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

[moviegeek1992]

Originally Posted by Vor4

You still can’t make up your mind on digital hd and physical media. You complained on issues with both formats.

When was the last time you saw a person in the movie section in your local Best Buy? When was the last time you saw someone looking through the movie bargin bin at Best Buy? When was the last time you saw a person buying a cd or movie at Best Buy?

Best Buy announced that they will stop selling music cds by the end of July of this year. I think more retailers will follow Best Buy’s decision. Amazon may stop selling cds and focus on their music streaming service as a replacement.

I don't think there's anything wrong with being on the fence. I too have problems with both physical and digital. However I doubt I'll ever truly be one or the other. I'm going to continue to dip my toes in the digital arena and see how it goes. But of course anything not available digitally will be getting a physical purchase.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by flyry

I'm sure Coco and Justice league just gave digital a huge shot in the arm, as will Last Jedi next month and Black Panther in a few months.

Those same titles will likely do the same for physical media. When major new titles like that come out, that's when the physical sales are at their best.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Kage

I think that your looking at market share of media streaming devices. Those numbers look familiar to Apple TV's market share from last year due to not having original programming and not having a 4k media steamer till September of last year. Its all going to change. Apple is in the late planning stages of having original programming to compete against Netflix and Amazon.

The charts that I looked at states that physical media is down by 30% for the this year so far, while digital hd and subscription streaming services are both up this year.

My facts are accurate. Discs have been around for a much longer time so of course sales are dropping. Digital HD is not showing enough growth and we are almost certainly heading to a subscription landscape. If you can’t see that, I don’t know what to say.

By the way, Apples content is going to be conservative and dull by the sounds of it. Kid friendly fare has very little appeal to me. I have Disney for that.

[veritas]

Originally Posted by alchav21

That's all right Sarah, these Disc Lovers just see their beloved Physical going Down in Flames. You can find and skew statistics anyway you want, but we all see the realistic facts. My small window on eBay, Best Buy, or Target show that Disc sales are pathetic. Like I said, Discs will be around for a while but they will have to go up in price. It's all about Supply and Demand!

Why dont you actually try drawing the supply and demand graph now and then try drawing it after you put in a few changes.

-Demand is price elastic in general (for the majority of titles the difference in sales between a $20 price and a 25-35 dollar price is massive)
-according to you demand drops
-then you think supply will drop which it will because of that shift in demand but that will force prices lower.
-We have a great number of studios how do you shift supply nobody but disney has enough market share to really operate like they control the market supply.

I could see demand shifting but theirs nothing to really decrease the supply,the price to make discs goes down each year, they take up relativly low floorspace in a store,they have relativly high returns for the amount of effort you put in to sell them

What they seem to do in general is first degree price discrimination and third degree price discrimination they get you at the theater for maximum profit then day one physical release, then a month later they have a decent sale and about half a year after that they have a good sale to do first degree price discrimination.

(for third degree discrimination that's having digital,dvd,blu ray, uhd all at different prices)

Imo the physical market would go away before the price in general increases just like cd, vhs, physical books etc.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Why do you guys find it so hard to believe that Disc prices are not going up, isn't it logical if people want Physical they will have to pay more

You contradict yourself even in the same sentence. I know disc prices have not gone up because I buy them, pretty much every single week of the year, year after year. You make this statement barely a day after saying "Discs will keep getting more expensive." It has not happened and you can produce no data to show that it has. It's all in your head.

You think physical discs will become so scarce that the prices will have to skyrocket. It did not happen with the CD, despite years of steep decline. CD prices have been stable. You are just making predictions based on nothing but your fantasies.

Disc sales are not going down in "flames" despite however much you may wish it. Total home entertainment spending for 2017 was $20.5 billion. Disc sales are down 14.1% to $4.7 billion, which is still 22.9% of the entire home entertainment spending for 2017. Digital purchases are up 5.74% totaling $2.15 billion and represent 10.48% of the entire home entertainment spending for 2017. Streaming services are up 31.05% at $9.6 billion representing 46.82% of the home entertainment spending for 2017. Physical rentals and VOD round out the rest of this spending and amounted to $4.075 billion, down 12.47%. Physical rentals alone totaled $2.12 billion, nearly equal to all digital purchases for the year. These percentage changes are for 2017 vs. 2016. To contrast that for you: disc sales are 22.9% of total home entertainment spending vs. 10.48% for digital purchases. Disc is not about to disappear.

Streaming, and 4K discs, are where the growth lies, but none of these viewing methods are in danger of collapse, your hyperbole notwithstanding. 4K disc sales are up a meteoric 187%, but still make up a small portion of total spending at $147 million in 2017. Over 30 million households have 4K TVs and 8 million have a 4K disc player. Not bad for a 2 year-old format. For contrast, 97 million households have a blu-ray player. Even with all this data indicating what it does, everyone can relax and enjoy this hobby however they choose.

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/consum...eat-recession/

https://forum.blu-ray.com/attachment...1&d=1515529654

[veritas]

Originally Posted by alchav21

That's all right Sarah, these Disc Lovers just see their beloved Physical going Down in Flames. You can find and skew statistics anyway you want, but we all see the realistic facts. My small window on eBay, Best Buy, or Target show that Disc sales are pathetic. Like I said, Discs will be around for a while but they will have to go up in price. It's all about Supply and Demand!

Basically I could look at the data from an economics point of view or a statistics point of view and neither leads to a price increase in physical media. (looking at it with common sense or with historical trends).

[zarquon]

Originally Posted by moviegeek1992

I don't think there's anything wrong with being on the fence. I too have problems with both physical and digital. However I doubt I'll ever truly be one or the other. I'm going to continue to dip my toes in the digital arena and see how it goes. But of course anything not available digitally will be getting a physical purchase.

Yes, both formats have their pros and cons. I've never understood those who feel that they must be absolutely 100% one or the other, much less those who seem to enjoy gleefully proclaiming the Death of Disc at every opportunity (hey there, alchav!) I'm mostly physical myself, but I'm not anti-digital by any means, it depends on the film and the price, and other factors. Just today I purchased the original Planet of the Apes films from a Vudu sale; the price was excellent, and I'm not too bothered by not having those actually on my shelf. On the other hand, I also recently pre-ordered the Shout Factory releases of Colossus: The Forbin Project and David Lynch's Wild at Heart; to the best of my knowledge, neither of those is even available digitally. Both formats have their place, and will continue (I hope) to coexist for the foreseeable future.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Those same titles will likely do the same for physical media. When major new titles like that come out, that's when the physical sales are at their best.

They will, but I wonder how many will get impatient with the 4 week early digital for JL.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by flyry

They will, but I wonder how many will get impatient with the 4 week early digital for JL.

Those that crave quality will wait. Serious collectors will wait. People who have a great audio setup will wait.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by SarahS

Dude....stop please. You are not going to convert anyone here. We are just fine and dandy with the quality and the ease of watching these films at home or on the go. You sir are a "disc spinner". Please go spin your discs. There is no need to pitch a tent over here and live on this thread. There are so many other wonderful sections/threads for disc spinners camp on.

Once again read the thread title. It’s not difficult. .

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Once again read the thread title. It’s not difficult. .

The reading is not difficult, but the comprehension appears to be.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by flyry

They will, but I wonder how many will get impatient with the 4 week early digital for JL.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Those that crave quality will wait. Serious collectors will wait. People who have a great audio setup will wait.

Given how it did at the box office and what the general reaction to it has been, a decent chunk of those who crave quality may just skip it entirely.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Given how it did at the box office and what the general reaction to it has been, a decent chunk of those who crave quality may just skip it entirely.

That’s true. Looking forward to rewatching TLJ though, picking up the 3D version.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

That’s true. Looking forward to rewatching TLJ though, picking up the 3D version.

To be honest, I didn't mind Justice League that much. It was FAR from perfect, but I went into it with very low expectations (in part due to Batman v. Superman) and I was somewhat surprised. Enough so that I will pick it up. But that said, the consensus largely seems to be otherwise.

I actually liked The Last Jedi a lot. There are a few things about it that I didn't like, but the good outweighed the bad by far.

In both cases, I'm getting the 4K combo packs. I've preordered the Best Buy Steelbook for The Last Jedi.

[veritas]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Given how it did at the box office and what the general reaction to it has been, a decent chunk of those who crave quality may just skip it entirely.

Ya they may way over produce this one like they did with force awakens if they just disregard the bad audience score. Im planning to buy it on clearance in about 6 months when stores realize this titles not nearly as popular as disney and the critics said it was.

[Vilya]

I will buy The Last Jedi on both 4K and 3D because I want to see it both ways. Two more sales for physical! Ka-ching ka-ching!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

To be honest, I didn't mind Justice League that much. It was FAR from perfect, but I went into it with very low expectations (in part due to Batman v. Superman) and I was somewhat surprised. Enough so that I will pick it up. But that said, the consensus largely seems to be otherwise.

I actually liked The Last Jedi a lot. There are a few things about it that I didn't like, but the good outweighed the bad by far.

In both cases, I'm getting the 4K combo packs. I've preordered the Best Buy Steelbook for The Last Jedi.

Good choice. I’m moving up to 4K disc this year. My setup will be purring.

[moviegeek1992]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Those that crave quality will wait. Serious collectors will wait. People who have a great audio setup will wait.

Except collectors and quality enthusiasts don't make up the majority of the marketplace. Everyone is either on Amazon, iTunes or Google Play these days and when they see blockbusters being advertised and no option for rental even, they might not be able to wait and buy it. That's what the studios are counting on.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by moviegeek1992

Except collectors and quality enthusiasts don't make up the majority of the marketplace. Everyone is either on Amazon, iTunes or Google Play these days and when they see blockbusters being advertised and no option for rental even, they might not be able to wait and buy it. That's what the studios are counting on.

Well it’s worked great so far! Do you honestly believe what you type? Everyone is on those 3 services? Bollocks. Why aren’t we seeing a surge then? Where are the stats to back that up? Now, if you had said Prime, Netflix and Hulu I would have believed you.

[moviegeek1992]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Well it’s worked great so far! Do you honestly believe what you type? Everyone is on those 3 services? Bollocks. Why aren’t we seeing a surge then? Where are the stats to back that up? Now, if you had said Prime, Netflix and Hulu I would have believed you.

What's so hard to believe about that. Most people have smartphones and if you have Android you'll be exposed to Google Play and iTunes if you an iPhone. Blockbusters are advertised on these marketplaces prominently unlike blu-rays and dvds.