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

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

My sister's birthday is in 3 days, so she has a December birthday. I have an early January birthday, so we are both in close proximity to Christmas.

It isn't too bad since most people in our family typically have separate budgets for Christmas and birthdays in general (regardless when those birthdays occur), but since mine is so close to Christmas, I'm often able to ask to have the budgets for both combined to get something bigger where applicable.

It also could be a lot worse in terms of how close to Christmas it is. We have a second cousin who was born on Christmas day.

Happy Birthday to your sister as well!

My birthday is close to Valentine's Day and while that does not impact my receiving gifts, it does make it difficult to get together with my friends as they have to do the whole romantic evening with their spouses instead.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Kage

I have over 800 titles in my iTunes collection and lately I've been thinking of going back to physical media. Do any of you think that its too late for me to go back to physical media especially for 4k movies?

Absolutely not. Especially if you are into cult/obscure/classic horror/exploitation/vintage action/Asian/60’d classics/70’s classics/80’s classics.

4K wise, it’s a no brainier. 4K disc is by far the best way to treat your tv or projector.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by flyry

Best post ever

I worry for your humour if that’s the case.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

My sister's birthday is in 3 days, so she has a December birthday. I have an early January birthday, so we are both in close proximity to Christmas.

It isn't too bad since most people in our family typically have separate budgets for Christmas and birthdays in general (regardless when those birthdays occur), but since mine is so close to Christmas, I'm often able to ask to have the budgets for both combined to get something bigger where applicable.

It also could be a lot worse in terms of how close to Christmas it is. We have a second cousin who was born on Christmas day.

I'm quite lucky in this respect as my birthday falls in April, so my parents had 4 months to save up for my birthday present after Christmas.

However I remember one year while I was still at school, my dad actually gave me an Easter egg as a present because on that particular year my birthday happened to fall on Easter Sunday. I'm sure he did it just to see the look on my face. Thankfully my real present was in the other room.

[Vilya]

Another update from Bruceames in the Home Video Sales thread:

Blu-ray disc sales are down only 1.84% this year and they might break even by year's end.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=1020

Shaping up to be a good year for physical media.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Another update from Bruceames in the Home Video Sales thread:

Blu-ray disc sales are down only 1.84% this year and they might break even by year's end.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=1020

Shaping up to be a good year for physical media.

Excellent turnaround. Especially for a format that is well beyond its 10th anniversary.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Shaping up to be a good year for physical media.

Agreed, and long may it continue.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Some of you may be interested in this poll over at AVS. 437 have voted so it is a fair sample size.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Some of you may be interested in this poll over at AVS. 437 have voted so it is a fair sample size.

As much as I enjoy polls that show support for physical media, this poll is every bit as unscientific as the one posted earlier on this website:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...=310310&page=3

Now the poll linked above only has 80 respondents whereas the AVS site has 437+, but it must be noted that both of these sites cater heavily to those who would likely prefer disc in the first place.

This AVS poll is interesting in that it is comparing 4K streaming to blu-ray discs and that most prefer blu-ray disc, 48.4%, while 30.59% prefer 4K streaming and 9.82% think they are about equal.

If you combine those who think that 4K streaming looks better with those who think it looks the same, you have a full 40.41% who do not see blu-ray discs as being better. It is not a runaway preference for blu-ray disc even at a website like AVS which is likely biased toward disc. AVS members are often considered to more knowledgeable than the average bear, especially according to them , and even among this "elite" group those preferring the quality of blu-ray disc to 4K streaming is not an overwhelming majority.

It is also needs to be pointed out that 7.53% of all respondents refuse to stream at all and are therefore not well qualified to assess the differences between 4K streaming quality and that of blu-ray discs. If they do not stream, they are not in a position to evaluate it.

Similarly, 3.65% refuse to buy discs and they are also not ideally suited to judge the differences. In total, that means that 11.18% of respondents are not really qualified to make this assessment at all. A truly scientific poll would not even include such respondents, among other considerations.

Personally, I have done very little 4K streaming. What I have seen looks very good, but I have not seen enough to categorically declare that blu-ray disc looks better. I will say that 4K discs certainly look better than a 4K stream, again based tentatively on what few comparisons I have seen. I will still buy a movie on blu-ray disc every.single.time. over buying a 4K digital copy even if I were to decide in favor of the quality of a 4K stream. I will only buy that which I can actually own, period.

I enjoy unscientific polls as much as anyone, especially when they align with my preferences, but I do not confuse them with being a real barometer measuring consumer opinions as a whole. The forum members at AVS are not representative of consumers as a whole anymore than the forum members at blu-ray.com are; they are both a very small and select group- especially when you only include those who actively participate on these forums.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

As much as I enjoy polls that show support for physical media, this poll is as every bit unscientific as the one posted earlier on this website:

Just a passing interest for me, I never take these things seriously.

A while back a site did a test using two calibrated high end monitors, the source was a UHD Netflix stream (program ?) and a HD Blu-ray disc of the same content. The disc was synced the best they could with the stream. The majority of the viewers preferred the BD over the UHD stream for PQ. FWIW

I can not remember if the test was double-blind ABX or not, they did switch monitors during the test.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Just a passing interest for me, I never take these things seriously.

A while back a site did a test using two calibrated high end monitors, the source was a UHD Netflix stream (program ?) and a HD Blu-ray disc of the same content. The disc was synced the best they could with the stream. The majority of the viewers preferred the BD over the UHD stream for PQ. FWIW

I can not remember if the test was double-blind ABX or not, they did switch monitors during the test.

What you describe here sounds far more credible; an actual side by side test with a group of, hopefully, open-minded viewers selected at random. I do wonder just how wide of a majority preferred the blu-ray disc, though, and other details. I wonder how many thought they were equal, too.

I am still very impressed by blu-ray. My 4K player and my 4K TV really bring out the best in them. Even if a 4K stream were somehow proven to be superior to a blu-ray disc, I would still buy the blu-ray disc without hesitation. Blu-ray quality is generally excellent and the true ownership it offers is a non-negotiable requirement for all of my purchases.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I am still very impressed by blu-ray.

Me too. Have 8 players at the moment , need to give away 3 LG BP540's.

[Vor4]

Originally Posted by Kage

I have over 800 titles in my iTunes collection and lately I've been thinking of going back to physical media. Do any of you think that its too late for me to go back to physical media especially for 4k movies?

It’s too late for you to switch back to physical media. If you had about 100 iTunes movies, it would’ve been easier for you to switch back to physical media.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Vor4

It’s too late for you to switch back to physical media. If you had about 100 iTunes movies, it would’ve been easier for you to switch back to physical media.

Why is it "too late?" Is there something in the EULAs that forbids him? Is it you that forbids him? Precisely where is the point of no return? 200 digital titles? 500? 798? At what point is one condemned to digital only? Exactly what evil would befall him if he switched back?

Do I have too many blu-rays to buy 4K discs? Hell, do I have too many DVDs to buy blu-rays? What penalties have I unknowingly incurred?

If I were wanting to switch to digital (fat chance!) would you likewise tell me it is too late? Would you sentence me to a lifetime of disc ownership only? If so, I eagerly await my fate.

[Kage]

Originally Posted by Vor4

It’s too late for you to switch back to physical media. If you had about 100 iTunes movies, it would’ve been easier for you to switch back to physical media.

I feel like I can go back to physical media anytime I want too. I might do that this weekend and slowly I'll be growing my 4k movie disc collection due to the huge backlog of iTunes movies I have. I might have to buy the same 4k movies on disc that are in my iTunes collection due the the poor quality on many 4k movies I have in my iTunes collection.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Kage

I feel like I can go back to physical media anytime I want too. I might do that this weekend and slowly I'll be growing my 4k movie disc collection due to the huge backlog of iTunes movies I have. I might have to buy the same 4k movies on disc that are in my iTunes collection due the the poor quality on many 4k movies I have in my iTunes collection.

Whatever you decide, the only person that you need to satisfy is yourself.

[dublinbluray108]

Originally Posted by Kage

I have over 800 titles in my iTunes collection and lately I've been thinking of going back to physical media. Do any of you think that its too late for me to go back to physical media especially for 4k movies?

You can go back to physical media at any time you want. Do what makes you happy.

Have you lost some of those titles from your iTunes library up until now to make you go back to physical media?

[Dynamo of Eternia]

I HIGHLY recommend checking out the new episode of Adam Ruins Everything that was on earlier tonight for anyone who is able to do so.

This topic was about him "ruining tech," and while he doesn't really talk about movies specifically, he does go into the issue with EULAs and what they mean for consumers, not just when it comes to ownership of media (they do refer to e-books on the show), but even how software and EULAs can really screw up physical things that you own that rely too heavily on them.

The episode also talks about a lot of the problems with Amazon's overall business model, which I find very interesting (this is actually the first part of the episode before the EULA related topic comes up).

[Vor4]

Originally Posted by Kage

I feel like I can go back to physical media anytime I want too. I might do that this weekend and slowly I'll be growing my 4k movie disc collection due to the huge backlog of iTunes movies I have. I might have to buy the same 4k movies on disc that are in my iTunes collection due the the poor quality on many 4k movies I have in my iTunes collection.

Here’s a word of warning for you: “Before you do go back to physical media, think of all the money you wasted on the unwatched digital movies and your big collection of iTunes movies.” I still think that it’ll be a mistake for you to go back to physical media.

[avs commenter]

Or do both. I'm about 50/50 between digital and physical media. To think you can only own all your media in one type of format is crazy. Enjoy the benefits of both.