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

[The_Donster]

^^I definitely feel like there are just no deals to be had myself veritas. Exclusives have definitely bumped up in pricing. I use a app a friend recommended called ShopSavvy and some of the other retailers to try to find the best deals. Unfortunately despite them I can't seem to find the deals or a price I feel comfortable paying most of the time. So I wait it out. Which kind of bites me in the butt because I like slipcovers on my BD's

[Vilya]

I have purchased 83 titles on disc so far this year and by titles I mean everything from a single movie to a TV season or even a complete TV series set. I am counting everything as one title in that figure.

While I have bought several items at release day prices, I have found plenty of buying opportunities, too. More than I could take advantage of, actually. My continued eye problem has been expensive and that has derailed more than a few purchases.

Even so, the first quarter of the year always seems like a slower purchase period- January is usually a really slow month. I am confident that more chances for me to indulge myself in this wonderful hobby will present themselves as the year progresses.

[gotmule]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I have purchased 83 titles on disc so far this year and by titles I mean everything from a single movie to a TV season or even a complete TV series set. I am counting everything as one title in that figure.

While I have bought several items at release day prices, I have found plenty of buying opportunities, too. More than I could take advantage of, actually. My continued eye problem has been expensive and that has derailed more than a few purchases.

Even so, the first quarter of the year always seems like a slower purchase period- January is usually a really slow month. I am confident that more chances for me to indulge myself in this wonderful hobby will present themselves as the year progresses.

I haven’t helped the economy quite as much as Vilya, but I have purchased 30 titles so far year to date. 13 have been double dip buys with adding UHD versions of blu rays I already own in order to get the Atmos/DTS-X mixes. 3 were movies I had rented through Netflix (disc - no streaming for me] and saw a good deal on. 4 tv series were added, with the rest being new release purchases (10).

May is going to be an expensive month with a lot of classic movies getting released on UHD, all with Atmos/DTS-X mixes. Add to that about 5 first day purchases of new releases along with the Marantz 8805 processor when it hopefully gets in stock, and you have a crazy month supporting this hobby.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by veritas

So I am pro physical but has 2018 been absolutely terrible for movie deals? I bought like 3 three dollar movies at frys and fanastic beasts and john wick 2 on 4k for ten dollars each but everything else I bought this year so far was used (excluding one tv show I bought day one for retail that i should have waited to buy).

It just seems like this year has had a terribly low number of deals which is good for my pocket book but also a little bit sad. If they keep it up it will also seriously hurt physical sales this year.

Well hold on to your Butts, the big Streaming Boys are vying for power. If you want a Physical Copy of The Last Jedi, Amazon won't sell it to you unless you are a Prime Member:

https://www.extremetech.com/internet...m_medium=image

Like I said, everyone is jumping on the Streaming Bandwagon. You have Netflix, Amazon, and soon DisneyFlix. Streaming is here to stay!

[Vilya]

Star Wars The Last Jedi on disc can be purchased practically anywhere, including grocery stores.

Amazon's Prime membership requirement to purchase this title will be a temporary maneuver. I do think it is ridiculous when Amazon restricts the purchase of anything to Prime members only. If they want to give Prime members a special discount, that would be easier to understand, but to restrict sales to Prime members only seems really stupid to me, but I guess that Amazon feels confident in what they are doing here.

Streaming is growing (like a cancer ) and no one doubts that it is going to stay. Thank you, Captain Obvious!

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I do think it is ridiculous when Amazon restricts the purchase of anything to Prime members only. If they want to give Prime members a special discount, that would be easier to understand, but to restrict sales to Prime members only seems really stupid to me, but I guess that Amazon feels confident in what they are doing here.

Couldn't agree more. I've noticed that on Amazon (UK) with certain titles from time to time. All I'll say is, well that's their loss....I just buy it elsewhere. There are plenty of retailers who are very happy to take your money off your hands.

[veritas]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Star Wars The Last Jedi on disc can be purchased practically anywhere, including grocery stores.

Amazon's Prime membership requirement to purchase this title will be a temporary maneuver. I do think it is ridiculous when Amazon restricts the purchase of anything to Prime members only. If they want to give Prime members a special discount, that would be easier to understand, but to restrict sales to Prime members only seems really stupid to me, but I guess that Amazon feels confident in what they are doing here.

Streaming is growing (like a cancer ) and no one doubts that it is going to stay. Thank you, Captain Obvious!

For Disney titles its more to make sure prime members can buy it because they have such limited supplies. Disney has been screwing with amazon like crazy giving them minimum shipments and being slow to restock them. Amazon knows they don't have enough for everybody so they are simply excluding none prime members which I suppose is fair.

Even if you do have prime and order a disney title from amazon it sometimes takes a month to ship because of how terrible disney is being on the supply end.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by CV19

Couldn't agree more. I've noticed that on Amazon (UK) with certain titles from time to time. All I'll say is, well that's their loss....I just buy it elsewhere. There are plenty of retailers who a very happy to take your money off your hands.

Exactly; all I think they are accomplishing are losing sales and annoying people. The next time these denied customers want something, they may not even visit Amazon at all.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by veritas

For Disney titles its more to make sure prime members can buy it because they have such limited supplies. Disney has been screwing with amazon like crazy giving them minimum shipments and being slow to restock them. Amazon knows they don't have enough for everybody so they are simply excluding none prime members which I suppose is fair.

Even if you do have prime and order a disney title from amazon it sometimes takes a month to ship because of how terrible disney is being on the supply end.

Amazon and Disney have been feuding for a very long time. Apparently, Amazon wants a better wholesale deal than Disney will give them. Other retailers do not seem to have any supply issues with Disney as you can readily find Disney product everywhere else.

Disney pre-orders have been practically non-existent on Amazon as Disney does not even supply Amazon until release day. The dispute rages on.

Even if Amazon is reserving stock for their Prime customers as regards Disney product, it will still only alienate their non-Prime customers who will not care about any of this. All they will see is that their business is not wanted and they will take it elsewhere. Having a customer leave both empty-handed and angry is not a good strategy in my opinion; Amazon and Disney need to settle their differences.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Exactly; all I think they are accomplishing are losing sales and annoying people. The next time these denied customers want something, they may not even visit Amazon at all.

Indeed it does cost them sales. I generally buy several Blu-rays all in one order, and if a title I want is only available to Prime customers, I place the entire order elsewhere. It's not as though Amazon is any cheaper than other online retailers or even a high street store.

[The_Donster]

Amazon insisting Prime Members only is like Walmart only price matching their online store and not competitors

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Well hold on to your Butts, the big Streaming Boys are vying for power. If you want a Physical Copy of The Last Jedi, Amazon won't sell it to you unless you are a Prime Member:

https://www.extremetech.com/internet...m_medium=image

Like I said, everyone is jumping on the Streaming Bandwagon. You have Netflix, Amazon, and soon DisneyFlix. Streaming is here to stay!

Originally Posted by Vilya

Star Wars The Last Jedi on disc can be purchased practically anywhere, including grocery stores.

Amazon's Prime membership requirement to purchase this title will be a temporary maneuver. I do think it is ridiculous when Amazon restricts the purchase of anything to Prime members only. If they want to give Prime members a special discount, that would be easier to understand, but to restrict sales to Prime members only seems really stupid to me, but I guess that Amazon feels confident in what they are doing here.

Streaming is growing (like a cancer ) and no one doubts that it is going to stay. Thank you, Captain Obvious!

Here is more fuel for the fire, like I said Disneyflix is coming, and they want to challenge Netflix:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...etflix/556895/

All these Major Providers want content, AT&T wants Time Warner and Disney wants 20th Century Fox. Investors and young people think the future of entertainment will be Streaming. That means going up against Streaming Giants like Amazon and Netflix. Very few are paying attention to Internet Access and Bandwidth. Yes Streaming is coming on like a Cancer, and before you know it will eat you up alive!

[veritas]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

Amazon insisting Prime Members only is like Walmart only price matching their online store and not competitors

How about best buy canceling customer orders because they priced items wrong?

Or how about movies anywhere having a movie go missing from peoples collections like every week. Movies anywhere is going to make the entire digital community paranoid with how often stuff goes missing. Today's missing movie return to never land. At the rate movies anywhere is going I could find a bootleg copy of a movie on you tube more reliably then I could find the same movie I own on movies anywhere.

Really amazon treating prime members a bit better then they treat non members isn't that bad when you compare it to the policy's of the competition. Personally I am pretty close to the point where I wont buy from Walmart or best buy at all and its not like I can find anything I want at target in the first place

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by veritas

How about best buy canceling customer orders because they priced items wrong?

Or how about movies anywhere having a movie go missing from peoples collections like every week. Movies anywhere is going to make the entire digital community paranoid with how often stuff goes missing. Today's missing movie return to never land. At the rate movies anywhere is going I could find a bootleg copy of a movie on you tube more reliably then I could find the same movie I own on movies anywhere.

Really amazon treating prime members a bit better then they treat non members isn't that bad when you compare it to the policy's of the competition. Personally I am pretty close to the point where I wont buy from Walmart or best buy at all and its not like I can find anything I want at target in the first place

Yes, but aren't those examples that could be used for any number of retailers? Trust me, I've got as many complaints as a retail customer as I do as a Prime member. The difference is Prime is a paid service and we don't always get what we are paying for with them too. Shoddy packaging, shipping and delivery. As far as Movies Anywhere? Your experience doesn't reflect mine. Outside of titles being slow to port I haven't had a problem. Although I hardly redeem through them, but use them as a portal to my other providers once I redeem via iTunes or VUDU.

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

So you're a big supporter of Cancer?

Exactly. I'm having a hard time taking you seriously at this point and feel you are trolling at this point alchav21.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Yes Streaming is coming on like a Cancer, and before you know it will eat you up alive!

I compared the growth of streaming to that of a cancer because I see it as a NEGATIVE phenomena. I thought the inference was clear as people unanimously consider cancerous growth as something bad and undesirable.

I think you are just trying to be funny here, but it is hard to make cancer funny especially when combined with the phrase "eat you up alive."

In retrospect, I probably should not have invoked the word myself. I feel like I handed you a sharp object and you then cut yourself while playing with it.

[veritas]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

The difference is Prime is a paid service and we don't always get what we are paying for with them too. Shoddy packaging, shipping and delivery.

I don't have any problem with blaming amazon for bad packaging shipping or delivery but I don't have any problem with prime having prime exclusives. Since they are trying to sell a service they should prioritize having product for the paying customers (prime) at a minimum in my opinion. Given past news stories they are probably buying a fair number of Disney movies at cost to possibly a loss just to meet customer expectations that they have Disney movies at all.

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by veritas

I don't have any problem with blaming amazon for bad packaging shipping or delivery but I don't have any problem with prime having prime exclusives. Since they are trying to sell a service they should prioritize having product for the paying customers (prime) at a minimum in my opinion. Given past news stories they are probably buying a fair number of Disney movies at cost to possibly a loss just to meet customer expectations that they have Disney movies at all.

Hey, you've got to do what works for you veritas. For me, I'll continue to use them and any other competitor to price match in store.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I compared the growth of streaming to that of a cancer because I see it as a NEGATIVE phenomena. I thought the inference was clear as people unanimously consider cancerous growth as something bad and undesirable.

I think you are just trying to be funny here, but it is hard to make cancer funny especially when combined with the phrase "eat you up alive."

In retrospect, I probably should not have invoked the word myself. I feel like I handed you a sharp object and you then cut yourself while playing with it.

Sorry I wasn't trying to be funny or make light of Cancer, I was just trying to go along with the Analogy. If you don't take Streaming seriously you will be left behind, because Technology waits for no one!

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

If you don't take Streaming seriously you will be left behind, because Technology waits for no one!

I take neither streaming, nor you, seriously.

I have not even logged into my fledgling Netflix account in nearly a month. Why? Because I have a modest disc library with a better selection.

My library is not larger than Netflix's, but it is filled exclusively with titles that I absolutely know will interest me and that alone makes it better.

No waiting for that streaming technology to buffer here- my disc player tech makes no one wait and it provides the best quality presentation possible from start thru finish.

[gotmule]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Sorry I wasn't trying to be funny or make light of Cancer, I was just trying to go along with the Analogy. If you don't take Streaming seriously you will be left behind, because Technology waits for no one!

If technology (no capital T needed) waits for no one, and you are at the forefront of streaming (no capital S needed), how is it that you have allowed all of the innovations within audio pass you by? Even though I appreciate vintage equipment, I am pretty sure technology has made a few advancements in the world of audio over the last few decades. Or have you been left behind because you are content and comfortable within older technology you own, some 50 odd years later?