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

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

If they wanted to continue with their own service then Amazon would give them the greatest access across the most devices.

As to the UI, if you setup your streaming device to output the original frame rate* and your display device to accept various frame rates then you will come to dislike the Netflix UI because of the auto preview. You will get a black screen as try to scroll thru the content selection because of the various frame rates used. The screen goes black as the system re-syncs, very annoying!! I have complained to Netflix about the lack of being able to turn off the auto preview.

*Some devices/displays do not have this option.

I know what you mean by Netflix's preview, I don't get the black screen it comes in okay for me. Amazon UI is not bad either, it has different categories to browse their Movies. Vudu does have different sales, and their 99 cent ones change regularly. They do have a big selection of 4K Movies.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I know what you mean by Netflix's preview, I don't get the black screen it comes in okay for me. Amazon UI is not bad either, it has different categories to brows their Movies. Vudu does have different sales, and their 99 cent ones change regularly. They do have a big selection of 4K Movies.

Their interface (in my opinion) is horrid. Laggy, muddled, confusing and dated.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

Looks like a neighboring town has them in stock. I’m going to pop over to the Target where I’m at to see how many they have in stock. If I’m lucky I’ll find one. Makes me wonder what the new ones are going to have on them that this one doesn’t though.

Good luck on your quest!!

The UBP-X800 has SACD and DVD-Audio (both in multi channel), it does not have DV.

The newer UBP-X700 has DV but does not have DVD-Audio. Threads on these here.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by flyry

I don't have the numbers but why do you keep talking like Netflix is some obscure service? I'd wager its on more than Amazon.

AFAIK, Netflix does not have independent channels like Amazon does. Amazon has several independent channels like HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. and you pay separate for each of those channels. The only thing needed is the Amazon app and a Prime account. No need for a separate HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. app.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I know what you mean by Netflix's preview, I don't get the black screen it comes in okay for me.

Most folks probably have Netflix set for 30 frames (or multiples thereof) so they will not have the re-sync issue.

I have checked the frame rate for several different Netflix shows and found 23.976, 24, 25, etc. If you display at 29.97 frames then you have to do something and 3:2 pulldown is the most common. For more info click here. Or search for 3:2 pulldown.

My streaming devices and display are set to display the original frame rate hence the re-sync issue but I have none of the 2:3 pulldown issues.

EDIT: change 3:2 pulldown is the most common to used to be the most common. Will have to search for the methods used with todays displays.

[Vilya]

I called my ISP today to raise my plan one step and it took a 41 minute phone call to their customer service department to accomplish it. As soon as I was done with this marathon length conversation my internet service went out all together.

While I was beginning to explain all of this to tech support in a second phone call, my internet came back up on its own. The end result is that I raised my monthly data cap from 250 Gb to 1 Tb, my download speed is now 135 Mbps and my upload speed is now 16 Mbps. It only took 50 minutes of my time on the phone with these chuckleheads to get it done.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by randian

Just about the only reason I still have cable is ease of recording and dvr commercial skip. I never, ever watch anything live. Access to marginal channels like NBCSN (I'm a Formula 1 fan) is useful as well.

If their plan is to push everybody back to cable then I'm really bothered by that. Comcast's video output is downrezzed and compressed so badly it's like watching low-quality SD. Streaming content looks quite a bit better.

I would probably go Prime + Netflix + Hulu if I could get all the shows I watch in commercial free form. Local network channels like CW are a problem. CBS is already it's own streaming service, can you imagine paying $10 each for ABC, NBC, and the CW? Then there are the cable channels to consider, I don't think Syfy offers current-year episodes on any streaming service and I watch a lot of their shows.

A point i forgot to make about cable is that i expect by downrezzing to 720p they are catering to a future audience that may be watching on mobile where it wont be as easy to spot artefacts. They obviously know something we don't about viewership and screen size.
Why else downgrade from 1080i to 720p? They are making savings before the mobile apocalypse arrives. Its working against increased screen size and 4k i know but there you have it. They want to be able to easily transmit a 720p file to mobile devices.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Their interface (in my opinion) is horrid. Laggy, muddled, confusing and dated.

Who are you referring to?
You quoted a lost listing 3 providers

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by flyry

Who are you referring to?
You quotedi a lost listing 3 providers

It was my opinion about Amazon’s UI. I was replying to a comment from Alchav.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

A point i forgot to make about cable is that i expect by downrezzing to 720p they are catering to a future audience that may be watching on mobile where it wont be as easy to spot artefacts. They obviously know something we don't about viewership and screen size.
Why else downgrade from 1080i to 720p? They are making savings before the mobile apocalypse arrives. Its working against increased screen size and 4k i know but there you have it. They want to be able to easily transmit a 720p file to mobile devices.

There is no mobile, TV, or movie apocalypse coming. You are so invested in this happening that you, and you alone, see signs everywhere you look. Everything leads you to this same tired and unfounded conclusion.

Wendell could probably speak to this better, but broadcast TV and cable TV have pretty much left their resolution at either 720p or 1080i since the beginning of the HD era likely because they do not want to spend the money necessary to upgrade their broadcast quality. Considering that today's new 4K TVs do such a good job at upscaling, these same broadcasters will likely be able to get away with their current resolution levels for even longer.

TV sales and screen sizes are both growing. The film industry is stable and showing modest growth as is the TV industry. People still prefer to watch feature length movies, TV shows, and even short subjects on the biggest screen available to them at whatever location they happen to be. There is no evidence that people prefer to watch content on their phones when a TV is available to them. There is no evidence that content is being restricted to mobile device viewing only. In summary, there is no evidence that any of your fears will become reality.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

There is no mobile, TV, or movie apocalypse coming. Everything leads you to this same tired and unfounded conclusion.

Wendell could probably speak to this better, but broadcast TV and cable TV have pretty much left their resolution at either 720p or 1080i since the beginning of the HD era likely because they do not want to spend the money necessary to upgrade their broadcast quality. Considering that today's new 4K TVs do such a good job at upscaling, these same broadcasters will likely be able to get away with their current resolution levels for even longer.

TV sales and screen sizes are both growing. The film industry is stable and showing modest growth as is the TV industry. People still prefer to watch feature length movies, TV shows, and even short subjects on the biggest screen available to them at whatever location they happen to be. There is no evidence that shows people prefer to watch content on their phones when a TV is available to them. There is no evidence that content is being restricted to mobile device viewing only. In summary, there is no evidence that any of your fears will become reality.

Do you know anyone with Comcast? Those feeds are going to look horrific on a 4K tv. Do some research.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Do you know anyone with Comcast? Those feeds are going to look horrific on a 4K tv. Do some research.

I already know that Comcast is a shite company as I have researched Comcast in the past. Mediacom, my area provider, is not much better. Many of my friends get cable TV and none of the providers that I have seen are utilizing the full potential of even HD TVs, yet alone 4K models. They are cheapskates. Neither the cable providers nor the TV stations themselves want to spend the money necessary to upgrade.

I have an over the air antenna connected to my TV and I get several channels with a strong signal and the quality is just as mediocre as with cable TV- which is another one of the reasons why I cancelled cable TV. My antenna delivers the same quality for all the channels that they have in common with cable TV.

The issue is not so much that broadcast and cable TV are too cheap to upgrade their broadcast quality to match today's TVs, but rather the reliable and ridiculous conclusions that you draw from this and everything else that you read. With you, all roads lead to the collapse of TVs and movies.

If I were to post a link about a new synthetic clothing fiber, you would conclude that that development was hastening the doom of TVs and movies.

You need to do some research and provide evidence to support your wild conclusions. No one but you believes that the cinemapocalpyse is a real danger and that is no wonder when you have nothing to support the patently silly conclusions that you draw.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I already know that Comcast is a shite company as I have researched Comcast in the past. Mediacom, my area provider, is not much better. Many of my friends get cable TV and none of the providers that I have seen are utilizing the full potential of even HD TVs, yet alone 4K models. They are cheapskates.

The issue is not so much that broadcast and cable TV are too cheap to upgrade their broadcast quality to match today's TVs, but rather the reliable and ridiculous conclusions that you draw from this and everything else that you read. With you, all roads lead to the collapse of TVs and movies.

If I were to post a link about a new synthetic clothing fiber, you would conclude that that development was hastening the doom of TVs and movies.

You need to do some research and provide evidence to support your wild conclusions. No one but you believes that the cinemapocalpyse is a real danger and that is no wonder when you have nothing to support the patently silly conclusions that you draw.

Comcast, AT&T etc.. these guys control the pipes.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Comcast, AT&T etc.. these guys control the pipes.

They don't control the airwaves and my digital antenna pulls in the same image quality that I received with cable for the channels that they had in common. Both cable providers and the stations themselves need to upgrade and neither have and this has been the case for many years now.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Amazon UI is not bad either, it has different categories to browse their Movies.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Their interface (in my opinion) is horrid. Laggy, muddled, confusing and dated.

Originally Posted by flyry

Who are you referring to?
You quoted a lost listing 3 providers

Originally Posted by Steedeel

It was my opinion about Amazon’s UI. I was replying to a comment from Alchav.

Like I said Amazon UI is not bad, you can scroll down to the category you want then add the Movie to your Watch Next List. Talking about Digital Rentals and Purchase, the Connected TV and Streaming Player has hit the Main Stream:

https://www.rapidtvnews.com/20181030...#axzz5VUkqMqPy

Disc sales keep going down, and Streaming is talking over!

[Vilya]

I am neutral towards Amazon's UI. I can find what I'm looking for with no great effort. My issue is that streaming from them has been unstable with vast swings in image quality, even pauses for buffering, that I only rarely experience with other providers. Amazon streams are flaky even when my ISP is cooperating fully and no matter if I stream over a wired or a wireless network. They are the most amateur of the streaming services that I have used to date.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Like I said Amazon UI is not bad, you can scroll down to the category you want then add the Movie to your Watch Next List. Talking about Digital Rentals and Purchase, the Connected TV and Streaming Player has hit the Main Stream:

https://www.rapidtvnews.com/20181030...#axzz5VUkqMqPy

Disc sales keep going down, and Streaming is talking over!

Funny you should say that because I have heard on the grapevine that digital sell through has stalled in the US this year. Where are those numbers, everything is hush hush.

Somethings not quite right here. We can return to this post a year from now and discuss further.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Like I said Amazon UI is not bad, you can scroll down to the category you want then add the Movie to your Watch Next List. Talking about Digital Rentals and Purchase, the Connected TV and Streaming Player has hit the Main Stream:

https://www.rapidtvnews.com/20181030...#axzz5VUkqMqPy

Disc sales keep going down, and Streaming is talking over!

It is bad! It’s very bad imo.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Disc sales keep going down, and Streaming is talking over!

Disc sales are down, but the rate of decline has been stable to even slightly better than in preceding years. The meteoric growth in 4K disc sales, over 100% compared to last year, has helped to buttress physical media.

Subscription streaming and video on demand rentals, not digital purchases, have been the driving force in the growth of streaming. When it comes to actual content purchases, disc outsells digital handily, by a roughly 2:1 margin at the end of 2017.

If you had actually paid attention to the article you cited, all of the streaming services it mentioned derived the vast majority of their income from rentals, not purchases.

Slightly less than 25% of iTunes video transactions were purchases, just 20% of Vudu's revenue came from purchases, only 13% for Amazon's streaming service, just 9% of Google's Play revenue were from video purchases, and a paltry 4% for Microsoft's store. The money comes from renting. Income from rentals is an entirely different matter than income derived from purchases.

As you usual, your anti physical media bias clouds your judgment and leads you to misinterpret yet another article. Stop looking for what you want to see and only then will you be able to see reality.

[dublinbluray108]

I had bought a further 6 movie titles to come into my hands over a 4 day period from last Saturday to last Tuesday. 4 of them were Blu-rays & 2 of them were DVDs. I normally never do this while going around Dublin because I normally buy 1 or 2 titles at a given time. I had an opportunity to do it this time because prices for some of them were really cheap at that point for me to buy a good number of titles.

4 of them were on a sale. That's 2 Blu-rays & 2 DVDs. I bought the DVDs online from Network in the UK because they were sold there from a cheap sale. I had tried to search for Blu-ray releases for them but I had no luck. The DVDs were old movies from the 1920's to the 1930's. The 2 Blu-rays were bought in 2 different brick & mortar stores in Dublin City Centre.

The DVDs had cost me £3.22 each. The two cheap Blu-rays were €7 between them; €5 for one title & €2 for the other. All of them were from established retailers & all titles, including the expensive ones, were all brand new. I almost never buy newly released Blu-rays that often unless it is something that I had my title as it can become really expensive. But again this is rare. It almost never happens at all. I normally just buy whatever title is cheap at any given time.

Physical media is in a really good price phenomenon right now as it's really so damn cheap for just about anyone to purchase it if you're a patient person & willing to wait for a while. Sure is Netflix & Prime Video in my own country but I think the selection of that stuff apart from their original catalogue is terrible value for money. Both the Irish Netflix & Prime Video, outside of originals, are only good so far for TV & not for movies. I have heard from others that the selection for movies is absolute rubbish. The Prime Video service is particuarly notorious for this nearly all of the time.

I heard of one Irish guy who saved up a lot of stuff to put on his Amazon PV watchlist. Six months later; about half of his stuff was missing from it.

Having physical media in my possession lets me have a tangible bit of security in my own mind. If you have it in your house; you watch your own stuff at your own pace & it is great. Streaming stuff gives you more pressure to allow you see something that could just be gone when it's just at a click of your fingers. It is like magic in one way; one moment it is there & it could be gone the next. I don't like to have that sizeable amount of pressure on my shoulders when I try to watch stuff. I like to do it when I have a clear head for doing it in the first place.