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

[bhampton]

McDonald’s is fast, cheap, convenient, and popular.

It isn’t the future though.

[cgpublic]

Originally Posted by Vilya

You're just an opportunist looking for closeout prices on physical media should it ever fail.

Well, I am an opportunist, as evidenced by the recent purchase below which sold out in hours, but I wouldn't characterize $50 as 'closeout' prices.

Take a good look at the future, direct from A24, unique packaging and a limited run (for now) of 2K copies.

Isn't it beautiful?

This is the future of physical media as a micro market. Hope you have your wallets ready, as you can see for yourself, my pockets run deep:

[cheez avenger]

^ My copy is still stuck in the mail. It was supposed to arrive last Thursday and now it just says "will arrive later."

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

The growth, and future, is non-dairy.

Not at all, because physical and digital are not mutually exclusive, i.e., there is no reason to not purchase and enjoy both platforms, i.e., there is no side.

None whatsoever.

And that is supported by fact that the majority of homes support physical media, digital media including SVOD, along with cable. However, there's no question where the greatest growth and alignment with future trends exists, and that is digital driven by SVOD.

Are you now also predicting the end of dairy milk? If so, you are wholly and not just 2%.

I use both physical media and digital distribution, but I most definitely have a clear preference. The latter is just for back-ups, remote access, sharing, and renting. Anything worth owning, I seek out a physical copy.

SVOD is almost all of the driving force behind digital growth; people are buying less content and that has been the case for every year since 2011. Growth in 4K discs sales and digital purchases have done little to reverse this trend. The all you can eat buffet is what the masses have chosen even if the food on it is of lower quality.

[bhampton]

For Midsommar I just watched it free in UHD on Prime before it was released on disc.

We do pay for Prime but that would happen without the steaming service.

I liked other A24 movies like The Witch and Hereditary and Under the Skin and have those on disc. I may still get MidSommar but maybe just the mass produced edition unless they restock the DC or re release it. Maybe I’ll rent the DC on iTunes as I have some free rentals there from when I lost access to movies.

it’s a great movie but not one of my favorites

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

It's only those who exclusively choose one platform and then choose to expand their decision into some non-sensical litmus test.

What does buying, or streaming, a title on one platform, e.g., physical, and choosing to a different platform, e.g., digital, for another title have to do with another if there are no barriers to both?

The answer is simple. Can you guess?

I subscribe to several streaming services. They have their benefits, such as exclusive content and convenience.

But when it comes to purchasing something to OWN, then physical is really the only option. I don't consider a digital purchase as owning something since the TOS on all of them explicitly state it is nothing more than a glorified rental. They can remove or later change content whenever they want and there is nothing the consumer can do about it. For some people that is fine and they don't care. But I would say the vast majority that purchase digital are unaware of just how little control they have.

So I agree that it is not a war of physical vs. digital. Digital is convenient for accessing curated content that the viewer has zero control over. Physical is the only option for actually owning content. Both have their place and will continue to thrive for the foreseeable future.

[cgpublic]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

^ My copy is still stuck in the mail. It was supposed to arrive last Thursday and now it just says "will arrive later."

You're not alone, based on threads. Between the pandemic, USPS and 'Disc Made In Mexico,' it's a miracle anything ever arrives at all.

But the discs keep coming, and I'm sure it will arrive before long.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

Well, I am an opportunist, as evidenced by the recent purchase below which sold out in hours, but I wouldn't characterize $50 as 'closeout' prices.

Take a good look at the future, direct from A24, unique packaging and a limited run (for now) of 2K copies.

Isn't it beautiful?

This is the future of physical media as a micro market. Hope you have your wallets ready, as you can see for yourself, my pockets run deep:

[Show spoiler]

Are you really citing a $50 purchase as evidence that your "pockets run deep?" No one cares about how much money either of us have; it is a very superficial thing to even bring up.

It is a very nice set and spending $50 is nothing for a limited edition. Buying the occasionally higher priced disc does not change your post history. You just like this movie and you were willing to pay a small premium to get it.

I used to buy laserdiscs where a single movie could cost $124.99 for a Criterion title in the early 1990s; in today's dollars that is $222.99. I bought all 40 laserdiscs that comprised the original Star Trek series at a cost of $1199.60 then; today that would be $2140.16.

You can't scare me with possible high prices for physical media; I likely spent more on it then than you do now. I'm pretty sure that continues to be the case. How much either of us spend on our hobbies, though, remains irrelevant; it isn't a contest.

[bhampton]

He impressed me with his deep pockets.

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

You're not alone, based on threads. Between the pandemic, USPS and 'Disc Made In Mexico,' it's a miracle anything ever arrives at all.

But the discs keep coming, and I'm sure it will arrive before long.

In addition to the newly "installed" Postmaster who cut back operations, labor, hiring etc., because there's an election to rig, which affects everything else outside of the vote by mail ballots.

It's irritating. What would be even worse is if I get the BD instead of the 4K. I've been reading that some folks got the wrong disc.

[avs commenter]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Not a single person in this thread has argued against any of those facts. We all know that the physical media market is shrinking and the streaming market is growing.

But your statement "the future is digital" is meaningless and is just meant to rile people up. Neither physical nor digital is the largest home media market and neither of them are going to go away anytime soon. The future will continue to support many different markets as it always has.

The future is definitely some form of streaming

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by avs commenter

The future is definitely some form of streaming

Your future.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

In addition to the newly "installed" Postmaster who cut back operations, labor, hiring etc., because there's an election to rig, which affects everything else outside of the vote by mail ballots.

It's irritating. What would be even worse is if I get the BD instead of the 4K. I've been reading that some folks got the wrong disc.

Your post is a tad bit political. You should know better than to go there. Even I know better than to go there.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by bhampton

He impressed me with his deep pockets.

Oh, I am sure that he did.

$50 wouldn't even pay for the packaging that your proposed TV purchase would require.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Seeing as streaming has so many limitations, anemic bitrates, visible compression artifacts, and lossy audio, why spend any extra effort or money on it? Whether I use my TVs built-in apps or you use your Nvidia Shield Pro, is the streaming viewing experience improved enough to justify all of this?

If your setup does frame rates correctly then no reason to use external streamer or it could be dropping frames and you are not sensitive to it. Immersive audio, if you should ever do a Atmos setup will you be able to extract it from your TV?

I have spent quite a bit on streaming devices so I could see and/or hear what the streaming content is like first hand. I am very sensitive to frame drops so any device that I have must be able to output original frame rates. IMO, most of the streaming TV content with immersive audio is not worth a lot of effort because there is very little use of the feature. Of course there is a few exceptions.

My projector has 91 combinations of fH (horizontal scanning rate) and fV (vertical scanning rate). Only looked at a couple of Sony TV manuals and the resolution and frame rate chart was generic and not detailed like their projector manual.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

If your setup does frame rates correctly then no reason to use external streamer or it could be dropping frames and you are not sensitive to it. Immersive audio, if you should ever do a Atmos setup will you be able to extract it from your TV?

I have spent quite a bit on streaming devices so I could see and/or hear what the streaming content is like first hand. I am very sensitive to frame drops so any device that I have must be able to output original frame rates. IMO, most of the streaming TV content with immersive audio is not worth a lot of effort because there is very little use of the feature. Of course there is a few exceptions.

My projector has 91 combinations of fH (horizontal scanning rate) and fV (vertical scanning rate). Only looked at a couple of Sony TV manuals and the resolution and frame rate chart was generic and not detailed like their projector manual.

If I wanted lossy ATMOS audio from streaming, where it is often under utilized anyways, I would have to get one of your streaming gizmos. My TVs do not have eARC, just plain ol' ARC.

Are you able to just launch a movie, sit down, and enjoy it or do you have a pre-flight checklist to complete each time that would rival any that NASA astronauts had to do prior to lift-off? Does your audience consult a countdown clock before taking their seats in your home theater?

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Are you able to just launch a movie, sit down, and enjoy it or do you have a pre-flight checklist to complete each time that would rival any that NASA astronauts had to do prior to lift-off? Does your audience consult a countdown clock before taking their seats in your home theater?

There is a lot of switching and lighting involved in starting a viewing session. With automation* only a couple of button presses are required.

* X10 for lighting and some equipment power control. Honeywell smart thermostat for climate control (downstairs) Nest upstairs. URC MX-980 for all IR control.

[sapiendut]

Does X10 still exist? I used to used X10 and then they disappeared from Canada. Don’t know about now.

[bhampton]

X10 is probably not the future.

https://www.lifewire.com/is-x-10-obsolete-818408

“ The reason is simply that many X-10 devices still exist and few home automation enthusiasts are ready to toss them out yet.”

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

Does X10 still exist? I used to used X10 and then they disappeared from Canada. Don’t know about now.

Originally Posted by bhampton

X10 is probably not the future.

X10 here. Have dozens of appliance and lamp modules, quite a few wall switchers and dimmers. In the home theater room I have 14 of the 16 addresses in use. Easy to control with the computer interface module, I just send one IR command via the IR remote that plays a macro in the interface to turn off or on devices, set dimmer levels, etc. Have no plans to replace anymore X10 devices at this time.

I do have Z-Wave and ZigBee devices upstairs controlled by a SmartHome hub and interfaced with Alexa and Google Home. Also have a ISY994i ZW+/IR Pro with a but have not done much with it.

Add: Some switchmode power supplies puts noise on the power line which can interfere with X10 operation. For those items you will need to add a noise filter (available from X10). For 240 VAC homes with split phase power (most all newer) you will need to install a phase coupler in or near your breaker panel.

Another add: I did have a Wink hub until I received an email stating that I must start paying $7 a month or my hub would cease to work. On principle I un-linked all my devices, procured a SmartHome hub and tossed the Wink in the donation pile.