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

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by cpr3584

I guess i shouldnt have said "all in" i still love physical copies and there are about 50 that i will never get rid off. I'm just using VUDU more and more these days.

The issue is that in the future some movies that would have been in your "never get rid off" category will only be available digitally and you won't be able to buy a permanent copy. Less support for physical media means there are less movies that people have the option of keeping.

[cpr3584]

I realize this and thats why im hanging onto them- your point is proven with the fact that cannot find a physical copy for sale of T2 or Indiana Jones anywhere in my city. Even buying them off amazon may not be an option in years to come.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by cpr3584

I realize this and thats why im hanging onto them- your point is proven with the fact that cannot find a physical copy for sale of T2 or Indiana Jones anywhere in my city. Even buying them off amazon may not be an option in years to come.

That's not true at all. Even if Amazon doesn't sell them directly there are thousands of marketplace sellers with used copies.

Physical media's main advantage is that is doesn't require official distributors. Anyone can resell their discs for decades (or perhaps even centuries) without any involvement from the content owners.

[Wasgo]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

The issue is that in the future some movies that would have been in your "never get rid off" category will only be available digitally and you won't be able to buy a permanent copy.

Is there a single digital movie that you can't download and store offline? The file authorization is stored locally and can be saved along with the digital media.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by Wasgo

Is there a single digital movie that you can't download and store offline? The file authorization is stored locally and can be saved along with the digital media.

The authorization is tied to a single device. If that device breaks and the digital movie is no longer offered then you'll be unable to play it. If my Blu-ray player breaks I can just replace it and all of my discs will work on the new player, no authorization required.

The used market ensures that my player and all my discs will always be replaceable whether or not official support continues. But buying a digital movie requires official support and playing an already purchased digital movie on a new device also requires official support.

[randian]

I buy music downloads, but only high-res lossless in FLAC or ALAC from places like HDtracks and 7Digital. I get the best available, but never less than 24/48, up to 24/192. Can't stand the lossy stuff at iTunes. It's a niche market that could be bigger but I don't think the studios really want to grow it, much like their failure to meaningfully market SACD. Their attempts to push MQA (a lossy codec with DRM) are pernicious.

[Texan26]

CDs still sell because people buy them just to transfer the music to their iTunes or mp3 players. Then they resell it or dump it. People don't go carrying around DiscMans and cd wallets anymore.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by Texan26

CDs still sell because people buy them just to transfer the music to their iTunes or mp3 players. Then they resell it or dump it. People don't go carrying around DiscMans and cd wallets anymore.

They wouldn't sell in nearly as high of numbers if everyone resold the CDs after ripping them. I rip all of my CDs but I also keep all of my CDs. It's the best of both worlds: the record companies can't make anything unavailable and everything is just as convenient as downloads.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by cpr3584

I realize this and thats why im hanging onto them- your point is proven with the fact that cannot find a physical copy for sale of T2 or Indiana Jones anywhere in my city. Even buying them off amazon may not be an option in years to come.

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

That's not true at all. Even if Amazon doesn't sell them directly there are thousands of marketplace sellers with used copies.

Physical media's main advantage is that is doesn't require official distributors. Anyone can resell their discs for decades (or perhaps even centuries) without any involvement from the content owners.

Yes, but who wants Old DVD's and Blu-rays, even now I can't sell them. Nobody wants Old Formats, they want the latest. If you really think about it, do you go back and watch your Old DVD's. Maybe a hand full of people might, but if people have the latest UHD set-up and Sound they are not going to watch Old DVD's!

[randian]

Apparently a lot of people like DVDs since Walmart has gotten rid of most of their blu-rays in-store.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by randian

Apparently a lot of people like DVDs since Walmart has gotten rid of most of their blu-rays in-store.

Blurays are rivals to their Vudu digital copies, it would make sense. Also, isn't Walmart a store where people buy mostly cheap goods? DVD's would also make sense.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Yes, but who wants Old DVD's and Blu-rays, even now I can't sell them. Nobody wants Old Formats, they want the latest. If you really think about it, do you go back and watch your Old DVD's. Maybe a hand full of people might, but if people have the latest UHD set-up and Sound they are not going to watch Old DVD's!

Em, yes they do. You would be amazed at how many people stil have portable DVD players for their kids with a huge stack of Disney DVDs.

Almost all homes I visit (and I visit a lot) have a DVD player kicking about and access to discs. People have no issues at all playing back DVD on a 4K set. Portable players are still in abundance too. It's for the kids and as we all know (kids and young adults couldn't care less about quality these days)
Besides that, there are a great many people with children who have special needs, who rely on DVD. Tablets are not suitable for people with certain disabilities as they tend to touch the screen all the time. It might sound like a odd fact to bring up, but that's the real world. Don't forget, DVD was a smash hit and millions bought into the format.
The odd few blind buys that I have sold (Bluray) presented no issues at all when selling. Maybe you need to lower your price?

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by squatting hen

I have a small work group and I have mentioned this before about disc sales, but only one person here, and it's her husband still buys CD's. Nobody else "buys" anything. They use Pandora, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube and one person uses Microsoft Music. I know it is a small sample and in no way am I stating this represents the whole. I personally don't know anyone that buys movies, or CD's anymore. Family or Friends.

It's been years since I bought a CD. I can only guess now, but at one point I probably had a few hundred easily. Ah....BMG Music, Columbia House....those were the days. 13 for the price of one! Now most of them sit in a binder as all the cases and artwork have been tossed. The binder is somewhere....

I know loads of people who still buy discs. They make great Christmas presents and some people still love quality. Swings and roundabouts.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Yes, but who wants Old DVD's and Blu-rays, even now I can't sell them. Nobody wants Old Formats, they want the latest.

I don't know why you think most people want the latest formats, DVD continues to outsell Blu-ray by a wide margin. If I remember correctly DVD accounts for about 60% of physical media sales. That means that in 2016 in the United States DVDs made over 3 billion dollars. That's ridiculously high for a format nobody wants. All digital purchases (SD, HD, & UHD combined) only made about 2 billion dollars.

[Arch Stanton]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Yes, but who wants Old DVD's and Blu-rays, even now I can't sell them. Nobody wants Old Formats, they want the latest. If you really think about it, do you go back and watch your Old DVD's. Maybe a hand full of people might, but if people have the latest UHD set-up and Sound they are not going to watch Old DVD's!

Aghhh come on, this stuff is blatantly untrue. Between this and your infuriatingly random capitalisation of words it's such a pain reading this constant drivel from you.

[SarahS]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

I don't know why you think most people want the latest formats, DVD continues to outsell Blu-ray by a wide margin. If I remember correctly DVD accounts for about 60% of physical media sales. That means that in 2016 in the United States DVDs made over 3 billion dollars. That's ridiculously high for a format nobody wants. All digital purchases (SD, HD, & UHD combined) only made about 2 billion dollars.

Just curious as to why you would want to spend so much time on a topic that you don't support and don't collect? It seems pretty obvious that you can't stand the streaming/digital medium. You would not believe the amount of people that I know and have talked to that have either given up or are in the process of converting their collections to digital. One trip to ebay to see all the physical media for sale "without" the digital code should tell you something. The only Physical Media I hold on to are the films that are not yet released in the digital format or that are in SD only. The solution for physical media would have been to have Sony slash those insane prices onethe 400 disc players they use to sell. Now If I had a few of those at 6000 dollars total for three of them I might have kept my physical media.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by SarahS

Just curious as to why you would want to spend so much time on a topic that you don't support and don't collect? It seems pretty obvious that you can't stand the streaming/digital medium.

Just read my signature. I believe strongly in the preservation of the arts and digital media a threat to that. When one company controls every copy of each title then anything can disappear.

I don't expect to change the minds of any of the hardcore digital supporters in this thread but I don't think they are the only ones reading it. This thread has been viewed over 100,000 times. Some of those people are probably more on the fence and it's important they are given both sides before they make a decision.

Originally Posted by SarahS

One trip to ebay to see all the physical media for sale "without" the digital code should tell you something.

It tells me that there are plenty of people (the sellers) who are only interested in digital copies and there are plenty of other people (the buyers) who are only interested in physical copies. How can you only see one side of that?

It also tells me that there are plenty of people who aren't interested in physical media but are buying combo packs. Those purchases support physical media just as much as they support digital. If everyone just buys combo packs then everything will be available on both physical media and digital, it's a win-win for everyone.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by SarahS

Just curious as to why you would want to spend so much time on a topic that you don't support and don't collect? It seems pretty obvious that you can't stand the streaming/digital medium. You would not believe the amount of people that I know and have talked to that have either given up or are in the process of converting their collections to digital. One trip to ebay to see all the physical media for sale "without" the digital code should tell you something. The only Physical Media I hold on to are the films that are not yet released in the digital format or that are in SD only. The solution for physical media would have been to have Sony slash those insane prices onethe 400 disc players they use to sell. Now If I had a few of those at 6000 dollars total for three of them I might have kept my physical media.

What a pathetic post. Blu-ray Disc prices have been reasonable for a long long time. You are talking about when the format was first introduced. That's the same for all tech and formats. Some of us value film, we are not part of this self centred, entitled brigade that think all film should cost a couple of dollars or even be free. We happen to love and adore film, that's what separates us from (IMO) the likes of yourself. A product is released that offers high quality, I happily pay for it at a fair price.

By the way, you are not Slick1ru2 in disguise are you?

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

What a pathetic post. Blu-ray Disc prices have been reasonable for a long long time. You are talking about when the format was first introduced. That's the same for all tech and formats. Some of us value film, we are not part of this self centred, entitled brigade that think all film should cost a couple of dollars or even be free. We happen to love and adore film, that's what separates us from (IMO) the likes of yourself.

She specifically mentioned the insane prices of multi-disc players.

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-BDP-CX70...dp/B002JIMRFC/

There was nothing in her post about Blu-ray disc prices.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

She specifically mentioned the insane prices of multi-disc players.

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-BDP-CX70...dp/B002JIMRFC/

There was nothing in her post about Blu-ray disc prices.

Ok, my bad.

I don't see the relevance though. What does multi disc players have to do with anything? No one is that lazy surely?