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

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

If you haven't already, you should make a back-up of it (and any other rarities that you have) to a SSD, optical disc, or both. I have backed up all of my rare laserdiscs to DVD media and I have Song Of The South backed up several which ways.

D-Theater uses CCI (5C) via Firewire so a digital copy will need a way to defeat 5C. I know some have done it but I never really looked into it.

Back in the early days of HD HDD's were quite expensive per GB with D-VHS being much cheaper. A DF-300 tape (32 GB) was about $5 and a 40 GB HDD was abou $130. I would record HD content, edit then record it D-VHS tapes via Firewire, still have several.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

These have been available on VUDU through "In Mobile Disc-To-Digital" for awhile too.

Calling total BS on this. As Vilya did, did a lot of searching, a big nothing. On the off chance they would be on the Vudu mobile app I installed that as well and still a big nothing. Are you trying to be funny?

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Calling total BS on this. As Vilya did, did a lot of searching, a big nothing. On the off chance they would be on the Vudu mobile app I installed that as well and still a big nothing. Are you trying to be funny?

Stonesfan is correct, those are available on MD2D True Lies and The Abyss (Theatrical and Special Edition.) You have to go to D2D and put those Movie Names in then they will come up. Don't be so quick to judge, you have to be familiar with these Streaming Providers. You have to have the right Disc associated with that Bar Code, I never converted with MD2D only D2D. Sometimes they would fail on me because I didn't have the right Disc, but it says those Movies are available.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Stonesfan is correct, those are available on MD2D True Lies and The Abyss (Theatrical and Special Edition.) You have to go to D2D and put those Movie Names in then they will come up. Don't be so quick to judge, you have to be familiar with these Streaming Providers. You have to have the right Disc associated with that Bar Code, I never converted with MD2D only D2D. Sometimes they would fail on me because I didn't have the right Disc, but it says those Movies are available.

No, they are not available on Vudu.

If Vudu has these movies, and no amount of searching on my part could find them, why would they not be available for a straight forward rental or purchase? When you enter these titles into Vudu's search bar, you get no results for True Lies and only two trailers for The Abyss.

The website JustWatch.com's sole purpose is to tell people where they can find a digital version of a movie and that website only shows HBO and DirecTV as digital providers for these films.

https://www.justwatch.com/

This next website lists all of the disc to digital eligible titles on Vudu, along with their UPC codes, and neither of these movies are on that list. The date of publication was Dec. 11, 2019.

http://comic-cons.xyz/vudu-disc-to-d...ith-upc-codes/

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

On the off chance they would be on the Vudu mobile app I installed that as well and still a big nothing. Are you trying to be funny?

Wendell installed Vudu's mobile app. and he was unable to find these titles. I have every confidence that he knows how to use the app., too.

I installed Vudu's mobile app. also and a search for these titles failed the same as the search did on their regular website. I even scanned the barcodes from my DVD copy of each movie and the results were "UPC not eligible" for each title. My DVDs are the same ones being sold on Amazon today.

We were not "quick to judge", but you sure were. Vudu does not offer these movies and that fact has been confirmed by three websites and two forum members.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Vilya

When you enter these titles into Vudu's search bar, you get no results for True Lies and only two trailers for The Abyss.

Wendell installed Vudu's mobile app. and he was unable to find these titles. I have every confidence that he knows how to use the app., too.

I installed Vudu's mobile app. also and a search for these titles failed the same as the search did on their regular website. I even scanned the barcodes from my DVD copy of each movie and the results were "UPC not eligible" for each title. My DVDs are the same ones being sold on Amazon today.

Well the Discs have to be the ones that are eligible, and they have to be specific. Here is the Vudu Page just put in the Movie Title, and it will come up with the Movies eligible. I know you guys are never wrong, but has either one of you done D2D? If you have these specific Movies they should give you Digital, and you have to have an Account.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Well the Discs have to be the ones that are eligible, and they have to be specific. Here is the Vudu Page just put in the Movie Title, and it will come up with the Movies eligible. I know you guys are never wrong, but has either one of you done D2D? If you have these specific Movies they should give you Digital, and you have to have an Account.

And you are lucky to know even that much.

The page that you linked to simply shows you a thumbnail of the movie's cover art when you enter a title. You can not act upon that result in any way at all.

Did you even read my post?

Originally Posted by Vilya

I installed Vudu's mobile app. also and a search for these titles failed the same as the search did on their regular website. I even scanned the barcodes from my DVD copy of each movie and the results were "UPC not eligible" for each title. My DVDs are the same ones being sold on Amazon today.

I just attempted using Vudu's disc 2 digital service through their mobile app. and it failed. I did it twice to be certain.

I own both of these on DVD and I scanned both barcodes with my phone and the result was, again, "UPC not eligible." Is that hard for you to understand?

I have the exact DVDs that are still being sold on Amazon. These two movies have had extremely few releases on DVD. A search of the database DVDreleasedates.com shows only one dvd release for True Lies; it shows only two releases of The Abyss Special Edition. These releases are so few and so old that they are both presented in non-anamorphic widescreen.

https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/

Three websites and two forum member's direct searching and testing of Vudu's app. have all confirmed that Vudu does not have these two movies. These three websites are not wrong; Wendell and I are not wrong; you are wrong and that comes as no surprise to anyone here.

Edit: Some of us are able to get disc 2 digital to work for True Lies, but I am not able to do so. I have a support ticket submitted asking why. The pan & scan version of the theatrical cut of The Abyss isn't worth having even if you paid me to take it; the widescreen versions of both cuts are not available at Vudu via any of their purchase avenues.

[stonesfan129]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I just did a search on Vudu for True Lies and found no matches whatsoever.

I also did a search for The Abyss and Vudu only offers the trailers for both cuts, but not the actual movie.

The website JustWatch.com indicates that these two movies are only streamable via HBO and DirecTV and nowhere else. No streaming service offers The Abyss extended cut.

https://www.justwatch.com/

If Vudu ever offered them, they don't appear to now. At least my DVDs, such as they are, haven't disappeared.

I scanned the UPCs in my DVDs and it allowed me to redeem them in VUDU. The only part that sucks is The Abyss is only the theatrical cut and in 4:3.

[quirkmanly]

Originally Posted by Vilya

And you are lucky to know even that much.

The page that you linked to simply shows you a thumbnail of the movie's cover art when you enter a title. You can not act upon that result in any way at all.

Did you even read my post?



I just attempted using Vudu's disc 2 digital service through their mobile app. and it failed. I did it twice to be certain.

I own both of these on DVD and I scanned both barcodes with my phone and the result was, again, "UPC not eligible." Is that hard for you to understand?

I have the exact DVDs that are still being sold on Amazon. These two movies have had extremely few releases on DVD. A search of the database DVDreleasedates.com shows only one dvd release for True Lies; it shows only two releases of The Abyss Special Edition. These releases are so few and so old that they are both presented in non-anamorphic widescreen.

https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/

Three websites and two forum member's direct searching and testing of Vudu's app. have all confirmed that Vudu does not have these two movies. These three websites are not wrong; Wendell and I are not wrong; you are wrong and that comes as no surprise to anyone here.

Out of interest I just scanned the UPC of my copy of TL into the D2D app and got this.

[Show spoiler]

It is definitely there to be converted, not that I care to as I can barely tolerate AS anymore.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by quirkmanly

Out of interest I just scanned the UPC of my copy of TL into the D2D app and got this.

[Show spoiler]

It is definitely there to be converted, not that I care to as I can barely tolerate AS anymore.

Well, Disc 2 Digital would not accept the barcodes from my two copies despite my trying twice to get them to work. There are not that many barcodes for these two DVD titles as there have been so few releases of them. I wonder which barcodes worked for you?

I have a support ticket in with Vudu and I am still awaiting their reply. It seems very odd to me that they would only offer these two movies as a disc 2 digital conversion and not also as a stand alone digital purchase. Is it common for Vudu to only offer a movie in disc 2 digital and not by direct purchase also? Sure seems silly to limit their potential sales like that when so many people want these movies in high definition.

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

I scanned the UPCs in my DVDs and it allowed me to redeem them in VUDU. The only part that sucks is The Abyss is only the theatrical cut and in 4:3.

The pan & scan version of the theatrical cut of The Abyss is not worth having at all; my DVD is the non anamorphic widescreen Special Edition that includes both cuts of the movie.

[Wendell R. Breland]

OK, I finally found a bar code for True Lies and converted it to Vudu HDX for $5 + tax. They make no mention of the aspect ratio. Will check it out later. Makes no difference as I own the 2.39 version with DD 5.1 with fairly high bit rate.

When I scan The Abyss Special Edition Vudu says the UPC is not eligible for conversion. If all Vudu has is the P&S version then my interest is 0% so I will not try to find a code that works.

The above is just more proof that streaming is and continues to be a big CF.

Bill hunt has posted both of these Cameron titles have received 4K scans and just needs his approval for disc release.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

OK, I finally found a bar code for True Lies and converted it to Vudu HDX for $5 + tax. They make no mention of the aspect ratio. Will check it out later. Makes no difference as I own the 2.39 version with DD 5.1 with fairly high bit rate.

When I scan The Abyss Special Edition Vudu says the UPC is not eligible for conversion. If all Vudu has is the P&S version then my interest is 0% so I will not try to find a code that works.

The above is just more proof that streaming is and continues to be a big CF.

Bill hunt has posted both of these Cameron titles have received 4K scans and just needs his approval for disc release.

Which barcode worked for True Lies? Mine was rejected.

It is absolutely ridiculous that this title can not simply be purchased from Vudu without going through all of this absurd disc 2 digital hassle and it is indeed a testimony to how fubar the digital market is. It doesn't take a business expert to realize that a company should make buying something as easy as possible.

Now, I'm not going to buy it regardless as I do not make digital purchases and I would not buy it at all without knowing the aspect ratio, but I marvel at how convoluted Vudu has made this purchase process. Please let me know what you think of your "convenient" digital acquisition.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Below is a screen shot of the Vudu mobile app and the results when you type in True Lies.

[Show spoiler]

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Below is a screen shot of the Vudu mobile app and the results when you type in True Lies.

[Show spoiler]

It is easier to get a truthful answer from a politician on the campaign trail than it is to get these titles on Vudu; this whole experience has been a complete joke.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Vilya

It is easier to get a truthful answer from a politician on the campaign trail than it is to get these titles on Vudu; this whole experience has been a complete joke.

So you guys weren't wrong just confused, I guess it has to do with a Licensing Agreement. Yes I went through all this many years ago, it's only for specific Movie Discs. Being late to the Streaming Party you'll probably get some other Rude Awakenings!

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

So you guys weren't wrong just confused, I guess it has to do with a Licensing Agreement. Yes I went through all this many years ago, it's only for specific Movie Discs. Being late to the Streaming Party you'll probably get some other Rude Awakenings!

We are more like half wrong/ half right as only the widescreen versions of The Abyss are worth owning and Vudu does not offer them. Who, in 2020, wants the pan & scan version that Vudu is offering?

Streaming is supposed to be easy and convenient and nothing about this little odyssey has been either one. It highlights what an inconsistent mess the digital market is.

Knowing where best to redeem a digital code to get 4K resolution is another one of its failings. A person should not have to consult an online spreadsheet to determine where best to redeem the damn things, but that is exactly what one has to do. The digital market is, as Wendell so succinctly said, a clusterf*ck.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Please let me know what you think of your "convenient" digital acquisition.

This fiasco could be easily avoided by bringing up said titles and stating, “This title not available for purchase but can be converted from disc.” On some titles I have searched they said, “Title not available for conversion but is available for purchase.”

The main reason I go to this trouble is this, I want to know first hand how any given title looks and sounds compared to disc. Hence the purchase of the Nvidia Shield Pro 2019 and Roku Ultra 2019. What two PITA products. If more apps and Dolby Atmos were ever added to my Sony UBP-X1000 then those streamers would be on eBay real quick.

The ONLY time I watch a movie via streaming: the movie is in HD and no equivalent on disc. Example, The Mountain Men (Heston), no BD and my DVD is P&S while the streaming version is 2.39:1. The flip side, Emerald Forest HD streaming version PQ is hardly any better than the DVD but the audio is almost mono while the DVD has a pretty good Dolby Stereo sound. We do watch a fair amount of TV via streaming. When I see or hear the short comings I just tell myself, “Its just streaming.”

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

This fiasco could be easily avoided by bringing up said titles and stating, “This title not available for purchase but can be converted from disc.” On some titles I have searched they said, “Title not available for conversion but is available for purchase.”

The main reason I go to this trouble is this, I want to know first hand how any given title looks and sounds compared to disc. Hence the purchase of the Nvidia Shield Pro 2019 and Roku Ultra 2019. What two PITA products. If more apps and Dolby Atmos were ever added to my Sony UBP-X1000 then those streamers would be on eBay real quick.

The ONLY time I watch a movie via streaming: the movie is in HD and no equivalent on disc. Example, The Mountain Men (Heston), no BD and my DVD is P&S while the streaming version is 2.39:1. The flip side, Emerald Forest HD streaming version PQ is hardly any better than the DVD but the audio is almost mono while the DVD has a pretty good Dolby Stereo sound. We do watch a fair amount of TV via streaming. When I see or hear the short comings I just tell myself, “Its just streaming.”

There's a lot of room for improvement with digital beyond their anemic bitates, that's for sure. Making a purchase ought to be the easiest part of all.



is on blu-ray. The PQ score is 4.5 while the audio just gets a 3.0. I own it, but I haven't watched it yet.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-E...110530/#Review

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Being late to the Streaming Party you'll probably get some other Rude Awakenings!

We were streaming video a LONG time before you even knew what the word was. Been streaming Netflix for almost 14 years. Had others in the early to mid 2000's but have forgotten who and what they were.

Rude Awakenings . Is some of your immature grand kids making these post for you?

[Vilya]

Incidentally:



The Mountain Men is on blu-ray.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-M...lu-ray/180450/

https://www.amazon.fr/The-Mountain-M...inkCode=xm2&m=

^This seller ships from New Jersey, by the way.

It is also listed on Amazon.uk:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/La-Fureur-s...9891147&sr=8-1

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

is on blu-ray.

Had The Emerald Forest and Cat People on BD but sold them because the sound track on the DVD is much better. About the first half of The Bounty on LaserDisc was in mono. About the first 60 minutes of the Black Robe is in mono with the remaining in Dolby Stereo (Surround). With so much content being mastered for disc it is inevitable that some mistakes will be made. I can relate to this, when we finished a project, production and technical staff members were required to watch and listen from beginning to end. Every once in a while a little mistake/error would get by a lot of eyes and ears.

Originally Posted by Vilya

Incidentally: The Mountain Men is on blu-ray.

Thanks, will look into procuring.