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

[aaronsaylor]

Originally Posted by flyry

That's not the discussion though. People try to use having to have internet as a knock against digital as if the internet is not a way of life for everyone now.

We will always pay for internet if nothing else. Cable may die eventually, but we will still have the net.

I agree with this. The internet is as much a utility at my house as electric and water. Technology surely will continue to improve over the years but the internet is not going anywhere. We've been redeeming digital copies for nearly a decade now - they aren't going anywhere, either.

Movie studios will continue to look for ways to migrate consumers to the delivery method that saves studios the most money. That's why the release dates for digital have moved up to 3-4 weeks ahead of disc. That's why the studios are signing on for things like Ultraviolet and now Movies Anywhere.
It will take a global cataclysm to end digital streaming, in which, case physical discs and playback devices aren't going to be worth much, either.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I like silly once in awhile myself, thank you. If believing that your missing titles will eventually reappear is satisfactory, then that's great for you. I would still be annoyed if any of my purchases could just randomly vanish, however transitory. This was just one example of the fun digital collectors deal with; there are other similar examples to be found.

UHD is a very new format with evolving standards and first generation players; you have to expect some growing pains.
Discs can fail or be faulty from the get go, but these issues are easily resolved, too. You exchange them.

Personally, I have had very, very, very few discs fail. In 24 years of collecting, I have exchanged a minuscule number of titles for outright failure to play across four formats. Many of these rare exchanges occurred during each format's infancy. I have never experienced a large number of titles simultaneously going AWOL.

That post you quoted is an anomaly. Most lingering MA issues are from Itunes (because Apple). To not expect any hiccups when merging 4 major retailers and 2 digital lockers systems is somewhat unrealistic.

I've had no problems (after unlinking-relinking to get a few missing titles to port) other than Blade Runner final cut missing in itunes (it's everywhere else and most people are missing it in itunes).

You found the most extreme example you could find in that thread,which is not even the real movies anywhere thread, when for all we know most if it can be attributed to user error or solved with a simple unlink-relink.

And yes while discs can fail on a new format, I'm still deadly afraid every time I buy a new disc and pop it in.(CTHD traumautized me)

I'm all for both formats. I currently have Dunkirk, Blade Runner 2049, IT and T2 pre-ordered on 4k disc. And Apes just arrived the other day.

Most other summer movies from this year I obtained digtally for space reasons and for me not loving the movie as much to have it in the very limited space left on my shelf.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by aaronsaylor

I agree with this. The internet is as much a utility at my house as electric and water. Technology surely will continue to improve over the years but the internet is not going anywhere. We've been redeeming digital copies for nearly a decade now - they aren't going anywhere, either.

Movie studios will continue to look for ways to migrate consumers to the delivery method that saves studios the most money. That's why the release dates for digital have moved up to 3-4 weeks ahead of disc. That's why the studios are signing on for things like Ultraviolet and now Movies Anywhere.
It will take a global cataclysm to end digital streaming, in which, case physical discs and playback devices aren't going to be worth much, either.

Then, the studios are going to be Disappointed. When you can have buffet content for £10 per month, why buy a film for more than that? The genie is out of the bottle. Subscription will be king in the digital realm. The mainstream have spoken. If you are a serious home cinema enthusiast, well you shouldn’t be buying digital copies in the first place imo.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by flyry

That post you quoted is an anomaly. Most lingering MA issues are from Itunes (because Apple). To not expect any hiccups when merging 4 major retailers and 2 digital lockers systems is somewhat unrealistic.

I've had no problems (after unlinking-relinking to get a few missing titles to port) other than Blade Runner final cut missing in itunes (it's everywhere else and most people are missing it in itunes).

You found the most extreme example you could find in that thread,which is not even the real movies anywhere thread, when for all we know most if it can be attributed to user error or solved with a simple unlink-relink.

And yes while discs can fail on a new format, I'm still deadly afraid every time I buy a new disc and pop it in.(CTHD traumautized me)

I'm all for both formats. I currently have Dunkirk, Blade Runner 2049, IT and T2 pre-ordered on 4k disc. And Apes just arrived the other day.

Most other summer movies from this year I obtained digtally for space reasons and for me not loving the movie as much to have it in the very limited space left on my shelf.

Are you joking? Every other week I see someone posting about so and so title not redeeming or having issues accessing a film/not getting HD etc.. The forum is awash with such posts.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by flyry

You found the most extreme example you could find in that thread,which is not even the real movies anywhere thread, when for all we know most if it can be attributed to user error or solved with a simple unlink-relink.

You give me more credit than I deserve if you think I searched for the most extreme example I could find. I am chronically lazy (thanks to retirement) and I went with the very first example I could find.

It was that easy to find one, too.

[aaronsaylor]

I hate to break it you, but the market is driven by the masses, not by the national the “serious Home cinema enthusiast,” whatever that means. The masses want their media available across multiple devices. That means digital. I travel a lot and i’m not carting around a blu ray player. That means digital.

Does a 4k disc provide better PQ than an HD or IHD stream? Sure. Is the difference enough to drive the majority of consumers to stock with physical overvtime? Not likely. Same reasons you see so much cord cutting with cable television.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Then, the studios are going to be Disappointed. When you can have buffet content for £10 per month, why buy a film for more than that? The genie is out of the bottle. Subscription will be king in the digital realm. The mainstream have spoken. If you are a serious home cinema enthusiast, well you shouldn’t be buying digital copies in the first place imo.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by aaronsaylor

I hate to break it you, but the market is driven by the masses, not by the national the “serious Home cinema enthusiast,” whatever that means. The masses want their media available across multiple devices. That means figital. I travel a lot and i’m not farting around a blu ray player. That means digital.

Does a 4k disc provide better PQ than an HD or IHD stream? Sure. Is the difference enough to drive the majority of consumers to stock with physical overvtime? Not likely. Same reasons you see so much cord cutting with cable television.

But we are on a enthusiast site not twitter. Haven’t you noticed?

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by aaronsaylor

I hate to break it you, but the market is driven by the masses, not by the national the “serious Home cinema enthusiast,” whatever that means. The masses want their media available across multiple devices. That means figital. I travel a lot and i’m not farting around a blu ray player.

I would give figital a try. I love figs.

The market does decide and I thank it for getting rid of New Coke and Crystal Pepsi.

I don't fart around my blu-ray player, either. I save it for guests who overstay their welcome.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Vilya

You give me more credit than I deserve if you think I searched for the most extreme example I could find. I am chronically lazy (thanks to retirement) and I went with the very first example I could find.

It was that easy to find one, too.

Yes you chose from the thread with 70 posts instead of the one with 4900...

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Are you joking? Every other week I see someone posting about so and so title not redeeming or having issues accessing a film/not getting HD etc.. The forum is awash with such posts.

Every other week? Closer to every single day.

I know this from my exhaustive two day observation of thread topics.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Are you joking? Every other week I see someone posting about so and so title not redeeming or having issues accessing a film/not getting HD etc.. The forum is awash with such posts.

I was talking about Movies Anywhere which is brand new, not talking about people being confused as to where to redeem codes to get UHD /etc.

Yes there are some expected issues, but most of us have had a pretty smooth transition other than say Toy Story Terror or Blade Runner final cut not porting into itunes.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by flyry

Yes you chose from the thread with 70 posts instead of the one with 4900...

I chose the first thread under the "Latest Blu-ray Forum Posts" on the home page that dealt with the subject. Next, I spent maybe 2 minutes on the last page of that thread. My efforts were that extensive.

Scanning 4900 posts would be a real chore, but I bet I could find examples there if I had anything left resembling motivation.

Edit: I just visited that thread with 4974 posts and on the last page alone (page 249) I found five people complaining about problems they were experiencing. Another 45 second research trip completed. Your rebuttals and a piece of blackberry pie have inspired me!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by vilya

i would give figital a try. I love figs.

the market does decide and i thank it for getting rid of new coke and crystal pepsi.

I don't fart around my blu-ray player, either. I save it for guests who overstay their welcome.

:d.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I chose the first thread under the "Latest Blu-ray Forum Posts" on the home page that dealt with the subject. Next, I spent maybe 2 minutes on the last page of that thread. My efforts were that extensive.

Scanning 4900 posts would be a real chore, but I bet I could find examples there if I had anything left resembling motivation.

Edit: I just visited that thread with 4974 posts and on the last page alone (page 249) I found five people complaining about problems they were experiencing. Another 45 second research trip completed. Your rebuttals and a piece of blackberry pie have inspired me!

Yes and on that last page alone i found 40 instances of the word "itunes". Which as I said itunes has been the main constant problem with MA since launch. And again it will all be resolved in time. (Doesn't matter to me though since I never use that provider)

[Vilya]

I certainly hope everyone gets what they paid for, regardless of their preference.

[veritas]

Originally Posted by flyry

Yes and on that last page alone i found 40 instances of the word "itunes". Which as I said itunes has been the main constant problem with MA since launch. And again it will all be resolved in time. (Doesn't matter to me though since I never use that provider)

if I say vudu 41 times will that change your mind. vudu is having just as many problems as itunes if not more its just people like to ***** about itunes and itunes happens to be new for a lot of people since it just came out with a new box. Trust me vudu and movies anywhere are screwing up in diferent but just as many ways as itunes. If you don't believe me then I could make a list of vudu problems and we could compare notes.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

My point is more so the control that the studios/services have over the content that you "purchase" (aka lease) via digital distribution.

Things can be removed, replaced with different mastering that aren't necessarily better, a service could go under, get bought out, etc. And a plethora of other possibilities that could have some impact on the purchased content.

That's not an issue with physical media.

The end.

If you're so concerned about it, download your digital movies via iTunes and make backups. The end.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by veritas

I think physicals actually easier then digital. I mean good god imagine trying to explain to your grand parents why they need a flixster, vudu, itunes movies anywhere, amazon and google play account and why they need to remember passwords for all of them.

Uhm, why would they need all these accounts?

Lets put it this way we dont have a website with 500 pages explaining how to play a dvd or blu ray but we do have multiple 500 page threads discussing where to redeem codes and how to get digital to work properly.

We also don't have threads with 500 pages explaining how you can upgrade your Blu-rays to UHD for free. Why? Because you can't. Most of these threads are about things that aren't even possible with physical media. All you can do with them is watch, and there is nothing complicated about just watching movies from your iTunes or Amazon or Vudu library either.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Fiffy

If you're so concerned about it, download your digital movies via iTunes and make backups. The end.

If just my blu-ray collection were digital, I wonder how many hard drives I would need to download them all? And without aggressive compression, either. It does not seem like a very practical or cost effective option.

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

But we are on a enthusiast site not twitter. Haven’t you noticed?

Yes, but we're a niche market, both BD and DC. Our parents and grandparents still buy DVD's and watch cable/satellite. What's hilarious about this entire back in forth is the pro digital seem to realize it while the pro disc want to act like it will be the end of physical formats. It is unfortunate that the the OP didn't create a poll back when they started this thread asking people what they prefer, physical, digital, both, neither. Because this thread has been turned into a pissing contest at this point