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

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I am over in the Vent Your Anger thread. Feel free to come over and with me.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=22722

You have enough to deal with without that crap.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by veritas

I have been wondering if Amazon will also drop vod services as they have shown the same signs as Microsoft. Less sales, worse customer service and even retroactively cancelling sales if the deal is to good which is a terrible business move they almost never do on physical goods. Their algorithm also doesn’t push videos anymore hiding most things to pretty specific searches.

I sometimes have no rush credits which I planned to use on a few videos but deals are so rare these days that I almost exclusively use them on kindle books. A few years ago I think they turned the price matching spiders off for digital media.

Like idk what the odds are that Amazon drops vod services but they are at a minimum for the last few years not trying to grow that sector.

Not a chance, there is a world of difference between Amazon and Microsoft’s limited service. Amazon have MGM now, they will want the opportunity to offer PVOD for the likes of the new Bond & spin off films.

Having said that, only disc is future proof.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

My Vinegar Syndrome order has finally shipped two weeks after having placed it. So long as everything arrives in good shape I will be happy. I never have a shortage of titles to watch while I wait.

I have some filth arriving soon.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I have some filth arriving soon.

Only one of the four titles that I ordered might be construed that way. I'm a boy scout afterall.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Only one of the four titles that I ordered might be construed that way. I'm a boy scout afterall.

All of my Melusine bundle is, and I ain’t ashamed to admit it!

[Steedeel]

Alchav, where are you? Digital to own is slowly dying!

[Vilya]

*sigh* You woke him, you feed him, and you change him.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by vilya

*sigh* you woke him, you feed him, and you change him.

:d

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Alchav, where are you? Digital to own is slowly dying!

Here I am, never bought any Movies from MS but like a File on a Disc it's not going anywhere. I would bet the File on a Server would be better than relying on a Disc or BD Player. Media Servers and Providers are Backed Up!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Here I am, never bought any Movies from MS but like a File on a Disc it's not going anywhere. I would bet the File on a Server would be better than relying on a Disc or BD Player. Media Servers and Providers are Backed Up!

You think they are keeping the server open for an extended time? Not a chance. Servers cost money to run.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Here I am, never bought any Movies from MS but like a File on a Disc it's not going anywhere. I would bet the File on a Server would be better than relying on a Disc or BD Player. Media Servers and Providers are Backed Up!

You're missing the point there, Spanky.

It is not about the longevity of the servers used by a digital storefront, or their back-ups, but rather how long will that digital storefront allow customer access to their servers, and how long will they maintain them, if the financial incentive isn't there as is the apparent case with Microsoft's digital store and all of the others that went belly-up before them.

Unlike files on someone else's remote server I can make back-ups of the files on my discs. Let's see you do that with your digital collection.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I have some filth arriving soon.

I can recommend a number of detergents if you like.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by CV19

I can recommend a number of detergents if you like.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

You're missing the point there, Spanky.

It is not about the longevity of the servers used by a digital storefront, or their back-ups, but rather how long will that digital storefront allow customer access to their servers, and how long will they maintain them, if the financial incentive isn't there as is the apparent case with Microsoft's digital store and all of the others that went belly-up before them.

Unlike files on someone else's remote server I can make back-ups of the files on my discs. Let's see you do that with your digital collection.

It’s all digital, apart from the ones that disappear.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

You're missing the point there, Spanky.

Spanky does not care about the things most of us here care about. He has a simple setup and streaming fits his needs just fine. Seriously doubt if he is aware of any titles that may have been edited or changed.

Its TV on, select something hit play and he is happy. If he walks as he says he does then at least he is not the typical American couch potato.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Spanky does not care about the things most of us here care about. He has a simple setup and streaming fits his needs just fine. Seriously doubt if he is aware of any titles that may have been edited or changed.

Its TV on, select something hit play and he is happy. If he walks as he says he does then at least he is not the typical American couch potato.

I doubt if those of us with large disc collections are aware of how many of our discs have gone bad, either, but we have better options to address such occurrences. If digital titles are altered or removed there is not much that can be done about it.

I can't fault someone for being happy with what they're doing, but I can take exception when they do not understand the difference between server longevity and the financial practicality of maintaining and operating one. All of those digital store closures were not due to server failure, but due to financial failure.

[stonesfan129]

One service went kaput. It doesn't mean digital purchases are dying. When FAH or Apple close up, then I'll worry. Physical is still here too. Despite everyone saying it was dead just because Best Buy and a few other stores quit carrying, didn't make it so.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

One service went kaput. It doesn't mean digital purchases are dying. When FAH or Apple close up, then I'll worry. Physical is still here too. Despite everyone saying it was dead just because Best Buy and a few other stores quit carrying, didn't make it so.

No, but if discs die, we still have thousands that we purchased, no such guarantees with digital.

[bhampton]

I enjoyed this more at home than the theater.



(My local theater is kind of crappy)

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

One service went kaput. It doesn't mean digital purchases are dying. When FAH or Apple close up, then I'll worry. Physical is still here too. Despite everyone saying it was dead just because Best Buy and a few other stores quit carrying, didn't make it so.

One more service went kaput; this is not the first one to go.

I would not characterize digital purchases as "dying", but they did decline 10.16% last year. Purchases in general are declining as less people are interested in buying content.

This news just reminds us that with digital collections the consumer has zero control over what happens with their purchases. Digital purchases can be altered at will (more likely) and even outright removed (less likely) without any compensation to the consumer. You can not in any way back-up your digital collection, either. Digital purchases literally require a leap of faith in corporations that only care about their profits. I consider myself a person of faith, but I have none in the benevolence of big business.

Obviously, Microsoft is not in financial trouble, but like Walmart, Target, and others before them they all decided that operating a digital home video store was not worth their while.

If Apple and/or FAH were to close their digital home video stores, you, I, and a lot of other people would stand to lose a large portion of our digital collection. Movies Anywhere is only a partial safe haven; movies from Lionsgate, Paramount, and others do not port over to them nor do any TV shows.

Whatever happens with our digital collections, we won't be the ones making the decisions; the studios and the digital storefronts will be. Personally, I like being in control over the things that I buy and not the other way around.