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

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Yeah, it’s pretty tiring answering the door to collect something you love and look forward too. It’s a right byitch SC!

? What?

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Steven101

? What?

SC? It’s how the kids indicate they are being sarcastic? I’m just being hip!

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

SC? It’s how the kids indicate they are being sarcastic? I’m just being hip!

Okay. Never heard of it.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Steven101

Wow You have a lot of films!

I think (not counted) I have 300 films on I-Tunes and 300 films on Amazon. And I have far too much to watch, including Apple TV (free for a year) and Disney+ (paid for a year.) I can't imagine having 2697 digital films and then still buying physical media. But each to their own.

I do but keep in mind the digital stuff I have is mostly in all 3 - iTunes, Vudu and Movies Anywhere and for the most part I have it all on disc... only a few that I completely lack on disc.

I only "own" the physical collection which is around 2000. That's actually fairly stable as these days most of what I buy is upgrade of a Blu to a UHD BD.

-Brian

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Steven101

Okay. Never heard of it.

Must be a local thing.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Steven101

I can't see them doing that. If word got around that the studios are removing digital films, then people on mass will stop buying them..

Correct!

True story, it happened to me.

I tried to go "all in" with iTunes as my one stop movie shop (except for things not on iTunes) but I lost some movies and I stopped buying them.

The movies I lost came back but for a time I couldn't watch them .. there was no ETA for when they would come back. Turns out this happens in the realm of online movies and it's tolerated. It's just one of the ways it's flakey. I'm actually ok with things being unreliable that's life... I just don't buy something unreliable on purpose.


(Also tried UHD BD and realized they were better and given good and better I try to go for the better.)

I also try to stop other people from buying them because they are not buying them in the sense of the word. I don't like how iTunes sells things it doesn't own. And they know who owns it. When I talked to tech support they mentioned the content owner and they were not referring to me.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Correct!

True story, it happened to me.

I tried to go "all in" with iTunes as my one stop movie shop (except for things not on iTunes) but I lost some movies and I stopped buying them.

I also try to stop other people from buying them because they are not buying them in the sense of the word. I don't like how iTunes sells things it doesn't own. And they know who owns it.

Thank goodness for Blu-ray. Thank goodness for UHD and thank goodness for the next 15 years of guaranteed playback with the PS5 and Xbox. That’s pretty secure. Us disc lovers can buy in confidence knowing that even if top end players are discontinued a few years from now, we still have a pretty darn great option or two.

Buy in confidence! (I don't need to tell some of the lads on here that).

[Boccaccio]

Originally Posted by Steven101

Exactly. Not having a go alchav21 but you should really keep track of what you've bought digitally. I'm about to print off an up to date list of my digital purchases.

I do agree with you that digital is better in 2020, no storage, less stress, no discs coming through the post. You can play a film and easily return to where you were later, easily have two or three films on the go. I often buy films at £3 - £4 in 4K Dolby Vision.

I really don't understand this storage issue. If something is your hobby and you're really passionate about it wouldn't you just make space for it ?
You make it sound like it's something you almost hate and it has no place being in your house. And buying movies has never caused me any stress. On the contrary.

Movies coming through the post ? You just open your mailbox and you take it out. Again, no issue.

With Blu ray you can also return to where you left but I watch my movies always in one go so no need for that personally.

Watching movies on the go ? I hope you don't mean on your phone. There's only two places I want to watch my movies. My home cinema or the real cinema.

And do you "buy" those or rent those at 3 or 4£ ?

Don't take all this the wrong way but some of those issues are just non issues to some of us here.

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Correct!

True story, it happened to me.

I

I'm fine with that for £3 - £4 per 4K film. You can believe UHD disc is better (and boy it should be for £20 - £25) but I see no difference.

[Steedeel]

We don’t even have mailboxes, the postman just hands me my stuff

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by Boccaccio

Watching movies on the go ? I hope you don't mean on your phone. There's only two places I want to watch my movies. My home cinema or the real cinema.

And do you "buy" those or rent those at 3 or 4£ ?

.

I buy and rent for the same price. I don't watch films on the go, I could, it's nice to have the option, but I don't.

Movies is just one thing, for me, not everything. I might watch a film every three days and so digital is just fine for my needs. I prefer a tidy house space with no discs around.

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

So much for you thinking that people would have a problem with titles being removed. It certainly doesn't bother you.

It doesn't, within reason. That's because I've never had a title removed in four years, even titles that are no longer available to buy can still be viewed. If that changed on mass, then yes, I along with everyone else would take issue.

[Boccaccio]

Originally Posted by Steven101

I buy and rent for the same price.

Huh ?

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by Boccaccio

Huh ?

It costs the same, around £3 - £4, some times £1.99, for 4K Dolby Vision.

[Boccaccio]

Originally Posted by Steven101

It doesn't, within reason. That's because I've never had a title removed in four years, even titles that are no longer available to buy can still be viewed. If that changed on mass, then yes, I along with everyone else would take issue.

Within reason ? Losing even 1 movie is not acceptable.

Originally Posted by Steven101

It costs the same, around £3 - £4, some times £1.99, for 4K Dolby Vision.

Then why rent if you can "buy" at the same price ?

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Steven101

I'm fine with that for £3 - £4 per 4K film. You can believe UHD disc is better (and boy it should be for £20 - £25) but I see no difference.

It's better for me.

I routinely host movies for others and having the disc means I can plan ahead and make a great evening. I know what to expect. It's really something I enjoy.

I did watch my 4K copy of Crouching Tiger instead of my blu but I'm getting it in UHD BD soon and I was just curious about the ATMOS track.

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by Boccaccio

Within reason ? Losing even 1 movie is not acceptable.



Then why rent if you can "buy" at the same price ?

That's where we differ, I just don't care about that stuff. Losing a 4K disc at £20 is different than losing a 4K digital film, that cost the same price as a rental. And if I complained, I'd no doubt be given a free rental.

I rent for new films. That way I know if I like them or not and after I've seen a film, it's unlikely I'll want to see it again for years. Unless it's a favourite.

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Depends on what you define as "on mass". If iTunes, Amazon, and Vudu dropped 50% of their titles (sorted by popularity) then the vast majority of their customers would only lose a few titles at most. It's a huge amount of titles but would many people care if it wasn't their personal favorite titles?

When Sainsburys stopped offering digital titles in the UK, they refunded everyone.

There's no way the studios would drop 50%, it would make headlines around the world. If they stopped selling digital titles, titles would still be available to watch. If they closed up shop (say Amazon decided to move to Prime only), they would likely refund everyone or offer an alternative. People would never trust the studios again if they pulled that. It would trend on twitter, there would be a mass boycott. It's extremely unlikely.

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Digital supporters seem to all fall into one of two categories (or both):

Trusting / Delusional : "The studios and digital providers would never ever take away any of the movies I paid for".

Apathetic: "I don't really care if I lose any movies as long as there is plenty of other stuff to watch (for cheap)."

Maybe we have better things to care about. It's not delusional because I've never had a film removed after four years. And if they do remove them, they'll compensate me with a free rental for a new film I likely wanna see

Apathetic: I can't disagree with that and see nothing wrong with it. In fact, in 2020, it's the way to go. I have a digital list longer than your arm.

[Steven101]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

It was an extreme example but the point is they could easily drop thousands of titles and most people would barely be affected. There are thousands of new titles released every year; most people wouldn't notice if thousands of unpopular titles from over a decade ago disappeared.

It would still make headlines and people would no longer trust the movie studios. Which is why films are still there to watch on Amazon, even if they're no longer available to buy. Anyway, my coffee is getting cold...