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

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Groot

Films. Never knew much about GOTG until that point. I have went back and read some comics of theirs and actually read the on-going "I Am Groot" series. I became a big fan of Groot quickly with his sacrifice and little pot dancing at the end. I even made my Christmas tree that year look like him and a matching wreath, haha.

[Show spoiler]

Hey, Groot! You keep changing your avatar; is that customary for you? I'm having trouble remembering what you look like.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

See? That was easy. You recommend any Movies Anywhere partner other than Google Play and the Movies Anywhere app/ website itself. Good to know as I had randomly selected Google Play myself just because I own an Android phone and tablet. I still need to watch that free copy of Ghostbusters 2016 that they gave me for signing up and thus test this Movies Anywhere multi-provider partnership.

But I have to ask: if you have had little experience with Google Play and if what experience you did have resulted in "no issues", why do you not recommend them? What is wrong with Google Play? I am curious as to why you don't like them.

I don't like watching movies on computer monitors, either, and certainly not on tiny little portable device screens. Yuk! But many people travel far more than I do and they want to be able to watch their movies on whatever they have with them and wherever they are at a given moment. That is, after all, one of the biggest selling points that Movies Anywhere touts in its advertising.

I read that Google Play’s quality isn’t very good. Apparently it’s quite low Bitrate and artefacts are in abundance. Some people play their Google films through Youtube and the quality increases considerably.

By the way, Dublin is in Ireland and I don’t think Movies Anywhere is available there.

[dublinbluray108]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I read that Google Play’s quality isn’t very good. Apparently it’s quite low Bitrate and artefacts are in abundance. Some people play their Google films through Youtube and the quality increases considerably.

By the way, Dublin is in Ireland and I don’t think Movies Anywhere is available there.

Yes of course. I was only going to say that in my reply that I'm not eligible for MA because I don't live in the US. I did have a look at the TOS of MA before and it said I have to live within a U.S. state or territory. I, like yourself Steedeel, live on the western tip of Europe. From that obvious perspective; MA should not be applicable to people like me.

You also mentioned Youtube Movies as well. I also cannot play that movie from Youtube either because the exact same issue came up again when I tried to play it in GPM. My laptop goes to the blue screen of death once again & I had to restart it for a fifth time.

I did install the new Spring Creators Update to Windows 10 last weekend. That might be a probable cause in not allowing GPM's app not to play my digital movie by allowing it to crash my laptop. It's may not be my chrome browser causing the issue because that is currently up to date. I haven't tried other browsers like Edge, IE, Firefox & Opera yet to see if it's causing the same issue.

[Groot]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Hey, Groot! You keep changing your avatar; is that customary for you? I'm having trouble remembering what you look like.

Whenever I change my wallpaper I change my avatar. I got OCD and want my devices and other stuff to match/coordinate. Quirky to a fault with it, ha ha.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by dublinbluray108

Yes of course. I was only going to say that in my reply that I'm not eligible for MA because I don't live in the US. I did have a look at the TOS of MA before and it said I have to live within a U.S. state or territory. I, like yourself Steedeel, live on the western tip of Europe. From that obvious perspective; MA should not be applicable to people like me.

You also mentioned Youtube Movies as well. I also cannot play that movie from Youtube either because the exact same issue came up again when I tried to play it in GPM. My laptop goes to the blue screen of death once again & I had to restart it for a fifth time.

I did install the new Spring Creators Update to Windows 10 last weekend. That might be a probable cause in not allowing GPM's app not to play my digital movie by allowing it to crash my laptop. It's may not be my chrome browser causing the issue because that is currently up to date. I haven't tried other browsers like Edge, IE, Firefox & Opera yet to see if it's causing the same issue.

Stick with disc mate.

[Vilya]

I am having intermittent internet outages...again. They started at 10:30 last night and I just had an outage minutes ago. The "repairs" that were supposedly completed on May 18th ( after three tech visits) only lasted for one week. Fine job by Mediacom, as always.

I will have my fourth tech visit since May 11th this coming Sunday morning. I am supposedly getting not just a tech, but the tech supervisor, and the supervisor's supervisor, too- a regular brain trust, I'm sure. I get Larry, Curly, and Moe this time!

Every time this happens, and it happens routinely, it reinforces why I will never allow myself to become dependent upon an ISP to watch movies and TV shows. My ISP is only reliable at two things: failure and price hikes.

It takes a power outage to knock out my home theater and disc players, and that happens infrequently, but seemingly anything and everything can, and does, knock out my utterly worthless ISP. If incompetence were an art form, my ISP would be prominently featured at The Louvre.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Stick with disc mate.

Couldn't agree more.

Originally Posted by Vilya

Every time this happens, and it happens routinely, it reinforces why I will never allow myself to become dependent upon an ISP to watch movies and TV shows. My ISP is only reliable at two things: failure and price hikes.

Sorry to hear of your persistent problems. Like yourself, I'd never want to depend on my ISP for my movie watching as mine can be a little unpredictable. Some days, even watching simple YouTube videos can be challenging.

[Groot]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I am having intermittent internet outages...again. They started at 10:30 last night and I just had an outage minutes ago. The "repairs" that were supposedly completed on May 18th ( after three tech visits) only lasted for one week. Fine job by Mediacom, as always.

I will have my fourth tech visit since May 11th this coming Sunday morning. I am supposedly getting not just a tech, but the tech supervisor, and the supervisor's supervisor, too- a regular brain trust, I'm sure. I get Larry, Curly, and Moe this time!

Every time this happens, and it happens routinely, it reinforces why I will never allow myself to become dependent upon an ISP to watch movies and TV shows. My ISP is only reliable at two things: failure and price hikes.

It takes a power outage to knock out my home theater and disc players, and that happens infrequently, but seemingly anything and everything can, and does, knock out my utterly worthless ISP. If incompetence were an art form, my ISP would be prominently featured at The Louvre.

You in a house or apartment? If a house, make them run another line outside and a new outlet for your cable to attach the modem.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Vilya

See? That was easy. You recommend any Movies Anywhere partner other than Google Play and the Movies Anywhere app/ website itself. Good to know as I had randomly selected Google Play myself just because I own an Android phone and tablet. I still need to watch that free copy of Ghostbusters 2016 that they gave me for signing up and thus test this Movies Anywhere multi-provider partnership.

But I have to ask: if you have had little experience with Google Play and if what experience you did have resulted in "no issues", why do you not recommend them? What is wrong with Google Play? I am curious as to why you don't like them.

I don't like watching movies on computer monitors, either, and certainly not on tiny little portable device screens. Yuk! But many people travel far more than I do and they want to be able to watch their movies on whatever they have with them and wherever they are at a given moment. That is, after all, one of the biggest selling points that Movies Anywhere touts in its advertising.

I don't like their layout. I am an android user too and their app is on my TV and Roku, but I find their layout funky. Though I suppose it's better than Amazon.

I'm pretty loyal to Vudu and also rent on Fandangonow since I have a few free rentals on there.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Groot

You in a house or apartment? If a house, make them run another line outside and a new outlet for your cable to attach the modem.

Oh, they did some of that back on the first visit. Single story ranch, btw. First, like every initial visit, the tech wanted to blame the modem and router that I own; they always want me to rent their hardware. I have tried theirs in the past and it made zero difference, but they keep trying to blame my hardware; they want that rental money.

Once that my hardware was exonerated (it always is), he replaced the inside coax cable and then he went and played outside. When he returned he said there was unspecified "outside maintenance" that needed to be scheduled and performed by someone other than him.

Nothing got fixed and the second tech came with a new story: bad cable card in the node.

That didn't solve anything. The third tech said it was a badly installed underground cable a couple of blocks away from my home. That repair lasted a week and brings me to where I am now: same intermittent outages.

When the three stooges show up Sunday, there will almost certainly be a new theory. I am betting their new excuse will be solar flares.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I am betting their new excuse will be solar flares.

You spelled squirrel wrong.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by octagon

You spelled squirrel wrong.

The sun got in my eyes while I was typing.

[Vilya]

My internet has gone out 6 times since Thursday night and counting.

I decided to look up customer satisfaction ratings with ISPs for 2018 and found this:







My ISP, Mediacom, is at the bottom, or next to last, on nearly every customer satisfaction measurement. On overall satisfaction, they only avoided last place by .01 points.

https://www.highspeedinternet.com/re...-satisfaction/

[alchav21]

Well Vilya it looks like most of the problems are Facilities. AT&T is near the top, and your Midiacom is near the bottom. Like I said Copper is Obsolete, and Fiber is the Future. Most of these ISP's are built on an Archaic System, that depends heavily on Load Balance. What is needed is Symmetrical Fiber that does not depend on Load Balance. The only problem is that no one is really paying attention to any of this. Everyone has to decide on their own what is important to them, and act accordingly. Streaming is the new Technology, and you either progress or fall into The Dark Ages!

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Everyone has to decide on their own what is important to them, and act accordingly. Streaming is the new Technology, and you either progress or fall into The Dark Ages!

I have decided what it is important: family and friends. I am not going to move away from them so I can instead stream Netflix reliably. Stop suggesting, directly or indirectly, that that is the answer.

There is nothing "new" about streaming technology and our use of it will in no way usher in a new Renaissance nor will our refraining from its use forebode the decline of civilization.

[Groot]

We can’t even get the government and local water companies to fix Flint, MI but we are supposed to move or convince companies or governments to upgrade all cable lines to fiber?

lol.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Groot

We can’t even get the government and local water companies to fix Flint, MI but we are supposed to move or convince companies or governments to upgrade all cable lines to fiber?

lol.

As he lives in an area with fiber internet; he has a cavalier attitude about it. Those without it should move to areas that have it, like him, or they should somehow lobby their local governments into wooing companies like AT&T to bring fiber infrastructure to them. My village board (whose members are part time and are paid $60 per month) will really be able to convince AT&T to come here.

He is like Marie Antoinette (allegedly) telling those without bread to eat cake instead; he offers real helpful advice.



^But the comparison ends there, obviously.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Streaming is the new Technology, and you either progress or fall into The Dark Ages!

Say what ! We were streaming our main TV program to the internet in the same time frame as when DVD was coming to market. Same for our FM network audio. IIRC, one of the TV networks started streaming with their news cast around 1994.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I don't have an antenna. I have thought about about getting one just for access to PBS if nothing else, but I live in a rural area, so I am not sure how effective it would be overall. An outdoor antenna is out of the question.

I could only hope to get 6 channels and aside from PBS, they all run about 19 minutes of commercials per broadcast hour. When I was a kid, there were only 9 minutes of commercials per hour.

ads are annoying, but a PVR can help with that.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Groot

We can’t even get the government and local water companies to fix Flint, MI but we are supposed to move or convince companies or governments to upgrade all cable lines to fiber?

lol.

Originally Posted by Vilya

As he lives in an area with fiber internet; he has a cavalier attitude about it. Those without it should move to areas that have it, like him, or they should somehow lobby their local governments into wooing companies like AT&T to bring fiber infrastructure to them. My village board (whose members are part time and are paid $60 per month) will really be able to convince AT&T to come here.

I know I keep saying everyone has their priorities, and change is hard. Yes I'm lucky to live in Utah where the State is very progressive, but moving gets easier the more you do it. Making a change in your Community or City is the other option, I have done this too. Like I said, I moved into a Community where all they had was Dial-up, and when I left they had Verizon FiOS. So don't tell me it can't be done, I know it can be. There are more and more Cities that are Deploying their own Open Fiber Networks. So there are many options besides just throwing up your arms and saying it can't be done!