Oh noes teh sky is falling!

[PenguinMaster]

The reason the PS4 Pro doesn't support UHD Blu-ray: Streaming.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why.../1100-6443411/

They say their customers are only interested in streaming, but it's pretty obvious that what they're really focused on is making their own 4K streaming service popular and they don't want to create more competition for it.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

The reason the PS4 Pro doesn't support UHD Blu-ray: Streaming.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why.../1100-6443411/

They say their customers are only interested in streaming, but it's pretty obvious that what they're really focused on is making their own 4K streaming service popular and they don't want to create more competition for it.

Yeah, it's funny his comments follow a widely published study that said people are not actually switching to streaming purchases or rentals. I doubt he means subscriptions since those apps are on everything, he is just pushing Sony's movie store and acting like consumers want that, when they don't. In an era where most of my blu-rays start with an ad telling me streaming purchases are better though, this is not a surprise. Studios desperately want people to switch to streaming purchasing.

I also think cost is a factor though, keeping the unit at $399, but he would never say that either. Oh well, at least Sony is releasing a UHD player. They made by far the best BD players IMO, so I will likely get their UHD player.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

I also think cost is a factor though, keeping the unit at $399, but he would never say that either. Oh well, at least Sony is releasing a UHD player. They made by far the best BD players IMO, so I will likely get their UHD player.

The Xbox One S's bill of materials showed that the UHD Blu-ray drive cost Microsoft an additional $16 over a regular Blu-ray drive, so cost is barely a factor.

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

You're both right.

A Sony system having the latest video disc technology is absolutely influential. My first DVD player was a PS2. My first Blu-ray player was a PS3 (and my second was a PS4). The PS4 Pro could have easily done the same for UHD Blu-ray.

With that said, it's a dwindling market. There's no way the PS4 Pro would have the same impact the PS2 likely had on DVDs and the PS3 had on Blu-rays. It would have helped, yes, but that ship is slowly sailing away.

Absolutely. Until now Sony had always been at the forefront of pushing new disc media with their game consoles. PS2 was also my first DVD player and I bought a PS3 sooner rather than later for it's ability to play Blu-Ray.

I do find it a bit baffling that Sony wouldn't include UHD support for the Pro, especially since the own the damn patent and Microsoft is using it on their console. I know the allegedly want to sell their standalone player, but its not as if they weren't also releasing DVD and Blu-ray standalone players when the other consoles came out too

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

I do find it a bit baffling that Sony wouldn't include UHD support for the Pro, especially since the own the damn patent and Microsoft is using it on their console.

What are you trying to say here since Blu-ray's core patent pool is shared by Panasonic (who has the most), Pioneer, Philips and Sony.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

They made by far the best BD players IMO.

One of my players is Sony and Winnie the Pooh refused to play on it. When I contacted them and mentioned they didn't have a firmware update for this player since 2012, they linked me to a firmware update for the same 2012 update I told them about. When I responded that it was the old update I mentioned previously and that players I bought from Panasonic for half the price played the movie just fine, they said it wasn't their problem and I should buy their newer models. The Panasonic player was 2 years older than Sony's POS!

You say they are the best, I say I'll never buy another Sony player as long as I live.

[film11]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

On eBay the UBD-K8500 frequently goes for under $220 without having to buy a TV.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...rt=nc&LH_BIN=1

From various reports I've read from owners, it seems to be a pretty glitchy player. At least some folks are probably dumping them once they either see there's not much difference offered by the media or the player starts acting up. I did get a chuckle at the very first one I saw listed via that link..."Doesn't work. Selling for parts only."

[I KEEL YOU]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

It wasn't your PS4 Pros sold number I was referring to. No way a million people try out UHD because of that machine, whether it sells a few million units or even twenty million units. No way.

I can only speak for myself, but I wanted to try UHD because of that machine. I don't have a UHD player and as soon as I read about Sony upgrading their PS4 to a newer more powerful console, I thought "Great, now I can get a more powerful upgraded console AND a UHD player all in one. If the gaming upgrade aspect disappoints, at least I have a UHD player as a consolation price to fall back on."

Anyway, what upsets me the most is that Sony TRICKED ME and people like myself who bought PS4 because they made you believe that they were the guardians of physical media. I owned a Xbox 360 the previous generation and when Microsoft was supposed to release the Xbox One, they had all these crap restrictions that made me and a lot of others feel like they wouldn't own the games we bought. Things like DRM, required Internet connectivity which meant games being "locked" to a certain console. Then Sony made this famous video making fun of these policies while simultaneously showing that their console is not like that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWSIFh8ICaA

These stupid policies made me switch to PlayStation and believe me, it took a lot to make me switch. But now the tables have turned completely and Microsoft look like the saviors of physical media:



WTF?? I hate corporations and how they deceive you like this. Make you trust them and then do a 180 and **** you up the ***.

[mar3o]

I was reading this article today and I'm actually furious with Sony at this point:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/0...-andrew-house/

This confirms Sony didn't include a UHD drive in the new PS4 simply because they want to force you to use their streaming services instead. Well screw Sony. The PS3 was what brought blu-ray to tons of homes. Sony makes UHD TVS and is one of the biggest film studios, and they just put out the new PS4 claiming 4k support, yet they purposely left out UHD disc support. I hope sales of the new PS4 tank. The new XBOXONE is a far better deal at this point and includes a full UHD player. I don't buy consoles anyways as I'm a PC gamer, but when the time comes to pick up a UHD player, the PS4 wouldn't even be an option, whereas the new XBOXONE is worth a consideration.

Also, Sony doesn't seem to care about this:

Average internet speed in the USA = 12.6 Mbps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...nection_speeds


Required speed to stream UHD Netflix = 25 Mbps
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13444

The fact is the majority of the US is not set up to handle 4k streaming, between data caps and poor bandwidth speed. And in most US cities, you do not have a choice of providers. I'm double-lucky - I have Verizon FiOS which is awesome but even if they weren't and I wanted to switch, I have another choice of cable provider in my area. Most don't.

Sony is ignoring facts to push their agenda, and I hope it backfires. There's still a market for physical media. What Sony is telling us is they themselves have zero confidence in the new UHD format. Microsoft seems to have more confidence in it than Sony at this point.

[eiknarf]

Maybe, instead of us asking, "Will blu-ray still be around in ___ years?" we should be asking, "Will streaming still be around in ___ years?"

Obviously, it looks like streaming is here to stay.

I just don't want Blu-ray to one day be a tech from the past, like floppy disks, beepers, Divx, DATs, or Laser Disc.

"Dude, remember Blu-ray?"

[The Batman Professor]

Originally Posted by eiknarf

Maybe, instead of us asking, "Will blu-ray still be around in ___ years?" we should be asking, "Will streaming still be around in ___ years?"

Obviously, it looks like streaming is here to stay.

I just don't want Blu-ray to one day be a tech from the past, like floppy disks, beepers, Divx, DATs, or Laser Disc.

"Dude, remember Blu-ray?"

Tragically, that seems to be an inevitability. I asked a class of 20 students this week to raise their hands if they had purchased a movie on blu or dvd within the past month - one person raised their hand.

I asked how they watch movies - "Netflix and youtube."

[DarenG]

I used to just buy Blu-Ray discs on a whim even if the movie was just OK to expand my collection. Count me as one who has gotten extremely conservative in purchasing anything new because of wanting everything in the new 4K HDR format. It kills me to wait but it's what I am doing.

[The Batman Professor]

I've thought about this quite a bit, and Blu-ray is the end of the line for me. 4K is only going to speed the demise of physical IMO, due to it further confusing consumers.

I'm tired of buying the same movies over and over. Don't even want to think about how much money I threw at LD back in the day.

4K is the new 3D - a niche of a niche.

[eiknarf]

Originally Posted by The Batman Professor

Tragically, that seems to be an inevitability. I asked a class of 20 students this week to raise their hands if they had purchased a movie on blu or dvd within the past month - one person raised their hand.

I asked how they watch movies - "Netflix and youtube."

So it's because of the kids... The younger generation. They're pushing blu-ray aside.

All the things that I mentioned dying (Divx, Beepers, DATs, Laser Disc...etc) didn't die because of kids. Those techs died on their own.

But, the youth of today seems to be the incentive for the pushing aside of blu-ray in favor of streaming.

So my question is, what if all us 30 - 60 year olds stopped aging and never died? Would Blu-ray last longer?

[josephga]

Originally Posted by The Batman Professor

I've thought about this quite a bit, and Blu-ray is the end of the line for me. 4K is only going to speed the demise of physical IMO, due to it further confusing consumers.

I'm tired of buying the same movies over and over. Don't even want to think about how much money I threw at LD back in the day.

4K is the new 3D - a niche of a niche.

Same here. I have started being more picky over what i purchase. without getting rid of anything i have the space for maybe 60 more titles. After that i may get rid of some of my dvds for more blu rays or stop collecting

[The Batman Professor]

Originally Posted by eiknarf

All the things that I mentioned dying (Divx, Beepers, DATs, Laser Disc...etc) didn't die because of kids. Those techs died on their own

Those techs died because they were supplanted by something better. Anyone who thinks streaming is better than physical see only the convenience, and seem to not be bothered by the inferior quality of the presentation.

[eiknarf]

Originally Posted by The Batman Professor

Those techs died because they were supplanted by something better. Anyone who thinks streaming is better than physical see only the convenience, and seem to not be bothered by the inferior quality of the presentation.

Exactly. It's the kids choosing convenience over quality.

However, Betamax was superior to VHS, but VHS won, yet it had nothing to do with convenience. So what happened there?

When it comes to the convenience of streaming vs Blu-ray, it's kinda like how mp3's are more convenient than CDs.

Only in that case, audio is a secondary function while movie watching is a primary function.

.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by The Batman Professor

I've thought about this quite a bit, and Blu-ray is the end of the line for me. 4K is only going to speed the demise of physical IMO, due to it further confusing consumers.

I'm tired of buying the same movies over and over. Don't even want to think about how much money I threw at LD back in the day.

4K is the new 3D - a niche of a niche.

I am definitely willing to re-purchase major horror / cult / genre classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Evil Dead, etc on 4k. However, the rest of my horror / cult / genre collection will probably stop with Blu ray. I have a 50" plasma right now and will probably never have a TV bigger than 60" or, if I am lucky to have the space and money, 70" and new formats will not be that big enough of a leap forward for me at that size range.

[Ggould1975]

Originally Posted by The Batman Professor

I've thought about this quite a bit, and Blu-ray is the end of the line for me. 4K is only going to speed the demise of physical IMO, due to it further confusing consumers.

I'm tired of buying the same movies over and over. Don't even want to think about how much money I threw at LD back in the day.

4K is the new 3D - a niche of a niche.

I hear ya I'm with ya on that!

[The Batman Professor]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

I am definitely willing to re-purchase major horror / cult / genre classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Evil Dead, etc on 4k. However, the rest of my horror / cult / genre collection will probably stop with Blu ray. I have a 50" plasma right now and will probably never have a TV bigger than 60" or, if I am lucky to have the space and money, 70" and new formats will not be that big enough of a leap forward for me at that size range.

TCM is my all-time favorite horror, but do you really think 4K can squeeze that much more out of a film shot on 16mm?