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

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by octagon

Well, that's not entirely true. Streamers are also cashing in on advancements of Ye Olde Information Superhighway.

To be more clear, what video and audio codecs have streamers come up with ≥ that used in BD or UHD BD disc? And before anyone starts pointing out Apple it may be best if you checkout the patent holders at MPEG LA.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Obviously, not everyone has to have the very best quality. People make their own judgments as to what constitutes acceptable quality. These new 4K players and 4K TVs work wonders with many DVDs, too- I am surprised how good some of them look on my set-up.

Streaming, when all is working properly, can offer a very good experience. It is also very affordable and it is super convenient. A service that offers high quality (even if not the best), attractive prices, and convenience will be always be very popular.

Likewise, there will similarly be those who want the best and physical media fulfills that desire. Outside of these forums, I personally know very few people who care about having the best home theater experience they can, but at the same time this forum confirms that we are not alone in our desire to have the utmost in quality, limited only by our means.

Well you guys know how I feel, that Streaming will replace Disc. Don't get me wrong, Discs will be around for a while but they will fade away like other Formats. Talking about DVD Quality, my wife and her girlfriends on Movie Night really didn't care if they were watching DVD, BD, or Streaming they just wanted to watch the Movie. I think most people are the same way, they just want to watch a Movie not pick it apart on Quality items. Cost also comes into it, now BD is picking up because people see better Quality at a better price than UHD Disc.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by HarcourtMudd

I would sooner watch a 3rd generation VHS SLP dub of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" than a picture perfect, 8k, holographic release of "Ultraviolet" (which I do own, sorry to say, but it sits proudly in my "Hall of Shame," right next to "10,000 BC")...

Oh, and if you know what "SLP" stands for in the context of VHS, you are betraying your age...

Hey, I like 10,000 BC . SLP, man that was the pits. It was βetamax for me and/is D-VHS as well .

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by HarcourtMudd

I would add that not everyone's definition of "the best home theater experience" is the same. I know that what I call my theater would generate a lot of laughing (You call that a home theater...?!?) and yet I would prefer it over any commercial theater I have ever been in. It is not all important to me that the picture is on par with having a 35mm projector over my shoulder, but what is important is that it is an enjoyable showing of whatever I am watching. To me, content is king: I would sooner watch a 3rd generation VHS SLP dub of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" than a picture perfect, 8k, holographic release of "Ultraviolet" (which I do own, sorry to say, but it sits proudly in my "Hall of Shame," right next to "10,000 BC")...

Oh, and if you know what "SLP" stands for in the context of VHS, you are betraying your age...

Super Long Play: yes, I am old and being old beats the alternative.

Content is king; I do agree. All, every last solitary one, of my purchases are on physical media and that will not change. I will not make any digital purchases.

Streaming's only purpose for me is to allow the screening of titles that I am unsure about owning and it allows me to watch titles that I only want to see once. Streaming is now what my local rental store used to be- just a place to sample stuff.

Titles deemed worthy of ownership will be purchased on the best physical format available. I must also have control over my content and as much of my viewing environment as possible. I am willing to rely on my power company to watch my movies, but I will not be dependent upon an ISP that has proven to be chronically unreliable- not now, not ever.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Super Long Play: yes, I am old and being old beats the alternative.

Content is king; I do agree. All, every last solitary one, of my purchases are on physical media and that will not change. I will not make any digital purchases.

Streaming's only purpose for me is to allow the screening of titles that I am unsure about owning and it allows me to watch titles that I only want to see once. Streaming is now what my local rental store used to be- just a place to sample stuff.

Titles deemed worthy of ownership will be purchased on the best physical format available. I must also have control over my content and as much of my viewing environment as possible. I am willing to rely on my power company to watch my movies, but I will not be dependent upon an ISP that has proven to be chronically unreliable- not now, not ever.

SP was better quality but you could fit three films into one tape with LP sometimes! As you lit may guess, I always chose SP!

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Well you guys know how I feel, that Streaming will replace Disc. Don't get me wrong, Discs will be around for a while but they will fade away like other Formats. Talking about DVD Quality, my wife and her girlfriends on Movie Night really didn't care if they were watching DVD, BD, or Streaming they just wanted to watch the Movie. I think most people are the same way, they just want to watch a Movie not pick it apart on Quality items. Cost also comes into it, now BD is picking up because people see better Quality at a better price than UHD Disc.

And I, and many others, disagree with your assessment about the future of physical media. Discs will remain an option for those who esteem quality, control over content, and reliable playback.

Other than tapes, laserdisc, and HD-DVD all of the home video formats remain; those three were superseded by superior physical formats. The addition of a new physical format, 4K UHD, clearly demonstrates that there is a healthy demand for tangible movie ownership on disc. Enough people still value the benefits of physical media to ensure its place in the market.

The market is large enough to support both those who prize what discs offer and for those who prefer what digital/ streaming offers. Don't forget also that a large number of people like a bit of both. The market can, does, and will cater to all of us.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

I’m curious where you are getting your UHD speeds for Netflix and VUDU Wendell Because I can test Netflix & some other apps directly on my KS8000 and I’m pulling in higher numbers depending on the content

Wendell was quoting some old information, I think from last year. I feel like you do, the Bitrates are much higher now. When I talked to the Sony Techs they said with the new Codec they were going for 25+Mbps. With Adaptive Streaming it will all depend on your Bandwidth, going from minimum to maximum Bitrates. Talking to my ISP there are a lot of factors that play into Streaming, and let's not confuse Streaming with Downloads they are not the same.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

And I, and many others, disagree with your assessment about the future of physical media. Discs will remain an option for those who esteem quality, control over content, and reliable playback.

Other than tapes, laserdisc, and HD-DVD all of the home video formats remain; those three were superseded by superior physical formats. The addition of a new physical format, 4K UHD, clearly demonstrates that there is a healthy demand for tangible movie ownership on disc. Enough people still value the benefits of physical media to ensure its place in the market.

The market is large enough to support both those who prize what discs offer and for those who prefer what digital/ streaming offers. Don't forget also that a large number of people like a bit of both. The market can, does, and will cater to all of us.

It didn’t cater to me when I wanted Annihilation. I had to import. Also, I’m hearing the Suspiria remake is a Mubi exclusive next year, so a Blu-ray is looking unlikely. Looks like I will be buying even more 4K discs than I planned (that’s if they remain region free)

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

In this context I know what you mean but if quality was first and foremost then DVD's would be history and folks would purchase only BD. It would be interesting to see any real data to show purchase decisions based on quality vs price.

They're watching these dvds on their 1080 and/or 4k TVs. Because technology advances and everyone but you and steedeel acknowledge that.

The powers that be should have eliminated DVD ages ago though i agree.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

It didn’t cater to me when I wanted Annihilation. I had to import. Also, I’m hearing the Suspiria remake is a Mubi exclusive next year, so a Blu-ray is looking unlikely. Looks like I will be buying even more 4K discs than I planned (that’s if they remain region free)

MUBI?

It's an Amazon studios release. And pretty much all their movies get blu-ray releases. Most only get 4k digital but still at least get a blu-ray release.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by flyry

MUBI?

It's an Amazon studios release. And pretty much all their movies get blu-ray releases. Most only get 4k digital but still at least get a blu-ray release.

No, it was a joint production and Mubi have the rights in the U.K. They will be streaming it exclusively. Now that you have pissed your pants, maybe check out the facts?

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

It didn’t cater to me when I wanted Annihilation. I had to import. Also, I’m hearing the Suspiria remake is a Mubi exclusive next year, so a Blu-ray is looking unlikely. Looks like I will be buying even more 4K discs than I planned (that’s if they remain region free)

You were able to get Annihilation, though, so I would say your needs were met. It is a global economy afterall. As a fan of 3D content, I import routinely-mostly from the U.K.

4K discs will remain region free; it is a part of the format standard. If you want to worry about about 4k discs, allow me to resurrect the early fear that 4K discs could, theoretically, someday require online authentication in order to be played.

I hope this (remote) possibility won't keep you up nights. If it does, watch one of those relaxing nature videos on youtube on your big screen TV- while you still can.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Wendell was quoting some old information, I think from last year.

Nope, direct from Netflix site. If you have different info then post a link.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

You were able to get Annihilation, though, so I would say your needs were met. It is a global economy afterall. As a fan of 3D content, I import routinely-mostly from the U.K.

4K discs will remain region free; it is a part of the format standard. If you want to worry about about 4k discs, allow me to resurrect the early fear that 4K discs could, theoretically, someday require online authentication in order to be played.

I hope this (remote) possibility won't keep you up nights. If it does, watch one of those relaxing nature videos on youtube on your big screen TV- while you still can.

Well, that’s reliant on all US Blu-rays being region free, and as you know, that is certainly not the case. Let me give you an example. The Horror film, Revenge has been released on Blu-ray in every country bar the UK. It has English and French dialogue. Not a single release has the subtitles in French AND a English track. I am well and truly stuffed with that one. Region locking remains a huge issue. It won’t with 4K but there are many Blu-ray that won’t get a 4K release. The global economy only works to a very limited degree with films.

Oh by the way, thanks for the smart ass, sarcastic reply, I thought you were above that.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Vilya

4K discs will remain region free; it is a part of the format standard.

Thanks for sharing that. I genuinely didn't know 4K discs were region-free, and just assumed they were coded like regular blu-rays. It goes to show what precious little I know about such matters.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by flyry

Yes there is. Netflix already is toying with the idea of a premium 4K + hdr plan. You don't think they will want to do something similar with 8k in the future?

Ditto for 8K movies on digital providers. Many still charge a premium for 4k (vudu not as much since itunes put pressure, just for disney, but fn and amazon still tend to)

And as vilya stated streaming has been better than cable for years. So you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

https://torrentfreak.com/pirates-tau...uality-180419/

This article says hello.

This is what Wendell and I have been trying to tell you for several pages now. There is no interest in higher bit rates, only shaving more and more off the bit rates until content is ‘barely’ HD. Even with 4K, we will be looking at the very smallest file sizes possible. Then, they will go further and shave more off the bit rates. This will be a ongoing thing to the point where you probably don’t even benefit from your 4K tv unless you are feeding that bad boy a proper source such as 4K disc.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Well, that’s reliant on all US Blu-rays being region free, and as you know, that is certainly not the case. Let me give you an example. The Horror film, Revenge has been released on Blu-ray in every country bar the UK. It has English and French dialogue. Not a single release has the subtitles in French AND a English track. I am well and truly stuffed with that one. Region locking remains a huge issue. It won’t with 4K but there are many Blu-ray that won’t get a 4K release. The global economy only works to a very limited degree with films.

Oh by the way, thanks for the smart ass, sarcastic reply, I thought you were above that.

I can not recommend getting a region free player strongly enough; I am so happy that I finally modified one of my players. It is a great feeling knowing that I can now buy movies from anywhere in the world. I should have done this years ago.

Blu-ray players are so inexpensive now that just buying and importing a region A player is affordable. You would likely need an adapter to do the necessary power conversion, but they are inexpensive, too.

I posted my reply late last night and I thought you would see the humorous intent. I'm sorry that it annoyed you.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

I’m curious where you are getting your UHD speeds for Netflix and VUDU Wendell Because I can test Netflix & some other apps directly on my KS8000 and I’m pulling in higher numbers depending on the content

Originally Posted by alchav21

Wendell was quoting some old information, I think from last year. I feel like you do, the Bitrates are much higher now.

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Nope, direct from Netflix site. If you have different info then post a link.

Like I said, there are a lot of variables that go into Streaming now. Let's see if The Donster can give us some of the Bitrates he is seeing. I was talking to my ISP because I was getting Buffering trying to Stream 4K from Vudu with their new Beta App, the old App works fine for HDX. The feeling is that 4K Streaming Providers are running into Bandwidth problems, because demand is growing for 4K Content.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Like I said, there are a lot of variables that go into Streaming now.

It appears you do not have Netflix because if you did you could see the info that I provided a link to in several post back. The first month is free, sign up, go to your account, click Playback Settings then you will see by the High radio button: Best video quality, up to 3GB per hour for HD, 7GB per hour for Ultra HD. It is not old, outdated or from some long forgotten web site, it is on the official Netflix site. It is there for any Netflix sub to see.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

There is no interest in higher bit rates, only shaving more and more off the bit rates until content is ‘barely’ HD. Even with 4K, we will be looking at the very smallest file sizes possible. Then, they will go further and shave more off the bit rates. This will be a ongoing thing to the point where you probably don’t even benefit from your 4K tv unless you are feeding that bad boy a proper source such as 4K disc.

Well, we won't need those "high" streaming bitrates when we are watching only 10 minute shorts on our 5" phone screens when long form content and them big TVs go the way of the Dodo bird as has been foretold.

Now that was me being sarcastic; I even used the appropriate emoji to make it obvious. Call upon me anytime; always here to help.