Disney Blu-ray discs "dethroned" by Disney's Streaming Service?

[Jim Collins]

I know that the "Blu-ray vs Digital" debate has been talked about many times, but Disney's recent announcements about their upcoming digital service got me cold feet about the future of Disney's blu-ray discs. That beind said, do you think that the introduction of Disney's new streaming service, which will include original films, animated films, tv series & blockbuster films, will decrease Disney's blu-ray discs' sales or even stop their production? The company will surely desire more and more subscribers and ,thus, may even prolong blu-ray release dates, so that the streaming service can show new films before their respective release dates.
*By the way, how do you feel about the new "Star Wars", "Monsters Inc." & "High School Musical" Tv Series that were announced a few days ago?
I'm beyond excited about "Monsters-Inc", but I do hope it is a CGI continuation of the original

[imsounoriginal]

I'm sure discs will still get made, but I just worry about how much effort they're gonna put into extras. Disney's already not the best when it comes to those.

[recS-12]

I think, and have thought, this is just another stream of revenue to profit from. As long as any of the formats are still selling & making money, they will continue to support all of them.

[Nailwraps]

As long as people still buy DVDs/Blus, the studios will still make them.

Streaming is just an option, not THE option.

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by Jim Collins

I know that the "Blu-ray vs Digital" debate has been talked about many times, but Disney's recent announcements about their upcoming digital service got me cold feet about the future of Disney's blu-ray discs. That beind said, do you think that the introduction of Disney's new streaming service, which will include original films, animated films, tv series & blockbuster films, will decrease Disney's blu-ray discs' sales or even stop their production?

No. This is needless hand wringing. Physical media represents a huge revenue stream for Disney, and that won't change with the arrival of its own streaming service.

[OneWayFilms]

I was shocked when I discovered that NEWSIES: THE BROADWAY SHOW was only being released for streaming only. It's been available for streaming and even on Netflix now for awhile....but there's STILL no bluray announced. Fans of Newsies are BEGGING for DVD and Bluray....but so far..NOTHING but silence from Disney.

So yeah.....this is starting to concern me.

I can't help but wonder if this is going to lead to other things.

[Ernest Rister]

Disney's been trying to get a remake of 20,000 Leagues off the ground for years. I imagine they're waiting on that finally seeing the light of day to release the original film. Meanwhile, the HD version is available on Movies Anywhere (I own it), along with the restored Three Caballeros and the HD version of Third Man on the Mountain. I picked up Never Cry Wolf on DMA last year -- it's sourced from an IP, it's nowhere near as striking as I'd hoped it would be...looks more like a cleaner version of the old Anchor Bay DVD.

[OneWayFilms]

Yes, Disney has SEVERAL titles available for HD streaming that is NOT available on bluray. A very sad move on their part.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by OneWayFilms

Yes, Disney has SEVERAL titles available for HD streaming that is NOT available on bluray. A very sad move on their part.

While we're on that subject there are many titles that are in HD from all of the studios either on CAB/SAT and/or streaming service like VUDU or Amazon that are not on BD.

[Nailwraps]

Originally Posted by Terry Dactyl

Seems a good idea but Disney don't seem interested in exploiting their back catalogue beyond what's already been available for 10 years

They've begun sublicensing deals with Kino and VEI this year, not with their catalog, but with the Touchstone, ABC Pictures, and Hollywood and ABC Studios catalogs respectively.

Originally Posted by Terry Dactyl

What about the obvious market for Blurays of Disney shorts or releases like the Disney Treasures tins?

We just got to convince them more. Everytime they post a cartoon on their DMA Facebook, let them know.

Speaking of, I still have this petition going around (and please don't start with the whole "petitions don't work" thing, I don't care).

https://www.change.org/p/the-walt-di...make-it-happen

[Buscemi]

The streaming service is really more of an attempt at a Netflix killer than anything. Think of the shows as being similar to Netflix Originals.

[kevin87]

They won't stop, no, and if they did then I wouldn't be supporting Disney anymore. I have Netflix, I have Amazon Prime... I don't need more, so I'm not subscribing to another service and if I did, it'd be Hulu. What all these companies don't seem to realize is that the more services that are introduced, the more people will have to prioritize them and pick and choose because nobody's going to subscribe to EVERYTHING unless they just have so much ridiculous disposable income that they can just throw it away. The more services there are, the more companies will pull their support for the aggregated ones like Netflix and A-Prime to start their own which dilutes the market, weakening all of them.

I see the theatrical movies still being released on BD but the originals made for the streaming service might not get released so give the streaming service some kind of draw for the consumers. Plus, it's not like we get very much Disney owned TV on BD anyway.

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

As long as people still buy DVDs/Blus, the studios will still make them.

Streaming is just an option, not THE option.

Exactly, although I probably would have said, "Streaming is just an option, but not the only option." I can only imagine a similar topic if we'd have had the internet when cable came around and physical media is still around

[grodd]

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

They've begun sublicensing deals with Kino and VEI this year, not with their catalog, but with the Touchstone, ABC Pictures, and Hollywood and ABC Studios catalogs respectively.



We just got to convince them more. Everytime they post a cartoon on their DMA Facebook, let them know.

Speaking of, I still have this petition going around (and please don't start with the whole "petitions don't work" thing, I don't care).

https://www.change.org/p/the-walt-di...make-it-happen

While I can't say for sure what will be made available, new artwork/banners/size formated artwork etc. was created for almost the entire catalog. With exception to maybe some shorts and a few other things. Even a ton of older ABC/TV as well.

[shinobipopcorn]

I might be inclined to sign up for this Disney service depending on what all is available and how long each item stays up, but I won't look to it as a substitute for home media. I still play my VHS every once in a while for crying out loud due to how often Disney fiddles around with their properties. How many times have we bought The Lion King or Cinderella and been screwed over with missing this or that? Or things like Fantasia and Lady and the Tramp that have different sound or ARs on various editions.

God forbid they put that terrible enhanced Mary Poppins up and you get stuck with it.

[InuYashaCrusade]

I'm looking forward to it in all honesty. Disney is probably the only big studio out there that I would 100% be in on a streaming service for. Between Marvel, the classic Disney films and the new ones I'm interested. Especially if they start premiering the Netflix Marvel series there and doing that transition.

I'll still buy the Blu-rays of the films that I really love and then stream the rest.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

While we're on that subject there are many titles that are in HD from all of the studios either on CAB/SAT and/or streaming service like VUDU or Amazon that are not on BD.

Very true...waited years to see Shadowlands, Immortal Beloved, and Tucker: The Man and His Dream in HD, now I can. None of these new masters are on physical disc. It ain't da evil mouse, I saw the canary in the coal mine for physical media last year. If consumers are willing to pay a price point for a movie, let's say $19.99. They're fine with that. Ok, if you can eliminate the costs of physical production, shipping, packaging and distribution, the retailer sharing, the shelf-space wars, all to move product -- if you can do all that and still sell the same movie to the same consumer for the same price point? Via impulse buying by people with various devices including their own TVs? Why in the world wouldn't the studios pounce on that? Wouldn't you, if you had a responsibility to your share-holders? Streaming, in theory, is a damn gold mine, *and* if it means more obscure product can be accessed when it would struggle in brick and mortar stores and even on Amazon, the film fans win, too (never thought I'd see Disney give some HD love to Third Man on the Mountain, this gives them a palpable reason to, yes?). We're on the event horizon of an epic shift in media delivery concerning cinema. Films are routinely coming to your local theaters via hard drives and downloaded files, not film prints. Yes, I still prefer physical media...but as someone who had to turn off the DVD of Shadowlands last year because it was non-anamorphic and the sound complete ear mud -- to see that movie visually and sonically reborn in HD and on a 60" screen in my living room via streaming...I'm starting to appreciate the upside of streaming models.

The canary is singing.

[Nailwraps]

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/11/...-are-thriving/

[Michael24]

Oh, to know there's an HD version of Third Man on the Mountain but it's only available for streaming? Argh! I keep hoping they'll make it at least a DMC release at some point.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Michael24

Oh, to know there's an HD version of Third Man on the Mountain but it's only available for streaming? Argh! I keep hoping they'll make it at least a DMC release at some point.

Don't get too excited -- it's miles ahead of the DVD, which used an old LD master (maybe even an old VHS master) and on top of that, looked like it was sourced from an IP buried in kitty litter. Compared to THAT, the VUDU version of Third Man on the Mountain looks great, BUT it's still very much a film of its time and budget. I'm not terribly sure a 1080p BD release would look *that* much better than the Vudu 1080p streaming version, but I'd buy the BD anyway as a backup.

Oh, if the idea of Third Man on the Mountain in HD bothers you, you're gonna really hate me for this...

So is another film from 1959. It has Sean Connery and Leprechauns, a lot of trick photography, and a freaky scary banshee. You may have heard of it. Disney's been far kinder to that over the years than Third Man, so the 1080p version isn't really as dramatic an improvement as the remaster for Third Man on the Mountain, but it's still the best I've ever seen either.