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

[Vilya]

^ Bringing the thread back to life is not without risk.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

See here we go again, 4K UHD Disc you have an edge but BD and HD Streaming are a draw now with enough Bandwidth. I like Gin Martinis, and a good bottle of Gin is needed for a very good Martini. The Stats on Disc sales show DVD still way ahead with Blu-ray right behind, and UHD a mere sliver on the Pie Chart. So what does this tell us, that Disc people don't care for Quality. Digital HD people just want to see a Movie in what they think looks like BD. So following the 4K Forum Upscale BD is very close to 4K Disc. If you want Quality Dics Play you need the Bitrate of a UHD 4K Disc Player to beat UHD Streaming Providers that Stream HD at higher Bitrates.

Hey, keep it clean! This is a PG rated thread.

How many of those gin martinis did you have tonight?

The latest figures from the Home Video Sales Thread shows that among the top 50 sellers for the week ending May 5th, DVD had a 52.2% market share, blu-ray with 43.9%, and UHD with 3.9%. DVD is not the runaway favorite that you think it is.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=921

All disc sales for the week ending May 5th, show DVD with a 57% share and blu-ray (plus UHD) with 43%.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=922

Furthermore, DVD purchasers may not hold quality in esteem, much like those who use subscription streaming, but rather both of these prefer a bargain.

Those who appreciate the best in quality continue to buy blu-ray disc and 4K UHD. And there are many of us.

"Digital HD people just want to see a Movie in what they think looks like BD."

Yes, those Digital HD streamers have to pretend that their streams look as good as a blu-ray disc, not to mention the imagination necessary to equate the audio to that of a Blu-ray disc. If their HD streams truly equaled the quality of a blu-ray disc, they would not have to convince themselves of anything. Facts speak for themselves.

Blu-ray disc and HD streaming are not a "draw" now, despite how many times you say otherwise. Close, maybe, but not equal. Not in picture and not in sound.

Almost all of the streaming providers are still stuck at an average bitrate of 16 Mbps, including that near worthless Sony Ultra- yes, we know some unnamed someone at Sony allegedly told you different. That is roughly 60% of a blu-ray and not even 25% of a 4K UHD. And no streaming provider offers the equivalent of disc in the audio department.

ISPs offer enough bandwidth in many locales, but by no means all, yet the streaming providers are not using it. Consequently, the 16 Mbps that they are delivering does not cut it, does not equal disc, and is not even close to 4K UHD.

The numbers don't lie no matter how much you try to spin, bend, and distort the facts into your half-baked pretzel logic.

[The_Donster]

OK, too busy trying to get my house in order for a move to play catch up in the thread. I see it exploded a bit and just don't have time to read every back and forth. Looks like it is the same script, different day for most. I've said it over and over again. Why does it have to be one or the other

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

Why does it have to be one or the other

It doesn't.

My most succinct response yet!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

See here we go again, 4K UHD Disc you have an edge but BD and HD Streaming are a draw now with enough Bandwidth. I like Gin Martinis, and a good bottle of Gin is needed for a very good Martini. The Stats on Disc sales show DVD still way ahead with Blu-ray right behind, and UHD a mere sliver on the Pie Chart. So what does this tell us, that Disc people don't care for Quality. Digital HD people just want to see a Movie in what they think looks like BD. So following the 4K Forum Upscale BD is very close to 4K Disc. If you want Quality Dics Play you need the Bitrate of a UHD 4K Disc Player to beat UHD Streaming Providers that Stream HD at higher Bitrates.

Well Digital HD is also struggling so where is your logic there? DVD and Blu-ray have been around a long time as well. Digital HD should be thriving but it isn’t. UHD is new to market. The share will increase in time, of course it will.

So people don’t care about quality but they want to watch a film that nears or matches Blu-ray? :confused

Finally, a draw? Sorry but disc still better and oh wait! Audio you say? We have some people on the pitch, they think it’s all over! It is now!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

OK, too busy trying to get my house in order for a move to play catch up in the thread. I see it exploded a bit and just don't have time to read every back and forth. Looks like it is the same script, different day for most. I've said it over and over again. Why does it have to be one or the other

Small mercies, feel free to continue with your house, no rush back.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Vilya

But the "new" code should give him the 4K digital version, unlike the code in the earlier releases. Maybe that earlier code was one of those that received a complimentary upgrade to 4K?

I am mildly surprised that he would want to keep the 4K disc after all of his praise for 4K streams and his concerns about disc storage taking up valuable space.

Only he knows what his reasons were. It just piqued my curiosity a little that he chose the disc in this case. Maybe he will join the discussion soon and share his thoughts?

Fox is the only studio who does not do 4K digital redemptions.

So I sold my code as I already had the HD copy in my locker from a previous disc to digital.

Plus someone said the title is instawatch, so if Fox ever gets their act together I can simply scan my receipt and get upgraded on VUDU.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by flyry

Fox is the only studio who does not do 4K digital redemptions.

So I sold my code as I already had the HD copy in my locker from a previous disc to digital.

Plus someone said the title is instawatch, so if Fox ever gets their act together I can simply scan my receipt and get upgraded on VUDU.

Fox is late to the party, then. Not the biggest surprise.

It just seemed logical that if they sold 4K UHD discs that the included codes would redeem in 4K. When Fox finally does offer 4K code redemptions, this certainly should apply retroactively to their already released 4K UHD titles.

Here's a potential customer for your blu-ray copy of Die Hard:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=8939

[Groot]

Originally Posted by Vilya

A religious war? That's a rather extreme analogy. I have never attempted to burn a digital fan at the stake. I have heard that they taste like chicken, though.

There are people who buy disc almost exclusively; I am one of those. There are those who buy digital, or simply use streaming, almost exclusively. And then there are those who do varying ratios of both.

I know why I choose disc, so I need no insight into that.

I have heard why people prefer digital; I mostly disagree with them, but I need no further explanation as to why they choose it.

I am more interested in those that buy both. Is their choice purely an economic one? Buy the cheapest? Or is there something more to it, perhaps?

Do they buy the disc only for those movies that they really, really love? Is that because they know the disc has the best quality? Is it because they want to actually own a tangible copy?

It is just a curiosity, wondering how other people make their decisions.

Because I want the collectible packaging to match my collection. Groot on a steelbook? I'm buying it. Sexy Black Panther digibook? I'm buying it.

I have purchased all the recent MCU films on disc for the packaging/extras to match my other discs and have never touched the new discs in the set as they are in my VUDU to watch.

I bought My Cousin Vinny and Castaway on disc the other night to get the Deadpool slips I found funny.

During this same time period I bought: 12 Strong, The Commuter, Fifty Shades Freed, etc on digital using my VUDU credits.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Groot

Because I want the collectible packaging to match my collection. Groot on a steelbook? I'm buying it. Sexy Black Panther digibook? I'm buying it.

I have purchased all the recent MCU films on disc for the packaging/extras to match my other discs and have never touched the new discs in the set as they are in my VUDU to watch.

I bought My Cousin Vinny and Castaway on disc the other night to get the Deadpool slips I found funny.

During this same time period I bought: 12 Strong, The Commuter, Fifty Shades Freed, etc on digital using my VUDU credits.

Collectible packaging motivates many collectors, no doubt about that. Some go to great lengths to obtain these editions. Some of them command a pretty substantial premium when they go OOP.

Whatever the reason, I am glad you still find enough of one to still buy physical media, even if it is just to admire the pretty packaging.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Fox is late to the party, then. Not the biggest surprise.

It just seemed logical that if they sold 4K UHD discs that the included codes would redeem in 4K. When Fox finally does offer 4K code redemptions, this certainly should apply retroactively to their already released 4K UHD titles.

Here's a potential customer for your blu-ray copy of Die Hard:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=8939

Thank you but it is sold.

And since you all doubted me. Sunday is National Streaming Day

[Groot]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Collectible packaging motivates many collectors, no doubt about that. Some go to great lengths to obtain these editions. Some of them command a pretty substantial premium when they go OOP.

Whatever the reason, I am glad you still find enough of one to still buy physical media, even if it is just to admire the pretty packaging.

Yeah, I have imported steels before and they aren't always a good deal price wise but some of the sets and extras are really nice.

Awe. I have most of it put up in a cabinet. I got too many collectibles to display most of my steels and sets, I rotate 'em around. Outside of a few hundred discs/collectible sets I don't even have the majority of my discs in their cases now, I have almost everything in a library card type filing cabinet setup. I'm almost out of room as there's a few thousand in there and it taps out around 8,000 sleeves.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by flyry

Thank you but it is sold.

And since you all doubted me. Sunday is National Streaming Day

[Show spoiler]

Did you achieve your goal then? Did you recoup your purchase price of Die Hard 4K UHD?

As for National Streaming Day, my internet is still completely failing every single night around 8 PM and it stays out until about 10 PM. This has happened for six consecutive nights and counting. I have my third tech visit scheduled for tomorrow. It is absurd that it has taken this long to fix and it may still take longer.

My ISP gives me a new theory as to why this is happening every time I call to report my nightly outage. The latest hypothesis was that my signal was too strong at 7.9 db, so they dropped it to 3.8 db. They said my signal strength was adversely affected by fluctuations in temperatures between day and night. All of this made no difference: my service went out on schedule just as it has the five nights before it.

It will go out again tonight, almost guaranteed. If I relied on the internet to watch my movies, I would have gone without watching any, at night, for a full week today and possibly longer still. My confidence in my ISP's ability to fix anything is all but non-existent. Three tech visits in 8 days is pathetic.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by flyry

Thank you but it is sold.

And since you all doubted me. Sunday is National Streaming Day

I will make a note in my calendar, then burn it.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Groot

Yeah, I have imported steels before and they aren't always a good deal price wise but some of the sets and extras are really nice.

Awe. I have most of it put up in a cabinet. I got too many collectibles to display most of my steels and sets, I rotate 'em around. Outside of a few hundred discs/collectible sets I don't even have the majority of my discs in their cases now, I have almost everything in a library card type filing cabinet setup. I'm almost out of room as there's a few thousand in there and it taps out around 8,000 sleeves.

You should post some pictures of your favorite collectibles. I bet they look awesome, especially in their entirety.

[Groot]

Originally Posted by Vilya

You should post some pictures of your favorite collectibles. I bet they look awesome, especially in their entirety.

I can do that. You can see the depth of how much I adore my namesake, Groot.

As with the other poster, I appreciate the tone being friendly in here lately.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Groot

I can do that. You can see the depth of how much I adore my namesake, Groot.

As with the other poster, I appreciate the tone being friendly in here lately.

It will be a treat to see what you have collected!

As for your avatar's namesake, I still have to see Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2, but I did import the 3D edition from the U.K. I have the first movie in 3D and I wanted them to match each other.

Watching them both, back to back, and in 3D should make for a great double feature.

[Groot]

Originally Posted by Vilya

It will be a treat to see what you have collected!

As for your avatar's namesake, I still have to see Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2, but I did import the 3D edition from the U.K. I have the first movie in 3D and I wanted them to match each other.

Watching them both, back to back, and in 3D should make for a great double feature.

Awe! I hope you like it. I find the first film is slightly stronger than Vol.2 but it really leads up to what you'll see happen in IW with the group and their family relationship.

The 3D on both is pretty good too.

[Dustin44]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Fox is late to the party, then. Not the biggest surprise.

It just seemed logical that if they sold 4K UHD discs that the included codes would redeem in 4K.

You would think so, but sadly not. It depends on the studio.

It gets confusing, that is why a whole spreadsheet was created on what codes will give 4K and where to redeem to get 4K:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...mh4/edit#gid=0

Originally Posted by Vilya

I am more interested in those that buy both. Is their choice purely an economic one? Buy the cheapest? Or is there something more to it, perhaps?

Do they buy the disc only for those movies that they really, really love? Is that because they know the disc has the best quality? Is it because they want to actually own a tangible copy?

It is just a curiosity, wondering how other people make their decisions.

It really just depends.

My favorite movies? I try to have on both Disc and Digital. (though one of my favorite movies, Halloween (1978), is still not available on Vudu yet. Hopefully, they add it soon)

I also have a few movies on Blu-Ray that aren't exactly my favorite, but I bought because I got them really cheap. (like $1 or $2)

For most everything else, I am okay with Digital. I share my digital collection with a family member too. (I added some movies to my digital collection just because I thought that family member might like them.)

There are also movies that I bought for cheap on Vudu (or ended up with a free code for) and I enjoyed the movie so I much, I went out and bought the disc. Or I am planning to buy the disc. (Like the movie "It" (2017) is one example where I only own the digital on Vudu. But I want to buy the disc, just because I liked the movie so much)

Anyway, so it just depends for me.

Originally Posted by Vilya

Collectible packaging motivates many collectors, no doubt about that. Some go to great lengths to obtain these editions. Some of them command a pretty substantial premium when they go OOP.

I was never much into packaging or steelbooks. (though I do have a few steebooks) But I know that is a big factor for some collectors.

BUT I did try to get some digibooks of movies I really love. Like Halloween (1978), The Matrix, The Big Lebowski and a few others.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Groot

Awe! I hope you like it. I find the first film is slightly stronger than Vol.2 but it really leads up to what you'll see happen in IW with the group and their family relationship.

The 3D on both is pretty good too.

Yeah, the 3D was smashing on both.