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

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I believe cable and dish is on its way out in the U.K. and given another ten years I think the majority of people will get their entertainment via the internet. Sky will still offer satellite but it’s a question of time. They reckon they can deliver 4K to homes via IPTV so let’s see how reliable it is.

I hope Sky will continue to offer satellite, as broadband in my area isn't particularly great and have heard one or two complaints regarding Sky's broadband. In fact, when I contacted Sky several years back about their broadband package, they told me it wasn't available in my area (after giving them my postcode) which I thought was somewhat odd seeing as I had a BT landline anyway.

However, I contacted both AOL and BT and they were both able to fix me up straight away. I'm not very computer savvy at the best of times, so I don't know the reasons behind it.

[randian]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Having said all that, our landscape is very different to yours (although Comcast have just bought SKY ) Sky are huge here, probably as big as Comcast is in your country. Their HD is pretty good via dish but they are going all IPTV next year via a set top box.

Expect that to change for the worse now that Comcast own them. Comcast is famous for downrezzing and bit-starving their video. On US cable systems their HD looks like SD, and not particularly good SD at that.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by randian

Expect that to change for the worse now that Comcast own them. Comcast is famous for downrezzing and bit-starving their video. On US cable systems their HD looks like SD, and not particularly good SD at that.

People will just cancel, we have several other options here plus Netflix, Amazon etc..
Comcast will inherit Sky Q which is 4K. People are not going to put up with crap.
Anyway, like I said, Sky look like they are going OTT. What would be the point of downrezzing there? They could just use adaptive streaming like everyone else or have tiered packaging with SD, HD HDR and 4K HDR. The whole point of downrezzing is to allow more HD channels within a certain bandwidth.

Also, Sky is satelite so I don’t know if they would be under that same pressure in the early days.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by CV19

I hope Sky will continue to offer satellite, as broadband in my area isn't particularly great and have heard one or two complaints regarding Sky's broadband. In fact, when I contacted Sky several years back about their broadband package, they told me it wasn't available in my area (after giving them my postcode) which I thought was somewhat odd seeing as I had a BT landline anyway.

However, I contacted both AOL and BT and they were both able to fix me up straight away. I'm not very computer savvy at the best of times, so I don't know the reasons behind it.

They will for many years still. However, I think it will be more cost effective to go IPTV.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

People will just cancel, we have several other options here plus Netflix, Amazon etc..
Comcast will inherit Sky Q which is 4K. People are not going to put up with crap.

Absolutely right. I primarily have Sky for the sport package, but I certainly won't pay increased subscription charges to receive an inferior service.

[dublinbluray108]

The biggest problem with satellite channels in the UK is that their broadcasters have so many channels competing for so much satellite bandwidth. It limits their ability to allow 4K or more HD channels to become available to a mainstream audience. I will give you one example here; the BBC recently put up a satellite channel test for BBC Two Wales HD in the UK. The channel will be launched from the 29th of November this year. A change was enabled on the forward error connection (FEC) on people's satellite receivers to allow people get the test channel in the correct frequency. However; there was a downside to allow the test to go ahead. The audio quality had been degraded when the test was up & running for the remainder of some of the other BBC HD channels in the same frequency. The upside to this is that there are two extra channels allowed on the frequency for BBC Two Wales HD. It used to be 6 channels there. But now it has a total of 8 channels. BBC Scotland HD will have the same issue with the audio once it is launched in February 2019.

The BBC are also launching BBC Two Northern Ireland HD as well from late November. But the BBC have a problem there. It cannot launch on satellite yet because the BBC have said it has no spare capacity to launch it on satellite for audiences in Northern Ireland & the UK. They have said they are gearing for an all HD future for all of their channels. BBC Two NI HD will be launching for now on BBC iPlayer, Freeview/Youview & Virgin Media cable boxes in NI.

If other broadcasters are facing the same problem in that country; something there has got to give. Sky have made plans to do this already by announcing that they are to cut the number of linear entertainment channels & niche movies from it's portfolio very soon. It has not given a specific list of what channels to be cut as of yet. Sky's CEO Jeremy Darroch has said this decision will be made in due course. I'm not affected with Sky because I am not a customer of theirs in Ireland. I get the UK free to air channels on satellite & get hundreds of them without a monthly subscription.

Satellite TV in general is actually the most reliable way in your home to get a consistent HD/UHD picture on your TV set. Compare that method to watching live TV, a TV show or a movie being streamed from a PC or a laptop with HDMI cable plugged into your TV to watch things like IPTV services, live sports streaming services or iTunes, Vudu, Hulu or MA. How big would be the difference for anyone who uses them? If someone asks you on a random day that if you want to watch a movie on a laptop plugged into the TV via HDMI. How would you feel about it?

Watching movies this way could become problematic for you if the quality your internet connection is not good enough to sustain some kind of experience because your connection can degrade itself if you have lots of people living with you at home using the internet at the same time. The user experience is reported to be terrible if you were streaming or downloading the movie for several hours onto your laptop.

On the other hand; watching movies or TV shows on physical media saves you all of that potential hassle & massive headaches going into the future. It allows you to become immersed in the experience from the very start. It just feels brilliant barring some hitches with your hardware or electricity failing on you in your house at any given moment.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by CV19

Absolutely right. I primarily have Sky for the sport package, but I certainly won't pay increased subscription charges to receive an inferior service.

I have it for the sport. All movies are Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray. Where available, I buy boxsets in Blu-ray also but I do use Netflix to pad it all out.

There is no way Netflix and Apple are going to be pushed into a little box by Cable/Sat tv here or in the US. Indeed, Amazon have even won a small package of football rights for 2019.

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Did anyone get in on the recent Target sale of the Sony UBP-X800 for $89.00? They are back to $299.00

Damn! Hate missing that sale. When was this?

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

IMHO, these small niche services needs to be an Amazon channel. The Amazon app is probably on most streaming devices and would make billing easier. The downside, you have to be a Amazon Prime member.

The Amazon UI is god awful.

I'd rather them go to Netflix as they could use the older movies

[Vilya]

I signed up for Voodoo tonight. I haz new service to experiment with. I will play with it soon. I am still binge watching Tales From The Crypt episodes on DVD for Halloween- almost to the end of season 5 now with 2 more to go.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

Damn! Hate missing that sale. When was this?

Saw the post here. IMO, that was (is?) a knockout deal! I would check my local Target to see if they have any on sale.

[quirkmanly]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

Damn! Hate missing that sale. When was this?

These were on clearance end-caps in most stores. You can plug your zip in here at Brickseek to see if you have any local to you still.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by flyry

The Amazon UI is god awful.

I'd rather them go to Netflix as they could use the older movies

If they wanted to continue with their own service then Amazon would give them the greatest access across the most devices.

As to the UI, if you setup your streaming device to output the original frame rate* and your display device to accept various frame rates then you will come to dislike the Netflix UI because of the auto preview. You will get a black screen as try to scroll thru the content selection because of the various frame rates used. The screen goes black as the system re-syncs, very annoying!! I have complained to Netflix about the lack of being able to turn off the auto preview.

*Some devices/displays do not have this option.

[Vilya]

I watched my first full length 4K movie stream tonight via Vudu. I rented Hostiles for the ridiculously low price of 99 cents. When adjusted for inflation that is far less than what it cost to rent a crappy pan & scan VHS tape 30+ years ago. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that Vudu has a very large selection with many titles that I actually want to see unlike Netflix or Amazon Prime.

The picture and audio quality were very good from start to finish. I started my stream at 9 PM and I was done by 11:20 PM. The image never degraded due to server issues (and over a wireless network using an outdated dual band "N" router) unlike what I frequently experience with Amazon Prime streaming. My ISP cooperated fully tonight.

I made a point to observe the backgrounds in both day and night time scenes and I never noticed any loss of detail or any macro blocking. The image looked very good in both the foreground and background alike. The image was stable throughout. I still believe the image quality would be even better with the 4K disc, but until I get it, I can not make a comparison.

Before anyone thinks I am a convert to digital, I am not, but I really like the ability to rent what I want to see on a pay as I go basis as opposed to paying a flat monthly fee or by buying a movie blindly. Ironically, renting this movie via a digital streaming provider has resulted in a physical media sale. Now that I know that I really like this movie, I am buying it on 4K disc. This is one very important way that streaming and physical media can compliment each other.

I suspect that will be the case with many of the other titles that I plan to rent. I will stream a rental, then buy it on disc if I like it. It is the same thing that I did when laserdisc and DVDs were the state of the art format. Rent first and buy the disc when pleased with the movie. Vudu is now my preferred digital streaming rental research tool.

[octagon]

This is exactly how Nazi Germany started - YouTube

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I watched my first full length 4K movie stream tonight via Vudu. I rented Hostiles for the ridiculously low price of 99 cents. When adjusted for inflation that is far less than what it cost to rent a crappy pan & scan VHS tape 30+ years ago. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that Vudu has a very large selection with many titles that I actually want to see unlike Netflix or Amazon Prime.

The picture and audio quality were very good from start to finish. I started my stream at 9 PM and I was done by 11:20 PM. The image never degraded due to server issues (and over a wireless network using an outdated dual band "N" router) unlike what I frequently experience with Amazon Prime streaming. My ISP cooperated fully tonight.

I made a point to observe the backgrounds in both day and night time scenes and I never noticed any loss of detail or any macro blocking. The image looked very good in both the foreground and background alike. The image was stable throughout. I still believe the image quality would be even better with the 4K disc, but until I get it, I can not make a comparison.

Before anyone thinks I am a convert to digital, I am not, but I really like the ability to rent what I want to see on a pay as I go basis as opposed to paying a flat monthly fee or by buying a movie blindly. Ironically, renting this movie via a digital streaming provider has resulted in a physical media sale. Now that I know that I really like this movie, I am buying it on 4K disc. This is one very important way that streaming and physical media can compliment each other.

I suspect that will be the case with many of the other titles that I plan to rent. I will stream a rental, then buy it on disc if I like it. It is the same thing I did when laserdisc and DVDs were the state of the art format. Rent first and buy the disc when pleased with the movie. Vudu is now my preferred digital streaming rental research tool.

Welcome to the enabler club. Although Mr ****take had his little clever dig, of course I do feel that you are on a slippery slope. There are members on here who started out exactly like you. They know who they are. Staunch disc loyalists who turned to digital overnight. Sigh. Another who won’t heed the warnings.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Welcome to the enabler club. Although Mr ****take had his little clever dig, of course I do feel that you are on a slippery slope. There are members on here who started out exactly like you. They know who they are. Staunch disc loyalists who turned to digital overnight. Sigh. Another who won’t heed the warnings.

It's not like he purchased the movie digitally. He just rented it. Physical media rental options are extremely limited these days. And I doubt that Red Box is renting 4K discs.

Not every movie is worth a blind buy.

[turns2stone]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I watched my first full length 4K movie stream tonight via Vudu. I rented Hostiles for the ridiculously low price of 99 cents. When adjusted for inflation that is far less than what it cost to rent a crappy pan & scan VHS tape 30+ years ago. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that Vudu has a very large selection with many titles that I actually want to see unlike Netflix or Amazon Prime.

The picture and audio quality were very good from start to finish. I started my stream at 9 PM and I was done by 11:20 PM. The image never degraded due to server issues (and over a wireless network using an outdated dual band "N" router) unlike what I frequently experience with Amazon Prime streaming. My ISP cooperated fully tonight.

I made a point to observe the backgrounds in both day and night time scenes and I never noticed any loss of detail or any macro blocking. The image looked very good in both the foreground and background alike. The image was stable throughout. I still believe the image quality would be even better with the 4K disc, but until I get it, I can not make a comparison.

Before anyone thinks I am a convert to digital, I am not, but I really like the ability to rent what I want to see on a pay as I go basis as opposed to paying a flat monthly fee or by buying a movie blindly. Ironically, renting this movie via a digital streaming provider has resulted in a physical media sale. Now that I know that I really like this movie, I am buying it on 4K disc. This is one very important way that streaming and physical media can compliment each other.

I suspect that will be the case with many of the other titles that I plan to rent. I will stream a rental, then buy it on disc if I like it. It is the same thing I did when laserdisc and DVDs were the state of the art format. Rent first and buy the disc when pleased with the movie. Vudu is now my preferred digital streaming rental research tool.

Yep, this is how it all starts

Pretty soon you'll come across cheap 4K codes $1-$5 and think "well, it's about the same price as a rental, and if it stinks I'm out very little". Next thing you know you'll have dozens or hundreds. Best part, crappy movies take up zero shelf space

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Welcome to the enabler club. Although Mr ****take had his little clever dig, of course I do feel that you are on a slippery slope. There are members on here who started out exactly like you. They know who they are. Staunch disc loyalists who turned to digital overnight. Sigh. Another who won’t heed the warnings.

Thanks to Movies Anywhere and the proliferation of cheap codes, I'm more of a "movie buff" now, that at anytime in the past when I was disc-only.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Welcome to the enabler club. Although Mr ****take had his little clever dig, of course I do feel that you are on a slippery slope. There are members on here who started out exactly like you. They know who they are. Staunch disc loyalists who turned to digital overnight. Sigh. Another who won’t heed the warnings.

I buy more movies on disc every two months than many people do in an entire year. I buy 20-30 titles on disc every month. At the moment I own 7,286 titles on DVD, blu-ray, and 4K discs combined. I own a few hundred more on other formats. I do not see how I could be any stronger of a supporter of physical media than I am and that I always have been. It's in my very blood.

I thought that Monty Python clip (er, Fawlty Towers clip) was funny. It in no way felt like a "dig" to me. I have a sense of humor; it makes life vastly more fun.

I have rented movies, off and on, for over 30 years. The primary thing that has changed here is who I am renting from. I have always purchased a physical copy of any movie that I like from VHS tape through to 4K discs. That will NEVER change.

Vudu allows me to rent and view titles that I am uncertain about owning at a very attractive price. Did you not read how my renting that title last night resulted in my purchasing that same movie on 4K disc?

No matter how cheap a digital purchase may be at any given time, it can not satisfy my essential requirement that I have absolute control over the content that I buy. I will not accept the EULAs that govern digital purchases, either. I do not even bother to redeem the digital codes that come with my discs.

Even though that 4K stream looked really good, I am confident that the 4K disc will look, and likely sound, even better and that is my next requirement for a purchase: I always seek the highest quality for my purchases. For me, Vudu is simply the online equivalent of the mostly defunct brick and mortar video rental store of yesteryear. I will rent from them, nothing more.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Welcome to the enabler club.

I have been streaming video since the 90's but it has never changed my mind about owning physical content. I rent on physical (Netflix) because my prime time speeds are not dependable. My cost has averaged about $1.90 per Blu-ray disc rental over many years with Netflix. That is much cheaper for me than the total cost would be for Redbox rental and much more convenient.