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

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

I see and feel that you put a lot of thought and passion into this post Steedeel. Unfortunately, and I say this with the greatest respect, you are a Luddite: a person opposed to new technology or ways of working. But on a contrary note, wasn't it you who recently forecasted that in the not too distant future, everyone would ditch their TVs and go to AR? Isn't AR another of your passions?

The television has been in the living room for going on 80 years. We have gone from 16 inches to almost 100 inches, a size that not too long ago was strictly achieved by projector. The biggest increase in sales for TVs in 2020 were those with a screen size of 65 inches and greater. And yes, the living room is no longer the primary place to watch TV.

Both 5G and ATSC 3.0 promise to bring linear TV to smart phones and cars. We are social creatures. We want to move about. Interact with each other. The days of watching TV in a dark room with a sound system that rivals what is used in professional cinemas are waning. That means decreasing or declining - not . . . over.

You and others like you are represent a niche market. And for the foreseeable future, that market segment will continue to spend enough money to keep that market going. It will die when it's supporters die. It's as simple as that.

So to keep things civil . . . how about if you don't chastise those who support digital and they in turn shouldn't chastise you who supports physical media. There is room for both in the marketplace.

To each his own passion

As a film lover, I have zero desire to move around and watch films on the go. The idea repulses me. If that’s our future we are screwed. (Film lovers)

What you are essentially saying is film lovers are going away and film itself.

I’m not a Luddite by the way. I have next gen consoles, a VR headset, Apple Watch, smartphone, iPad, IMac, a drone, Nintendo Switch, smart speaker, etc..

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

As a film lover, I have zero desire to move around and watch films on the go. The idea repulses me. If that’s our future we are screwed. (Film lovers)

What you are essentially saying is film lovers are going away and film itself.

You have chosen to use the word "film" as opposed to "movies."

Film is not going away - it's for all and intents and purposes gone. Yes a few directors still shoot using film but when compared to the total footage shot for movies - it's a tiny percentage. Digital capture is the norm and will continue to be so, literally forever. Just like digital projectors in cinemas - until the price of MicroLED tiles drops to the point where it will be cheaper to have one in a cinema than a projector. And that's not a guarantee.

Is this bad? IMO - no. It has birthed Dolby Cinema and Digital IMAX. IMAX was literally on the brink of going out of business because the IMAX 15/70 process had gotten so expensive they couldn't make a profit. So they switched over to Digital IMAX. They are still the only theaters (other than Dolby) that use twin laser projectors. And the company has flourished and grown because of that switchover. To some it is nothing like the IMAX they grew up with. Hence the moniker: LieMAX. But it beats NoMAX

Are film lovers going away? Sort of. They are dying. You are talking about my generation - the Baby Boomers. Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z people don't have the same priorities as we Boomers. We were buying LDs and DVDs as they were just being born.

To create a real HT takes money. And not just the initial outlay because whatever you bought will be old technology in short order: HDTV to UHD TV. LD to DVD to BD to UHD BD. DD5.1 to Atmos. People now a days want to use that kind of monetary expenditure for different venues. Yet paying for a $2000 phone every year - they don't blink at that. IMO - that's insane! To them it's a "got to have it" expense. To me it's just ridiculous. I love my 12 year old Samsung flip phone. Cost me $150 and it does exactly what I want it to do: make and receive calls and receive text messages.

Guess I am a Luddite too huh?

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Vilya

If that were really so, you'd think that our friends that buy lots of digital titles would be among the first, and the loudest, to complain. Do I need a hearing aid because I am not hearing such an outcry?

I don't know if I would say like dominos but I did not hear them cry when cinemanow shut down, when target ticket shut down... now that Sony shut theirs down.

I believe they will (possibly) the first, and the loudest, to complain when the one they picked shuts down up to that point why should they even care, they are still deluding themselves that it is impossible for the 0one they picked.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

I hate these types of comparison. People have the tendency to think that they are actually comparing the differences between the two by looking at the YouTube stream. This is as foolish as doing audio comparison by listening and comparing the different system via audio recording.

yeah A/V comparisons can only be done in real-life/real-time. The second you have re-processing (taking a picture/video of the display image, capturing audio/video from two sources.....) and posting it on-line the value dissapears in the comparison. It can-crush real differences and add artificial ones.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by lgans316

The way I see is he is just helping few folks with the disclaimer that don't judge anything by how it looks on YouTube.

You can even see Geoff posting comparison pictures in his reviews.

Some people have the time and passion to go the extra mile to help others.

At least he is not taking crap like Quantum who thinks HDR is a scam.

It is not matter of intent or putting the guy down but one of reality. Many people assume they can compare what is shown even if there is a disclaimer telling them they should not do it.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Are you blind this was posted yesterday here.

come on man you really expect people to be able to see a video linked to just a few posts higher that takes up a large part of the screen? what next you will expect people to watch their screens and see the high compression streaming artifacts right in front of their face?

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

You and others like you are represent a niche market. And for the foreseeable future, that market segment will continue to spend enough money to keep that market going. It will die when it's supporters die. It's as simple as that.

Isn't that always true about anything? The question is why do you assume that there will be a time when no one cares about big screens or quality presentations.

I talked to my sister the other day and she told me that her two older sons are going over to her house for the weekend because their girlfriends want to watch the Bachelor finally in her HT. If you look at their home life someone could assume that they are happy watching stuff on their tablets/laptops, but is that true or is it just that they are in their early 20's living in an expensive city and all they can afford right now is small apartments and small screens to go with it.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

Isn't that always true about anything? The question is why do you assume that there will be a time when no one cares about big screens or quality presentations.

Ah - once again you have me mistaken. The root of the discussion is physical media just like it always has been in this forum thread. You should be directing your comment to Steedeel. He's the one that thinks large in-home screens will die out. I do not share his speculation.

I talked to my sister the other day and she told me that her two older sons are going over to her house for the weekend because their girlfriends want to watch the Bachelor finally in her HT. If you look at their home life someone could assume that they are happy watching stuff on their tablets/laptops, but is that true or is it just that they are in their early 20's living in an expensive city and all they can afford right now is small apartments and small screens to go with it.

So how much did they pay for their last smart phone and how old are they since they upgraded?

[JohnAV]

Box Office Pops Upon New York City Theaters Reopening - Hollywood Reporter 3/6/21

In a much-needed boost for the beleaguered box office, overall revenue could be up by as much as 14 percent for the weekend.
By early afternoon on Friday, numerous showings of Disney's new animated pic Raya and the Last Dragon were sold out at AMC 19th Street in Manhattan. Ditto for Searchlight's specialty pic Nomadland.

The multiplex was among dozens of cinemas across New York City — including the country's busiest theater, the AMC Empire 25 in Times Square — that reopened on Friday after nearly a year of being shuttered because of the pandemic.

While capacity is capped at 25 percent, or 50 people — a restriction that makes turning a profit tough — New York City is an important first step as the box office attempts to recover (Los Angeles, the country's other biggest moviegoing market, should follow soon). Cinemas in San Francisco, another key market, are beginning to reopen.

Hollywood studios and theater owners maintain that consumers are slowly growing more comfortable about returning to theaters, and Friday's traffic in New York proved their point.

If early estimates hold, box office revenue for the weekend should be up as much as 14 percent over the previous weekend. While the overall number is still low compared to other years, the outlook is improving.

Raya is predicted to win the weekend with an opening in the $8 million range. The animated film is also debuting simultaneously on Disney+ for $30, so some key theater chains aren't playing the film, including Cinemark. That's dinging the film at the box office. Other chains passing include Harkins, Cinepolis and Cineplex.

Warner Bros.' Tom & Jerry looks to follow with an estimated $6 million or more in its second weekend, a strong showing.

New entry Chaos Walking is headed for $3.5 million to $4 million, while specialty pic Boogie looks to debut to more than $1 million.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Ah - once again you have me mistaken. The root of the discussion is physical media just like it always has been in this forum thread. You should be directing your comment to Steedeel. He's the one that thinks large in-home screens will die out. I do not share his speculation.

yes I did say big screen but the sentence did not end there it ended with " or quality presentations."

So how much did they pay for their last smart phone and how old are they since they upgraded?

Two very different questions. The first 0$ (gifts) the second depends which of the three kids I can ask them if you want.

but even though I get your point I completely disagree with it.

1) A cell is something you carry with yourself 24/7 and that everyone sees, for better or worst it has become a status symbol with stigma attached to not having the right one.

2) I don't know how it is where you live, but here cell companies offer plans, the lease fee is included in the monthly charges in a two year plans with very (possibly even 0$) down.

3) Yes technically some0one could add a projector in their bed room and sit on the bed and watch, but the reality is that they live in small 1 room apartments, it is not just the cost of the screen, if they want a nice HT like they have at their parents home they would need to have a much bigger place which would be a lot more expensive.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

yes I did say big screen but the sentence did not end there it ended with " or quality presentations."

OK - so you were half wrong.

There will always be a niche market for "quality presentations." Been that way since LD was introduced - 40+ years ago.

Two very different questions. The first 0$ (gifts) the second depends which of the three kids I can ask them if you want.

but even though I get your point I completely disagree with it.

1) A cell is something you carry with yourself 24/7 and that everyone sees, for better or worst it has become a status symbol with stigma attached to not having the right one.

2) I don't know how it is where you live, but here cell companies offer plans, the lease fee is included in the monthly charges in a two year plans with very (possibly even 0$) down.

3) Yes technically some0one could add a projector in their bed room and sit on the bed and watch, but the reality is that they live in small 1 room apartments, it is not just the cost of the screen, if they want a nice HT like they have at their parents home they would need to have a much bigger place which would be a lot more expensive.

BOLD . . . . BINGO!

[JohnAV]

Since you two are so stuck in the past and at home maybe this will retro style music will entertain you.

Bruno Mars, Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic - Leave the Door Open [Official Video] - YouTube

[Vilya]

I ate too much pizza.

I never foresee a time when people will prefer to watch movies on a tiny portable screen; why the hell would they?

While anecdotal, my youngest neighbors, in their 20s, all have at least one TV with screens sized 55" or larger. When young people get their own homes, and once they have the room, they buy TVs just like everyone else.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I ate too much pizza.

I never foresee a time when people will prefer to watch movies on a tiny portable screen; why the hell would they?

While anecdotal, my youngest neighbors, in their 20s, all have at least one TV with screens sized 55" or larger. When young people get their own homes, and once they have the room, they buy TVs just like everyone else.

Still given the space in apartments, you think they could drop the OLED TV size one more step to 40" - 43"?
55" for young people in small apartments isn't convenient.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

I don't know if I would say like dominos but I did not hear them cry when cinemanow shut down, when target ticket shut down... now that Sony shut theirs down.

I believe they will (possibly) the first, and the loudest, to complain when the one they picked shuts down up to that point why should they even care, they are still deluding themselves that it is impossible for the 0one they picked.

I certainly am one who insists upon actually possessing what I buy; I do not feel like I own something otherwise. I see my digital collection as basically a long term lease of unknown duration.

Still, it seems that people who seldom, or even never, use digital copies worry more about them disappearing than those that are heavily invested in them. I guess it is only natural as some people that favor digital copies worry about the fate of discs more than I do, too. It might be better if we each just worry about the viability of our own collections.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Still given the space in apartments, you think they could drop the OLED TV size one more step to 40" - 43"?
55" for young people in small apartments isn't convenient.

Nonsense; there is always room to wall mount even the largest of TVs.

Even when I lived in small apartments, there was never a shortage of wall space and today's TVs are very easy to hang on the wall; not much more difficult than hanging up a large framed picture or a giant fuzzy black light poster.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Nonsense; there is always room to wall mount even the largest of TVs.

Even when I lived in small apartments, there was never a shortage of wall space and today's TVs are very easy to hang on the wall; not much more difficult than hanging up a large framed picture or a giant fuzzy black light poster.

Its depends on room usage not that you have free walls to mount TVs just anywhere. Smaller residences can be exceedingly tight for space. A lot of furniture, its placement, fireplaces, windows or openings to other rooms can greatly subtract from the availability of larger display placement.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Its depends on room usage not that you have free walls to mount TVs just anywhere. Smaller residences can be exceedingly tight for space. A lot of furniture, its placement, fireplaces, windows or openings to other rooms can greatly subtract from the availability of larger display placement.

Fireplaces? Many folk have their tv above the fireplace these days.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Its depends on room usage not that you have free walls to mount TVs just anywhere. Smaller residences can be exceedingly tight for space. A lot of furniture, its placement, fireplaces, windows or openings to other rooms can greatly subtract from the availability of larger display placement.

Nope.

I have lived in nearly every sized domicile offered in this country at one time or another and I have always had room for a TV and that was long before they could be mounted on a wall.

Carrying a 133 lb 62" Mitusbishi DLP TV up to a 900 square foot second floor apartment was a challenge. Wall mounting a 65" TV that weighs about 52 lbs is a piece of cake in any place that I have ever lived.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Fireplaces? Many folk have their tv above the fireplace these days.

The example I was thinking of was windows on each side, ceiling high brick, end of room with no power receptacles. Yes you can do that in most situations. But I actually despise TV's stuck high where you need to constantly look up.