K digital, rather than relying just on Disney+, does have its advantages. Disney+ does have some bonus features, but for most titles, the 4K Blu-ray release or the 4K digital purchase has more extras available. 4K Blu-ray itself is still better than streaming a 4K digital purchase or Disney+, as it has the highest video/audio bitrate available (although Dolby Vision isn't available on most Disney 4K Blu-ray titles).

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by disneywildcat

The reason why Disney label films are not available in 4K through iTunes is not to promote Disney+, it's because Disney didn't allow iTunes to charge the same for 4K as HD. Other Movies Anywhere (MA) provider have Disney label films available for purchase in 4K, although they may be priced $5 more.

Still, buying a Disney label movie on 4K Blu-ray or 4K digital, rather than relying just on Disney+, does have its advantages. Disney+ does have some bonus features, but for most titles, the 4K Blu-ray release or the 4K digital purchase has more extras available.

That's interesting, I didn't know that. Disney are even more greedy than Apple, who would have thought it? You'd think they'd let I-Tunes have the 4K versions now to pull in more revenue.

That's true. Personally, I'm not fussed about extras as I never find the time to watch them, even those that are on Disney+ At £13.99 a film in HD, for a few extras, I'll pass.

The only film that I did buy was the extended version of Avatar because it's not on Disney+

[avs commenter]

Yes but not nearly as often as before Dis+

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by avs commenter

Yes but not nearly as often as before Dis+

Do you buy those films physically or digitally? Curious.

[merlinjones]

I would buy physical media if the rest of the Walt films (and shorts) I want were ever to be released on Blu-Ray (Darby O'Gill, The Moon-Spinners, Summer Magic, Thomasina, That Darn Cat, Shaggy Dog, Third Man on the Mountain, etc.) . I prefer digital media because it can't be taken away or revised/censored. (Learned this as far back as Song of the South on laserdisc and Wonderful World of Color eps on VHS -- good thing I have 'em). Disney+ so far does not have a complete collection of Walt's films so is an unreliable source.

[disneywildcat]

The rule of thumb nowadays on buying films, whether it be Disney films or not, should be whether you can live without the film if you did not subscribe to the subscription service.

For Disney films, I prefer to have physical media for the films I value. The digital purchases are nice to have, but my digital library serves as a complement to my collection.

That said, I did purchase Onward 4K digital even though I knew it would be on Disney+ two weeks later, as I wanted to make sure I had access to the bonus features. Not sure if I will buy the 4K Blu-ray at a later date. But at least I now have the option to wait.

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by merlinjones

I would buy physical media if the rest of the Walt films (and shorts) I want were ever to be released on Blu-Ray (Darby O'Gill, The Moon-Spinners, Summer Magic, Thomasina, That Darn Cat, Shaggy Dog, Third Man on the Mountain, etc.) . I prefer digital media because it can't be taken away. (Learned this as far back as Song of the South on laserdisc and Wonderful World of Color eps on VHS -- good thing I have 'em). Disney+ so far does not have a complete collection of Walt's films so is an unreliable source.

Sure, but there's more than enough on there and thankfully they haven't edited films like Dumbo, although they have edited Splash. This is sort of understandable as it does have a fair bit of nudity, boobs and butts. I was shocked when I watched it uncut as it's a PG.

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by disneywildcat

That said, I did purchase Onward 4K digital even though I knew it would be on Disney+ two weeks later, as I wanted to make sure I had access to the bonus features. Not sure if I will buy the 4K Blu-ray at a later date. But at least I now have the option to wait.

I haven't bought Onward and I haven't seen it either. I'd rather wait until it drops on Disney+ UK. I imagine most people will be doing this now.

I did watch Frozen II recently on physical and then sold it. It lands on Disney+ UK in July and I won't want to watch it again anytime soon.

It does make me wonder if Disney will abandon physical media eventually and go straight from the cinema to Disney+ ala Netflix. They haven't released the Pixar physical 4K titles in the UK and they've all but abandoned 3D in America.

[avs commenter]

Originally Posted by Steven101

Do you buy those films physically or digitally? Curious.

Depends but usually digital

With Disney shortening the release window on a regular basis it’s pretty easy to wait now

[ps3bd_owner]

Just wondering, does Disney+ have the 4:3 and 16:9 version of Pinocchio? IIRC the 16:9 was on DVD while the OAR version (4:3 AR) came out on Blu-ray (the one I own).

[Ernest Rister]

Physical...always. All day. All night. Streaming services can go poof! in the blink of an eye, but I can watch Walt's WWII propaganda thesis Victory Through Air Power anytime I want, thanks to physical media. So I'm gonna grab physical discs as long as the studio provides them.

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Physical...always. All day. All night. Streaming services can go poof! in the blink of an eye, but I can watch Walt's WWII propaganda thesis Victory Through Air Power anytime I want, thanks to physical media. So I'm gonna grab physical discs as long as the studio provides them.

I doubt Disney+ is gonna go poof! Or Amazon / Apple or Netflix. If you just had those services you would have more than enough to watch.

It's your money but I would never buy Disney titles now that they're on Disney+ It's a waste of money. Disney titles (in the UK) are usually priced at £13.99 each. I can sub to Disney+ at the moment for £4 a month.

I watched Black Panther today and it's the third time I've seen it. It looks amazing in 4K Dolby Vision. It's good but I don't need to see the film again anytime soon, the amount of content out there is staggering. I also don't need to store it anywhere. Watched and forgotten, onto the next...

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by ps3bd_owner

Just wondering, does Disney+ have the 4:3 and 16:9 version of Pinocchio? IIRC the 16:9 was on DVD while the OAR version (4:3 AR) came out on Blu-ray (the one I own).

4:3 I just checked. No 16:9

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Physical...always. All day. All night. Streaming services can go poof! in the blink of an eye, but I can watch Walt's WWII propaganda thesis Victory Through Air Power anytime I want, thanks to physical media. So I'm gonna grab physical discs as long as the studio provides them.

You might consider making backup of your DVDs, BDs and maybe even HD-DVDs (if you own any that are worth it). In general, my discs all work except for a Brazilian DVD of FF7 Advent Children that looks transparent.

[Vilya]

I get the digital copy when I buy the Disney disc in most instances; I get the best of both.

I do not, and I will not, pay recurring fees for subscription streaming services or for cable TV. I would rather spend my money to buy precisely what I want than to pay fees in perpetuity.

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I get the digital copy when I buy the Disney disc in most instances; I get the best of both.

I do not, and I will not, pay recurring fees for subscription streaming services or for cable TV. I would rather spend my money to buy precisely what I want than to pay fees in perpetuity.

If you pay £6 a month (and I'm paying £4 a month for a year) then that comes to £72 a year. Disney 4K films are £20 - £25 a pop, so you might be able to get 4 films for your £72 to own. If you take this over 10 years, you might own 40 Disney films (likely in a dead format by now but never mind that.) Or you could have access to 100's of films on Disney+ right now. No need to buy anything, no need to store anything, you can watch a film once or 10 times, it doesn't matter.

The likelihood (for most people) is that they'll watch a film once and then they won't watch it again for a few years. They might not even sub to Disney+ throughout the year, picking and choosing a few months here and there. Sub for 5 months, that's just £30 a year. You might get two 4K discs for that, where as I could watch 50 4K films and then unsub.

[Vilya]

I already own almost all of the Disney films that I wish to have because I have been collecting for many years; there is no reason for me to pay a recurring fee to access what I already own.

I dislike being dependent upon the internet for my entertainment also. I live in a rural area and internet service here is unreliable.

What others choose is fine for them, but I like paying only for what I want and to not pay any recurring charges. Add in two or three other subscription services and the monthly costs add up quickly especially if you also pay for cable/satellite TV. Then there is the need for a higher tier of internet service to stream in 4K and rural monopolistic ISPs like mine enforce data caps. In just the past three years, my ISP has raised their rates 40% with no improvements to their service. When you add up all of these recurring fees that many people willingly pay it can be significant; I can instead spend that money to buy outright exactly what I want to see. I am content to pay a higher price once to buy the disc than to pay endless fees for access that relies upon my dependably undependable internet service.

[lotrswhouse1886]

Will still buy the physical disc on films that I want to own. Better picture and audio quality, plus not having to be dependent on an internet connection is tops for me. I would use the digital code that came in those discs unless it's a Star Wars or an MCU film that I don't already own in some form. That being said, some movies I'm content to have digitally or just watch on Disney +. An example is Onward, I enjoyed that movie, although it wasn't one of my favorites, and do plan to buy the physical disc at some point, but I already own the digital 4K version so I'm not in that big of a hurry to buy the disc. Same with finishing upgrading my Pixar and Disney animated discs to 4k disc. I'll get to those at some point. Having those in 4K on Disney + has slowed down any sense of urgency I may have had to do so.