Physical & Digital EST: The Future of Home Video Discussion Thread

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

I and others are fortunate to have an Oppo with a region free kit attached/installed. I forgot to mention this to gotmule when he said he may sell is Oppo.

The Panasonic 4K disc players have a button pressing trick on the remote that sometimes, but not always, allows discs from other regions to be played.

Originally Posted by Geoff D

There are two main 'hacks'. One is where you program a oneforall-type remote with a specific set of codes and it unlocks region-free DVD playback (though a US-based machine may still not play PAL discs despite the region code).

The other is the 'stop - top menu' trick with Blu-ray whereby you press 'stop' when the 'this disc will not play in your region' screen comes up and then press 'top menu' or one of the numbered buttons on the remote which boots the disc to the menu or main title and bypasses the region lock. This is not a 100% foolproof method as there will be some discs that don't respond to this workaround, however you won't know which ones until you or someone else has tried them.

[Wendell R. Breland]

@ Vilya

Have you tried Dolby Upmixer or DTS Neural X with any non immersive content?

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

The Panasonic 4K disc players have a button pressing trick on the remote that often, but not always, allows for all region playback. The necessary button sequence has been posted in the Panasonic thread many times.

Have not looked into that aspect of the Pannys. Had saw them listed at 220-Electronics so assumed they would need a mod.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

@ Vilya

Have you tried Dolby Upmixer or DTS Neural X with any non immersive content?

I have not watched any non-immersive content yet; still having too much fun being immersed.

I am guessing that these two settings simulate an Atmos like effect for non-immersive content? If so, I will give it a try eventually. You, and others, have given me quite the Atmos watchlist to work my way through.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Have not looked into that aspect of the Pannys. Had saw them listed at 220-Electronics so assumed they would need a mod.

The modded players offer multi-region playback with far better reliability. The "top menu trick" apparently works best with locked titles distributed by some licensees, but not so well with titles from the big studios themselves.

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The top menu trick does not work with the vast majority of locked titles from major studios. It's indie stuff like Criterion and Arrow where it works more often than not, though not all indies use the same type of authoring so releases from Kino and Shout rarely work either.

[JohnAV]

How Foreign Streamers Could Save a Canadian Industry on the Brink - Hollywood Reporter 1/18/2021

Canada forcing Netflix and other foreign streamers to pour $800 million annually into local Canadian content will be a lifeline for world-beating creators, say Bill C-10 supporters.

Canadian TV producer Gordon Loverin recently opened an email from Netflix after pitching the American streaming giant on Kanata, a fantasy sci-fi series about First Nation explorers landing on the shores of Europe in 1492 to save their people from extinction.

To his surprise, Loverin and Kanata co-creator and co-writer Pamela Jones discovered they'd been plucked from among 10,000 submissions from Canadian producers to formally pitch their TV series to Netflix in mid-January. "We knew we had a good project. But we weren't holding our breath, and boy were we excited. I literally jumped out of my office chair," Loverin tells The Hollywood Reporter.

After the success of homegrown hits like the Emmy-winning Schitt's Creek and Kim's Convenience on Netflix, the Kanata creators are following an increasingly well-trod path to the international market for Canadian creators. Originally developed at the CBC, Canada's public broadcaster, the what-if drama was pitched as an Indigenous Game of Thrones at the Banff World Media Festival, only to be judged too costly to be financed and produced only out of Canada.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

How Foreign Streamers Could Save a Canadian Industry on the Brink - Hollywood Reporter 1/18/2021

Canada forcing Netflix and other foreign streamers to pour $800 million annually into local Canadian content will be a lifeline for world-beating creators, say Bill C-10 supporters.

Imo, if you can’t beat em, rob em.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Imo, if you can’t beat em, rob em.

I think we have to recognize the industry uses whatever resources they have available to select from. Perhaps we will see a lot more variation of content then ideas that were rejected now being written/filmed than whatever a studio provides. I have seen a lot of USA shows filmed in parts of Canada as examples. I am sure what you watch in the UK, its not all local either.

[gotmule]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

I and others are fortunate to have an Oppo with a region free kit attached/installed. I forgot to mention this to gotmule when he said he may sell is Oppo.

I thought of that also before I ordered the Panny, but the only disc I really wanted at this time was Mr Mercedes, and I have close to 200 discs I own that have never been played along with 20 pieces of vinyl. My collection pales in comparison to Vilya levels, but I still have more than enough to keep me occupied without going outside the US.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by gotmule

I thought of that also before I ordered the Panny, but the only disc I really wanted at this time was Mr Mercedes, and I have close to 200 discs I own that have never been played along with 20 pieces of vinyl. My collection pales in comparison to Vilya levels, but I still have more than enough to keep me occupied without going outside the US.

Having the ability to play discs from any region isn't so much about having an even bigger collection than domestic selection alone makes possible, but rather it is about being able to buy and play that one special movie, or special edition, that you really, really want no matter where in the world it is offered. It is about having access to any movie made (on disc) anywhere.

[JohnAV]

VLC 3.0.12 is now out!

Support for Apple Silicon (Mac M1) and Big Sur, improvements for DASH, RIST, Bluray support, fixes for macOS audio, Windows GPU, crashes and security issues.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

VLC 3.0.12 is now out!

In the early 2000's I remember Rod Hewitt of TSReader making reference to VLC software media player. I tried it just to see what it was like. Since my MIT MDP-100's had silicon decoding (MPEG-2, DVD’s, etc.) I really had no need for a software player but VLC was interesting nonetheless. Sometime in that period Rod also recommended a new standalone device called a “Media Player”, it was made by Roku.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Neither Criterion or Kino are studios; they only license content from studios. Studios often, but not always, insist upon region locking when they license out their movies to companies like Criterion and Kino. The studios decide who can distribute their movies and where.

You're right, they are Distributors, and I wonder how many of them have their own Streaming Channels. I would say if they want to survive both the Studios and Distributors should have their own Streaming Channels!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

You're right, they are Distributors, and I wonder how many of them have their own Streaming Channels. I would say if they want to survive both the Studios and Distributors should have their own Streaming Channels!

Which would saturate the market and cause streaming fatigue to multiply. Not a solution.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

You're right, they are Distributors, and I wonder how many of them have their own Streaming Channels. I would say if they want to survive both the Studios and Distributors should have their own Streaming Channels!

Criterion does have their own streaming service, but they are entirely dependent upon content licensed from the studios as any other licensee would be.

We all want a wide selection of content to choose from, but ever more streaming services risks market saturation. How many such services can survive? Consolidation of these services might be part of streaming's future.

[cheez avenger]

My copies of Prince of Darkness and They Live 4K from Shout Factory have arrived. I can say that the Atmos on POD is fantastic and buries the Studio Canal release, which I also own. They Live is up right after.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

My copies of Prince of Darkness and They Live 4K from Shout Factory have arrived. I can say that the Atmos on POD is fantastic and buries the Studio Canal release, which I also own. They Live is up right after.

Thanks for that info. Have POD in my Netflix disc queue for review but they show availability as unknown.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Has anyone read this article yet?


https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...ix-disney#null


Looks like streaming services are having issues keeping interest to subscribers.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

Has anyone read this article yet?


https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...ix-disney#null


Looks like streaming services are having issues keeping interest to subscribers.

I said way back that six month contracts will come into play eventually before expanding to a year.

Also Object Based Media will be a vital tool to personalise the whole experience.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

Has anyone read this article yet?
Looks like streaming services are having issues keeping interest to subscribers.

Regarding the following:

The problem is that, because they are so easy to cancel, those services are seeing a lot of people leave after they finish watching the shows that convinced them to sign up in the first place. That phenomenon, known in the industry as “churn,” is a growing headache in the streaming wars, according to a new report released Monday night by professional services giant Deloitte.

It's just a reminder that the word is full of streaming cheapskates that want as much as they can get for as little as they can get.

This movie coming shortly reminds me of all those pet squirrel YouTube videos only better. Maybe alchav21 will be reincarnated as a squirrel with his nutty personality.

Flora And Ulysses | Official Trailer | Disney+ - YouTube