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

[avs commenter]

cant you just buy exclusives through ebay?

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by avs commenter

cant you just buy exclusives through ebay?

You can but they're generally more expensive. You can choose exclusives for your initial enrollment titles. 5 for $1 is cheaper than ebay.

[flyry]

I hate the idea of DMC. I just want A Goofy Movie.

Only the mouse is greedy enough to come up with such an idea.

But their fans drink the koolaid like no other

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by flyry

I hate the idea of DMC. I just want A Goofy Movie.

Only the mouse is greedy enough to come up with such an idea.

But their fans drink the koolaid like no other

This is true. They even defend the live action remakes of their classics, even though they are in general, creatively devoid and not a patch on the animated originals. Disney need to start getting creative again.

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by flyry

I hate the idea of DMC. I just want A Goofy Movie.

Only the mouse is greedy enough to come up with such an idea.

But their fans drink the koolaid like no other

I'm not a Disney fanboy, I just look for the best deals on movies. Hard to beat 8 Disney blu-ray's for under $10 each considering they rarely go on sale. The DMC is a good way to save money on discs.

Plus you get Disney Rewards codes with each one for the most part. Using Disney rewards I got the Pirates of the Caribbean 4 movie set in the treasure chest and A Christmas Carol in 3D for free.

[Akibiyori]

Originally Posted by flyry

I hate the idea of DMC. I just want A Goofy Movie.

Only the mouse is greedy enough to come up with such an idea.

But their fans drink the koolaid like no other

Letting people pay vastly less for their product is greedy? $80 vs. some $200+? That’s a new one.

I paid much, much less for only things I wanted (WDAS mainline and Pixar only, certainly no remakes), have never been sent anything by mistake, don’t have to buy anything, and I spend no time at all managing this stuff. Disney is everyone’s favorite easy target but this is as far away from evil greed as a company like this gets.

Hating on Disney is as lame and facile as swallowing everything they do.

[flyry]

Originally Posted by Akibiyori

Letting people pay vastly less for their product is greedy? $80 vs. some $200+? That’s a new one.

I paid much, much less for only things I wanted (WDAS mainline and Pixar only, certainly no remakes), have never been sent anything by mistake, don’t have to buy anything, and I spend no time at all managing this stuff. Disney is everyone’s favorite easy target but this is as far away from evil greed as a company like this gets.

Hating on Disney is as lame and facile as swallowing everything they do.

$80 vs the $20 i would spend if the stupid club doesn't exist?

[alchav21]

Do you guys think that DV and HDR are going to level the playing field in Physical vs Digital? Because it seems it's no longer the Quantity of a Bitstream, but the Quality of that Bitstream. For cost purposes the Studios want to keep the Bitrate at lower levels, especially for Streaming. So it looks like with DV and HDR this can be done.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Do you guys think that DV and HDR are going to level the playing field in Physical vs Digital? Because it seems it's no longer the Quantity of a Bitstream, but the Quality of that Bitstream. For cost purposes the Studios want to keep the Bitrate at lower levels, especially for Streaming. So it looks like with DV and HDR this can be done.

HDR10 is on every UHD Blu-ray disc, it is mandatory. DV just adds to the data rate, the amount depends on what profile/level of DV is used. If anything, there will be even a greater disparity between disc and streaming because streaming is limited to about 16 Mbps while UHD disc can exceed > 100 Mbps.

IOW, adding DV to disc is not a problem because adding 1 to 5 Mbps for DV is a very small increase. Adding that amount to streaming is a nonstarter so a DV profile that uses much less data is most likely used.

For Dolby Vision folks need to understand there are 6 different Profiles and 9 different Levels with maximum Main Tier and High Tier data rates associated with each Level.

[The_Donster]

Yeah, I’m not getting the hate on the DMC either Ender14, but I also don’t play into that when it comes to the debate on this thread. I watch what I want, using whatever tech that’s available to me. I guess haters gotta hate

[AmishParadise]

You have to pick your battles. Disney doesn't owe anyone anything. If one is interested in the exclusive titles they offer be a man (or woman) and sign up for DMC or pay a premium from a third party seller. Oh, the injustice. Please. Give me a flippin' break.

I signed up for DMC last month. Took advantage of the 5 for $1 code adding 2 additional items to my cart at checkout for a reduced price which also lowered my commitment to only 2 titles are regular price. Submitted a second order shortly after that. Received both shipments a week or two later.



Grand total, $71.80 (...with free shipping) which worked out to $7.98 per title. Commitment fulfilled. Have since cancelled my membership. Plan to sign up again once 2K Leagues is available to order. Yeah, Disney is a big meanie. The nerve of them to sell me 9 Blu-ray's for just under $8 each shipped.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Kage

Do you guys think that its too late for me to start up a physical media collection?

Only you can make that call. How important to you is: High data rate HD & UHD + Dolby Vision, lossless Dolby Atmos/DTS:X audio, frame packed (full resolution both eyes) 3D? If any of these is really important to you then disc is the ONLY way to go. Once purchased, they are yours, no concerns about content being changed, having to pay more in order to continue to watch, etc.

Just curious, have you read the iTunes TOS/EULA for your titles?

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Only you can make that call. How important to you is: High data rate HD & UHD + Dolby Vision, lossless Dolby Atmos/DTS:X audio, frame packed (full resolution both eyes) 3D? If any of these is really important to you then disc is the ONLY way to go. Once purchased, they are yours, no concerns about content being changed, having to pay more in order to continue to watch, etc.

I guess you can't find good Post material, so you go back to last year with Kage. Anyway, you are still pushing for people to buy Discs for the highest quality. If Disc is the Only way to go, then they should be buying 4K. My question is what should they buy first, UHD 4K TV or 4K Player? I say buy a good 4K TV that supports DV and HDR. If they get a good one, they can start watching 4K Content without the 4K Player. With good Internet access they may be surprised with the Quality, and skip all the hassles and cost with the 4K Players!

I say take a hard look at the Sony UHD TV's, like the 900F. I just finished another Firmware update, and I'm Hardwired and the update still takes a little while but the update did a great job....Looks Fantastic!

[Vilya]

There is no "hassle" to owning a 4K disc player. 4K disc players are available over a wide range of prices.

In other news, Sony has announced that they are closing their Ultra 4K streaming service on July 26, 2019. Sony Ultra is soon to be no more.

You can add Sony Ultra to your failed digital streaming services list, Wendell.

Sony Pictures is shutting down its 'ULTRA' 4K movie streaming service on July 26, 2019, according to a report by HDreport. It was one of the first services to sell movies in 4K resolution."

If you purchased a movie through Sony Ultra's service you have to transfer it to Movies Anywhere before they close:

""Only movies that were available for direct purchase on the Android and Windows ULTRA apps will be part of this Movies Anywhere code transition," said Sony Pictures."

"These shutdowns demonstrate the perils of purchasing digital movies on unproven services but on the other hand Movies Anywhere should mitigate most of the issues - at least in the US.

To retain access to your digital purchases from Sony ULTRA it is important to transfer them to Movies Anywhere before July 26."

https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.ph...&id=1559288629

It looks like, once again, that foreign customers will get the proverbial shaft.

Now that's what I call a hassle, having to transfer purchases from a defunct digital streaming service before they go "poof" and disappear.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

There is no "hassle" to owning a 4K disc player. 4K disc players are available over a wide range of prices.

In other news, Sony has announced that they are closing their Ultra 4K streaming service on July 26, 2019. Sony Ultra is soon to be no more.

You can add Sony Ultra to your failed digital streaming services list, Wendell.

Sony Pictures is shutting down its 'ULTRA' 4K movie streaming service on July 26, 2019, according to a report by HDreport. It was one of the first services to sell movies in 4K resolution."

If you purchased a movie through Sony Ultra's service you have to transfer it to Movies Anywhere before they close:

""Only movies that were available for direct purchase on the Android and Windows ULTRA apps will be part of this Movies Anywhere code transition," said Sony Pictures."

"These shutdowns demonstrate the perils of purchasing digital movies on unproven services but on the other hand Movies Anywhere should mitigate most of the issues - at least in the US.

To retain access to your digital purchases from Sony ULTRA it is important to transfer them to Movies Anywhere before July 26."

https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.ph...&id=1559288629

It looks like, once again, that foreign customers will get the proverbial shaft.

Now that's what I call a hassle, having to transfer purchases from a defunct digital streaming service before they go "poof" and disappear.

In the U.K., people still haven’t been told what will replace Flixster. Only about six weeks until UV closes down. It’s such a laughable mess.

[alchav21]

Hey Vilya where have you been hanging out, I miss your rants? Talking about 4K Players, what is going to replace your Oppo? To get the same quality you're going to have to spend 1K. Yes I liked Sony Ultra, but I think I was the only one using it. They still have Sony Pictures and Sony/Crackle. No problems, with MA I have many options, I have all my 700 Movies available in a number of places. I would be more worried about Physical, have you seen the latest sales? That Death Spiral has started, the people that prefer Discs are still in denial. Wendell didn't answer my question, 4k Player or 4K TV, because if they pick the right 4K TV they won't need a 4K Player!

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Hey Vilya where have you been hanging out, I miss your rants? Talking about 4K Players, what is going to replace your Oppo? To get the same quality you're going to have to spend 1K. Yes I liked Sony Ultra, but I think I was the only one using it. They still have Sony Pictures and Sony/Crackle. No problems, with MA I have many options, I have all my 700 Movies available in a number of places. I would be more worried about Physical, have you seen the latest sales? That Death Spiral has started, the people that prefer Discs are still in denial. Wendell didn't answer my question, 4k Player or 4K TV, because if they pick the right 4K TV they won't need a 4K Player!

I was just sharing the news, no ranting involved. As for "where I have been" I have been trying to overcome some health issues and the momentum is not where I would like to see it. I will comment as I am able to do so, but it won't be as often.

My Oppo does not need replacing, but I am considering adding either a Panasonic 9000 or a Pioneer LX 500- still undecided as to which- and also assuming things improve for me. There are some very good affordable players available, too, but I always aim for the best that I can afford.

There have definitely been some very dismal sales figures for a few weeks, but that is the cyclical nature of the market; there have not been all that many major releases over that same period. I have no worries about discs being discontinued and even if they ever were I do not have to worry about transferring my movies anywhere. My discs are always ready and waiting on the shelves where I store them.

Sony Ultra and Ultraviolet's closing may not impact U.S. digital customers as much, but there are a whole lot of people who are adversely affected in other countries as they have no digital locker like Movies Anywhere to transfer their purchases to; these poor people stand to lose quite a few of the movies they purchased. All of which underscores the risk inherent to purchasing something that you do not actually possess.

I am not Wendell, so I do not know why you are now directing your question to me, but I would buy the best 4K TV I could and then a 4K disc player in that order if I could not afford to buy both at the same time. As, once again, you do not own a 4K disc player, and you have no plans to own one, you are in no position to comment on the benefits that they provide.

Owning a flagship model TV, or even a really nice one, and only watching highly compressed artifact plagued streaming would really be a waste of that TV's potential. A 4K disc player with a great 4K disc movie will show you what that TV can really do and that is something you will never know because you have summarily passed judgment on 4k disc players without ever having experienced what they can offer. It's really your loss as you just do not know what you are missing nor what your TV is capable of displaying.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Hey Vilya where have you been hanging out, I miss your rants? Talking about 4K Players, what is going to replace your Oppo? To get the same quality you're going to have to spend 1K. Yes I liked Sony Ultra, but I think I was the only one using it. They still have Sony Pictures and Sony/Crackle. No problems, with MA I have many options, I have all my 700 Movies available in a number of places. I would be more worried about Physical, have you seen the latest sales? That Death Spiral has started, the people that prefer Discs are still in denial. Wendell didn't answer my question, 4k Player or 4K TV, because if they pick the right 4K TV they won't need a 4K Player!

DVD sales dropped dramatically by 2007/2008 but they are still available. What you don’t understand is that it’s been a weak few weeks for new releases. Digital HD will also have suffered.

By the way, you have bet on the wrong horse with Digital HD. Streaming subscriptions is the future along with discs for the purists.

[gotmule]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I was just sharing the news, no ranting involved. As for "where I have been" I have been trying to overcome some health issues and the momentum is not where I would like to see it. I will comment as I am able to do so, but it won't be as often.

My Oppo does not need replacing, but I am considering adding either a Panasonic 9000 or a Pioneer LX 500- still undecided as to which- and also assuming things improve for me. There are some very good affordable players available, too, but I always aim for the best that I can afford.

There have definitely been some very dismal sales figures for a few weeks, but that is the cyclical nature of the market; there have not been all that many major releases over that same period. I have no worries about discs being discontinued and even if they ever were I do not have to worry about transferring my movies anywhere. My discs are always ready and waiting on the shelves where I store them.

Sony Ultra and Ultraviolet's closing may not impact U.S. digital customers as much, but there are a whole lot of people who are adversely affected in other countries as they have no digital locker like Movies Anywhere to transfer their purchases to; these poor people stand to lose quite a few of the movies they purchased. All of which underscores the risk inherent to purchasing something that you do not actually possess.

I am not Wendell, so I do not know why you are now directing your question to me, but I would buy the best 4K TV I could and then a 4K disc player in that order if I could not afford to buy both at the same time. As, once again, you do not own a 4K disc player, and you have no plans to own one, you are in no position to comment on the benefits that they provide.

Owning a flagship model TV, or even a really nice one, and only watching highly compressed artifact plagued streaming would really be a waste of that TV's potential. A 4K disc player with a great 4K disc movie will show you what that TV can really do and that is something you will never know because you have summarily passed judgment on 4k disc players without ever having experienced what they can offer. It's really your loss as you just do not know what you are missing nor what your TV is capable of displaying.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

As for "where I have been" I have been trying to overcome some health issues and the momentum is not where I would like to see it.

Really sorry to hear that, I hope your health issues are treatable and you can recover from them.