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

[PenguinInfinity]

Originally Posted by Vilya

A member posted this in the "UV shutting down" thread:

It's not a good time for digital movie owners in the UK/RoW (rest of world)"

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=439

I really do feel bad for them. I can imagine how angry and frustrated I would be in their position.

Hopefully that frustration leads at least a few of them back to physical media. But unfortunately I think most people are more likely to switch to a different digital provider and fool themselves into thinking that digital provider will never go away.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

It’s you all right! So it’s ok to rejoice in Samsung ending Blu-ray/4K production (a excellent option for older films) but not ok when the shoe is in the other foot?

I don't care if people celebrate Samsung dropping UHD players and I don't care if you want to dance on Filmstruck's grave. That's not what I was responding to.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

So, why are you not having a go at Fly?

If flyry should ever decide he is fit to judge who is and who is not a film fan and takes it upon himself to lecture film fans about what they should think and do I would almost certainly find that presumptuous at best and annoying at worst.

I would probably ignore it most of the time. Especially if it was a constant refrain with him.

But every now and again I would probably push back on this point or that.

Just to keep him honest.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Hopefully that frustration leads at least a few of them back to physical media. But unfortunately I think most people are more likely to switch to a different digital provider and fool themselves into thinking that digital provider will never go away.

UV really wasn't a Digital Provider, it was more like a Link to join Providers. Now MA is a Provider and a Link to join all your Movie Providers. Is Digital going away, when I say it's all Digital I mean the Distribution. Streaming is here to stay that Content is on Servers, and the Studios control the Distribution on Disk or Streaming. With Disks on the decline, and Streaming coming on strong don't you think Streaming will take over?

[PenguinInfinity]

Originally Posted by alchav21

UV really wasn't a Digital Provider, it was more like a Link to join Providers. Now MA is a Provider and a Link to join all your Movie Providers. Is Digital going away, when I say it's all Digital I mean the Distribution. Streaming is here to stay that Content is on Servers, and the Studios control the Distribution on Disk or Streaming. With Disks on the decline, and Streaming coming on strong don't you think Streaming will take over?

Absolutely not, streaming will never take over. Streaming may eventually become the most popular way of watching content (broadcast, cable, and satellite TV currently hold that title) but physical media will always remain and it will always be the best choice regardless of its popularity or lack thereof.

And just to be clear studios control all distribution with streaming. With disc they only control the first part of distribution: they can never prevent anyone from playing the discs they've already bought or redistributing them to other people.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by octagon

I don't care if people celebrate Samsung dropping UHD players and I don't care if you want to dance on Filmstruck's grave. That's not what I was responding to.



If flyry should ever decide he is fit to judge who is and who is not a film fan and takes it upon himself to lecture film fans about what they should think and do I would almost certainly find that presumptuous at best and annoying at worst.

I would probably ignore it most of the time. Especially if it was a constant refrain with him.

But every now and again I would probably push back on this point or that.

Just to keep him honest.

You see what you want to see. you don’t want to upset any other members but are happy to constantly have a pop at me for defending a format I love.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I really do feel bad for them.

Over the years I have posted many times that folks should read the TOS from the studios and the digital rights lockers (UV, MA, etc.). I have pointed out many times the TOS could change at any time, content could be taken down or one would have to pay more to continue viewing content. And you had to agree to all of the above. One of the most common responses: they (studios, MA, UV) would never do that.

It appears streamers think anything over the internet if free in terms of access. They have no idea of cost involved in storage, peering, transport and other fees.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

What's really absurd is the people who think that think physical media is dying but there preferred digital provider will last forever. At it's peak DVD was making over $20 Billion each year. All digital purchases combined are currently making less than $3 Billion. If DVD and Blu-ray can fall than so can iTunes and Vudu.

The difference is if DVD and Blu-ray die then all our discs will still work. If iTunes or Vudu die all of their digital purchases will be lost.

Digital HD doesn’t have the legs. That’s really obvious. There is a crushing silence from the industry about the format. That’s always a telling sign.

[cheez avenger]

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

So, you have facts to indicate otherwise? Look what’s happening in the industry man. I am not claiming disc is going to make a comeback. It isn’t. However, Digital HD is not showing huge growth and as a quite recent format, that is a very bad sign. That’s why everyone and his dog is switching to subscription. Digital has legs, digital HD? I don’t think so. Unless you are one of those people that think ITunes MP3 downloads are still a mega hit.

[cheez avenger]

I think Digital HD and subscription services will continue to co-exist. It's all about the price point. As long as folks can get their Digital HD copies 2-4 weeks earlier than disc and keep the the prices between 14.99-19.99 it will be popular. Subscription services will continue to thrive as long as there is new content and attractive tier pricing.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

I think Digital HD and subscription services will continue to co-exist.

Agreed.

As long as folks can get their Digital HD copies 2-4 weeks earlier than disc and keep the the prices between 14.99-19.99 it will be popular.

A retaliative term, considering the number of devices (TV's, game consoles, BD players, laptops, PC's, etc.) that can play that content it is not very popular.

It appears the studios are much more interested in their own brand of SVOD, only time will tell how that shakes out.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

What's really absurd is the people who think that think physical media is dying but there preferred digital provider will last forever. At it's peak DVD was making over $20 Billion each year. All digital purchases combined are currently making less than $3 Billion. If DVD and Blu-ray can fall than so can iTunes and Vudu.

The difference is if DVD and Blu-ray die then all our discs will still work. If iTunes or Vudu die all of their digital purchases will be lost.

Lost where? Lost in the Clouds! We live in a Connected World, and that means Networks and Servers. Yes there is a cost, but that Digital Content can be transferred to any Server on any Network.

[PenguinInfinity]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

I think Digital HD and subscription services will continue to co-exist. It's all about the price point. As long as folks can get their Digital HD copies 2-4 weeks earlier than disc and keep the the prices between 14.99-19.99 it will be popular. Subscription services will continue to thrive as long as there is new content and attractive tier pricing.

So digital purchases (which made $2.4 billion last year) are thriving, but physical purchases (which made $4 billion last year) are dying?

Originally Posted by alchav21

Lost where? Lost in the Clouds! We live in a Connected World, and that means Networks and Servers. Yes there is a cost, but that Digital Content can be transferred to any Server on any Network.

Digital Content can be located on any servers on any network. But if it isn't selling well it won't be on any servers that customers can access. Just being "in the cloud" doesn't guarantee anything, each of us only have access to a very tiny part of it.

[avs commenter]

Not to mention 4K digital. I don't see major releases showing up on subscriptions services in 4K anytime soon.

[cheez avenger]

So digital purchases (which made $2.4 billion last year) are thriving, but physical purchases (which made $4 billion last year) are dying?

I wouldn't word it like that. How much was physical media making in the past years? How much was Digital media making in the past years compared to now?

[PenguinInfinity]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

I wouldn't word it like that. How much was physical media making in the past years? How much was Digital media making in the past years compared to now?

My point was that digital purchases have never been popular and likely never will be. Betting on them to continue to be around decades from now is absurd.

[Insert favorite digital provider here] may fold in the future. Or it may drop lots of unpopular movies. Or it may charge a monthly fee to access. Or it may insert advertisements into all your movies. Or it may start censoring lots of movies. Or it may continue to work just like it does now. None of us can predict the future.

But physical media is immune to all of that. Regardless of what happens in the future all of our Blu-rays and DVDs will continue to function exactly as they do today. The studios and distributors can't take away or modify any of them. They have absolutely no control over the billions of discs already in circulation.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

I wouldn't word it like that. How much was physical media making in the past years? How much was Digital media making in the past years compared to now?

The Home Video Sales thread has those answers. Alternatively, you could just ask bruceames in that thread and he would likely be able to tell you that info quickly.

[Vilya]

My last birthday gift arrived today and a friend sent me this along with The Big Lebowski 4K:

[Show spoiler]Present1.jpg

Can anyone explain to me what the message means? I don't get it.

[homevideogeek]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

My point was that digital purchases have never been popular and likely never will be. Betting on them to continue to be around decades from now is absurd.

I'm always reminded of this when I go into a Wal-mart and see the full, bulging stacks of VUDU download redemption cards for a new release hanging next to empty racks where all the sold physical copies of the same movie were.

Who the hell would buy a VUDU download card of a movie at $19.99 when they can buy the physical Blu-ray copy and get a digital copy and spare DVD (and likely another Instawatch copy) for the same price?

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I don't get it.

Very .