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

[Wendell R. Breland]

A Disney+ listing here. Already have most those that I care about on BD or UHD BD with several being in 3D. If I get the Nvidia Shield then I will give the service a trial run. Android app says 500,000+ installs.

[bhampton]

I have about all the Disney I currently want so I'm waiting even to do the trail of Disney+

[dublinbluray108]

Uh-oh. I just heard that Disney+ is having "technical errors" or service outages from some parts of the U.S on it's launch day.

7,300 outages were reported for Disney+ this morning on downdetector.com.

Subscribers in Puerto Rico, Canada & the U.S. were getting messages to say that the service was not available in their region.

Also people in Puerto Rico are to have the launch of Disney+ delayed by a week. It will launch there next Tuesday the 19th of November.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/12/disn...aunch-day.html

That's a pretty horrible start for Disney today. I have to wonder though. Will it get better for these new subscribers in future?

[Ender14]

I downloaded the Disney+ app to my Fire Stick this morning and logged in but got an error. Apparently the servers are severely overloaded. My stepson has had some issues on his end but said he has been able to watch some stuff. Another frustrating aspect of streaming.

I will continue to support disc. I have made 48 blu-ray/UHD purchases this year with much more to come. But I have to admit it will be nice to be able to watch a generous amount of 4K/HDR content through Disney+. Bill Hunt at The Digital Bits provided a list of 4K/HDR movies being offered at launch (https://thedigitalbits.com/columns/m...ts/111219-0100) and many of them have not had a disc release yet. I have avoided upgrading my MCU collection to 4K because I was waiting for the Infinity Saga boxed set, but the price was just too much. So this allows me to see them in (slightly inferior) 4K quality without destroying my bank account. Now I can enjoy them over streaming while I acquire them on disc as my budget allows.

[cheez avenger]

Disney+ works fine on my Apple TV. I have it installed on my PS4 but for whatever reason it does not playback material in 5.1. I think Sony will have to push a firmware update for that. Mandalorian was flawless through the Apple TV. Good luck getting Mandalorian on physical. I don't see that happening, but then again, Disney is all about that money, so never say never.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Ender14

I downloaded the Disney+ app to my Fire Stick this morning and logged in but got an error. Apparently the servers are severely overloaded. My stepson has had some issues on his end but said he has been able to watch some stuff. Another frustrating aspect of streaming.

I will continue to support disc. I have made 48 blu-ray/UHD purchases this year with much more to come. But I have to admit it will be nice to be able to watch a generous amount of 4K/HDR content through Disney+. Bill Hunt at The Digital Bits provided a list of 4K/HDR movies being offered at launch (https://thedigitalbits.com/columns/m...ts/111219-0100) and many of them have not had a disc release yet. I have avoided upgrading my MCU collection to 4K because I was waiting for the Infinity Saga boxed set, but the price was just too much. So this allows me to see them in (slightly inferior) 4K quality without destroying my bank account. Now I can enjoy them over streaming while I acquire them on disc as my budget allows.

Slightly inferior? Don’t forget the audio also.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

Disney+ works fine on my Apple TV. I have it installed on my PS4 but for whatever reason it does not playback material in 5.1. I think Sony will have to push a firmware update for that. Mandalorian was flawless through the Apple TV. Good luck getting Mandalorian on physical. I don't see that happening, but then again, Disney is all about that money, so never say never.

Mandalorian will 100% see a Blu-ray/UHD release.

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Slightly inferior? Don’t forget the audio also.

Well, I don't have a surround setup so that's no big deal for me at the moment. I really only get to watch movies at night after the family is in bed so I didn't see the point in shelling out money for a nice sound system I would rarely get to use. Just put that money into a bigger TV and a nice pair of Sony Surround headphones. The surround effect isn't that great but the bass is surprisingly good. They actually shake on my head during some movies.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Interesting reading some of the post here about sound. How many of you have:

5.1
5.2
7.1
7.2
7.1.2
7.1.4
7.2.2
7.2.4
Other?

For Atmos, do you have overheads or up-firing speakers?

Anyone interested in how to add 4 overhead speakers on the cheap?

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Interesting reading some of the post here about sound. How many of you have:

5.1
5.2
7.1
7.2
7.1.2
7.1.4
7.2.2
7.2.4
Other?

For Atmos, do you have overheads or up-firing speakers?

Anyone interested in how to add 4 overhead speakers on the cheap?

Overheads. Monitor Audio C280x2

[50strat54]

With Digital it's so easy to find the movie!

I'll keep the movies and TV shows I love and will continue to cull through the collection to sell off.

If a classic favorite film is $4.99 and I don't have the digital I'll rebuy. Today I bought This Property Is Condemned for $3.99. Yesterday Patton for $4.99. I even buy guilty pleasures like Peacemaker for $3.99.

So I have a huge (750 and counting 35 TV shows) on Vudu and itunes with some combining on Movies Anywhere. So I'm pretty good with movies.

I paid for 3 years of Disney + which came out to about $4.70 per month.

I have Amazon Prime which is about $11.00 per month which I got mainly for the 2 day shipping. Amazon streaming is the only place that has the animated film Alakazam and it's free!

I have standard You Tube TV for $50 per month

I have Locast a streaming app for local channels which so far is free.

If youtube TV increases the price to $60 or more I'll cancel it and just use Locast/Amazon/Disney+

Streaming/Digital is the way things are going

Do I really need to buy the new Lion King on BF or just wait for it to come to Disney +. If I really want to own the disc and digital I'm now able to wait until it drops in price.

Trade in value for Bluray discs is really going down. Stores are offering 10 cents or less for DVDs or flat out saying they don't want them.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by 50strat54

Trade in value for Bluray discs is really going down.

Just curious, how much does one of your Vudu or iTunes digital copy sell for?

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Interesting reading some of the post here about sound. How many of you have:

Temporarily other. Last year I moved from an apartment (5.0) to a house and I'm still settling in. I have a huge detached garage that is and will be a semi-dedicated theater space but right now I'm basically 4.0 out there.

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

For Atmos, do you have overheads or up-firing speakers?

I think I've mentioned this before, I'm in no real hurry to add overheads but will probably wire for them (maybe as far as 11.2) when the renovation schedule reaches the garage.

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Anyone interested in how to add 4 overhead speakers on the cheap?

You had me at on the cheap.

[octagon]

Oh, and as for a topic raised a day or two ago, put me down for 'cable is freaking awesome'.

I freaking love cable. I can certainly see the appeal of cord cutting but I dunno, I'm not sure the alternatives are quite there yet.

I think my company pays something like $160/month for business class internet (which is a joke, actually, Comcast charges a premium for what is essentially throttled internet access) and a decent cable package that includes HBO and Showtime and a dual-tuner DVR.

I'm not sure I could do a lot better going the ala carte route.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

All of my physical media purchases are less than $160 per month and they provide me with permanent access to everything I want.

'Permanent access' simply isn't an option with some of the things I want. Live sports and cable news channels probably lead that category.

And I don't really need permanent access to things like Good Eats or any of the Mike Holmes home renovation/repair shows I'm hooked on. Assuming permanent access is even an option there.

I'm certainly no averse to buying TV series on disc but the prospect of watching TV shows on disc and disc alone seems incredibly limiting to me.

In some cases the wait for a physical release is too much. For instance, there was no way I was going to wait for each GoT season to hit disc before watching it. And I'm not sure I'm going to be able to hold off until Stranger Things S3 hits the shelves sometime next year.

And that's the stuff I actually want to own. There's ton of stuff that I enjoy but wouldn't really be interested in owning. It's mostly older sitcoms and current shows I'm not totally on board with.

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Cable is limited selection, limited time each title is available, and more expensive than all the alternatives. How the heck do they continue to the most popular form of media?

I dunno, by offering a service people want at a price they're willing to pay?

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

It's obviously great for you because you're not paying for it. But I don't know how anyone justifies paying for cable at prices like that. All of my physical media purchases are less than $160 per month and they provide me with permanent access to everything I want.

Cable is limited selection, limited time each title is available, and more expensive than all the alternatives. How the heck do they continue to the most popular form of media?

What is limited about it? I can’t speak for USA but here we get (on a Sky package) HBO content through Sky Atlantic, Fox, UK broadcast BBC, ITV, C4, Sky One, Sky movie channels, Sky Store (latest releases EST), TCM, Retro movies, Talking Pictures, Netflix, Sports, Discovery, National Geographic, multiple news, multiple documentary channels, all the music channels, Sony movie channel, FilmFour (some excellent British films included).
Oh, and in 4K for some content. You can also record up to 4 shows at the same time.

In the U.K., if you didn’t care for discs and top notch quality, you could add Disney+ to that line up and want for very little.

[octagon]

Well what does provide most people with everything they want?

Cause I definitely want that

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Everyone I know with cable still buys or rents some additional movies from another source (Blu-ray, DVD, iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.) as well. Therefore even at $160 per month cable doesn't provide most people with everything they want.

Well Sky is no1 here for rentals and Digital HD. Their store offers quite recent films with most of the biggies up for pre order.
Remember, we are the exception. Most people probably only rent one or two movies per month.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Nothing provides everything. But for the vast majority of people buying all of the movies and TV shows they want individually (either physically or digitally) will be cheaper than buying a cable package.

Maybe but won't these all by definition be blind buys?

Buying every show or movie I might want to watch seems like it might get pretty pricey pretty quick.

Assuming that's even an option for all the shows I want to watch.

Even if I plunk down the cash for Prime I doubt Amazon will be able get impeachment hearing discs to my door by the time my coffee's ready tomorrow morning (well, afternoon, probably).

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Nothing provides everything. But for the vast majority of people buying all of the movies and TV shows they want individually (either physically or digitally) will be cheaper than buying a cable package.

Per year? If I didn’t buy Blu-ray, Sky would set me back £90 for the lot. (The film store is available to everyone)

I pay £78 for my package. So that’s what, around £900 per year.

So with the full package around £1080 per year.

This year I spent £980 on discs (UHD and mostly Blu-ray 60/40)

So yeah, a little less for me personally as I skip the movie package. Very little in it.