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

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Not what I meant. I meant that streaming titles get discarded if they flop, regardless of their quality. Digital films to own aren’t going to be the focus, they continue to have very minor growth each year, the industry are focussed on streaming subscriptions.

I disagree nothing gets discarded, it might have a limited Distribution but it will be Archived. I don't know where you heard just because it's a Streaming Release it might be discarded. This is far from the truth, when Movies or TV Shows are completed they are Archived and can be used later for many reasons!

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Is there any word on how Vilya is doing?

[deatheats]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Playing back disc content won’t be a problem for at least the next 20 years. Consoles have disc playback, there are millions of Blu-ray players out there and will be available for a long time.
I still have my PS3 for goodness sake. It plays 3D discs, Blu, DVD and is still going strong two generations later.
DVD came out in 1998 and here we are 25 Yeats later with easy means to play them.

The beauty of the disc medium in addition to its inherent longevity & durability is its ease to be converted to playable digital files using the most modern codec available, (typically giving you a near 1:1 of what’s on the disc). Even if players become hard to come by, as long as we can get a blu-ray drive and a PC we’ll be able to rip our discs to digital files.

25 years from now we may even be able to fit our entire collections on a single thumb drive. Hard to imagine many of these movies getting better presentations than 4k with lossless audio. Hell, I’ve got some CDs approaching 40 years old that sound as good as the day they were purchased (with FLAC rips), not worried about not being able to play them.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Is there any word on how Vilya is doing?

He posted a few pages back wishing us happy Thanksgiving.

[t-mel]

I doubt there will be anything beyond 4k, and I don't see the need either. Already good Blu Rays look quite close to their 4k counterparts so anything beyond 4k UHD is probably redundant. Also, discs are a reliable and cheap medium. The same is not true of flash memory. Much more prone to data loss. At least a scratch on a disc is also isolated, whereas drive corruption can be much more devastating.

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

As long as I get the chance to see it before it leaves - who cares. The services 99% of the time tell you which content is leaving so you can view it before it does.

You just don't understand why people like streaming:

It's cheap
It has tons of content
Content is added each month

So you are viewing films and shows as disposable. No surprise there really.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

As long as I get the chance to see it before it leaves - who cares. The services 99% of the time tell you which content is leaving so you can view it before it does.

You just don't understand why people like streaming:

It's cheap
It has tons of content
Content is added each month

I understand perfectly. I have said as much over the last few years.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by bhampton

He posted a few pages back wishing us happy Thanksgiving.

Well, that's what I get for going right to the last page of the thread and not checking out the last few pages!

In all seriousness, thank you for pointing that out.

Originally Posted by Vilya

Before I head out the door on another trip to St. Louis, I wanted to take this moment to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

When you consider all that you have to be thankful for, it might just surprise you when you realize how blessed you really are. That's how I feel, anyway, and I hope that you feel the same. There is so much to be grateful for and that most certainly includes the time spent here with all of you fine folk.

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well! I hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends.

And the same for everyone else here in this thread.

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by alchav21

You guys do realize it's a Business, and if the Profit Margin is not there for Physical Media the Studios will not release it. They could negotiate to share in the Cost, but I don't think most will want to take that route!

This is one of the great problems of our society. We have turned everything, including art, into a commodity. We place the almighty dollar above everything, including reason, compassion and empathy. And a large portion of our society idolizes these businessmen and entrepreneurs who have devalued humanity to such a degree that we are nothing more than cheap labor or customers for their money machine.

I'm not unrealistic. I understand that for companies to survive they have to turn a profit. But it hasn't become about turning a profit. If that were the case then select CEO's wouldn't make 1000 times more than their median employee. That's not profit. It's stark, naked greed. Just look at this article https://fortune.com/2023/08/04/ceo-w...e-live-nation/. If they were really SO concerned about profits I would think reducing one their biggest expenditures would be a logical first step. But rather than take a pay cut, Iger laid off 7,000 employees. That is a level of greed that should appall anyone.

Sorry, didn't mean to get off on a rant. But the fact is discs turn a profit, no matter how small, or they wouldn't continue to make them. The problem isn't profit, it's wanting to wring every last penny out of the consumers while providing them with less. It's a rotten deal all around and I will never understand the average consumer swallowing it and asking for more.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Ender14

This is one of the great problems of our society. We have turned everything, including art, into a commodity. We place the almighty dollar above everything, including reason, compassion and empathy. And a large portion of our society idolizes these businessmen and entrepreneurs who have devalued humanity to such a degree that we are nothing more than cheap labor or customers for their money machine.

I'm not unrealistic. I understand that for companies to survive they have to turn a profit. But it hasn't become about turning a profit. If that were the case then select CEO's wouldn't make 1000 times more than their median employee. That's not profit. It's stark, naked greed. Just look at this article https://fortune.com/2023/08/04/ceo-w...e-live-nation/. If they were really SO concerned about profits I would think reducing one their biggest expenditures would be a logical first step. But rather than take a pay cut, Iger laid off 7,000 employees. That is a level of greed that should appall anyone.

Sorry, didn't mean to get off on a rant. But the fact is discs turn a profit, no matter how small, or they wouldn't continue to make them. The problem isn't profit, it's wanting to wring every last penny out of the consumers while providing them with less. It's a rotten deal all around and I will never understand the average consumer swallowing it and asking for more.

Yes, same with music, manufactured shite. I doubt we will ever see another Bowie, or similar artist.

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Yes, same with music, manufactured shite. I doubt we will ever see another Bowie, or similar artist.

Yes, it's really across all art forms and it's very sad.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Ender14

I'm not unrealistic. I understand that for companies to survive they have to turn a profit. But it hasn't become about turning a profit. If that were the case then select CEO's wouldn't make 1000 times more than their median employee. That's not profit. It's stark, naked greed. Just look at this article https://fortune.com/2023/08/04/ceo-w...e-live-nation/. If they were really SO concerned about profits I would think reducing one their biggest expenditures would be a logical first step. But rather than take a pay cut, Iger laid off 7,000 employees. That is a level of greed that should appall anyone.

CEOs made an average of $843,000 in 1965—here’s how much they earn today

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/20/how-...the-years.html

As you can see from the timelines, CEOs making 1000X more than their employees is nothing new. It's just new to you.

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

CEOs made an average of $843,000 in 1965—here’s how much they earn today

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/20/how-...the-years.html

As you can see from the timelines, CEOs making 1000X more than their employees is nothing new. It's just new to you.

Oh, well that makes it all better. Not evil at all.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Same old wash, rinse and repeat post. You HT enthusiast should know by now that no number of post emplaning your position will have any effect on anyone that acquires their home entertainment on the cheap. At least that has been my experience over the last 40 years.

When I return from the holidays I will place an order for a Zidoo UHD5000 (here). Mark Swift asked me why not the Z9X Pro for ¼ the price. Answer: I much prefer the case size, 2 HDMI outs and large front panel display. Some understand and some don’t.

Hoping the best for Vilya and everyone (pro or con for PM) this holiday season.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Ender14

Oh, well that makes it all better. Not evil at all.

It's been a fact of corporate life for years. Crying about it isn't going to change it. It will never change.

30,407,481 employees work in the Fortune 500 - only 500 CEOs.

[deatheats]

Originally Posted by Ender14

Yes, it's really across all art forms and it's very sad.

Unfortunately true. One of my favorite up and coming bands (The Bobby Lees) are having to take a hiatus (and may quit) as they can’t make enough money to keep going in the age of free streaming and astronomical touring costs. Going to see a couple of their last live shows next month and will show my support at the merch table.

Is streaming so amazingly convenient we simply don’t care about paying the artists (who actually make the content) anymore? I guess we just prefer handing our money to CEOs who are glorified delivery boys.

[t-mel]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

CEOs made an average of $843,000 in 1965—here’s how much they earn today

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/20/how-...the-years.html

As you can see from the timelines, CEOs making 1000X more than their employees is nothing new. It's just new to you.

I thank you for making Ender14's point for them. Worker-to-ceo compensation ratio: 1965, 20.2; 2015, 286.1. If by "nothing new" you mean "over ten times worse now" you are right.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by t-mel

I thank you for making Ender14's point for them. Worker-to-ceo compensation ratio: 1965, 20.2; 2015, 286.1. If by "nothing new" you mean "over ten times worse now" you are right.

Again it won't change. As inflation and high interest rates continue and Wall Street puts pressure on Corporate Earning, one person - the CEO, has to guide their company to success. For that they is rewarded. If they fail, they get fired.

An Analogy - doctors in Canada have their earnings capped at $288,995 per year in Canada. That's ALL doctors - from GPs to Heart Surgeons. Guess where many sick people go if they need surgery? - The good old USA. No high earnings incentive.

[deatheats]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

It's been a fact of corporate life for years. Crying about it isn't going to change it. It will never change.

30,407,481 employees work in the Fortune 500 - only 500 CEOs.

That’s why they are terrified of an actual Democracy.

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by Ender14

This is one of the great problems of our society. We have turned everything, including art, into a commodity. We place the almighty dollar above everything, including reason, compassion and empathy. And a large portion of our society idolizes these businessmen and entrepreneurs who have devalued humanity to such a degree that we are nothing more than cheap labor or customers for their money machine.

I'm not unrealistic. I understand that for companies to survive they have to turn a profit. But it hasn't become about turning a profit. If that were the case then select CEO's wouldn't make 1000 times more than their median employee. That's not profit. It's stark, naked greed. Just look at this article https://fortune.com/2023/08/04/ceo-w...e-live-nation/. If they were really SO concerned about profits I would think reducing one their biggest expenditures would be a logical first step. But rather than take a pay cut, Iger laid off 7,000 employees. That is a level of greed that should appall anyone.

Sorry, didn't mean to get off on a rant. But the fact is discs turn a profit, no matter how small, or they wouldn't continue to make them. The problem isn't profit, it's wanting to wring every last penny out of the consumers while providing them with less. It's a rotten deal all around and I will never understand the average consumer swallowing it and asking for more.

Reminds me of what Warners just did in order to save money by bricking all digital copies that have not been redeemed by their expiration dates. Even codes sitting there bundled in existing stock are no longer valid past the original expiration date.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by deatheats

That’s why they are terrified of an actual Democracy.