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

[randian]

I've been buying high-resolution digital 24-bit/192kHz or 24-bit/96-kHz audio recordings. If they're well mastered (no dynamic compression and from original tapes) they're better (in my opinion) than any kind of vinyl or CD (which is only 16/44).

[thecooldud]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Bottom Line is that Technology moves on, you can hang on to the old but it will still be Old. Discs had a good run, but they are coming to an end. Yes they may be around for a long time, but in reality they are Obsolete. Streaming HD is here to stay, and it will soon eclipse Disc. Disc will be around for a while, but in all reality it's already out. I keep telling you guys Cinema Theaters already use Hard Drives for their Movies, so what's to stop Digital Movies on Servers. Don't you see the writing on The Wall!

Nope. Streaming is for suckers. I want to watch what I want, when I want to watch it. The only guaranteed method of that is physical media. I'm not "collecting" anything I can't hold in my hand.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Records, even with meticulous storage and cleaning, are adversely affected by the tiniest amounts of dust and they are usually warped to some extent. I always heard some pop, crackle, or hiss with every record I ever owned, even the first time out of the jacket.

Some vinyl enthusiasts would tell you that's part of the appeal of listening to them.

I appreciate this is a digital thread and having read a few previous pages, I totally respect anyone who prefers to stream or download. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I have always preferred to own a CD or DVD/Blu-ray, not only for the listening/viewing experience, but to also have this physical media in my collection which I can get hold of anytime, and to read the booklets that accompany them. I should add that I also still have a fair amount of vinyl from my younger years, some of which have never been released on CD.

Likewise, I prefer reading a physical book rather than an e-book, but that's just my personal preference.

At the end of the day, each person does what he or she finds more suitable or convenient. So long as that person gets the enjoyment out of what they're watching or listening to, then that's all that matters.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Bottom Line is that Technology moves on, you can hang on to the old but it will still be Old. Discs had a good run, but they are coming to an end. Yes they may be around for a long time, but in reality they are Obsolete. Streaming HD is here to stay, and it will soon eclipse Disc. Disc will be around for a while, but in all reality it's already out. I keep telling you guys Cinema Theaters already use Hard Drives for their Movies, so what's to stop Digital Movies on Servers. Don't you see the writing on The Wall!

So obsolete, but around for a long while? Emmm, ok.

[BlakkMajik3000]

Originally Posted by CV19

Some vinyl enthusiasts would tell you that's part of the appeal of listening to them.

I appreciate this is a digital thread and having read a few previous pages, I totally respect anyone who prefers to stream or download. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I have always preferred to own a CD or DVD/Blu-ray, not only for the listening/viewing experience, but to also have this physical media in my collection which I can get hold of anytime, and to read the booklets that accompany them. I should add that I also still have a fair amount of vinyl from my younger years, some of which have never been released on CD.

Likewise, I prefer reading a physical book rather than an e-book, but that's just my personal preference.

At the end of the day, each person does what he or she finds more suitable or convenient. So long as that person gets the enjoyment out of what they're watching or listening to, then that's all that matters.

You get out of here with your sound reasoning and respect for others opinions. Digital vs Physical is either/or!

*yes, I'm being sarcastic

[CV19]

Originally Posted by BlakkMajik3000

You get out of here with your sound reasoning and respect for others opinions. Digital vs Physical is either/or!

*yes, I'm being sarcastic

Oh, definitely physical.

It's the same with photography, which is a hobby of mine. I do digital photography occasionally, but I still shoot using black & white film as well. I'm showing my age here, but I still enjoy developing film and working in the darkroom.....and then having a set of negatives you can look at before printing them.

[stonesfan129]

People buying 24/96 and 24/192 downloads are getting ripped off too. There is no distinguishable difference between those files and the same master at 16/44.1. Nyquist theory proves it. I buy 99% of my music on a CD - just the way I have always done it - and even CDs are getting to the pint of obsolescence since one can buy FLAC files in many places. And the difference between 16/44.1 PCM and the same thing converted to high-bitrate MP3 or AAC is not even noticeable without trained ears and a quiet listening environment.

Now as for physical vs digital. I have a 300-disc binder that is just over half full with Blu-rays and DVDs. I buy physical media because I want to be able to watch even if my internet goes down. Streaming is better if you don't want to have a physical collection. And quite honestly the difference in quality is not that big of a deal unless you have a top notch display and surround sound system.

I also don't think it's worth it to rip/compress your own stuff. I considered doing it awhile back but you run into one of two outcomes. You either have to spend lots of time ripping and compressing. Then you become obsessed about quality and eventually will just re-rip and re-compress once better compression methods come out or existing formats become unsupported/obsolete. Or you can just rip and not compress. But then if you have a large collection, like I do, you will eventually end up building a home NAS and take on the associated costs of running it 24/7 and replacing disks as they fail. Not worth it. Better just to spend 5 minutes to get out the binder and put the physical disc in the player.

When I travel, I do watch movies on a tablet, and this is where I think having one universal DRM would be beneficial so that I could download and watch locally on any device instead of having to stream everything through VUDU, DMA, iTunes, Google Play, whatever platform, etc.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

People buying 24/96 and 24/192 downloads are getting ripped off too. There is no distinguishable difference between those files and the same master at 16/44.1. Nyquist theory proves it. I buy 99% of my music on a CD - just the way I have always done it - and even CDs are getting to the pint of obsolescence since one can buy FLAC files in many places. And the difference between 16/44.1 PCM and the same thing converted to high-bitrate MP3 or AAC is not even noticeable without trained ears and a quiet listening environment.

Now as for physical vs digital. I have a 300-disc binder that is just over half full with Blu-rays and DVDs. I buy physical media because I want to be able to watch even if my internet goes down. Streaming is better if you don't want to have a physical collection. And quite honestly the difference in quality is not that big of a deal unless you have a top notch display and surround sound system.

I also don't think it's worth it to rip/compress your own stuff. I considered doing it awhile back but you run into one of two outcomes. You either have to spend lots of time ripping and compressing. Then you become obsessed about quality and eventually will just re-rip and re-compress once better compression methods come out or existing formats become unsupported/obsolete. Or you can just rip and not compress. But then if you have a large collection, like I do, you will eventually end up building a home NAS and take on the associated costs of running it 24/7 and replacing disks as they fail. Not worth it. Better just to spend 5 minutes to get out the binder and put the physical disc in the player.

When I travel, I do watch movies on a tablet, and this is where I think having one universal DRM would be beneficial so that I could download and watch locally on any device instead of having to stream everything through VUDU, DMA, iTunes, Google Play, whatever platform, etc.

Quality is that big of a deal. Only people with rubbish displays say that.

[hanshotfirst1138]

I don’t know, now that I have a big plasma, I find DVDs that don’t look very good on the display pretty hard to watch on it.

[scott.mcw]

Except for Star Wars movies and the occasional steelbook, I was pretty much 100% digital for the last couple of years. A couple of weeks ago movies started disappearing from my iTunes library on my Apple TV. Codes I’d redeemed, movies purchased directly, Movies Anywhere titles...if I searched the iTunes Store sometimes they would go back into my collection, sometimes they wouldn’t and sometimes iTunes wanted me to repurchase them.
Apple support was no help and the issue is still happening. I know I could download them to my computer and stream them locally but I have no interest in spending the time to do that. Losing access to them, even intermittently, has soured me on digital/streaming.

This has caused me to reevaluate relying on iTunes or any other provider as the sole source for my movies. I’ve begun the slow process of rebuilding my blu-ray collection which will take some time but at least I’ll always have access to them and can reaquire a lot of the from the used market.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Vinyl is a pain in the ass. It does not sound better in theory and certainly not in practice.

Well, there are really two different things: One is the accuracy of sound reproduction (which can be determined objectively), the other is the subjective experience. The latter doesn't necessarily require the former. So there is nothing wrong with saying that vinyl sounds better to you. Some people prefer to use tube amplifiers that are deliberately designed to have a non-linear frequency response because it sounds better to them ...

The other thing that many people enjoy about vinyl is just the "ritual" of playing records, or perhaps just the big artwork on the sleeves. Nothing wrong with that either.

[Steedeel]

There is no comparison. Vinyl every time. Everything feels so cold and clinical these days. The least said about streaming the better. I listened to my nephews song and it sounded harsh and tinny. It was a very well known streaming music service. I pine for the days when everything was built to last and was just so much more tactile. Browsing record shops was so very cool. The album artwork, the sleeve, the vinyl itself, the way the needle makes contact with the record. Technics separates were also superb. Ahhhhhhhhh, bliss!

[dublinbluray108]

Originally Posted by scott.mcw

Except for Star Wars movies and the occasional steelbook, I was pretty much 100% digital for the last couple of years. A couple of weeks ago movies started disappearing from my iTunes library on my Apple TV. Codes I’d redeemed, movies purchased directly, Movies Anywhere titles...if I searched the iTunes Store sometimes they would go back into my collection, sometimes they wouldn’t and sometimes iTunes wanted me to repurchase them.
Apple support was no help and the issue is still happening. I know I could download them to my computer and stream them locally but I have no interest in spending the time to do that. Losing access to them, even intermittently, has soured me on digital/streaming.

This has caused me to reevaluate relying on iTunes or any other provider as the sole source for my movies. I’ve begun the slow process of rebuilding my blu-ray collection which will take some time but at least I’ll always have access to them and can reaquire a lot of the from the used market.

Why not? Downloading your movies from iCloud should be the main thing in allowing you keep your movies from iTunes. You will be involved in a lot of risks with them if you avoid downloading them off the iCloud. If studios decide to take off your purchased movies without notice. You have no choice but to repurchase them again if you see it being resold on iTunes.

http://danhon.com/2013/02/13/dont-tr...-in-the-cloud/

If you do take into account of what is written in the above article. Then you will be fine.

If not; you will be putting yourself in a lot of trouble.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by Zu Nim

I loved the jackets and liner notes. It always felt like art in your hands. But vinyl is best left for hipsters. I lived it once, never again.

Apparently vinyl buyers are typically not young hipsters, but "lonely middle-aged men":

https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...buying-records

Based on what I read in this thread, some of the explanations for the popularity of vinyl probably also apply to physical movie disc collectors:

Some vinyl fans may feel overwhelmed by the digital world and choose to retreat to the stability of the familiar record sleeve, of items that recall halcyon teenage memories.

“I think sometimes it can be filling a void or having material possessions as some kind of comfort,” Wez says. “As a collector myself, I have that, and I think a lot of people do. It’s an easy way to occupy your headspace.”

“We’re like their social workers!” pipes up a co-worker from a stack of records.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I pine for the days when everything was built to last and was just so much more tactile. Browsing record shops was so very cool. The album artwork, the sleeve, the vinyl itself, the way the needle makes contact with the record.

I used to love browsing a record shop myself. I'd go in sometimes not having anything in particular in mind to buy, but rarely came out of that shop empty handed. When I lived in Manchester many years ago, there used to be both a Virgin and HMV Megastore - now both shut the last time I was there.

I agree with you as well about album artwork. A college mate of mine is an Iron Maiden fan, and I remember going to his house a while back where he showed me his album collection. The artwork on them was superb, no question about that.

For me personally, I shall always buy physical media for my music, so long as it's available. I'm not a technical expert to discuss the sound quality of downloads, but I have been told that MP3 players are fine for listening through headphones, but if you want to listen on proper hi-fi equipment, then you need a physical format.

[Vilya]

I still have my ancient Technics direct drive turntable and it is even connected to my home theater, but all I do is dust the thing now.

The only album remaining in my home is my picture disc LP of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. I don't play it; I just keep it to look at it.



Reverse side:

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I still have my ancient Technics direct drive turntable and it is even connected to my home theater, but all I do is dust the thing now.

The only album remaining in my home is my picture disc LP of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. I don't play it; I just keep it to look at it.



Reverse side:

Technics were the guys back in the day. Great pictures by the way.

[randian]

"Overwhelmed by the digital world"? How insulting, and I don't even buy vinyl.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by CV19

I used to love browsing a record shop myself. I'd go in sometimes not having anything in particular in mind to buy, but rarely came out of that shop empty handed. When I lived in Manchester many years ago, there used to be both a Virgin and HMV Megastore - now both shut the last time I was there.

I agree with you as well about album artwork. A college mate of mine is an Iron Maiden fan, and I remember going to his house a while back where he showed me his album collection. The artwork on them was superb, no question about that.

For me personally, I shall always buy physical media for my music, so long as it's available. I'm not a technical expert to discuss the sound quality of downloads, but I have been told that MP3 players are fine for listening through headphones, but if you want to listen on proper hi-fi equipment, then you need a physical format.

The ADD generation wouldn’t dream of listening to a song for a few minutes in the best quality or with a great set of bins. I doubt they would even appreciate sleeve artwork these days. So glad I experienced those times.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by randian

"Overwhelmed by the digital world"? How insulting, and I don't even buy vinyl.

It’s the exact opposite for me. Underwhelmed.