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

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I have been recently told that unless you own a projector, you don't have a "dedicated" home theater. You might wanna get one of those so as to be legit.

I've been legit for years. I started with projectors almost twenty years ago with a couple CRT behemoths (which were pretty freaking awesome in their day), took several years off and then got back in with a Sony LCD at the upper end of entry level (or lower end of mid-level, maybe).

I still wouldn't say I have a home theater though I'll definitely be moving in that direction over the next year or so. I'm not so pedantic as to believe one needs space dedicated solely to HT but my current setup is still a little too 'wedged into available space' to consider it a real theater.

It's gonna be a fun year though. Assuming I don't lop off any fingers or burn down my garage

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Who told you that?

"If you have a Home Theater it should be Projection with 85" or more."

"You guys like to be smug with your so called Home Theaters."

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=12043

In a reply to Wendell, who owns a projector:

"Yes, that's why I said most and not all, I thought you might have a dedicated Home Theater."

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=12097

Who else would have such expertise regarding home theaters than the guy who streams to a TV and listens via wireless headphones; the same guy who knows all about 4K discs, but doesn't even have a 4K disc player? The streaming expert who knows so little about that upstart company Netflix? The network expert who knows precious little about..networking? I could continue, but why pile on? That very same one!

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by octagon

I've been legit for years.

Too Legit To Quit - YouTube

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

"If you have a Home Theater it should be Projection with 85" or more."

"You guys like to be smug with your so called Home Theaters."

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=12043

In a reply to Wendell, who owns a projector:

"Yes, that's why I said most and not all, I thought you might have a dedicated Home Theater."

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=12097

Who else would have such expertise regarding home theaters than the guy who streams to a TV and listens via wireless headphones; the same guy who knows all about 4K discs, but doesn't even have a 4K disc player? The streaming expert who knows so little about that upstart company Netflix? The network expert who knows precious little about..networking? I could continue, but why pile on? That very same one!

I’m proud of my HT and it’s s great way to watch films but there are people in this forum who have fantastic rooms. I used to think my room was great until I saw some of them.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I’m proud of my HT and it’s s great way to watch films but there are people in this forum who have fantastic rooms. I used to think my room was great until I saw some of them.

The possibilities are only limited by one's resources. Your room IS great if you enjoy it.

A home theater does not have to be in a "dedicated" room restricted to that sole purpose nor does it have to feature a projector with an 85" or larger screen. I sometimes read books in front of my "so-called" home theater! The sacrilege!

Projectors and their giant screens are awesome, and I daydream about owning them myself, but flat panels still produce better images. This is just another case of making those pesky trade-offs that confront us all: giant screen with lower picture quality or smaller screen with higher picture quality.

There are other considerations, of course, but if one is pursuing the literal "best" in picture quality, then projectors do not meet that criteria just like wireless headphones do not meet the criteria for the "best" in home theater audio and by a parsec plus!

The audio gear can easily cost more money than the video gear in a home theater. The sound is every bit as important as the picture if you are striving for a wonderful home theater experience. I never understood why so many people will spend a lot of money on a new TV only to listen to movies via the TV's tiny tinny speakers or through some one dimensional under powered bargain priced soundbar.

Different strokes and all that, I know, and some people do not want speakers spread out across their room, but personally I insist that the big screen needs big sound to go with it. Imagine that 85+" screen coupled with wireless headphones; I would be hugely disappointed because I know what true surround sound brings to the viewing experience.

We are all constrained by our budgets and we equip our homes as best we can or at least well enough to satisfy us for now. I would refrain, however, from speaking to the playback quality of 4K discs if I could not even play them just as I would not speak to the immersive experiences of a home theater if I did not have one. Mine is far from the best that can be had, but it beats listening with seven year-old economically priced wireless headphones. It still wows! me and can cause the police to be called if I do not control myself.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

The possibilities are only limited by one's resources. Your room IS great if you enjoy it.

A home theater does not have to be in a "dedicated" room restricted to that sole purpose nor does it have to use a projector with an 85" or larger screen. I sometimes read books in front of my "so-called" home theater! The sacrilege!

Projectors and their giant screens are awesome, and I daydream about owning them myself, but flat panels still produce better images. This is just another case of making those pesky trade-offs that confront us all: giant screen with lower picture quality or smaller screen with higher picture quality.

There are other considerations, of course, but if one is pursuing the literal "best" in picture quality, then projectors do not meet that criteria just like wireless headphones do not meet the criteria for the "best" in home theater audio.

The audio gear can easily cost more money than the video gear in a home theater. The sound is every bit as important as the picture if you are striving for a wonderful home theater experience. I never understood why so many people will spend a lot of money on a new TV only to listen to movies via the TV's tiny tinny speakers or through some one dimensional under powered bargain priced soundbar.

Different strokes and all that, I know, and some people do not want speakers spread out across their room, but personally I insist that the big screen needs big sound to go with it. Imagine that 85+" screen coupled with wireless headphones; I would be hugely disappointed because I know what true surround sound brings to the viewing experience.

We are all constrained by our budgets and we equip our homes as best we can or at least well enough to satisfy us for now. I would refrain, however, from speaking to the playback quality of 4K discs if I could not even play them just as I would not speak to the immersive experiences of a home theater if I did not have one. Mine is far from the best that can be had, but it beats listening with seven year-old economically priced wireless headphones. Hell, I have more money in my speaker wire alone than what those things cost.

I have both! LG OLED 4K which I love. Then again, I shouldn’t be ashamed to say that. I work for a living and anyone who can say that deserves to treat themselves and own good stuff.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I have both! LG OLED 4K which I love. Then again, I shouldn’t be ashamed to say that. I work for a living and anyone who can say that deserves to treat themselves and own good stuff.

Is your OLED one of the last to support 3D? I had to have that capability. Still, you have a nicer TV than mine and a projector to boot. I iz jealous. I might be able to buy better gear if I redirected some funds from my endless disc buying. Those damnable trade-offs again!

Even so, I am very happy with what I have and I have a pretty fair collection of content to enjoy with it. I am happy for the the both of us, but still a little envious.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Is your OLED one of the last to support 3D? I had to have that capability. Still, you have a nicer TV than mine and a projector to boot. I iz jealous. I might be able to buy better gear if I redirected some funds from my endless disc buying. Those damnable trade-offs again!

Even so, I am very happy with what I have and I have a pretty fair collection of content to enjoy with it. I am happy for the the both of us, but still a little envious.

No, it’s too recent for that. I do have a 3D tv still though, along with the projector. That’s only 3 screens. I don’t have a tv in the bathroom like our friend Groot!

Oh and I have my VR headset for 3D also so that’s 4 screens kind of.

By the way, just read my post over and I wasn’t having a go at any retired folk. I meant people who have never worked and sponge off the state.

I’m bloody jealous of you though for being retired!

Also, you leave me for dead with your collection.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

No, it’s too recent for that. I do have a 3D tv still though, along with the projector. That’s only 3 screens. I don’t have a tv in the bathroom like our friend Groot!

Oh and I have my VR headset for 3D also so that’s 4 screens kind of.

By the way, just read my post over and I wasn’t having a go at any retired folk. I meant people who have never worked and sponge off the state.

I’m bloody jealous of you though for being retired!

Also, you leave me for dead with your collection.

Being retired and having full mastery over how my time is spent is priceless. I answer only to my conscience and to my reduced income . There is no amount of high-end gear, no number of discs, no anything that I would trade this freedom for.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Being retired and having full mastery over how my time is spent is priceless. I answer only to my conscience and to my reduced income . There is no amount of high-end gear, no number of discs, no anything that I would trade this freedom for.

Everyone should be able to retire comfortably at 60 imo. If you have worked for a mininum of 30 years, you deserve to enjoy the later stage of life. It makes me very sad when good men and woman retire in their late 60’s only to have poor health or pass away quite young.

It is my opinion that our current government would be happy for the over 60’s to drop dead at work.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Everyone should be able to retire comfortably at 60 imo. If you have worked for a mininum of 30 years, you deserve to enjoy the later stage of life. It makes me very sad when good men and woman retire in their late 60’s only to have poor health or pass away quite young.

It is my opinion that our current government would be happy for the over 60’s to drop dead at work.

If you truly love your work, then working late into life is easy to understand, but being unable to retire, for whatever reason, is tragic. Time is the one thing you never get more of and to spend it all toiling away making someone else rich is indeed sad.

[gotmule]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Being retired and having full mastery over how my time is spent is priceless. I answer only to my conscience and to my reduced income . There is no amount of high-end gear, no number of discs, no anything that I would trade this freedom for.

I just turned 52 a few weeks ago, with my magic number being 57 to pull the parachute. My original thought is to find something part time that I have a passion for to keep myself occupied, but you make a very strong case to reconsider that plan.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by gotmule

I just turned 52 a few weeks ago, with my magic number being 57 to pull the parachute. My original thought is to find something part time that I have a passion for to keep myself occupied, but you make a very strong case to reconsider that plan.

No harm in trying something part time as long as you know that you can afford to leave it at any time.

I worked part time at pet store for a short period. I came in before they opened and I took care of the animals; I really enjoyed it. But then they wanted me to work longer shifts and take of customers, too, and that ruined it completely, so I quit. I loved the animals, but loathed the customers.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by brap hawg

Why do you care? If you are are going to consume a show or movie via streaming then you obviously don't care about quality.
I don't think they should be allowed to call it an "UHD" stream, as even the """""UHD""""" streams have a fraction of the bitrate of even a regular blu-ray, a disc which was released in 2006.
It is one of the ways the industry is sabotaging physical releases and lying to get people to switch to digital, these streaming companies are allowed to call their streams HD and UHD even though they aren't when compared to discs that call them self HD and UHD.

If you think a UHD stream does not look better than an early blu-ray you are on some serious drugs.

This thread seems to be a lot of people talking about things they have never even experienced.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

Does anyone know what the quality of VUDU's UHD streams are like? On a fast 200mbps 'high-speed cable' connection?

Pretty damn fantastic if you ask me. I know beause I actually watch them...

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by flyry

If you think a UHD stream does not look better than an early blu-ray you are on some serious drugs.

This thread seems to be a lot of people talking about things they have never even experienced.

[Pusheen]

Originally Posted by dcx4610

Even if streaming becomes 1:1 with physical media, not actually owning the content will always be my sticking point.

You are basically purchasing a long-term rental with all of the streaming services. From movies, games and music. We've already seen a huge number of these companies come and go.

I know that 10 or even 20 years from now, (unless something catastrophic happens), I will be able to pull a 4K movie off my shelf and watch it at anytime. I can't say the same thing about digital copies or streaming services.

To me, if you truly care about something, you want to physically own and want the best version possible.

Unless streaming gets to a point where I can download a a 1:1 copy on to a hard drive and keep that file forever without DRM, I'm not interested.

I'm not anti-digital. I just want to be in control of the content. I purchase FLAC audio files pretty frequently because I know I can copy them, back them up, etc. I actually own and control the files and it's a 1:1 copy of the audio CD. I can't say the same thing about movies or games.

This exactly.

My choices would be:

1) MKV with the same A/V quality as the BD. Not technically 1:1, as you could ramp up encoder settings to get better compression (not being limited by the old BD standards, "bluray-compat" in x264). Same with audio, FLAC all the way. And of course, MKVs can't have DRM.

2) As the above doesn't exist, and I don't see it coming any time soon with the movie industry (as it happened with music and FLAC downloads), then physical.

Never streaming, nor something I can't control. I only have internet at home and it can be quite unstable. And mobile here is a joke. I heard data caps are common around the world also, so I don't see myself streaming 1080p at any acceptable quality. Not on mobile while I'm out, not at home while I'm in. I'm not going to rely on the whims of the shitty cables of the ISP.

Here comes Bluray. Pop the disc in, remux an MKV, store it in my HDD archive, pop out the disc and back to the case and on to the shelf, to look pretty and never be used again (unless my HDDs explode or something). From there I get the files onto a small 2.5" disk or microSD to watch on the go, or just access them all a click away on my HTPC. The convenience and possibilities are endless.

There's a black out in the whole block? (it happens, less than before but still). Laugh it off, pop in the microSD on your tablet and enjoy your movies as long as your battery lasts, while the rest throw their arms up in despair (as, if black outs are large enough, mobile antennas go dark too).

And, as much as I enjoy movies on my room on the big screen, I also like getting the notebook out in the garden and watch while enjoying the summer breeze at night. A microSD consumes a few mW where disc drives drain a lot more juice.....

I'm not getting anywhere near 4k until it can be more or less be freed of DRM easily. Last time I checked you needed a $200 software and then only for discs that the developers have pre-processed or something. I also watch half at home, half on the go, 4k file sizes would be a bit overkill. Of course, piracy is the ugly face of the coin, but I don't think pirates have ever stopped at anything. The music industry learnt at least, I can buy a zip of FLAC files and everyone is happy. If the price is on par with the disc I'm getting the latter though.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by gotmule

I just turned 52 a few weeks ago, with my magic number being 57 to pull the parachute. My original thought is to find something part time that I have a passion for to keep myself occupied, but you make a very strong case to reconsider that plan.

State pension is 70 here now, so that age for retirement is a pipe dream for most here I’m sad to say. The keeping occupied part is a interesting one. I think you have to keep stimulated if you retire early. Even if that’s a hobby that keeps you active.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by flyry

If you think a UHD stream does not look better than an early blu-ray you are on some serious drugs.

This thread seems to be a lot of people talking about things they have never even experienced.

The problem with that is you guys sit too far away from your tv over there. Sure, if you are watching a stream from your boathouse through a window then yeah, it may look great. A well mastered Blu-ray is much more consistent than a UHD stream. The colours are great, the detail is good but I find backgrounds sometimes leave a lot to be desired. I have watched Amazon UHD streams, ITunes and Netflix. They do look very good mind.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

The problem with that is you guys sit too far away from your tv over there.

That's why I keep a pair of binoculars on my coffee table.

I typically sit about 7-8 feet from my screen, a 19" CRT. Any further than that and I can't plug my headphones in.