Blu-ray Vs Streaming/downloading

[50strat54]

Originally Posted by rickah88

So back in 2009 & 2010, all the "prophets" and "people in the know", predicted blu-ray would be gone in 3-4 years. Okay, we see how those predictions went.
What are the revised predictions? 2016? 2017? 2020?
I guess we'll revisit this discussion then. Until then:

Physical media: 1
Physical media doomsday prophets: 0

Also I look forward to start adding my 2015 BD preorders, about midway through 2014(about 8 months)
Yeah physical media ain't goin' anywhere, anytime soon.

My digital content begins and ends with the DVR. Ever lose a DVR box loaded with content? I have, it's not fun at all. Now just multiply that times your whole digital library, IF something catastrophic happened

The predictions might have been short but it is happening, a slow slide toward no physical.

The younger generation are buying less physical and are more into the convenience and immediacy of buying/streaming direct.

People predicted CDs would be gone by now, but they are still here but much less are made and sold.

If a catalog CD goes out of print the music companies just let it be available digitally. They are still willing to make New Release CDs because they still sell although in smaller amounts now. Nsync sold 2.4 million in one week, today you can sell 55,000 and be #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.

So for Blurays and even DVDs [many people are still buying them! the market is still there. A guy in Best Buy commented to me, "what's happened to all the DVDs?" He still wanted to buy them but the selection has become sparse.] it will be a slow decline but eventually they will be gone.

We can throw predictions out there where they fall short but eventually the physically will be over. Each successive generation will be less inclined to buy physical.

[Jr7936]

like when i was in best buy a while back i asked them about the dwindling movie selection and they told me it wasn't a big seller for them, or they weren't making money on it so thats why they decided to go with the big samsung center in each store

[gates70]

Originally Posted by bigshot

It all depends on the speed of your internet connection. Streaming services detect your connection speed and serve you a compression level that matches your connection. I have a nice zippy FIOS connection and Warner Archive and Netflix's HD content looks and sounds fantastic. I haven't done a direct A/B comparison yet, but I should. I suspect the difference is very minor.

Please do, but it's not the same. I have a 1080p projector setup as well and nothing comes close to Blu yet as far as streaming.

[50strat54]

I also want to point out that sometimes the companies themselves help the decline along.

They started to sell vinyl one way [no returns] then they reduced the amount being made, then they stopped making them altogether.

The music companies helped destroy the vinyl market even though the market was still there because CDs were so much easier to make/store etc. Vinyl became a pain in the ass and had lower profit margin.

[wonkavision]

Originally Posted by 50strat54

We can throw predictions out there where they fall short but eventually the physically will be over. Each successive generation will be less inclined to buy physical.

I agree. It certainly won't happen overnight and comparing vinyl and CD is moot as those mediums were around before mainstream internet. Technology will only advance to the point of everything being digital and books, DVD, BD, Vinyl will be something to see in a museum behind glass.

It will happen, it's inevitable. Of course that's if humanity continues as we know it...

[format916]

people are buying the shit out of dvds....check out the-numbers.com sometime

first week sales for '42' was 400k-

netflix & redbox has been amazing to the rental market, but no longer can you bring the movie box home (even though blockbuster had their own boxes)

amazon is really the king of blu rays right now, i mean have you been to a movie stop its shocking how overpriced it is, i just go there for the used deals, which even then is sometimes a rip off.

[Blu-Ray Maniac]

Originally Posted by format916

people are buying the shit out of dvds....check out the-numbers.com sometime

first week sales for '42' was 400k-

netflix & redbox has been amazing to the rental market, but no longer can you bring the movie box home (even though blockbuster had their own boxes)

amazon is really the king of blu rays right now, i mean have you been to a movie stop its shocking how overpriced it is, i just go there for the used deals, which even then is sometimes a rip off.

Sometimes... i took my amazon price, make a copy and go directly to a best-buy, hmv or Future Shop. I'm going directly to the supervisor asking him to have the same price or less and he's doing the 10% thing, so at the end, the BR that could have cost me like 400$ on that store but is like 325 on Amazon and with the -10%, i got my BR for 100$ less, it is something good to do when you don't want to pay 19,99$ for a BR that cost 9,99$ on Amazon !!!

[Rich1983]

I will always prefer the hard copy to the download and streaming.

[cramped_misfit90]

A new disc is currently in the works, 4 times better than BD... So is physical media dying? Hell no! I rest my case. Death to streaming I say!

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by 50strat54

The predictions might have been short but it is happening, a slow slide toward no physical.

The younger generation are buying less physical and are more into the convenience and immediacy of buying/streaming direct.

People predicted CDs would be gone by now, but they are still here but much less are made and sold.

If a catalog CD goes out of print the music companies just let it be available digitally. They are still willing to make New Release CDs because they still sell although in smaller amounts now. Nsync sold 2.4 million in one week, today you can sell 55,000 and be #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.

So for Blurays and even DVDs [many people are still buying them! the market is still there. A guy in Best Buy commented to me, "what's happened to all the DVDs?" He still wanted to buy them but the selection has become sparse.] it will be a slow decline but eventually they will be gone.

We can throw predictions out there where they fall short but eventually the physically will be over. Each successive generation will be less inclined to buy physical.

Physical media is going away when month over month we hear about new BD sales records being set?
Sorry, not buying it. I'll believe it when all of sudden Amazon stops offering BDs for preorder. So we'll see when/if that happens anytime soon. Yes I say Amazon, because we'll see B&M's long gone before physical media!

Also why can't physical media and streaming coexist? I don't see the downside to that.

[cramped_misfit90]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Physical media is going away when month over month we hear about new BD sales records being set?
Sorry, not buying it. I'll believe it when all of sudden Amazon stops offering BDs for preorder. So we'll see when/if that happens anytime soon. Yes I say Amazon, because we'll see B&M's long gone before physical media!

Also why can't physical media and streaming coexist? I don't see the downside to that.

You're exactly right. Spot on. People act like just because streaming is convenient that physical media has to die... totally incorrect! Streaming is simply a convenient alternative for people. These people need to get a brain that say physical media is dying... hilarious!

[Blu-Ray Maniac]

Originally Posted by Rich1983

I will always prefer the hard copy to the download and streaming.

i hate streaming... at least downloading you can watch on the tv and it's still good and if you cannot wait or it cost too much. But the hard copy is still the best like the VHS days !!

[blu-bry]

For blu-rays you only need electricity, a player, a screen, and a disc. With streaming you have to depend on electricity, a player or streaming device, fast and affordable internet, a screen, and the server at the source of your stream. More variables and more trust involved.

Blu-rays do look better - often more like film, have extra features (sometimes booklets), and I can hand them to friends so they can try out my favorite movies.

[Jr7936]

Or if you don't have a valid credit card attached to your vudu or flixster you could just give ur friends that account to stream the movies

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Seymour

Sure, physical media is gonna stick around for awhile longer. But it really stinks that so many movies are available on Amazon Instant (in HD), with no blu-ray in sight. For example...Bad Boys II? Yeah, you can buy the movie in HD thru Amazon Instant for $14.99, but BD...forget about it. Even obscure movies like I, the Jury (1982) are available in HD on Amazon Instant. I seriously doubt it will ever hit blu, though.

Also, I noticed that none of the studios are farming out the stuff that's available on Amazon Instant, like they are with BDs.

I, The Jury was never released on DVD, but there has been a handful of blu-ray titles that were never released on DVD. I still prefer blu-ray over streaming because of it's superior A/V quality, and most of all, I like having the physical media, instead of depending on the internet to download/stream movies unto a hard drive, occupying a lot of space, and memory on your PC or TV. To me, there is no comparison!

[50strat54]

Originally Posted by gates70

Please do, but it's not the same. I have a 1080p projector setup as well and nothing comes close to Blu yet as far as streaming.

But it will continue to improve.

Remember how slow the internet used to be? In my home it's very fast with very few glitches.

[animefan77]

Streaming is definitely getting better, but I definitely prefer owning physical media then streaming. But with running out of space in my house, streaming does look enticing for mediocre movies. But I still don't see myself changing anytime soon.

I think i would like streaming better if it's under just one company. There are too many different ones right now. I hate opening up different account for Vudu, iTunes, etc to see certain movies. It would be more enticing to have just one software that contain all.

Also it's not really guaranteed that we will have this forever. If one of the company decides not to continue or go out of business, we will lose all of our movies. This is my biggest concern because Diseny stopped doing their Live Streaming, and the X-Men exclusive streaming that I got for CinemaNow is no longer available. We are basically at their mercy. I won't ever feel like I truly own this, which is the main reason i buy in the first place.

other reasons have been mentioned before like lack of extras on most movies(this is other really big one for me), lower A/V quality(other high), internet might going down or slow, etc. These might get better in the future, but I don't see myself changing at all for the reason above.

[SwaggerJagger]

Originally Posted by Talal86

why do you have Netflix, if you don't like streaming? or do you mean you only use the rental service?

Netflix is good just for watching to watch, I wouldn't go "oh I'm not going to buy this movie I like because it's on Netflix". I would never buy a movie on Vudu instead of Blu-Ray just to stream. I do have a few movies on Vudu, but they were free.

[bigshot]

Originally Posted by gates70

I have a 1080p projector setup as well and nothing comes close to Blu yet as far as streaming.

How fast is your internet connection, and which streaming services do you use? Could your connection be throttled?

[KRW1]

This is Pagemaster again, isn't it? Do not feed the troll. It's sad now, more than anything else.