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

[zodwriter]

Originally Posted by twobelowpar

Just a thought, but could some of these "shrinking physical media" departments also be due to the constant rise of online shopping?

If physical media were still the dominant format it wouldn't matter if more people shop online. The in store selections would still be quite large. Online shopping has been leading the pack for quite a while now. That excuse is kind of desperate. People definitely still shop at brick and mortar stores, they just aren't buying as many Blu Rays and DVDs. A lot of these die hard disc supporters claim they barely use the internet so they won't be amassing their collections from Amazon or other online retailers. Those collectors are probably the people keeping discs in stores. The shrinking is due to the fact that more and more consumers have embraced streaming media as the way to watch their content. This is of course because of subscription services like Netflix and Hulu.

[Dustin44]

Originally Posted by zodwriter

A lot of these die hard disc supporters claim they barely use the internet so they won't be amassing their collections from Amazon or other online retailers. Those collectors are probably the people keeping discs in stores.

That is a good point.

I would think that big collectors would not be making as many purchases online. They would want to make them in-store to make sure they get a copy of a movie they want with a mint slipcover, or make sure the steelbook they are getting isn't dented, etc.

They wouldn't want to order from Amazon and risk getting something that is damaged. They would want to go to the store and pick out the best looking copy.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by zodwriter

A lot of these die hard disc supporters claim they barely use the internet so they won't be amassing their collections from Amazon or other online retailers. Those collectors are probably the people keeping discs in stores.

Originally Posted by Dustin44

That is a good point.

I would think that big collectors would not be making as many purchases online. They would want to make them in-store to make sure they get a copy of a movie they want with a mint slipcover, or make sure the steelbook they are getting isn't dented, etc.

They wouldn't want to order from Amazon and risk getting something that is damaged. They would want to go to the store and pick out the best looking copy.

So where do we sit now, Disc or Digital. It seems we lost a lot of the Die Hard Disc Lovers, and now all we have are Digital HD people. I just sold a Passengers 4K Disc Combo in just one day of Listing. I bought it at Best Buy, and I was the only one looking at that section, but it was the last Disc Copy. So right now 4K is the Hot Buy, but these Combo Packs come with Blu-ray and 3D. So my question is are they buying for future view, and Blu-ray now because DVD is a thing of the past.

[twobelowpar]

Originally Posted by zodwriter

That excuse is kind of desperate.

It was neither an excuse nor desperate. I was making conversation. [emoji849]



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[BlakkMajik3000]

Originally Posted by zodwriter

If physical media were still the dominant format it wouldn't matter if more people shop online. The in store selections would still be quite large. Online shopping has been leading the pack for quite a while now. That excuse is kind of desperate. People definitely still shop at brick and mortar stores, they just aren't buying as many Blu Rays and DVDs. A lot of these die hard disc supporters claim they barely use the internet so they won't be amassing their collections from Amazon or other online retailers. Those collectors are probably the people keeping discs in stores. The shrinking is due to the fact that more and more consumers have embraced streaming media as the way to watch their content. This is of course because of subscription services like Netflix and Hulu.

You're making a lot of assumptions here. Just because a die-hard disc collector doesn't use the internet very much, doesn't mean they wouldn't use the internet to buy their movies.

The landscape has changed significantly. If you want a blu-ray, you can pre-order it on-line and get it on release day. There's no reason to go into BB, Wal-Mart, etc. to buy a disc the day it comes out. Further, with places like WM and BB offering "buy online, pickup in store" type services, that contributes to the lack of space needed to display physical media. Finally, disc media doesn't require the same in-person inspection that something like TVs or clothing requires.

Are more people buying digital media? Yes, absolutely. However, it would be naive to assume that the shrinking space occupied by physical media is only due to that trend. I am a huge digital media supporter, but I buy a good amount of blu-rays on-line. The selection is vastly larger online, and I don't have to deal with people if I don't want to.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by BlakkMajik3000

You're making a lot of assumptions here. Just because a die-hard disc collector doesn't use the internet very much, doesn't mean they wouldn't use the internet to buy their movies.

The landscape has changed significantly. If you want a blu-ray, you can pre-order it on-line and get it on release day. There's no reason to go into BB, Wal-Mart, etc. to buy a disc the day it comes out. Further, with places like WM and BB offering "buy online, pickup in store" type services, that contributes to the lack of space needed to display physical media. Finally, disc media doesn't require the same in-person inspection that something like TVs or clothing requires.

Are more people buying digital media? Yes, absolutely. However, it would be naive to assume that the shrinking space occupied by physical media is only due to that trend. I am a huge digital media supporter, but I buy a good amount of blu-rays on-line. The selection is vastly larger online, and I don't have to deal with people if I don't want to.

Well, I have always collected (since VHS) but from DVD onwards, I have used online for 95% of my purchases.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

So where do we sit now, Disc or Digital. It seems we lost a lot of the Die Hard Disc Lovers, and now all we have are Digital HD people. I just sold a Passengers 4K Disc Combo in just one day or Listing. I bought it at Best Buy, and I was the only one looking at that section, but it was the last Disc Copy. So right now 4K is the Hot Buy, but these Combo Packs come with Blu-ray and 3D. So my question is are they buying for future view, and Blu-ray now because DVD is a thing of the past.

Have a look at the main forum?

You are now a troll IMO.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by zodwriter

If physical media were still the dominant format it wouldn't matter if more people shop online. The in store selections would still be quite large. Online shopping has been leading the pack for quite a while now. That excuse is kind of desperate. People definitely still shop at brick and mortar stores, they just aren't buying as many Blu Rays and DVDs. A lot of these die hard disc supporters claim they barely use the internet so they won't be amassing their collections from Amazon or other online retailers. Those collectors are probably the people keeping discs in stores. The shrinking is due to the fact that more and more consumers have embraced streaming media as the way to watch their content. This is of course because of subscription services like Netflix and Hulu.

Fragmentation is the future. No format will dominate like DVD did. Disc is for collectors, Digital HD is for the must have it now crowd and subscription is for the masses. Despite all the naysayers, 8K discs will be a thing.

Anyway, that's me done again. Bye!

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Fragmentation is the future. No format will dominate like DVD did. Disc is for collectors, Digital HD is for the must have it now crowd and subscription is for the masses. Despite all the naysayers, 8K discs will be a thing.

Anyway, that's me done again. Bye!

Yep.

[alchav21]

So where do we sit now, Disc or Digital. It seems we lost a lot of the Die Hard Disc Lovers, and now all we have are Digital HD people. I just sold a Passengers 4K Disc Combo in just one day of Listing. I bought it at Best Buy, and I was the only one looking at that section, but it was the last Disc Copy. So right now 4K is the Hot Buy, but these Combo Packs come with Blu-ray and 3D. So my question is are they buying for future view, and Blu-ray now because DVD is a thing of the past.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Have a look at the main forum?

You are now a troll IMO.

No need for Name Calling, I was just asking a question, and I think you are just an Apple Clone! 4K is the Hot Ticket now, everyone wants to buy them but are they all setup to watch them. You didn't answer my other Post about the UK falling into 15th place Internationally. You said you have Fiber, but probably FTTC (Fiber To The Curb) then Copper to your Home because you never said what kind of Speeds you had. In order to really appreciate Streaming lots of Bandwidth is needed.

[whipnet]

Page 1:

Question: Physical Copies or Digital?
Answer: Both.

Thread locked.

[stonesfan129]

Physical media isn't going away anytime soon. It's just that with more and more online shopping, retailers probably do not see the same sales in stores as they used to.

[stonesfan129]

Originally Posted by alchav21

So where do we sit now, Disc or Digital. It seems we lost a lot of the Die Hard Disc Lovers, and now all we have are Digital HD people. I just sold a Passengers 4K Disc Combo in just one day of Listing. I bought it at Best Buy, and I was the only one looking at that section, but it was the last Disc Copy. So right now 4K is the Hot Buy, but these Combo Packs come with Blu-ray and 3D. So my question is are they buying for future view, and Blu-ray now because DVD is a thing of the past.



No need for Name Calling, I was just asking a question, and I think you are just an Apple Clone! 4K is the Hot Ticket now, everyone wants to buy them but are they all setup to watch them. You didn't answer my other Post about the UK falling into 15th place Internationally. You said you have Fiber, but probably FTTC (Fiber To The Curb) then Copper to your Home because you never said what kind of Speeds you had. In order to really appreciate Streaming lots of Bandwidth is needed.

What do the sales numbers tell us? When I look around on Google, most of the articles seem to point to physical media selling less and streaming taking off. I wouldn't say DVD is a thing of the past. I thought that DVD still outsold Blu-ray.

Yeah nobody has fiber to their house. It's all fiber to the curb. To get it run to your house would cost a small fortune. And yeah how would one stream 4K content without having a huge pipe to shove all the data through? Even if you compressed it with HEVC, it's still a LOT of data.

Convenience always wins. But that doesn't mean they'll stop making physical discs. Look at music. CDs are still around 35 years after the first one was made even though people by and large buy digitally or stream - or buy vinyl.

[Zu Nim]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

Yeah nobody has fiber to their house. It's all fiber to the curb. To get it run to your house would cost a small fortune. And yeah how would one stream 4K content without having a huge pipe to shove all the data through? Even if you compressed it with HEVC, it's still a LOT of data.

Millions of Verizon FiOS customers have fiber up to their premises. Verizon offers gigabit service for $70 in many places and should roll it out even more as time goes on. There are other providers that offer full gigabit too.

UHD streaming exists right now. VUDU does it. With gigabit you should be able to carry multiple full-quality Blu-ray 4K streams. The economics don't make sense for providers yet but that will change somewhere down the line.

Blu-ray will have a place as long as it's cheap. The selection may change. It would be unsurprising if the titles that continue to be sold are either new popular releases or niche ones. The mid-range titles will probably dry up.

I'm also guessing at some point law will change to define digital ownership more favorably to consumers and that will change things again.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

So where do we sit now, Disc or Digital. It seems we lost a lot of the Die Hard Disc Lovers, and now all we have are Digital HD people. I just sold a Passengers 4K Disc Combo in just one day of Listing. I bought it at Best Buy, and I was the only one looking at that section, but it was the last Disc Copy. So right now 4K is the Hot Buy, but these Combo Packs come with Blu-ray and 3D. So my question is are they buying for future view, and Blu-ray now because DVD is a thing of the past.



No need for Name Calling, I was just asking a question, and I think you are just an Apple Clone! 4K is the Hot Ticket now, everyone wants to buy them but are they all setup to watch them. You didn't answer my other Post about the UK falling into 15th place Internationally. You said you have Fiber, but probably FTTC (Fiber To The Curb) then Copper to your Home because you never said what kind of Speeds you had. In order to really appreciate Streaming lots of Bandwidth is needed.

Pretty much Most of the country is FTTC here.

Yeah, DVD will be a thing of the past in a few years. It's still widely used, especially with large families. Collectors like myself (I believe) are more than happy to upgrade yo 4K, with the Bluray included. It's the best of all worlds. By the time I get my set up (4K screen, Oppo etc.) there should be a big collection of films I can get stuck into. 4K is doing well I hear and haven't Disney just confirmed they are onboard?

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Zu Nim

Millions of Verizon FiOS customers have fiber up to their premises. Verizon offers gigabit service for $70 in many places and should roll it out even more as time goes on. There are other providers that offer full gigabit too.

UHD streaming exists right now. VUDU does it. With gigabit you should be able to carry multiple full-quality Blu-ray 4K streams. The economics don't make sense for providers yet but that will change somewhere down the line.

Blu-ray will have a place as long as it's cheap. The selection may change. It would be unsurprising if the titles that continue to be sold are either new popular releases or niche ones. The mid-range titles will probably dry up.

I'm also guessing at some point law will change to define digital ownership more favorably to consumers and that will change things again.

As long as data caps are in place, that's a pipe dream. (No pun intended)

Bluray will be fine, I'm delighted with the variety of niche titles released. As a horror fan, I couldn't be happier at those titles.

[Zu Nim]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Yeah, DVD will be a thing of the past in a few years.

Pretty sure they said that a few years ago. I think they still sell more DVDs than Blu-rays (units if not revenue).

Originally Posted by Steedeel

As long as data caps are in place, that's a pipe dream. (No pun intended)

Verizon does not have a data cap and you have to be a real hog to have them even contact you. Do any gigabit services have data caps? I'm not aware of any. Personally I could have 100+ full size 4K Blu-rays transmitted to me per month starting today and I wouldn't be concerned at the data usage. The number of consumers with access to those speeds will never decrease. If Elon Musk gets his Internet scheme off the ground (literally) a whole lot of people might have gigabit Ethernet in a few years.

[twobelowpar]

The fact DVDs still sell so much, especially compared to Bluray, is astounding to me.

[doctor_who]

Originally Posted by twobelowpar

The fact DVDs still sell so much, especially compared to Bluray, is astounding to me.

Old. People.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by doctor_who

Old. People.

Ummm, no. I see young and old families buying DVD. Children often try to touch tablets if they are not watching on a tv. DVD means they can just play the movie and not worry about the kid pressing something they shouldn't. This applies to families who have children with special needs also. i know this as they tell me that is the case.