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

[Mr Kite]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Well maybe extras, but that is questionable, I don't think you have been following my Posts. I have Fiber, and Direct Trunking to my Vudu Server, so my BitRate has increased to Blu-ray Quality. PQ and Sound are on the same level as Blu-ray Discs. That's why I say, Fiber is the Infrastructure of The Future, if you don't have it, it's Time to Move!

Sorry it might appear that way but you're still viewing a heavily compressed format, never a good thing.
As i have said many times, many of the best movies are now being restored for Blu Ray and 4K physical media. With streaming you are always going to be in the hands of your provider and you will never own the movie in the true sense of the word

As for questionable extras i will use this example again, show me one streaming provider that will give you this?

Deep Red - The Arrow Video Story - YouTube

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Well maybe extras, but that is questionable, I don't think you have been following my Posts. I have Fiber, and Direct Trunking to my Vudu Server, so my BitRate has increased to Blu-ray Quality. PQ and Sound are on the same level as Blu-ray Discs. That's why I say, Fiber is the Infrastructure of The Future, if you don't have it, it's Time to Move!

Originally Posted by tele1962

Sorry it might appear that way but you're viewing a compressed format, never a good thing.
As i have said many times, many of the best movies are now being restored for Blu Ray and 4K physical media. With streaming you are always going to be in the hands of your provider and you will never own the movie in the true sense of the word

Well you are in the UK, and you haven't even seen HDX Movies or have Vudu. Vudu has Variable BitRate according to Bandwidth and Access, and it has increased to Blu-ray and UHD Quality. If you are familiar with Networks and Intra-Nets you know this is possible. Kaleidescape has been doing it for many years, and now Providers like Vudu are also using the same Technology. I still have Discs, but I prefer to watch Digital HDX. Vudu does have some Movies with Extras, but not all of them. Streaming is The Future, and PQ and Sound can't be a deterrent any longer.

[Mr Kite]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Well you are in the UK, and you haven't even seen HDX Movies or have Vudu. Vudu has Variable BitRate according to Bandwidth and Access, and it has increased to Blu-ray and UHD Quality. If you are familiar with Networks and Intra-Nets you know this is possible. Kaleidescape has been doing it for many years, and now Providers like Vudu are also using the same Technology. I still have Discs, but I prefer to watch Digital HDX. Vudu does have some Movies with Extras, but not all of them. Streaming is The Future, and PQ and Sound can't be a deterrent any longer.

Sorry mate you are still viewing very compressed material compared to Blu Ray(no matter what the bitrate) and to a major degree less than Blu Ray quality.
Streaming will kill off any attempt at film restoration for physical media and all the work that goes with it. But if you are only interested in the latest blockbuster digitally filmed movie i suppose that is what joe public wants and a very sad day that will be for us all.

Which by the lack of response is the case here?

[PCFan]

I bought an Apple TV about a month ago and I've been buying several iTunes digital codes and movies that were on sale lately through iTunes. Only reason I went digital is because I wanted to save space and I sold most of my blu-rays. Now I'm beginning to regret going digital, for movies, because quite a few movies that I have digitally are not in the original aspect ratio or are not the same aspect ratio as the blu-ray version, and it does not just happen in one digital service I have my digital movies in. One digital service seems to be more consistent with keeping the original aspect ratio or the blu-ray aspect ratio than another service. I also notice the image quality is not quite as good as the blu-ray with digital streaming, but I already expected that. I save so much money on movies by buying digital codes though. However I'm tempted to go back to blu-ray, just because of the aspect ratio issues I've been having with some of my digital movies, and just accept the physical space requirements that come with physical media.

[8traxrule]

Just wait until they start having unskippable previews or commercials before you can even get to the beginning of your "digital" movie...

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by 8traxrule

Just wait until they start having unskippable previews or commercials before you can even get to the beginning of your "digital" movie...

Just like Blu-ray has now? I don't see it happening, the Providers have the same goals as the viewers. The Disc Makers are controlled by the Studios.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by PCFan

I bought an Apple TV about a month ago and I've been buying several iTunes digital codes and movies that were on sale lately through iTunes. Only reason I went digital is because I wanted to save space and I sold most of my blu-rays. Now I'm beginning to regret going digital, for movies, because quite a few movies that I have digitally are not in the original aspect ratio or are not the same aspect ratio as the blu-ray version, and it does not just happen in one digital service I have my digital movies in. One digital service seems to be more consistent with keeping the original aspect ratio or the blu-ray aspect ratio than another service. I also notice the image quality is not quite as good as the blu-ray with digital streaming, but I already expected that. I save so much money on movies by buying digital codes though. However I'm tempted to go back to blu-ray, just because of the aspect ratio issues I've been having with some of my digital movies, and just accept the physical space requirements that come with physical media.

I really don't pay attention to Aspect Ratio, but I guess a lot of Movie Buffs do. I don't have a lot of respect for Apple Products, they are too proprietary for me. I use Vudu and I think they stick to Original Aspect Ratios as reported by the Manufacturer and Blu-ray.com. I think it has to do with your Streaming Device, have you checked your Apple TV to see if it is set up properly? I have a Panasonic Blu-ray Player Streaming Device, and the Aspect Ratios are always correct. As for PQ and Sound, like I have said before, it all depends on your Equipment, Bandwidth and Access.

[PCFan]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I really don't pay attention to Aspect Ratio, but I guess a lot of Movie Buffs do. I don't have a lot of respect for Apple Products, they are too proprietary for me. I use Vudu and I think they stick to Original Aspect Ratios as reported by the Manufacturer and Blu-ray.com. I think it has to do with your Streaming Device, have you checked your Apple TV to see if it is set up properly? I have a Panasonic Blu-ray Player Streaming Device, and the Aspect Ratios are always correct. As for PQ and Sound, like I have said before, it all depends on your Equipment, Bandwidth and Access.

Actually I switched to iTunes primarily because I was having distortion and aspect ratio issues in Vudu with some of my movies in Vudu account and a colorspace issue with another movie there. I find iTunes sticking more often to the OAR of movies than Vudu in my experience, however, my iTune movie collection is much smaller than my Vudu movie collection so that may be the reason. However, there are some instances in my experience that Vudu sticks to the OAR but iTunes does not, or iTunes sticks to the OAR but Vudu does not, when I compare the same movie that I own in both accounts, such as Batman (1966) (1.85:1 on iTunes/1.78:1 on Vudu) and Cast Away (1.78:1 on iTunes/1.85:1 on Vudu). The only way you can easily tell if a movie is displaying at 1.85:1 on your screen is if you have disable overscan on your 16x9 TV or use a 16x9 monitor by the way. My device settings are setup properly. My Apple TV is set to 1080p 60Hz and my Roku 3 is set to 1080p. I also used a Roku 3 for Vudu. The TV (16x9 ratio) I'm using, I have disabled overscan, which means that a 1.85:1 image will show thin black bars on top and bottom of screen and a 1.78:1 image will fill the entire screen.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I really don't pay attention to Aspect Ratio, but I guess a lot of Movie Buffs do. I don't have a lot of respect for Apple Products, they are too proprietary for me. I use Vudu and I think they stick to Original Aspect Ratios as reported by the Manufacturer and Blu-ray.com.

I posted this in another thread already, but actually many movies on Vudu have the wrong aspect ratio, and I mean *really* wrong, not just minor differences like 1.78:1 vs. 1.85:1 (which don't even make this list):

https://forum.vudu.com/showthread.ph...io-quot-Thread

I don't know of a similar list for iTunes, but in my experience they get it mostly right (I don't think there are any instances of drastically wrong aspect ratios in my library like the ones on the list above).

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by Fiffy

I posted this in another thread already, but actually many movies on Vudu have the wrong aspect ratio, and I mean *really* wrong, not just minor differences like 1.78:1 vs. 1.85:1 (which don't even make this list):

https://forum.vudu.com/showthread.ph...io-quot-Thread

I don't know of a similar list for iTunes, but in my experience they get it mostly right (I don't think there are any instances of drastically wrong aspect ratios in my library like the ones on the list above).

My experience with iTunes over the years with the purchasing of digital movies (and trust me, I've purchased a lot of stuff) is that they got the aspect ratio wrong twice from everything I've purchased over the years. Twice. My collection is a little over 200 but it could easily be more if I unhide a ton of stuff. Either way, in my experience, iTunes is about at 95% when it comes to original aspect ratio, unless the director decided for something different on home video/digital (UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION and DRIVE) come to mind.

[PCFan]

Originally Posted by Jumpman

My experience with iTunes over the years with the purchasing of digital movies (and trust me, I've purchased a lot of stuff) is that they got the aspect ratio wrong twice from everything I've purchased over the years. Twice. My collection is a little over 200 but it could easily be more if I unhide a ton of stuff. Either way, in my experience, iTunes is about at 95% when it comes to original aspect ratio, unless the director decided for something different on home video/digital (UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION and DRIVE) come to mind.

I have a few movies that I purchased from iTunes that were presented as 1.78:1 while the blu-ray or original aspect ratio for that specific movie was 1.85:1 or even 2.35:1. I bought Amelie from iTunes during a sale and didn't realize it was the wrong aspect ratio until finding out a few weeks later after watching it. Also the Vudu version of Amelie is in the wrong aspect ratio as I checked the 2-minute preview of it. I have close to 200 movies in my iTunes account. Have you checked movies in your iTunes account which have the blu-ray release displayed at 1.85:1 and see if they are 1.85:1 on the iTunes version and not 1.78:1? Am I being too obsessive about complaining about a particular movie in iTunes being in 1.78:1 while the blu-ray release or theatrical release is 1.85:1?

[Benjamin88]

The thing that has put me off digital is losing connection because of bad internet. I've watched films at friend's houses before and the film has kept cutting out, which is really annoying. I have been thinking about switching to digital though. Im planning on getting a server to store films which I can then hook up to my T.V . Need to do some research on servers first though. Do any of you have any tips? I found this article , what do you think?

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by Benjamin88

The thing that has put me off digital is losing connection because of bad internet. I've watched films at friend's houses before and the film has kept cutting out, which is really annoying. I have been thinking about switching to digital though. Im planning on getting a server to store films which I can then hook up to my T.V . Need to do some research on servers first though. Do any of you have any tips? I found this article , what do you think?

You don't need an enterprise-class server. Almost any old PC with a big HDD will do nicely. If you have a large amount of movies (more than fit on a 4TB drive), consider a NAS e.g. from QNAP or Synology. But that gets expensive quickly and may not be trivial to set up.

If you want to serve purchased digital content, keep in mind that the DRM used by most of the services restricts what you can do with local downloads. iTunes is the best bet for this IMO.

[TaxiTodd]

Originally Posted by Benjamin88

The thing that has put me off digital is losing connection because of bad internet. I've watched films at friend's houses before and the film has kept cutting out, which is really annoying. I have been thinking about switching to digital though. Im planning on getting a server to store films which I can then hook up to my T.V . Need to do some research on servers first though. Do any of you have any tips? I found this article , what do you think?

Sounds like you need to invest in a decent internet speed and a more reliable provider.

[Mr Kite]

Originally Posted by TaxiTodd

Sounds like you need to invest in a decent internet speed and a more reliable provider.

Or stick with Physical media for a far more rewarding, hassle free experience.

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by PCFan

I have a few movies that I purchased from iTunes that were presented as 1.78:1 while the blu-ray or original aspect ratio for that specific movie was 1.85:1 or even 2.35:1. I bought Amelie from iTunes during a sale and didn't realize it was the wrong aspect ratio until finding out a few weeks later after watching it. Also the Vudu version of Amelie is in the wrong aspect ratio as I checked the 2-minute preview of it. I have close to 200 movies in my iTunes account. Have you checked movies in your iTunes account which have the blu-ray release displayed at 1.85:1 and see if they are 1.85:1 on the iTunes version and not 1.78:1? Am I being too obsessive about complaining about a particular movie in iTunes being in 1.78:1 while the blu-ray release or theatrical release is 1.85:1?

Well, the 1:85 vs 1:78 issue has to do with studios more than anything. For instance, any film produced by WB that was shot in 1:85 for theatrical tends to end up on Blu by Warner Bros. in 1:78. It seems to be a policy with them when it comes to that aspect ratio when said film hits home video.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Benjamin88

The thing that has put me off digital is losing connection because of bad internet. I've watched films at friend's houses before and the film has kept cutting out, which is really annoying. I have been thinking about switching to digital though. Im planning on getting a server to store films which I can then hook up to my T.V . Need to do some research on servers first though. Do any of you have any tips?

I did this, and started to experiment about 20 years ago with DVD Files. Like others have said, I used an Older Computer put in HDD's and connected to my Cat5 Home Network. That's why I say, Streaming is here now and will be main stream in the near Future. The only thing, Movie Downloads have restrictions and the Files are compressed for easy handling. A good Provider like Vudu with a solid connection is a better alternative. I almost have 400 Movies and TV Shows, and with Fiber and Direct Trunking my BitRate is Blu-ray Quality with no problems.

[master gandhi]

I'm not on fiber (I'm on 100mbps cable internet), but I still have very little issues with streaming, and I stream almost everything I watch. I don't have a cable TV provider, just internet, and I hardly ever pop in a disc anymore. I would like to eventually move someplace that has high-end fiber internet, though. I'm thinking Texas perhaps.

I don't see how physical media is hassle-free compared to streaming. Streaming is about as hassle-free as it gets IMO. I don't have to worry about scratched discs or manufacturing errors or adding clutter to my shelves (unless we're talking about a sweet-looking steelbook/digibook/lenticular slipcover. Heh).

[Mr Kite]

Originally Posted by master gandhi

I'm not on fiber (I'm on 100mbps cable internet), but I still have very little issues with streaming, and I stream almost everything I watch. I don't have a cable TV provider, just internet, and I hardly ever pop in a disc anymore. I would like to eventually move someplace that has high-end fiber internet, though. I'm thinking Texas perhaps.

I don't see how physical media is hassle-free compared to streaming. Streaming is about as hassle-free as it gets IMO. I don't have to worry about scratched discs or manufacturing errors or adding clutter to my shelves (unless we're talking about a sweet-looking steelbook/digibook/lenticular slipcover. Heh).

What you do have to worry about is time spent on film restoration, extras, PQ, none ownership, incorrect aspect ratio, cut versions, no booklets, no commentary, older films being totally ignored or aired in none restored state, grain being stripped from film and so much more. Much more worrying than clutter on shelves i think.

[master gandhi]

Originally Posted by tele1962

What you do have to worry about is time spent on film restoration, extras, PQ, none ownership, incorrect aspect ratio, cut versions, no booklets, no commentary, older films being totally ignored or aired in none restored state, grain being stripped from film and so much more. Much more worrying than clutter on shelves i think.

I was saying that it's hassle-free, though. That doesn't really prove me wrong. I've generally had good experiences with it. Sorry it has you so worried. Don't forget, iTunes was the first place that debuted the visual commentary on Star Trek Into Darkness.

Digital downloads don't have to be the enemy. If anything is the enemy to physical media, it's subscription services like Netflix, which is convincing people that they don't need to buy anything anymore. They can just watch whatever Netflix chooses to make available this month. And if it gets removed next month, oh well, let's just watch whatever else is there. I can't rely on that mentality 100% of the time with all my entertainment.

I need to have a plethora of favorites and other fun content at my fingertips at all times just in case I'm in the mood today/tomorrow/next month/next year/someday.