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

[bhampton]

I’ll have to look it up when I get home but my projector manual said something about making 2D movies into 3D on the fly could violate copyright.

Seems a bit nuts but that was the correct thinking. You should not be able to change copyrighted material.

Of course you can’t mandate calibrated audio and video and force people to listen at reference audio levels.... would be nice though.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

I disagree. The main reason I buy physical media is because it prevents the copyright owners from having full control over all their content. Preventing people from zooming, watching at fast speeds, or recalibrating their equipment would just be another form of control.

But it was not intended to be changed or even revised.

I guess that’s the ultimate purpose of theaters after THX, you get a repeatable experience from calibrated equipment.

It’s nice we can get control and ownership for now but I don’t think that should extend to us being able to modify it.... I do see your point though.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

I disagree. The main reason I buy physical media is because it prevents the copyright owners from having full control over all their content. Preventing people from zooming, watching at fast speeds, or recalibrating their equipment would just be another form of control.

If it stopped people abusing film, it would be the lesser evil.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Physical media gives people the absolute most freedom to watch content in whatever way they choose. The only way to ensure that everyone watches content in way it is intended to be watched would be for the copyright owners to have full control over the platform it is watched on. That is a drastically worse evil.

The studios tried that . . . it initially didn't work for them (Universal vs Sony Beta Max Case). The law of unintended consequences prevailed and the home entertainment industry was born and the studios reaped billions in new profits.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Lots of new technologies in the 80s and 90s gave customers an unprecedented amount of control over content. Corporations profited greatly from their initial popularity but they've been trying to get that control back ever since.

Streaming is simply a popular way for the studios to provide customers with content without giving customers control over any of it.

No different from Pay-TV. Streaming will be the successor to Pay-TV. LOL - without all the fee fights and blacked out screens.

[Lee A Stewart]

Report: U.S. Pay-TV Sub Loss Increased 18% in Q2

With the migration of pay-TV subscribers to alternative (i.e. streaming) home entertainment channels ongoing, the number of U.S. linear TV subscribers dropping service increased 18% to 1.57 million in the second quarter, ended June 30, according to new data from Leichtman Research Group.

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/report...ased-18-in-q2/


Broadband Added 1.25 Million U.S. Households in Q2; Largest Gain in Eight Years

If there’s a silver lining for pay-TV distributors hemorrhaging video subscribers, it’s high-speed Internet. Linear TV subs dropping service are doing so for alternative home entertainment channels delivered over the Web. To get that distribution requires broadband, which most pay-TV operators deliver.

New data from Leichtman Research Group found that the largest cable and telephone providers in the U.S. – representing about 96% of the market – acquired about 1.24 million net additional broadband Internet subscribers in the second quarter, ended June 30, which was up 233% from a gain of about 375,000 subs in the previous-year period.

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/broadb...n-eight-years/

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

That's such a misleading way of writing that. They lost about 2% of their total subscribers.

But it's accurate. Same as the physical media charts. They compare against the previous year. And because it's only done by quarters, they also compare to the previous quarter of the same year.

The bottom line: Pay-TV is losing subs while Streaming is gaining subs.

The beauty of Streaming is the ability to go global quickly and easily, something Pay-TV providers can't do.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Streaming has an extremely long way to go before it's anywhere near as profitable as Pay TV.

Absolutely, no question of that. Streaming is in it's infancy while cable TV has been around since 1950: 70 years. For many if you didn't have cable TV, you had no TV.

[Lee A Stewart]

Based on current events with our dysfunctional government, IMO you are going to see those Pay-TV sub losses multiply drastically due to our high unemployment. People are going to have to cut their expenses and Pay-TV is a luxury for many. I don't see physical media doing well either in the 3rd quarter. People are afraid. They are saving more and spending less.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Based on current events with our dysfunctional government, IMO you are going to see those Pay-TV sub losses multiply drastically due to our high unemployment. People are going to have to cut their expenses and Pay-TV is a luxury for many. I don't see physical media doing well either in the 3rd quarter. People are afraid. They are saving more and spending less.

In that case, people just phone their cable company and get a better deal. It happens all the time in the U.K. just say you are happy with Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ etc... They won’t want to lose a customer.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

A better deal isn't necessarily a good deal, cable TV is always overpriced. And if you watch any broadcast or pay TV in the UK you have to pay the TV Licence Fee to the BBC, you can't get a discount on that.

A better deal is almost certainly a good deal. Going from £70-£80 to £45-60 is saving money regardless. These services know that most will use subscription streaming as a make-weight, so customers have them by the balls. That’s why Sky are so desperate to hold on to their live sports rights. They are also keen to partner with HBO so they have exclusive U.K. content. If it wasn’t for live soccer, I would cancel Sky straight away.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

How do you see the important 4th quarter/holiday season shaping up for Physical Media?

hard to say.

Newly released previous theatrical content tends to be the driving force but this year it is missing so that should indicate that it should be a bad 4th quarter. On the other hand if Covid-19 is still ravaging the world and people are staying home instead of parties it could actually push sales up and counter the decline due to new content (on the other hand old content tends to be cheaper then new content so # of titles could go up while $ goes down)

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

There you have it. A vaccine was developed but the virus was gone before it could be administered. Same could happen here.

no. Viruses don't just disappear because they are bored. At this point the only thing obvious is that it is next to impossible to control. New-Zealand went over 100 days with no community spread until a few days ago, and now has a small manageable cluster and they might be able to get it under control again and be rid of it internally again for some time. But for many places there are just too many cases for it to just disappear and for places that do do a good job they are just one small mistake away from possibly igniting the fire again.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Film lovers may fall into the trap though. Look at all the members who said they would never go digital and years later they have MA/Itunes collections in the thousands. With social media these days, trends accelerate quickly. Especially when people don’t want to be left out of conversations about a film or show.

but why would it matter. Let's assume you are the only one that likes watching films at their proper speed, does it matter if Joe watches stuff at 1.5x and Bob at 2x and Fred at 0.5x? The option to watch things at proper speed will always be there.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

no. Viruses don't just disappear because they are bored. At this point the only thing obvious is that it is next to impossible to control. New-Zealand went over 100 days with no community spread until a few days ago, and now has a small manageable cluster and they might be able to get it under control again and be rid of it internally again for some time. But for many places there are just too many cases for it to just disappear and for places that do do a good job they are just one small mistake away from possibly igniting the fire again.

He is referring to the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic.

The (H1N1)pdm09 virus was very different from H1N1 viruses that were circulating at the time of the pandemic. Few young people had any existing immunity (as detected by antibody response) to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus, but nearly one-third of people over 60 years old had antibodies against this virus, likely from exposure to an older H1N1 virus earlier in their lives. Since the (H1N1)pdm09 virus was very different from circulating H1N1 viruses, vaccination with seasonal flu vaccines offered little cross-protection against (H1N1)pdm09 virus infection. While a monovalent (H1N1)pdm09 vaccine was produced, it was not available in large quantities until late November—after the peak of illness during the second wave had come and gone in the United States. From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (range: 195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (range: 8868-18,306) in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-res...-pandemic.html

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by bhampton

But it was not intended to be changed or even revised.

I guess that’s the ultimate purpose of theaters after THX, you get a repeatable experience from calibrated equipment.

It’s nice we can get control and ownership for now but I don’t think that should extend to us being able to modify it.... I do see your point though.

Everyone that has ever seen a film at my place knows to go to the bathroom
and get everything they need before it starts because once the door is closed there is no excuse to pause the film or open the door. Even with emergencies if I need to stop the film then the next time I start it from the beginning. IMHO watching two halves of a film is not the same experience as one whole film (with the exception of films with intermissions since then the film was designed to be experienced with that short pause-and only a short pause is allowed).

I know many will disagree with me and I don't have an issue with it, if they would rather pretend to enjoy a films in installments I don't care, they can do what they want in their homes.

I sound proofed my HT (to the point where the world can end with a big bang and I would not notice until the film ends and the door opens) and i have a projector with a big screen so I can experience the film the way it was meant to be. Now I know many are OK to modify sound levels, listen to it in stereo and watch on a small direct view screen from too far away, But IMHO those modify the experience as well.

I know many find it acceptable to modify the audio and visual experience and I don't have an issue with it, if they would rather pretend to enjoy a film they can do what they want in their homes...

On the other hand I prefer watching Slapshot (and handful of other films) in the French Quebec dub, When I watched the TV show Arrow after the first(?) season I would skip the annoying and useless flashbacks.

I tried the auto 3d on my projector (I believe people should always have an open mind) but it did not work well and i have never seen a full film that way. But I think there are "mods" that each and everyone of us will or won't find acceptable depending on the full situation. and everyone should decide on their own what mods to what films are acceptable to them ( but that does not include forcing it on everyone else either.)

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

He is referring to the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic.

no, you were refering to it

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

All we can go by is the past:

1918 Spanish Flu lasted two years.

The H2N2 virus pandemic also lasted two years: 1957-1958.

2009 H1N1 Pandemic (H1N1pdm09 virus) lasted one year. A vaccine was developed but by the time it was to be administered, it was over.

To make matters worse, we are heading into Flu Season which isn't going to help.

the key part (and the one I was replying to was

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Same could happen here.

It is way too late for that.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

no, you were refering to it


the key part (and the one I was replying to was

It is way too late for that.

With respect Anthony, you don’t know that. We are all in the dark.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

It would make me feel uneasy knowing film has ended up that way. Where most of the population can’t sit through a film.

You're worried about feeling uneasy? I think that ship has sailed.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

no, you were refering to it


the key part (and the one I was replying to was

It is way too late for that.

You need to go back and review post #25831 (Page 1292) to see his response to what I had posted.