Blu-ray Vs Streaming/downloading

[JimDiGriz]

I stream football matches (soccer to you lot ) and most of the time its fine but every now and then (completely randomly) it drops out and you miss a few seconds here and there. Now and then its worse than that and you can 'lose' the picture for a minute or two.

Now thats fine for matches but if I was watching a film or TV series? No way! And thats why I dont stream films or TV never mind the loss of quality of course.

[Talal86]

Originally Posted by SwaggerJagger

I don't like streaming, I have Netflix, but I would never buy something to stream, my internet sucks. It doesn't always work 100%, it sucks at loading videos and whatnot. I think the highest I've gotten Netflix in was 720p.

why do you have Netflix, if you don't like streaming? or do you mean you only use the rental service?

[rickah88]

So back in 2009 & 2010, all the "prophets" and "people in the know", predicted blu-ray would be gone in 3-4 years. Okay, we see how those predictions went.
What are the revised predictions? 2016? 2017? 2020?
I guess we'll revisit this discussion then. Until then:

Physical media: 1
Physical media doomsday prophets: 0

Also I look forward to start adding my 2015 BD preorders, about midway through 2014(about 8 months)
Yeah physical media ain't goin' anywhere, anytime soon.

My digital content begins and ends with the DVR. Ever lose a DVR box loaded with content? I have, it's not fun at all. Now just multiply that times your whole digital library, IF something catastrophic happened

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Talal86

why do you have Netflix, if you don't like streaming? or do you mean you only use the rental service?

I have Netflix and I also use iTunes for rentals but I would NEVER replace blurays with streaming. I still turn to bluray for every movie that I am excited about. Sixty on order for December as usual. I dare say I will go the 4k route also.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by rickah88

So back in 2009 & 2010, all the "prophets" and "people in the know", predicted blu-ray would be gone in 3-4 years. Okay, we see how those predictions went.
What are the revised predictions? 2016? 2017? 2020?
I guess we'll revisit this discussion then. Until then:

Physical media: 1
Physical media doomsday prophets: 0

Also I look forward to start adding my 2015 BD preorders, about midway through 2014(about 8 months)
Yeah physical media ain't goin' anywhere, anytime soon.

My digital content begins and ends with the DVR. Ever lose a DVR box loaded with content? I have, it's not fun at all. Now just multiply that times your whole digital library, IF something catastrophic happened

You and I both laughed at those people in 2010. I remember distinctly. Those same folks will just move their dates back. The main problem has always been with the ISPs. Most of the U.S. households have either have Cox, Comcast, or Cablevision for internet access and AFAIK all three of those have usage caps. As long as those are in place there will be a rather large demand for physical media, period. Then there's the things that streaming/downloading is not consistent with offering such as subtitles, alternate audio tracks, and extras. If I were to take an educated guess right now I would say it will probably be 2020 or close to it before physical media becomes niche and streaming/download takes over. That's being rather generous as well mind you.

[chadr108]

I really hope the Blu Ray format stays around for a long time. It took me about 3 years to finally switch from VHS to DVD's after the DVD format was introduced. I finally went from DVD to Blu Ray in early 2011 after seeing how much of a difference there was in PQ, supplements, etc. I've never done any kind of streaming to watch movies/shows. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I love blu rays. If I have any free time in the evenings, I'm watching a blu ray and not much TV except sports.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by chadr108

I really hope the Blu Ray format stays around for a long time. It took me about 3 years to finally switch from VHS to DVD's after the DVD format was introduced. I finally went from DVD to Blu Ray in early 2011 after seeing how much of a difference there was in PQ, supplements, etc.

Nothing wrong with that. We couldn't really take advantage of DVD anyway until 16:9 TVs became popular in 2001-2002 and DVDs became anamorphic.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

You and I both laughed at those people in 2010. I remember distinctly. Those same folks will just move their dates back. The main problem has always been with the ISPs. Most of the U.S. households have either have Cox, Comcast, or Cablevision for internet access and AFAIK all three of those have usage caps. As long as those are in place there will be a rather large demand for physical media, period. Then there's the things that streaming/downloading is not consistent with offering such as subtitles, alternate audio tracks, and extras. If I were to take an educated guess right now I would say it will probably be 2020 or close to it before physical media becomes niche and streaming/download takes over. That's being rather generous as well mind you.

Oh I remember!
Yeah I guess we'll just get "rollback" dates from the "prophets".
Data caps have already played a huge role in streaming, as Netflix runs...what...~30% of internet traffic? Or something like that? Just think when 4k becomes more mainstream(no pun intended), that means more data being sent over an aging network infrastructure.
All the while I'll be adding to my BD collection! 2015 might be the biggest release year on record!

[Seymour]

Sure, physical media is gonna stick around for awhile longer. But it really stinks that so many movies are available on Amazon Instant (in HD), with no blu-ray in sight. For example...Bad Boys II? Yeah, you can buy the movie in HD thru Amazon Instant for $14.99, but BD...forget about it. Even obscure movies like I, the Jury (1982) are available in HD on Amazon Instant. I seriously doubt it will ever hit blu, though.

Also, I noticed that none of the studios are farming out the stuff that's available on Amazon Instant, like they are with BDs.

[MediaMalable]

The thing about Blu Ray for me at least, is that it's the first format to do justice to how films look on film. For those movies that have been shot on film in the last 100 years, my blu rays will always be more than "good enough." This is quite different from VHS, LD, and even DVD, where there was always still a big difference between how films looked in the theater and how they look at home.

For that reason, I'm comfortable and happy investing in Blu Rays as it's a relatively future proof format. Whether it is supported by the studios forever or not, the films I own in the format will always look great, and as long as I keep the technology to play them (which I don't imagine I'll ever get rid of) I'll be enjoying them for decades to come.

[Nostromo]

I like them both. I definitely prefer Bluray for its exceptional sound and video quality, not to mention the special features. That said, I appreciate the convenience of streaming. It's great having a movie I own on Bluray also available to stream whenever I am far from home. The tradeoff of course is the PQ isn't as good, but for me at least, it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make to have the same movies in a portable format.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Seymour

Sure, physical media is gonna stick around for awhile longer. But it really stinks that so many movies are available on Amazon Instant (in HD), with no blu-ray in sight. For example...Bad Boys II? Yeah, you can buy the movie in HD thru Amazon Instant for $14.99, but BD...forget about it. Even obscure movies like I, the Jury (1982) are available in HD on Amazon Instant. I seriously doubt it will ever hit blu, though.

Also, I noticed that none of the studios are farming out the stuff that's available on Amazon Instant, like they are with BDs.

How do you know those Amazon Instant titles in HD are not just DVDs that are upconverted to HD? Most of the time they are. Even most so called HD broadcasts of movies on various HD channels are often times DVDs upconverted to 1080i for broadcast.

[Seymour]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

How do you know those Amazon Instant titles in HD are not just DVDs that are upconverted to HD? Most of the time they are. Even most so called HD broadcasts of movies on various HD channels are often times DVDs upconverted to 1080i for broadcast.

My point was--it seems like the studios are showing more love when it comes to stuff like Amazon Instant. There's titles on there that never even got DVD releases. Meanwhile, catalog titles continue to get farmed out on BD at an alarming rate--yet the studios have done nothing of the sort with their titles on Amazon Instant. It's pretty obvious which direction they're pushing toward.

[blurayisnice]

Netflix launched in the Netherlands a few weeks ago, and I love it. Already watched all Jericho & Breaking Bad seasons. Also a few shows, documentaries and one movie.

Pros streaming (Netflix);
- Huge collection
- Easy to select & watch. You don't have to replace discs after every 2 or 3 episodes or go through your entire collection to find a movie.
- Extremely cheap
- You can watch movies/series anytime, anywhere (for example on your macbook/laptop)

Cons:
- Huge collection, but a lot is not available. You'll still need to buy/rent the unavailable titles separately.
- There are no extra's, extended editions, commentaries etc.
- A movie which is available now, might not be available in 2 or 3 months.
- You can't build a real collection.
- Not always the best audio & video quality.

.

[50strat54]

Originally Posted by kdawq

Does anyone get upset when someone tells you bluray is a dying format, and that physical media will be a thing of the past???? A co-worker of mine is always telling me that streaming is the next thing, which I can see but it gets under my skin because I love having the actually media in my hands. Am I a dinosaur??? lol

No it doesn't upset me. I think it will happen, technology marches forward.

It's already happened in the music industry, 1/2 the sales of new releases are going toward downloads.

The out of print CDs can go for big $

My brother just bought the download of Star Trek from itunes. I told him you get a download code with the bluray and he'd only have to pay $5 + tax more. But he still just bought the download. Convenience, doesn't have to drive to get it and he doesn't care about owning CDs/DVDs/Blurays anymore.

Other friends with a more casual interest rent at Redbox, Stream from Netflix [not even renting discs anymore]. They NEVER buy anything. All in their mid-50s to mid-60s

I on the other hand still buy a lot of Blurays but rarely buy CDs anymore.

I don't see movies at the theater so I look at buying the blus as part of my movie ticket and owning the physical and can watch on my own time.

Just the way it's going folks. CDs are better quality in sound than mp3s yet the kids don't really care. And for out of print stuff it's a 75% savings. Buy the Hip-0 Select series motown singles collection for $100 or $25 download on itunes. People generally go for the cheap or convenience.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Seymour

My point was--it seems like the studios are showing more love when it comes to stuff like Amazon Instant. There's titles on there that never even got DVD releases. Meanwhile, catalog titles continue to get farmed out on BD at an alarming rate--yet the studios have done nothing of the sort with their titles on Amazon Instant. It's pretty obvious which direction they're pushing toward.

They can push all they want, but as long as the ISPs have data caps in place streaming is not going to take over physical media. It's as simple as that. Price is also a major problem with streaming/downloads. Most new releases on VOD/VUDU/etc. are still $4.99-6.99. There's no way that can compete with $1.50 BDs from Redbox or the even cheaper BDs from Netflix.

[Jr7936]

i used to totally be against streaming, but then i started to cut back on spending money on blu rays, so i decided to buy a digital copy of a movie i wanted on this site,
yes i know it won't replace blu rays in my mind, but if your looking to save money, it's the way 2 go.

most likely all the movies will drop down to 9.99 eventually, and if you buy a code for 2.50 or 3 when the movie comes out, you are still saving money then buying it on the release week and you own a copy of the movie when it comes out

now i would never just buy a movie on vudu, or itunes, to me that is crazy, and way expensive

[gates70]

Originally Posted by bigshot

I have a 1080p projection system, and I also have Roku Netflix and Warner Archive with Verizon fast internet. The streaming stuff looks and sounds just as good as my blu-ray disks. I like owning physical media, but the streaming stuff matches it in quality.

That's because you're still watching DVD's. There's no way it matches Blu in video and audio quality...NO WAY.

[Jar Jar Stinks]

Originally Posted by 50strat54

The out of print CDs can go for big $

Can, but in most cases don't; the used CD market is totally depressed. However, I do think OOP BDs can ultimately be worth big bucks in the future because the format is nowhere close to having the same adoption rate as CDs. Also, the ability to make an exact copy of a BD is not an easy thing for most people.

[Lt. Brannigan]

Well out where I live, we just barely got decent internet. And my little slice of the USA just isn't ready for streaming. So Blu is the way to go around here. Besides if I can't physically hold it, I don't own it.