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

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Get the version with three different cuts if you can.

I will have to import it then; the U.S. edition only offers the "final cut."

I'm thinking that The Hitcher would make a good double feature with Duel. Both have big scary semis in them.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I will have to import it then; the U.S. edition only offers the "final cut."

I'm thinking that The Hitcher would make a good double feature with Duel. Both have big scary semis in them.

Speaking of big scary semis, Britt Ekland is fantastic in The Wicker Man.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I haz a question for you Steedeel; is the movie Duel that is listed as one of your top 25 movies the same one that I have arriving today?

JoyRide.jpg JoyRide2.jpgJoyRide3.jpg

Duel is a good Movie, and I have watched it on my IPTV DVR, but a good pairing is Joy Ride with Steve Zahn and Paul Walker. I have all three of those Movies in My Streaming Collection. Rusty Nail does not want to Die!

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Attachment 263912 Attachment 263913Attachment 263914

Duel is a good Movie, and I have watched it on my IPTV DVR, but a good pairing is Joy Ride with Steve Zahn and Paul Walker. I have all three of those Movies in My Streaming Collection. Rusty Nail does not want to Die!

The first one appears to be out of print on blu-ray and the second one has not even been released in the U.S. All three can be imported from Germany, though.

Digital is the only reasonably priced way to view these right now. I'll try the first one sometime and decide from there if the sequels are warranted.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Vilya

The first one appears to be out of print on blu-ray and the second one has not even been released in the U.S. All three can be imported from Germany, though.

Digital is the only reasonably priced way to view these right now. I'll try the first one sometime and decide from there if the sequels are warranted.

For Joy Ride, I may have seen all 3 but I do believe the first one is the best of them.

[bhampton]

Hi,

I tried to go "all in" with online movies once.

I could say a lot of positive things about iTunes in particular, it's still a very good system overall and I find it miles ahead of all the other online movie providers. For me the greatest thing about it is family sharing which lets my kids access most of my movies from anywhere including far off dorms at college.

Why did I go back to buying expensive clutter ? ....

First, I lost access to some of my content. This was only temporary but I didn't like having paid for something I could not use. Apple informed me content owners can do whatever and though I can buy iTunes content I am not the content owner. These days temporary loss of online content is a regular thing.

Then, I bought a UHD BD disc and player and did a comparison using the disc and my 4k iTunes copy.

With my particular gear and internet plan there was no contest... the UHD BD was much sharper and the sound was much better.
Better video, better audio, and the ability to collect them made me realize that physical media was worth while.

I hope to have better internet service someday but that won't help the fact that the online copy has been compressed to 20% of the data you find on a disc. I'm not sure online copies will ever match the quality of physical media. They certainly don't for now.

Experience has me in the camp that I'll watch an online movie but I know I should only spend money on a physical copy. A nice feature is the physical copy often includes the online copy at the correct price ($0.00)



I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all
-Joni Mitchell

[Wendell R. Breland]

According to the Digital Bits (here) we may have more distributors getting into the UHD BD game. Hope they do a good job on From Dusk Till Dawn.

[sapiendut]

I find it annoying that there are so many titled I want to buy are not available in Canada/US so I have to import them.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

I find it annoying that there are so many titled I want to buy are not available in Canada/US so I have to import them.

Importing can be a bit of a hassle, but I am just happy to be able to get what I want. A desired title being altogether unavailable is immeasurably more frustrating.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I dare you to watch it tonight so we can chat tomorrow?

I watched Duel and my German import of The Hitcher last night.

Just a note: The Hitcher is labelled Region B, but it plays just fine on a Region A player. The menu options were in German and the highlighted choice was hard to distinguish as the white text was only slightly brighter when selected. German subtitles only and these are on by default when you select the English audio track; you have to select English audio and disable subtitles both. Other than that, the presentation is the best that I have ever seen on home video. The opening credit sequence is a little rough, but the image quickly improves once you get past it. Rutger Hauer makes for a chilling villain.



Duel was excellent. How I was unaware of this gem for so long is a mystery to me. Spielberg showed his genius right from the very start of his career.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I watched Duel and my German import of The Hitcher last night.

Just a note: The Hitcher is labelled Region B, but it plays just fine on a Region A player. The menu options were in German and the highlighted choice was hard to distinguish as the white text was only slightly brighter when selected. German subtitles only and these are on by default when you select the English audio track; you have to select English audio and disable subtitles both. Other than that, the presentation is the best that I have ever seen on home video. The opening credit sequence is a little rough, but the image quickly improves once you get past it. Rutger Hauer makes for a chilling villain.



Duel was excellent. How I was unaware of this gem for so long is a mystery to me. Spielberg showed his genius right from the very start of his career.

A master craftsman at work.

Hopefully you can pick up The Wicker Man next. It’s a absolute must imo.

[JohnAV]

Box Office: ‘The Suicide Squad’ Struggles in Opening With $12.2M Friday - Hollywood Reporter 8/7

James Gunn's antihero movie is headed for a less-than-expected domestic debut of $27 million. It is also available to watch on HBO Max.

Warner Bros. and DC’s The Suicide Squad opened to $12.2 million on Friday from 4,002 North American theaters amid challenges posed by the delta variant and a hybrid theatrical-home launch.

That puts the tentpole on course to debut to a less-than-expected $27 million at the domestic box office.

James Gunn directed the standalone sequel about DC’s team of antiheroes featuring a cast led by Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney and Peter Capaldi.

Critics adore the film, which sports an impressive 96 percent “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences were slightly less enthused, giving it a B+.

Gunn’s critically acclaimed movie opens amid consumer concern over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and delta variant, which has stalled the box office recovery. A home release on HBO Max also complicates matters. Can't blame this on delta variant HBO.

The Suicide Squad hopes to reinvigorate the franchise following 2016’s Suicide Squad, which was directed by David Ayer and debuted to $175 million domestically.

Heading into the weekend, Warners was predicting a $30 million start.

A month ago, Disney and Marvel’s Black Widow opened to a pandemic-era best $80 million. F9 is runner-up at $70 million.

The Suicide Squad follows a group of convicts as they demolish a Nazi-era laboratory. Along the way, they encounter a giant alien named Starro.

Jungle Cruise, which debuted last weekend to $34 million domestically and $30 million Disney+ Premier Access, is looking at a second weekend gross of $14 million to $15 million after earning $4.5 million on Friday from 4,310 locations.

The key difference with HBO hybrid theatrical-home launch is they are actually cannibalizing their theater revenue in the states with that free month compared to Disney Premiere access with $30 a family.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by bhampton

My kids viewing habits are nothing like mine. Things have changed and will continue to change.

Personally, I'd rather do chores than some type of group watch or zoom type of anything. Some people like it and maybe the insulation of socializing from a distance works better for some also.

I think the point of life is to enjoy it so however some other person wants to go about that is fine.

I understand that but I can’t help but be concerned. It seems the standards have slipped to a startling degree. Take watch parties on Zoom. I read that the host just shares his screen to allow others to watch the same film. This means the video is displayed on the grainy, poorly lit webcam. What’s worse, sometimes it can have stuttering and lag. Even worse, some have problems getting the picture so the host just points his webcam at the tv and shares that!

I wonder if we have hit bottom or can it get even worse?

I mention Zoom because it’s by far the most popular despite being the worst quality. At least other services have HD and decent quality because they are built into the app. Zoom only requires one person to have a Netflix membership so I can see issues with that as well. Soon it’s going to be a MAJOR problem for Netflix at a time when they are concerned about password sharing. This issue is way worse.

My concern is that watch parties become the default way to watch films for many and therefore quality is not even a requirement.

It’s 2021 and some people are watching a shared webcam copy of a film in sub par SD with added grain. A very worrying trend imo.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

It’s 2021 and some people are watching a shared webcam copy of a film in sub par SD with added grain. A very worrying trend imo.

You don't think that how the earliest internet pirated material has been shared for last few years? It's not a worrying trend at all, only that you seem very unaware of what going on with release to video and theater at the same time.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

You don't think that how the earliest internet pirated material has been shared for last few years? It's not a worrying trend at all, only that you seem very unaware of what going on with release to video and theater at the same time.

I’m exceptionally aware of that. That’s not what we are talking about here. These aren’t PVOD titles. It’s content from Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon etc.. all in pirate quality with added stutter and someone else’s speakers shared. Like, shockingly bad.

[Steedeel]

Forgot to mention, Apple are getting in on the trend now, that’s when you know it’s getting big.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Forgot to mention, Apple are getting in on the trend now, that’s when you know it’s getting big.

Didn't Apple back Quibi or was it Amazon or even both? Sorry, but I will never let you live down your prediction that Quibi would change the world for the worse.

If these watch parties are half as frustrating and half as painful to watch as you claim, people will hate them.

Again, a new viewing option in no way, shape, or form means that it will become the preferred option. Even if it did, that also does not mean that traditional options would be eliminated. You are deathly afraid of anyone enjoying movies in a manner other than your own. You seriously need to learn how to relax and just enjoy watching movies the way that you want to and allow others the same privilege.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

A master craftsman at work.

Hopefully you can pick up The Wicker Man next. It’s a absolute must imo.

It may be a bit. I wait until I want to import a number of titles before doing so.

[slimjean]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Personally, I'd rather do chores than some type of group watch or zoom type of anything. Some people like it and maybe the insulation of socializing from a distance works better for some also.

Wait are we still talking about movies? Covid killed all the group activities.

[kfbkfb]

I live in the USA, I was wondering how DVD/[UHD]Blu-ray discs mastered in the other video format (50Hz video refresh rate [European standard] instead of ~60Hz [USA standard]) play on all region players in the USA?

Is the audio the right pitch (not too high or low)?

AFAIK, some of my VideoCDs are PAL/50Hz, they play with the sound at the proper pitch on my Sony/Panasonic/Magnavox DVD/VideoCD players.


Kirk Bayne