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

[Blu-ray Neo]

I will always be a "physical" guy.

If the time comes and everything goes digital streaming, that will be the day I no longer purchase films.

People tend to overlook the big picture in the grand scheme of things. The whole point of digital is to strip you of your ownership rights. They take control of said content away from you.... By purchasing physical media, you're protected by the SCOTUS under the "First Sale Doctrine". You own said purchase and while you still can't copy it for personal gain, you can resell it, give it away or do whatever you wanna do with it.


With digital, they're the gatekeepers.....and I don't trust that one bit. Besides they're exempt from the "First Sale Doctrine" which means at any time they wanna revoke your access to said digital content, they can....



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I know about Copper, I Retired from AT&T, and as a kid I ran jumpers and connected Cable Pairs to Phone Line Equipment in the Central Office. That was many years ago, and it was still being used years before that. Why do you think Copper DSL is not upgraded....Too costly and Obsolete!

You need to look up obsolete in a dictionary bud.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Blu-ray Neo

I will always be a "physical" guy.

If the time comes and everything goes digital streaming, that will be the day I no longer purchase films.

People tend to overlook the big picture in the grand scheme of things. The whole point of digital is to strip you of your ownership rights. They take control of said content away from you.... By purchasing physical media, you're protected by the SCOTUS under the "First Sale Doctrine". You own said purchase and while you still can't copy it for personal gain, you can resell it, give it away or do whatever you wanna do with it.


With digital, they're the gatekeepers.....and I don't trust that one bit. Besides they're exempt from the "First Sale Doctrine" which means at any time they wanna revoke your access to said digital content, they can....



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine

We know that!

[PenguinMaster]

But the digital supporters obviously don't care. They are perfectly fine with giving up their rights for some extra convenience.

[Texan26]

I wasn't worried about VHS and LaserDisc becoming obsolete when I bought over 500 VHS and LaserDisc movies. I'm surely not going to worry about Digital HD/UHD titles becoming obsolete. I know digital HD is not the last and ultimate format. I rebought my movies on DVD and then again on blu-ray and digital. Decades from now, DVDs and blu-rays are going to be like VHS. Am I really going to care if I physically own the movies in long gone formats? There's going to be all new formats again and I'll probably keep rebuying all my favorites over and over.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I know about Copper, I Retired from AT&T, and as a kid I ran jumpers and connected Cable Pairs to Phone Line Equipment in the Central Office. That was many years ago, and it was still being used years before that. Why do you think Copper DSL is not upgraded....Too costly and Obsolete!

Originally Posted by Steedeel

You need to look up obsolete in a dictionary bud.

So I looked it up - Obsolete: No longer in use or out of date, being replaced by something better.

Like I said before, Copper as an Infrastructure is over 100 years old, it should be replaced with something better....Fiber! As for Discs being Obsolete they are getting there, and should be replaced with something better....Digital Storage on Media Servers for Instant Streaming Access!

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by Texan26

I wasn't worried about VHS and LaserDisc becoming obsolete when I bought over 500 VHS and LaserDisc movies. I'm surely not going to worry about Digital HD/UHD titles becoming obsolete. I know digital HD is not the last and ultimate format. I rebought my movies on DVD and then again on blu-ray and digital. Decades from now, DVDs and blu-rays are going to be like VHS. Am I really going to care if I physically own the movies in long gone formats? There's going to be all new formats again and I'll probably keep rebuying all my favorites over and over.

Why do you assume that will always be an option? I have plenty of favorites that never made it to a later format then DVD and some of them have long since gone out of print. That's not a problem because I can still watch the old DVDs and buy replacements via the used market. Even the titles that went out of print long before I knew about them are still available.

But with digital some of your favorites (that weren't released on physical media) may become completely unavailable. The fact that control over each movie lies with a single company is scary.

Sometimes control may even lie with no one because there are licensing disputes: there will be titles that no one has the legal ability to offer. Think of all the titles with licensed music. All that music is licensed for a set amount of time. If the studios don't want to pay to renew the license for an old movie then they'll just stop offering that movie. That won't have any effect on all the discs that have already been made but it will prevent all the digital copies from being available.

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

But the digital supporters obviously don't care. They are perfectly fine with giving up their rights for some extra convenience.

You make it sound like it's a bad thing when all we're really talking about is a bunch of shiny discs in a plastic case that, most of the time, collect dust from many collectors as the years go by.

There's more to life than collecting a bunch of discs from floor to ceiling that you may or may not actually revisit again. At least with digital, the clutter of the nonsense of collecting physical media is gone. Are there things that you have to relinquish? Yep but the downgrade in picture quality isn't as bad or as noticeable as collectors make it out to be.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by Jumpman

There's more to life than collecting a bunch of discs from floor to ceiling that you may or may not actually revisit again.

It's not my collection I'm worried about. It's preservation of the arts. I want future generations to have access to all the same movies and TV shows that we do.

With physical media every person with a disc has the right and ability to make sure that movie remains available. With digital only the copyright holder can make each movie available.

[OneWayFilms]

I think I am beginning to see the REAL reason why DVD & Blu ray sales seem to be dipping and the future of physical disks seem to be at risk.

Almost everyone I know keep buying those DAMNED BOOTLEG copies of movies as soon as it's released in theaters. I have no idea where they keep coming from, but the other night, my daughter asked if some of her friends could come over for a Movie Night. I have over 600 blu rays, so I said SURE!

Stupid kid brings over a stack of bootleg DVD's and I refused to let them watch any of them. Not in MY house.

"We are watching something BOUGHT & PAID FOR" I told them. Then he responded "But I DID buy these."

Stupid kid.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

So I looked it up - Obsolete: No longer in use or out of date, being replaced by something better.

Like I said before, Copper as an Infrastructure is over 100 years old, it should be replaced with something better....Fiber! As for Discs being Obsolete they are getting there, and should be replaced with something better....Digital Storage on Media Servers for Instant Streaming Access!

Better than 4K UHD? You are dreaming mate. Hate to break it to you but fibre is being dropped. Too expensive and half arsed in the first place., as usual people in charge IMO, over promise and under deliver.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by OneWayFilms

I think I am beginning to see the REAL reason why DVD & Blu ray sales seem to be dipping and the future of physical disks seem to be at risk.

Almost everyone I know keep buying those DAMNED BOOTLEG copies of movies as soon as it's released in theaters. I have no idea where they keep coming from, but the other night, my daughter asked if some of her friends could come over for a Movie Night. I have over 600 blu rays, so I said SURE!

Stupid kid brings over a stack of bootleg DVD's and I refused to let them watch any of them. Not in MY house.

"We are watching something BOUGHT & PAID FOR" I told them. Then he responded "But I DID buy these."

Stupid kid.

Bluray was up YOY by the end of quarter 4 last year. But yeah, DVD is dipping.

[jmspls72]

This is getting difficult to decide with the inclusion of extra withe vudu download. If the commentary was in the digital version. I would give up blu rays

[PCFan]

I'm considering buying an Apple TV 4th Gen again and going back to iTunes and stop using UV and totally leaving physical media behind once I have a few more blu-rays I want in my blu-ray collection. I personally do not to trust digital enough not to be without a blu-ray collection of my favorite movies, the reason I still have a blu-ray collection. It's getting harder and harder finding blu-rays I'm looking for in stores because of lack of selection. I think everything I buy that is 4k will be a digital purchase whether it's directly from the digital provider or from a digital code purchase and I heard that the 5th Gen Apple TV that is coming up will have 4k support.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by PCFan

I'm considering buying an Apple TV 4th Gen again and going back to iTunes and stop using UV and totally leaving physical media behind once I have a few more blu-rays I want in my blu-ray collection. I personally do not to trust digital enough not to be without a blu-ray collection of my favorite movies, the reason I still have a blu-ray collection. It's getting harder and harder finding blu-rays I'm looking for in stores because of lack of selection. I think everything I buy that is 4k will be a digital purchase whether it's directly from the digital provider or from a digital code purchase and I heard that the 5th Gen Apple TV that is coming up will have 4k support.

How you can say you don't trust digital but support it anyway? If it's hard to find the Blu-rays you want in stores why can't you order them online?

[PCFan]

It's just the convenience of going to the store and getting it the same day I purchase it. I also like to see what I'm getting and inspect the condition of the case (at least from the outside) before I purchase it. I've seen damaged cases in stores and I can easily avoid purchasing those ones.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by PCFan

It's just the convenience of going to the store and getting it the same day I purchase it. I also like to see what I'm getting and inspect the condition of the case (at least from the outside) before I purchase it. I've seen damaged cases in stores and I can easily avoid purchasing those ones.

If you care about the cases then how are digital copies (which don't have cases at all) better than discs with damaged cases?

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by PCFan

I'm considering buying an Apple TV 4th Gen again and going back to iTunes and stop using UV and totally leaving physical media behind once I have a few more blu-rays I want in my blu-ray collection. I personally do not to trust digital enough not to be without a blu-ray collection of my favorite movies, the reason I still have a blu-ray collection. It's getting harder and harder finding blu-rays I'm looking for in stores because of lack of selection. I think everything I buy that is 4k will be a digital purchase whether it's directly from the digital provider or from a digital code purchase and I heard that the 5th Gen Apple TV that is coming up will have 4k support.

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

How you can say you don't trust digital but support it anyway? If it's hard to find the Blu-rays you want in stores why can't you order them online?

With a name like PCFan I'd say you are going to The Dark Side, by considering buying an Apple TV. Have you no faith in UV or are you listening to the likes of people like Steedeel. Please don't go to that Dark Place, stay in The Light buying Combo Packs of 4k is your best option, but they are a little pricy. Just keep The Faith! I just look for the best deals in UV Digital HDX.

[PCFan]

Originally Posted by PenguinMaster

If you care about the cases then how are digital copies (which don't have cases at all) better than discs with damaged cases?

Well a damaged case means a bigger chance of getting a damaged disc inside. A damaged disc means a good chance of the disc skipping or freezing up during playback. Also if a blu-ray with broken case and a not broken case is on the shelf for a blu-ray I was looking for, I'd pick the one without the damaged case.

[PenguinMaster]

Originally Posted by PCFan

Well a damaged case means a bigger chance of getting a damaged disc inside. A damaged disc means a good chance of the disc skipping or freezing up during playback. Also if a blu-ray with broken case and a not broken case is on the shelf for a blu-ray I was looking for, I'd pick the one without the damaged case.

It obviously makes sense to pick an undamaged case over a damaged case. But it doesn't make sense to go with streaming over buying Blu-rays online out of fear of getting damaged cases.
Blu-rays are far more durable than DVDs, the only ones I've ever bought that didn't work perfectly were ones that came with terrible tight cardboard cases. Damaged standard cases or loose discs have never caused a problem.