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

[twobelowpar]

While I don't really worry about content being removed, I would still say a Bluray beats streaming iTunes or Vudu every time. The only reason I'm so into digital is the cheap codes and to a lesser extent, the convenience and ease of seeing a 4.99 sale and pressing "buy".

[dublinbluray108]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Not sure how it failed. There have been many reports of users having content removed. Someone here posted a example from someone in the UK a while back who had lost content when a supermarket brand dropped their Digital storefront.
Only with time will we see the true ramifications.

Is that Sainsburys by any chance? They once had a UV storefront if I'm not mistaken.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by dublinbluray108

Is that Sainsburys by any chance? They once had a UV storefront if I'm not mistaken.

I can't recall the store. I will try to find out.

[DamageINC]

Originally Posted by SarahS

Oh and mine will never be removed from service either. Nice try although I think you have used that failed argument repeatedly.

I'm not sure how one can make a definitive statement of fact regarding this. The probability is probably very low, but it does exist.

Never is a long time.

As Alchav points out repeatedly, technology is ever progressing and advancing. The digital landscape will probably look a lot different a few years down the road.

Unless the Blu-ray or stupio police get a warrant, bash in my door and erase all my discs, the probability of disc content remaining safe and viewable is higher, even if just slightly.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

And alchav21, if you intend to reply to any of my recent posts, please do not do the thing where in addition to quoting my posts, you feel some kind of weird obsessive need to quote your own post that preceded it. Most anyone following this thread knows your position and what you've said, and if they need a reminder, they can scroll up a bit.

It's just really weird and feels like the kind of thing that an old man who yells at kids to get off his lawn and refers to something like marijuana as "weed-pot" would do.

Well I have been around the block a few times, but I only go back so my Posting makes sense. Most Message Boards go back a few quotes, this one doesn't. Especially this Tread, sometimes it takes off like a wild fire and people would be lost to see what someone is talking about. Anyway, it makes sense to me when I talk about things referred to in the quotes. Yes, I go back many years to the DOS Days Message Boards.

[doctor_who]

Originally Posted by twobelowpar

While I don't really worry about content being removed, I would still say a Bluray beats streaming iTunes or Vudu every time. The only reason I'm so into digital is the cheap codes and to a lesser extent, the convenience and ease of seeing a 4.99 sale and pressing "buy".

I own 2,000 movies on Vudu and 1,000 movies on iTunes, some are within both. Doesn't even count TV shows, of which I have many.

I can barely convince my wife to let me keep my 400 blu-rays. I'm maxed out around that number. Digital HD has been fantastic, and on top of me getting to own titles, many with special features, I can watch them anywhere I want. On planes on my iPad. At the gym on my iPhone. At lunch at work on my desktop. At home on my OLED. In the hotel via Roku/Apple TV if I bring it for a work trip, or via iPad if it's a shorter work trip.

I have the blu-rays of my all time favorites and things I can rewatch many times on my sofa, that's always the best quality, but it doesn't mean it's the best option.

[twobelowpar]

When I say Bluray beats them, I mean in quality. i have far more digital titles than physical as well, and love having that. Most of what I watch is via iTunes on Apple TV. I'll always prefer Blurays for my favourite titles though.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Several points here:

1) I have been streaming for about 5 years, and am still not fully satisfied with this "format". It's not always that great, and, overall, most streams I've seen are not HD. And, I have never seen a stream that is even close to having PQ as good as the top Blu-ray's out there.

That being said, streaming is definitely a lot more convenient than either having to rent or buy physical media (DVD's or Blu's). This especially holds true re: watching weekly TV shows.

And, with home video rental stores going the way of the dodo there are really no viable rental options these days anyway. However, that's actually fine with me because I hated my local Blockbuster, their scratched DVD's, and their late rental fees.

2) My #1 top format for watching movies are Blu's. However, I don't like buying them (unless I can get them for a good price) due to the expense & the room they take up on my shelves.

However, I will also say that I may have supported the Blu format more - if they had become more popular in the home video market. When I go into stores, I still don't see that many Blu's being sold; regular DVD's still seem to be more popular - even 11 years after the debut of the format. This is even though Blu's aren't that much more $. Very disappointing.

That all being said, sites like this one (and others like this) go a long way to proving that there are people out there who are fans of Blu's & HD.

[PCFan]

I own an Apple TV 32GB (4th Gen). I did some testing to see how long I can stream a movie I own in iTunes right after I disconnect my modem from the internet. It seems like I can continue streaming for about 5 minutes while playing the movie cached in the internal storage before I get a message saying that I have been disconnected from the iTunes store and the get a loading circle, yet I have like 25 minutes of movie cached ahead. Even when the movie is fully cached in the storage I still only get up to 5 minutes until an internet connection is needed. I also tested this by turning my network switch off to take my Apple TV off the local network. Shouldn't it not ever reconnect to the iTunes store once the rest of the movie is cached in the Apple TV (4th Gen) or does the Apple TV verify every 5 minutes for internet connection when streaming from the iTunes store once the whole movie is cached?

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by PCFan

I own an Apple TV 32GB (4th Gen). I did some testing to see how long I can stream a movie I own in iTunes right after I disconnect my modem from the internet. It seems like I can continue streaming for about 5 minutes while playing the movie cached in the internal storage before I get a message saying that I have been disconnected from the iTunes store and the get a loading circle, yet I have like 25 minutes of movie cached ahead. Even when the movie is fully cached in the storage I still only get up to 5 minutes until an internet connection is needed. I also tested this by turning my network switch off to take my Apple TV off the local network. Shouldn't it not ever reconnect to the iTunes store once the rest of the movie is cached in the Apple TV (4th Gen) or does the Apple TV verify every 5 minutes for internet connection when streaming from the iTunes store once the whole movie is cached?

I haven't rented a movie since I upgraded to fibre but with my Apple TV 3, I did indeed need a permanent connection. It would not allow me to watch the whole film without it, regardless of how long I had waited for it to load.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by doctor_who

I own 2,000 movies on Vudu and 1,000 movies on iTunes, some are within both. Doesn't even count TV shows, of which I have many.

I can barely convince my wife to let me keep my 400 blu-rays. I'm maxed out around that number. Digital HD has been fantastic, and on top of me getting to own titles, many with special features, I can watch them anywhere I want. On planes on my iPad. At the gym on my iPhone. At lunch at work on my desktop. At home on my OLED. In the hotel via Roku/Apple TV if I bring it for a work trip, or via iPad if it's a shorter work trip.

I have the blu-rays of my all time favorites and things I can rewatch many times on my sofa, that's always the best quality, but it doesn't mean it's the best option.

Maybe not for you but I wouldn't watch a film on mobile as I think it abuses the art of film. Besides that, it's a horrid experience.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by zodwriter

Filmstruck is a streaming service that offers Criterion titles digitally. It's fantastic!

I'm so mad at Filmstruck. They still don't have Roku support and their chromecast support has been broken for weeks.

Launching on Amazon only was asinine as I refuse to buy yet another streaming device.

The selection is great, it's just that watching it is the hard part.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by master gandhi

Now that you have a UHD TV, you're watching VUDU in UHD. Cool.

This is not true actually. VUDU only supports UHD for some LG and Vizio TVs (as well as chromecast ultra and roku 4 and xbox one s.)

It pisses me off

[BlakkMajik3000]

Originally Posted by PCFan

I own an Apple TV 32GB (4th Gen). I did some testing to see how long I can stream a movie I own in iTunes right after I disconnect my modem from the internet. It seems like I can continue streaming for about 5 minutes while playing the movie cached in the internal storage before I get a message saying that I have been disconnected from the iTunes store and the get a loading circle, yet I have like 25 minutes of movie cached ahead. Even when the movie is fully cached in the storage I still only get up to 5 minutes until an internet connection is needed. I also tested this by turning my network switch off to take my Apple TV off the local network. Shouldn't it not ever reconnect to the iTunes store once the rest of the movie is cached in the Apple TV (4th Gen) or does the Apple TV verify every 5 minutes for internet connection when streaming from the iTunes store once the whole movie is cached?

Seems like all streaming services do this. Doesn't make sense really. If you have the entire movie cached, there's no stream left to decrypt from the source, so I don't understand "phoning home" at this point.

Does this only happen when you stream from iCloud, or does this happen when streaming a downloaded movie from another computer (home sharing) as well?

[flyry]

Originally Posted by BlakkMajik3000

Please provide proof discs are history.

Even with music, digital has not been able to eliminate disc entirely. The fact of the matter is, there are still millions of people that prefer to own physical instead of digital.

Part of the problem with digital movies is the lack of a unified standard. If I buy a blu ray, it will play on any blu-ray player I buy. If I buy a CD, it will play on any CD player I buy. If I buy a DVD, it will play on any DVD player I buy. With digital, if I buy a movie from (insert digital storefront here), it will only play on devices that storefront supports.

Digital HD still has hurdles. There needs to be a unified standard and DRM-free downloads. Even then, disc will still be a thing. Not everyone has the bandwidth speed/cap to stream/download digital movies.

This isn't really any different than the streaming wars that are going on with music and all the exclusives and ___ artist discography only being available on ___ service

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I don't need them. I just pop in my Bluray. Instant satisfaction!

After 8 unskippable advertisements

[Texan26]

Originally Posted by flyry

After 8 unskippable advertisements

Exactly! The last blu-ray I rented had ten minutes of ads and previews. It wouldn't let me skip them but I had to manually fast forward. Instant satisfaction comes with digital.

[DamageINC]

It is slightly annoying, but for me personally the quality upgrade is worth it. Besides, worst case it takes an extra what, two minutes at most?

Pretty soon people will be complaining they have to press buttons on a remote.

[Vor4]

Originally Posted by PCFan

I own an Apple TV 32GB (4th Gen). I did some testing to see how long I can stream a movie I own in iTunes right after I disconnect my modem from the internet. It seems like I can continue streaming for about 5 minutes while playing the movie cached in the internal storage before I get a message saying that I have been disconnected from the iTunes store and the get a loading circle, yet I have like 25 minutes of movie cached ahead. Even when the movie is fully cached in the storage I still only get up to 5 minutes until an internet connection is needed. I also tested this by turning my network switch off to take my Apple TV off the local network. Shouldn't it not ever reconnect to the iTunes store once the rest of the movie is cached in the Apple TV (4th Gen) or does the Apple TV verify every 5 minutes for internet connection when streaming from the iTunes store once the whole movie is cached?

The best way to avoid your issue is to download the iTunes movies and stream the movies over your network with Apple homesharing.

[randian]

Originally Posted by Texan26

Instant satisfaction comes with digital.

Sure, until they start adding unskippable ads to digital movies.