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

[The_Donster]

I’m a firm believer that if you have to explain a joke, there is no joke (thank you Joker). That being said, there’s always a little truth in a joke. I think we’ve lost some of the simplicity of everyday viewing by trying to reproduce the movie going experience. I truly miss pushing play and watching something without a second thought. It wasn’t until we bought our first HD set up that I started to care about my set up more.

As I’ve said several times since buying our new house, unfortunately I can’t set up my front room to accommodate my receiver and sound system in my front room. The Inner Sanctum in our old house was more inline with a proper set up and now that we’ve I have no idea when my attic will go through a remodel. There are far too many other projects that need our attention before it. So for the moment, I have to be happy with what I have.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

I’m a firm believer that if you have to explain a joke, there is no joke (thank you Joker). That being said, there’s always a little truth in a joke. I think we’ve lost some of the simplicity of everyday viewing by trying to reproduce the movie going experience. I truly miss pushing play and watching something without a second thought. It wasn’t until we bought our first HD set up that I started to care about my set up more.

As I’ve said several times since buying our new house, unfortunately I can’t set up my front room to accommodate my receiver and sound system in my front room. The Inner Sanctum in our old house was more inline with a proper set up and now that we’ve I have no idea when my attic will go through a remodel. There are far too many other projects that need our attention before it. So for the moment, I have to be happy with what I have.

I still have that. If I have had a tiring day, I will just watch tv in bed for a hour or so. Just the tv and a box that allows me to watch Sky upstairs. It also has all the broadcast channels. If it’s something I really care about, I will watch it on the OLED and if it’s a film, I will watch it on the projector 90% of the time.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I still have that. If I have had a tiring day, I will just watch tv in bed for a hour or so. Just the tv and a box that allows me to watch Sky upstairs. It also has all the broadcast channels. If it’s something I really care about, I will watch it on the OLED and if it’s a film, I will watch it on the projector 90% of the time.

I see you are Canadian today.

[sapiendut]

There is no Sky in Canada.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

There is no Sky in Canada.

I was not referring to that, but rather to the Canadian flag atop his post.

If Canada has no sky, I guess astronomy isn't much of a hobby there; what a pity!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I see you are Canadian today.

I don’t know how the heck that is happening lol.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I don’t know how the heck that is happening lol.

You're just an international man of mystery.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

You're just an international man of mystery.

I’m Back in England!

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I’m Back in England!

Whew! The rest of the world can breathe easier now.

[sapiendut]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I was not referring to that, but rather to the Canadian flag atop his post.

If Canada has no sky, I guess astronomy isn't much of a hobby there; what a pity!

Bahahahaha!!!!!!

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Vilya

You're just an international man of mystery.

Groovey, smashing.... yay capitalism!

[JPK]

I have been doing a fair bit of thinking about this recently, so I'm going to regurgitate my thoughts here and hopefully get some other opinions/find some more justification for the track i'm heading down.

1. Storage space. For physical media buffs and cinephiles, displaying and storing your collection coherently has to be considered. I'm currently maxed out at just over 1200 Blu Rays with a custom storage cupboard. After this point, its garage storage or boxes.

I am starting to think i'm probably served better by partly culling my collection and only replacing essential films on Blu Ray with 4K when they come out. There will be a few that come out each year I need space for and the obligatory Arrow or Criterion (etc) release that needs a physical copy.

2. Non-essential 4K. There is plenty of movies worth watching that come out each year that are not always worth owning and/or don't have particularly big soundtracks that require the absolute best source to enjoy.
Apple TV now offers Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on many of their recent releases - albeit with compression, offer HD for many films that haven't got to Blu Ray yet and 4K of movies that haven't had a physical 4K release yet.

Mindless accumulation of physical copies of films that gather dust and will never be watched more than once doesn't seem like the best way forward.


As a caveat, I get the whole idea about 'supporting the format', but tbh i'm unsure many of the studios (Sony excluded) are really supporting us. We pay a premium in many cases for the same soundtrack and the same master that was on the Blu Ray and keep getting fed near field or 'atmouse' mixes by Disney.

Furthermore, I probably also need to add that I have a fairly high end system that I have spent a lot of time and money building, therefore I can tell the difference between poor/compressed sources and good sources.

[bradnoyes]

Sell your BDs to make room for UHDs.

[JPK]

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

Sell your BDs to make room for UHDs.

Not convinced there is anything worth buying I haven't already got. I already own a few 4Ks that are objectively average movies but great demo discs.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by JPK

Mindless accumulation of physical copies of films that gather dust and will never be watched more than once doesn't seem like the best way forward.

As opposed to the "mindless accumulation" of digital copies that "will never be watched more than once?"

A digital copy is no more likely to be watched repeatedly than a physical one; how much you like the movie determines that, not the format.

You seem to think that the studios provide a better master to the streaming providers than are used for discs without any evidence to support the claim.

Whether or not a movie is worth owning, and on which format, is an entirely subjective matter and not for you, or me, to decide for anyone but ourselves.

[antspawn]

Originally Posted by JPK

I'm currently maxed out at just over 1200 Blu Rays with a custom storage cupboard. After this point, its garage storage or boxes.

Rip them to hard drives then stream them to your TV. Get rid of the physical copies, sell, throw out, give away etc

[JPK]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm well aware of the differences between formats. The question was more about what should be purchased on physical media in terms of maximizing utility.

In general, digital copies cost a lot less and can be rented (in 4K) for even less. It's a good solution.

Also aware this is a somewhat subjective group of questions/thoughts, but there has be some sort of objectivity when you're talking numbers as high as this. There is only so many days in a year, space in a room and funds to spend on films.

For example, all power to you for your collection. Fantastic selection of films. But we all don't have an entire room to store them in coherently and accessibly, and/or endless hours to watch them all multiple times.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by antspawn

Rip them to hard drives then stream them to your TV. Get rid of the physical copies, sell, throw out, give away etc

For a collection the size of mine, making 1:1 rips to hard drives would be a huge expense and I shudder at how time consuming as well.

[JPK]

Originally Posted by antspawn

Rip them to hard drives then stream them to your TV. Get rid of the physical copies, sell, throw out, give away etc

I love physical media. Just talking about whittling it down a bit/capping it.

This is a possible solution for some films though.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by JPK

Thanks for the replies.

I'm well aware of the differences between formats. The question was more about what should be purchased on physical media in terms of maximizing utility.

In general, digital copies cost a lot less and can be rented (in 4K) for even less. It's a good solution.

Also aware this is a somewhat subjective group of questions/thoughts, but there has be some sort of objectivity when you're talking numbers as high as this. There is only so many days in a year, space in a room and funds to spend on films.

For example, all power to you for your collection. Fantastic selection of films. But we all don't have an entire room to store them in coherently and accessibly, and/or endless hours to watch them all multiple times.

If you think digital is more affordable and if you do not mind the trade-offs that that entails, then you have found your answer. I find those trade-offs to be unacceptable and I will not purchase digital copies as a result. Rent digital, sure, but buy digital? Never.

The underlined portion applies no matter how you buy your films and thus is irrelevant in evaluating the two formats. A physical disc of a movie takes the same amount of time to watch as does a digital copy of it. Available funds for this hobby vary from person to person; what I can afford and what you can afford might be very different. My criteria for purchasing a movie may well be different than yours, too.

Storage space varies widely, too. I have found that most people have a lot of something; sometimes they have lots of several somethings. My "something" is my movie collection. If you inventoried my home you would likely find that it is has no more stuff in it than do the homes of most people.

There is no requirement that a movie be watched "X" amount of times before its purchase is justified; we each decide that justification for ourselves. I find that buying the movie and watching it even just once is more cost effective than taking two or more people to see it at the theater where we will also view it just once. My home viewing environment is quite nice, more comfortable, and I serve better concessions. Buying the movie on disc is both a better value and a better experience. The disc usually comes with the code, too, which I can sell to offset my disc purchase, redeem myself, give away, or simply ignore- which is my usual choice.