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

[Wendell R. Breland]

Let my HBO Max subscription lapse (ended 23) and signed up for half off today ($7.49 per month), this good for 6 months. Promo ends tomorrow (26).

Got a notice from Sound & Vision that was printed in small print. The notice said I was in a automatic renewal program for $34.97 per year and I would not receive any notifications to the renewal. To further the insult they stated I must call a telephone number to cancel. That is a tactic used by cable ops, subscription satellite, SirusXM and others. Make it real easy to sub, PITA to cancel.

I would not be surprised to see SVOD (Disney+, Apple+, Netflix, etc.) employ this method of cancelling sometime in the future.

[unberechenbar]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Let my HBO Max subscription lapse (ended 23) and signed up for half off today ($7.49 per month), this good for 6 months. Promo ends tomorrow (26).

Got a notice from Sound & Vision that was printed in small print. The notice said I was in a automatic renewal program for $34.97 per year and I would not receive any notifications to the renewal. To further the insult they stated I must call a telephone number to cancel. That is a tactic used by cable ops, subscription satellite, SirusXM and others. Make it real easy to sub, PITA to cancel.

I would not be surprised to see SVOD (Disney+, Apple+, Netflix, etc.) employ this method of cancelling sometime in the future.

I can definitely see them doing that or maybe become more like cable where you have to sub for a minimum amount of months.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by unberechenbar

I watched Prometheus and Alien: Covenant this week.

Pass on Covenant, have Prometheus in 3-D.

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

This energy supply crisis could end up being a nightmare. There is whisper of blackouts next year and it got me thinking if a combination of extreme weather, supply shortages and political indifference speeds up, we may be going weeks or months without electricity for a specified time each day. I can see People thinking they are better off with a laptop or tablet than a tv when they won’t have access to that set for several days/weeks at a time. At least with laptops, you can charge it and watch when all the power is down.

Something more to worry about.

This of course could disrupt the streaming services massively also. Several weeks with people cancelling subscriptions while power is down. It would be a massive problem for the entertainment industry.

Downloads would hsve to come back into vogue in a big way.

I was unaware of the energy crisis. Either they're not telling us in the States to avoid any more political pandemonium or it isn't going to affect us until later potentially. Who knows which it is.

With that being said, we actually just converted our house to Solar energy this week. I had 21 panels installed which should generate more than enough energy for our house with some left over to sell back to our electric provider. The system also came with a battery backup that will power our Refrigerator, Internet and Bedrooms if the power ever does go out for any reason. So I guess for once in my life I'm ahead of the curve .

[Ender14]

Apologize for the off topic post, but after over a year of trying I was finally able t purchase a GeForce RTX 3080 GPU for my PC. I actually was selected for the Newegg lottery finally after entering it almost daily since they started it. And I didn't have to pay scalper prices. Woo hoo! The only drawback is my disc purchase budget took a hit.

[unberechenbar]

Speaking of blackouts, two days ago there were a series of short blackouts in my area. I think there were 5-6 total, lasting between 5-20 minutes. There were several in the morning and 3 late at night. It was strange that there weren't any in the middle of the day, when you'd expect demand on the grid to be at the peak. Fortunately I wasn't watching anything at the time.

[PenguinInfinity]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

My argument is that folk may decide charging a laptop while at work and downloading shows and films to watch offline is a much more cost effective way of consuming stuff than being without a tv for several hours per day and several weeks (maybe running into months) per year.

A fairly cheap generator could power a TV and Blu-ray player for a few hours.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Same as these?

[Show spoiler]I have quite a few various types of Monoprice cables in use. I have several lengths of the Monoprice linked cables but have not installed them yet. Also have HDMI cables from other vendors in use.

Can not remember if I ever had any fail after a period of time. The only reason I can think of would be compound (dielectric, sheath) chemical breakdown, excessive heat and/or too sharp of bending radius (info here). Manufactures like Belden and CommScope will specify the bending radius of many of their cables.

IF I should procure a new JVC projector then I most likely get this cable because I need one that is 40'. Most copper cables can not do 18 Gbps at 40' and would certainly fail at 48 Gbps. Ruipro seems to be the favorite fiber cable with the users at AVS.

Those look just like the junk that I bought; my first and last experiment with super cheap hdmi cables.

I don't mind overpaying, if in fact I am, for AudioQuest hdmi cables; they work, they last, and that's exactly what I need. Tinkering behind my home theater is a lot harder for me now and I don't want to have to expend effort replacing cheap failed cables.

If memory serves, really long lengths of hdmi cables need to be amplified and thus they are much more expensive, but what's a $180 hdmi cable compared to the price of that $25,000 projector that you've got your eye on?

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

yes but it was trend that started before svod.

[Show spoiler]the thread title was changed a few months ago right after they closed it for a bit. I only come here on the weekends so I don't know what actually happened. But I think you were mostly around back then so you probably know better then I do

agree, never bought either.

Actually, physical media sales grew year over year during the 2000s up to about 2011 when the great decline started; a decline that has continued every single year since. Cable TV never hurt physical media sales; sales increased despite its existence and regardless of its evolution over time.

SVOD is what experienced explosive growth from 2011 onward at the expense of both cable TV subscriptions and sales of home video content. Growth in digital EST never compensated for the huge plummet in disc sales as people continue to spend less on purchased content every single year.

Content purchases, disc and EST combined, in 2010 totaled $10.829 billion ($13.59 billion when adjusted for inflation). In 2020, those purchases totaled just $5.449 billion. That's the effect of SVOD.

https://www.degonline.org/portfolio_...inment-report/

https://www.degonline.org/portfolio_...inment-report/

The mods have never objected to discussing SVOD as it relates to this thread's topic. Some of our forum members may hate to hear its "filthy" name mentioned in any context, but that's their problem. SVOD impacts the future of both disc and EST alike; that is the reality harsh though it may be for some here to swallow.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

This energy supply crisis could end up being a nightmare. There is whisper of blackouts next year and it got me thinking if a combination of extreme weather, supply shortages and political indifference speeds up, we may be going weeks or months without electricity for a specified time each day.

[Show spoiler]I can see People thinking they are better off with a laptop or tablet than a tv when they won’t have access to that set for several days/weeks at a time. At least with laptops, you can charge it and watch when all the power is down.

Something more to worry about.

This of course could disrupt the streaming services massively also. Several weeks with people cancelling subscriptions while power is down. It would be a massive problem for the entertainment industry.

Downloads would hsve to come back into vogue in a big way.

As Anthony P already said if this resurrected cataclysmic prediction of yours were to happen, we will have vastly greater concerns than how to watch stuff. The ability to watch movies will pale in importance.

Wake me up if the Power-pocalypse actually happens; until then I am not worrying about things over which I have no control.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Those look just like the junk that I bought; my first and last experiment with super cheap hdmi cables.

Someday I may install them and see if they cause me any trouble. Also use cables by Aurum, Link Depot and Datacomm.

If memory serves, really long lengths of hdmi cables need to be amplified and thus they are much more expensive, but what's a $180 hdmi cable compared to the price of that $25,000 projector that you've got your eye on?

In years past have used this one for HDMI #2 Input but not in use now. Not sure if there is an active 40' copper cable recommended for 18 Gbps. If I am going to pull another cable might as well do one for 48 Gbps.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Someday I may install them and see if they cause me any trouble. Also use cables by Aurum, Link Depot and Datacomm.

In years past have used this one for HDMI #2 Input but not in use now. Not sure if there is an active 40' copper cable recommended for 18 Gbps. If I am going to pull another cable might as well do one for 48 Gbps.

My experience with Monoprice may well be an isolated incident, but with 2 out of 3 cables failing at the same time and the same age, I am done with them.

I would hate to have to replace a lengthy hdmi cable that runs inside my walls; I would never trust a run like that to a super cheap Monoprice cable after my experience with their 10 foot cables, but your luck might be better than mine.

If you are buying new hdmi cables, you may as well be ahead of the curve and get the Ultra High Speed ones; the upgrade charge over Premium High Speed is a very modest one.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Let my HBO Max subscription lapse (ended 23) and signed up for half off today ($7.49 per month), this good for 6 months. Promo ends tomorrow (26).

Got a notice from Sound & Vision that was printed in small print. The notice said I was in a automatic renewal program for $34.97 per year and I would not receive any notifications to the renewal. To further the insult they stated I must call a telephone number to cancel. That is a tactic used by cable ops, subscription satellite, SirusXM and others. Make it real easy to sub, PITA to cancel.

I would not be surprised to see SVOD (Disney+, Apple+, Netflix, etc.) employ this method of cancelling sometime in the future.

I get HBO Max as a "free" perk with my AT&T wireless plan; otherwise I wouldn't bother with it.

Those cancellation conditions suck; I don't think that I could accept such terms. Cancelling a subscription should be as easy as starting one.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Ender14

Apologize for the off topic post, but after over a year of trying I was finally able t purchase a GeForce RTX 3080 GPU for my PC. I actually was selected for the Newegg lottery finally after entering it almost daily since they started it. And I didn't have to pay scalper prices. Woo hoo! The only drawback is my disc purchase budget took a hit.

Congratulations on getting that video card!

I had to have a friend buy me a 3060 in NZ and ship it to me; even with the hassle I saved hundreds of over paying scalper prices here.

[PenguinInfinity]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Wake me up if the Power-pocalypse actually happens; until then I am not worrying about things over which I have no control.

If it happens we'll have no way to reach you to wake you up.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

As Anthony P already said if this resurrected cataclysmic prediction of yours were to happen, we will have vastly greater concerns than how to watch stuff. The ability to watch movies will pale in importance.

Wake me up if the Power-pocalypse actually happens; until then I am not worrying about things over which I have no control.

This is not some prediction, you must have seen the news about the U.K.? We have horrific traffic jams at gas stations, shortage of food stock, £140 average energy cost increases etc.. we face blackouts over the Winter and that could extend into next year. This is Europe wide problem by the way.

This could in turn impact film production, tv broadcasts, streaming such as Disney+, Netflix etc..

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Ender14

I was unaware of the energy crisis. Either they're not telling us in the States to avoid any more political pandemonium or it isn't going to affect us until later potentially. Who knows which it is.

With that being said, we actually just converted our house to Solar energy this week. I had 21 panels installed which should generate more than enough energy for our house with some left over to sell back to our electric provider. The system also came with a battery backup that will power our Refrigerator, Internet and Bedrooms if the power ever does go out for any reason. So I guess for once in my life I'm ahead of the curve .

Sorted!

[cheez avenger]

My 4K edition of Dune and Tale of Two Sisters BD arrived from DabolikDVD today. They arrived in mint condition.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

My 4K edition of Dune and Tale of Two Sisters BD arrived from DabolikDVD today. They arrived in mint condition.

As did my 4K Shawshank disc and Manchester By The Sea Blu.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

This is not some prediction, you must have seen the news about the U.K.?

[Show spoiler]We have horrific traffic jams at gas stations, shortage of food stock, £140 average energy cost increases etc.. we face blackouts over the Winter and that could extend into next year. This is Europe wide problem by the way.

This could in turn impact film production, tv broadcasts, streaming such as Disney+, Netflix etc..

I hadn't heard a word about it. I've been too busy with my own dramas to follow much of the news or anything else.

Still, I don't know what good your worrying about it will do. I guess use this time to make your home as energy self reliant as possible like Ender14 has done.