Oh noes teh sky is falling!

[gates70]

Originally Posted by Cranston37

You want to know what the state of physical media is? The state of physical media is that Sony just announced the new PS4 that can stream 4K titles, but not play 4K discs (which Sony themselves would presumably want to sell if they thought they could). THAT'S the state of physical media...

Yes because PS4 players dictate where media is going...people need to realize that media and streaming will coexist, end of story.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by headphones

I dont think the state of physical media is in any danger as far as films are concerned. It's the TV shows that are in trouble. TV on DVD is endangered, and TV on bluray is near extinct. But movies so far are thriving on physical. People will always want to watch movies over and over. TV shows, not so much.

Unfortunately there have been plenty of examples of people saying that physical media is great for movies but streaming is fine for TV shows.

Originally Posted by gates70

...people need to realize that media and streaming will coexist, end of story.

The problem is that they won't coexist for every title. As streaming gets more and more popular the physical option will disappear for most TV shows. I'm not against streaming as an option, but I'm strongly against it being the only option.

[Ray Jackson]

I'm scared.

[GasmaskAvenger]

Originally Posted by Cranston37

You want to know what the state of physical media is? The state of physical media is that Sony just announced the new PS4 that can stream 4K titles, but not play 4K discs (which Sony themselves would presumably want to sell if they thought they could). THAT'S the state of physical media...

Then buy an XBOX One S.

I can keep my regular PS4 and buy the XBOX One S for 4K UHD playback. Easy peasy, really.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

Then buy an XBOX One S.

I can keep my regular PS4 and buy the XBOX One S for 4K UHD playback. Easy peasy, really.

The bigger concern is that if the PS4 Pro had UHD playback it would have put UHD players into the hands of people who normally wouldn't have bought them (just as the PS3 & PS2 did for Blu-ray & DVD). This would help increase UHD Blu-ray's popularity. More popularity means more titles would be released.

[GasmaskAvenger]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

The bigger concern is that if the PS4 Pro had UHD playback it would have put UHD players into the hands of people who normally wouldn't have bought them (just as the PS3 & PS2 did for Blu-ray & DVD). This would help increase UHD Blu-ray's popularity.

Exactly, so now Sony is going to lose easy money to Microsoft just by the lack of 4K UHD disc playback on their now rather useless PS4 Pro.

Big mistake on Sony's part IMO.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

Exactly, so now Sony is going to lose easy money to Microsoft just by the lack of 4K UHD disc playback.

Big mistake on Sony's part IMO.

I'm also strongly against Xbox One's policies so it's unfortunate that a stupid mistake like this will cause some people to choose Xbox One over Playstation 4.

[GasmaskAvenger]

I don't even own the original XBOX One to begin with, so I do agree with that sentiment.

On the same vocation, however, I feel like the PS4 Pro seems like a bit of a rip-off for me at this time and place as someone who owns a PS4 that was bought several months after the system's initial launch.

[doctor_who]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

I'm also strongly against Xbox One's policies so it's unfortunate that a stupid mistake like this will cause some people to choose Xbox One over Playstation 4.

Like me

[GasmaskAvenger]

Even if I do get the XBOX One S or Project Scorpion (whatever the hell that is), I probably will only use it for 4K UHD playback.

I get most of my games on the PS4 anyway and will likely remain that way.

[Cranston37]

Originally Posted by gates70

Yes because PS4 players dictate where media is going...people need to realize that media and streaming will coexist, end of story.

But as a fan of physical media, doesn't it piss you off that it isn't being given every chance to thrive by a bestselling console like the PS4 not being able to play them?

Physical and streaming can't co-exist if the hardware slowly gets phased out. When was the last time you loaded software into your computer via a disc and not an app?

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

Even if I do get the XBOX One S or Project Scorpion (whatever the hell that is), I probably will only use it for 4K UHD playback.

I get most of my games on the PS4 anyway and will likely remain that way.

In that case you're better off buying a stand-alone player. From everything I've heard the stand-alone players easily beat Xbox One S for UHD playback.

[GasmaskAvenger]

Alrighty then. Hopefully there's some good Black Friday deals on the standalone players (as i've been hoping for the past few months).

[gates70]

Originally Posted by Cranston37

But as a fan of physical media, doesn't it piss you off that it isn't being given every chance to thrive by a bestselling console like the PS4 not being able to play them?

Physical and streaming can't co-exist if the hardware slowly gets phased out. When was the last time you loaded software into your computer via a disc and not an app?

Of course it pisses me off. I hate streaming.

Apples and oranges. Apps and games retain their graphics etc while you get the best presentation of video and audio on disc for movies.

[I KEEL YOU]

I'm not sure if PS4 Pro not having UHD playback is a blow for Sony or a blow for the UHD market. Probably a bit of both. Well, definitely a bit of both. This was just a terrible move for all concerned. The only winners are Microsoft.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by I KEEL YOU

I'm not sure if PS4 Pro not having UHD playback is a blow for Sony or a blow for the UHD market. Probably a bit of both. Well, definitely a bit of both. This was just a terrible move for all concerned. The only winners are Microsoft.

I really doubt it matters much. Sony have made great gains by keeping the PS4 gaming focused, and UHD will be a super niche product no matter what.

[I KEEL YOU]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

I really doubt it matters much. Sony have made great gains by keeping the PS4 gaming focused, and UHD will be a super niche product no matter what.

I don't see how the PS4 Pro being able to play UHDs would take away anything from gaming. It's not a service they would be offering, like they would need a sub-division of employees to keep UHD playback going. It's a one time thing, where they could've added this feature and it would be over with.

And no matter how niche UHD will be, it will be a huge blow for the format. In fact, you could argue that the fact that it was so niche to begin with makes this an even bigger blow for the format since it really needed a bump forward.

Their consoles have always been famous for playing physical media. For a while, it seemed like PS3 was completely intertwined with the blu ray format. So many blu rays had a sticker on the cover that said "Plays on a PlayStation 3". My first DVD player was a PS2. Hell, even before that, way back in 1995 I remember being impressed with my friends that the PS1 could play audio CDs because CD players were not that common/cheap in 1995 as they would be over the following years.

You're delusional if you think that this isn't a huge blow.

[darkness2918]

I'm fine with regular BDs & DVDs, not really a fan of digital. If UHD discs don't take off, get killed off or remain niche it wont really bother or affect me at all.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

I'm fine with regular BDs & DVDs, not really a fan of digital. If UHD discs don't take off, get killed off or remain niche it wont really bother or affect me at all.

Even for those who aren't interested in UHD it not doing well is bad for all physical media. Many people on this forum have commented that they prefer physical media to digital but will buy digital HD over DVD. The same will likely apply to digital 4K and regular Blu-ray in the future. Therefore if UHD Blu-ray fails it may push more people to digital because physical can't match the quality.

[veritas]

I would say the biggest problem with digital media is the fact that it simply isn't reliable. last week my internet started acting funny and since my dl speed dropped significantly i could not watch in hd till i got that fixed. My desktop computer cant play hd video on most services because it doesnt meet whatever compliance they want and my smart tv cant hold itunes and vudu isnt on the apple tv. My iphone and ipad cant play vudu in hd and the sd is well below dvd quality on the app somtimes bordering on a high qualty vhs.

I remember planning a trip so i figured i would put some vudu movies on my ipad and each movie at the highest dl possible last year was coming out to 300mb for a full length movie (you could probably even see problems on a watch with this level of compression). When thats the best the service will offer why even bother at all.


It really is just kind of frustrating I have 5 different system to potentially use services like itunes vudu or amazon but they are all flawed in qualty drm availablity etc.

It means I have to have multiple devices a high speed internet and sometimes get new monitors or get rid of spare secondary monitors. Even then sometimes the network is just down on vudus side. I then have to deal with either being locked into a ecosystem or I have to jump though hoops with multiple services because digital leads to monopolies and no second hand market leading to eventually having monopoly prices.

Anyway thats the end of my rant. I actually do like vudu and itunes and I think vudus video service is worth around 1$ a movie if for nothing else then for the slim hope they decide to shut down and will roll those movies over to itunes when the streaming perimid comes crashing down