Oh noes teh sky is falling!

[Icemouth]

Originally Posted by JasonHensley

I guess some people don't mind spending the money they work for on material possessions they have little or no control over.

Welcome to life? They're just things.

Also if they're on YOUR harddrive, you don't need an internet collection. He can play all of his said games being unplugged...

[darkness2918]

My near by Target has shrunk the media section so much. Went there a few days ago & it was much smaller then it was last month & with less BDs & more DVDs if you can believe that.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by JasonHensley

I guess some people don't mind spending the money they work for on material possessions they have little or no control over.

You have control over blu-ray disc rot? Or when a disc cracks due to weather, or accidentally gets scratched and begins skipping? Or when something gets damaged in a move, or a fire or flood?

You actually have control over very little in life, even physical media.

[JasonHensley]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

You have control over blu-ray disc rot? Or when a disc cracks due to weather, or accidentally gets scratched and begins skipping? Or when something gets damaged in a move, or a fire or flood?

You actually have control over very little in life, even physical media.

Every movie I've ever purchased still work perfectly because I do, in fact, have control over them. This seems to be a go to excuse for people who are digital only.

[42041]

Originally Posted by JasonHensley

Every movie I've ever purchased still work perfectly because I do, in fact, have control over them. This seems to be a go to excuse for people who are digital only.

There is nothing to make excuses for - your values are not universal. I don't care about "owning" things like this. Do you go to movie theaters? You don't get to keep the movies. You don't get to eat the same meal over and over when you buy it at a restaurant. So why is that such a strange concept when it comes to movies at home?
Frankly, from my experience, collectors are often borderline (or full-blown) obsessive-compulsives who buy stuff they don't even watch, getting less movie for their money

[JasonHensley]

Originally Posted by 42041

There is nothing to make excuses for - your values are not universal. I don't care about "owning" things like this. Do you go to movie theaters? You don't get to keep the movies. You don't get to eat the same meal over and over when you buy it at a restaurant. Why is that such a strange concept?
Frankly, from my experience, collectors are often borderline (or full-blown) obsessive-compulsives who buy stuff they don't even watch, getting less movie for their money

Comparing a trip to a theater or eating a meal is laughable. When you go to a theater you're not paying to own the movie. For people that have gone digital and actually pay for their digital downloads, you're paying for something that will be reliant on toouch hardware and dependent on whether it stays available to you 20 years from now.

[42041]

Originally Posted by JasonHensley

you're paying for something that will be reliant on toouch hardware and dependent on whether it stays available to you 20 years from now.

You know, given all the real problems that could happen in my life, I would hate if being able to watch my trusty blu-ray of Freddie Got Fingered in 2035 was something that legitimately worried me even a little bit. And it's hardly a given that your blu-rays will still work in 20 years, though I'm reasonably certain I'll be able to enjoy any film of cinematic significance in one form or another for as long as rights-holders enjoy making money on what they own the rights to.

[JasonHensley]

Originally Posted by 42041

You know, given all the real problems that could happen in my life, I would hate if being able to watch my trusty blu-ray of Freddie Got Fingered in 2035 was something that legitimately worried me even a little bit. And it's hardly a given that your blu-rays will still work in 20 years.

There is a much bigger chance my blurays will work 20 years from now than there is of someone's digital downloads being viewable in 20 years. Seeing as I have VHS tapes going on 30 years old and still work, NES cartridges with original batteries that work, CDs over 20 years old going strong, and DVDs that are nearly 20 years old still working fine. Call me crazy, but I work for my money and when I purchase a movie I plan on owning that movie. The best thing is, 20 years from now I could get some return on movies I've purchased. I don't foresee people buying digital downloads from another person.

[Groot]

I haven't bought an actual CD in years. All my music is in the cloud or downloaded on my home network. I don't care to stream that. I buy video games digital now. I've stopped buying lesser movie titles that are netflix/hulu releases and all the shows I used to buy are on streaming services. I don't mind it a bit. If my internet is down, usually my power is too so I can't really watch anything regardless. I'm fine with this, less clutter.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Icemouth

Welcome to life? They're just things.

Also if they're on YOUR harddrive, you don't need an internet collection. He can play all of his said games being unplugged...

No one sells studio movies DRM free, to my knowledge, which means you have to check with "the man" for authorization at some point. Most people don't give two shits though, so it's the inevitable future for mainstream markets. The lack of resale and DRM is a big reason studios are pushing it, along with lower costs on their end.

When I stopped playing PC games all my games became worthless, they just sit there in an account on Steam and GOG and others that I never use anymore. With movies on disc I can get something out of them. When I decided Arrow's Day of Anger was a mistake purchase it was easy to get 80% of my money back. With digital it would have been a total loss.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by 42041

There is nothing to make excuses for - your values are not universal. I don't care about "owning" things like this. Do you go to movie theaters? You don't get to keep the movies. You don't get to eat the same meal over and over when you buy it at a restaurant. So why is that such a strange concept when it comes to movies at home?
Frankly, from my experience, collectors are often borderline (or full-blown) obsessive-compulsives who buy stuff they don't even watch, getting less movie for their money

Neither are your arguments against physical ownership, though you are desperately trying to make a case that there is some massive trend underway indicating that your frustration -- or whatever it is that makes you not want to own -- is widespread.

1. When you were buying DVDs, you were apparently not a very smart buyer and picked up a lot of discs you did not need. You should have done better research to figure out what is it that you wanted to own -- and why. Your reactions are not surprising, they just show that you had plenty of disposable income.

2. I have a very large library and I haven't once experienced buyer's remorse. I have also been upgrading titles since the LD days. In recent years, I have actually started to appreciate my library even more, because I now have more content than some libraries do.

3. Contrary to some of your claims, a lot of people now are actually starting to reevaluate physical ownership. This is one of many reasons why LP sales have been steadily growing.

We get it, there are some people who do not like to own things. But the world is a big and very colorful place. There are plenty of people who would "have a dinner" at Burger King for a few bucks too, but I would not eat there even if the meals were free.

Originally Posted by 42041

I don't think hoarding material possessions is a particularly healthy state of being.

Well, that's the thing, isn't it -- you don't think so.

Originally Posted by 42041

The thing is, I get my money's worth out of what I pay for.

Actually, it isn't. If this is what makes you feel satisfied, then great. But your excuse isn't universal. In fact, judging by your past purchasing habits, it may very well be another temporary state of mind.

Originally Posted by 42041

Having something on a shelf does not fulfill me, and I don't re-watch 95% of movies more than once every few years. So to me, movie ownership makes little sense (except the handful of movies I do get regular hankerings to see again and again). If you do, collect away.

I feel the same way about "owning something in the cloud". For me it is the equivalent of throwing money in big black hole -- here today, gone tomorrow. With my discs on my shelf I am in charge with my viewing habits, and no one is tracking my activities... somewhere.

Voila.

Pro-B

[Blu-21]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

It also doesn't help that HD PQ with the cable/sat companies is absolute crap. Most of it is only slightly better than an upconverted DVD with some it looking no better.

No way. HD channels, most of the time, look comfortably better than even the best upscaled DVDs, and worlds better than SD channels.

[Icemouth]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

No one sells studio movies DRM free, to my knowledge, which means you have to check with "the man" for authorization at some point. Most people don't give two shits though, so it's the inevitable future for mainstream markets. The lack of resale and DRM is a big reason studios are pushing it, along with lower costs on their end.

When I stopped playing PC games all my games became worthless, they just sit there in an account on Steam and GOG and others that I never use anymore. With movies on disc I can get something out of them. When I decided Arrow's Day of Anger was a mistake purchase it was easy to get 80% of my money back. With digital it would have been a total loss.

When you stop watching movies, they won't be worth shit. The second hand DVD market is just HUGE right now.

Also PC games have used CD keys or the equivalent for over a decade. So even if you own a disc, guess what? It's literally worthless.

Now I don't invest in streaming because there's obvious differences between that and something like Steam, (so I just stream from my NAS), however if there was a point where you could just buy digital movies and download them, then at the point you're literally arguing over boxes and it becomes a matter of if you're a WATCHER or a collector.

[Nada]

Digital is well and all until the streaming service goes under or loses the rights to the content and downloading is good until your hard drive crashes and you lose everything.

Discs...well, short of theft or a fire, they're going to be just fine for decades to come.

[Movie Nut]

Originally Posted by Aclea

The article makes a pertinent point about that - there are films on VHS that have never been released on DVD let alone Blu-ray. I still have VHS copies of various films and live shows that will almost certainly never come out on another format. Given a choice between a VHS copy and no copy at all, I'll take the VHS.

This is the exact point I've been referencing repeatedly in multiple threads every time this issue resurfaces. There are members here who care only about the quality of the format (must be Blu-ray), there are those here who care more about being able to see a specific film in any format available because they care about the film first, format quality second.

Here's a concept to ponder. Neither is wrong...and neither should be ridiculed by proponents from the other camp...they simply have different priorities.

[kidglov3s]

Originally Posted by Movie Nut

This is the exact point I've been referencing repeatedly in multiple threads every time this issue resurfaces. There are members here who care only about the quality of the format (must be Blu-ray), there are those here who care more about being able to see a specific film in any format available because they care about the film first, format quality second.

Here's a concept to ponder. Neither is wrong...and neither should be ridiculed by proponents from the other camp...they simply have different priorities.

I feel like I have both of those priorities. Like I just tracked down a VHS tape of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid because I wanted to see the theatrical cut and I couldn't find the Japan LD and that was my only other option, and I watched it but yknow of course I would've preferred a Blu-ray (or DVD or LD) to that tape.

[Nada]

The film is definitely the top priority, preferably in the best presentation possible which happens to be on a Blu-ray disc, not streamed. Now, if a film is only available on a streaming service in HD, then so be it. No problems at all, even though a disc would be preferable.

[Movie Nut]

Sorry...but completely wrong illogical arguments here. You have the tail wagging the dog.

Originally Posted by cine74

My thoughts on the whole physical media debate:

DVD is the dominant format because it's what big box retailers choose to stock on their shelves. Go to any shopping mecca and if there's a home video section you can bet it will be mainly DVDs, especially children's programming. People can't buy what stores don't have.

No. It is the dominant format because that is what the majority of consumers want...not you...not me...but the majority. Consumer demand drives what's available, not the other way around.

Originally Posted by cine74

Pretty much anyone can download movies for free from many torrent sites, There are endless outlets for folks to watch stuff without paying a cent.

True. Yet it is also true that a vast majority of the public understands that piracy is a violation of intellectual property rights laws and is illegal. And on ethical/moral grounds many would not even consider this as an option.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Icemouth

When you stop watching movies, they won't be worth shit. The second hand DVD market is just HUGE right now.

You get something. My example was right there, bought Day of Anger for $22 or so, sold it for $18.50. Bought Solaris Criterion for around $23, sold it for $17. If those were digital purchases I would have been up shit's creek without a paddle, total loss. This doesn't even factor in limited runs and OOP titles, of which I have quite a few I could sell for $100 or thereabouts.

I don't know why some people persist in this idea that discs are worthless. Even a bunch of mainstream $5 garbage is worth something cumulatively, and it might get more value as they all go OOP and digital takes over. In contrast I have a Steam account with 400 games on it that is worth precisely $0.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by 42041

Do you seriously believe the nonsense you're typing? If a brick and mortar retailer devoted shelf space to all the niche products that might sell several thousand units worldwide (and there are many, many niches... you could probably fill up a Best Buy with photography gear alone), they'd need a store the size of a small town, and the overhead to go with it. That kind of thing is going online and it's staying there. Businesses do not always make great decisions but considering they actually have sales data at their disposal, I'm betting they know how to stock their store better than some guy on the internet. Again: if Wal-Mart (or insert your favorite B&M retailer) is making the wrong decision financially, why is no one eating their lunch?

You're being extremely rude. I'm not being rude to you. Do you always talk that way to anybody who disagrees with you? I'm done here.