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

[PenguinInfinity]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

So every single DVD, BD and UHD-BD that you own could be replaced? None out of print?

Out of print ≠ irreplaceable. At worst it just means that a disc is expensive to replace. And the best way to prevent that from happening is for more people to buy physical media and therefore have more copies of every movie and TV show in circulation.

De-listed = irreplaceable. If a studio takes down a streaming movie or TV show then everyone will lose access.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Out of print ≠ irreplaceable. At worst it just means that a disc is expensive to replace. And the best way to prevent that from happening is for more people to buy physical media and therefore have more copies of every movie and TV show in circulation.

If only.

[cheez avenger]

Just pre-ordered Naked Lunch 4K disc, and the two Jean Rollin 4K disc titles of Two Orphan Vampires & The Shivers of the Vampires from DiabolikDVD.

I'm gonna sleep like a baby tonight.

[unberechenbar]

I watched Pathaan, a Bollywood movie, in a theater this week and had a blast. Incredible over-the-top action and a rocking score. I'm guessing it will be in my top 10 of 2023. A lot of Bollywood movies don't get Blu-ray releases so I'm glad I was able to see it on the big screen.

I wish I had been able to RRR in theaters.

[bhampton]

Seems like everything is a spectrum.

Some people build dedicated home theaters from unfinished spaces complete with sound absorbing panels and specialized furnishings carefully calibrating the audio and video then seeking the highest quality media. Often adding concession and memorabilia to a lobby area.

Some people can't be bothered to load a disc player.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Not True, Penguin what have you been drinking, even though Wendell says Digital is different it's not.

Providing just a little scientific data with other info to laymen and most catch on about the difference. I visit several home theater sites and you with a couple of other people has failed to learn anything.

Yes there are different Formats but they all come from one Master.

You remain clueless about workflow even tho I have tried to explain it to you.

[gotmule]

Originally Posted by unberechenbar

I watched Pathaan, a Bollywood movie, in a theater this week and had a blast. Incredible over-the-top action and a rocking score. I'm guessing it will be in my top 10 of 2023. A lot of Bollywood movies don't get Blu-ray releases so I'm glad I was able to see it on the big screen.

I wish I had been able to RRR in theaters.

I have not seen any of the Bollywood stuff, but the trailers have me wishing they would see a release stateside. Gorgeous looking movies with insane action from what they appear.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

One time? How long ago was that?

Do you have evidence that says my post was not correct?

[Wendell R. Breland]

For any wordsmiths here, Stacey Spears has asked folks to proofread his instruction manual for the Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark test disc. Click here and see post 734.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

For any wordsmiths here, Stacey Spears has asked folks to proofread his instruction manual for the Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark test disc. Click here and see post 734.

Great document. I'll report any typos If I find any.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by bhampton

We have some professional predictors here so which will go away first ...

Subscription services
Online Movie services
Physical Media

-Brian

I am not a professional predictor. But I will add my 2 cents

I don't see any of them going anywhere. But IMHO it is not important. Physical media is still around but people can't go out and buy the latest film on VHS. OMS is still around but you can't go out and but the latest film on target ticket , subscription services are still around but you can't pick to watch something on Quibi.

It is the individual elements that make up each category that have a limited life span.

there is also a IMHO a difference in what it means. If one day new BDs stop coming out I will still be able to watch all the BDs I have already bought. If one day K closes down people can still watch all the K movies they bought and DLed already. If Netflix shuts down people won't be able to watch netflix but they also won't be paying monthly for Netflix, they can just pick an other Subscription service if they want. Other mo9vie rentals it is the same thing. Where it gets more tricky is purchases that are only accessible through the internet (either because you are streaming or like DIVX which was physical with on-line authentication or DL with on-line authentication) if it is tied to one specific company when it goes all is lost because you can't play the content any more.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

Seriously though, when those services eventually go away, and people start asking for refunds and get told "no, you never actually 'owned' it;" will it kick off a tidal wave of class-action lawsuits?

there have been some that have closed down Cinema now, Target ticket......

if people try class-action lawsuits or not it is pretty useless. You can't force a company to keep on paying millions a month and studios to continue offering the content on that platform for nothing.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I feel the same way, but only for Physical because Disc Failure and Player Failure will do the same thing. It's happening already that Disc and Player Failure are happening more frequently. 4K Discs are Freezing and not playing properly. So you better find a good Tech or Tech Shop to fix your problems, or do it yourself. The Players coming out are expensive and what you have to rely on, but not as good as your Oppos!

Why is it that the only people that don't have a UHD BD player or any UHD BD disks taht only have major issues with them?

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Do you have evidence that says my post was not correct?

I don't question the specs - just the content. Tubi is home to rarely seen content. And of course that is subjective to the user.

IMO - being able to see the content offsets the quality. Remember that 720P is still considered HD.

Best of all . . . . IT"S FREE!!

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

That's not true. People won't be losing money but everyone will be losing access to movies and TV shows that are exclusively available on streaming services. Personally I think that's much worse.

Streaming subscriptions put a time limit on how long each movie and TV show is available. They turn everything into disposable entertainment and don't give anyone the ability to ensure that the movies and TV shows they love remain available.

It's the death of preservation of the arts.

I get why you are jumping to that conclusion but I don't agree with you on it.

Not to pick on any one company but Netflix pays AMazon to serve the movies and content belongs to studios. The only thing they truly own is the Netflix original programing they paid for and own (that does not apply to all all NOP).

If/when Netflix shuts down that will be the only thing of value I am sure it will be sold to an other company. Let me put it this way, when you watch Wizard of Oz It says MGM but it is now owned by WB because the content was sold to WD

Even if the library is not sold it is still not the end of the world. All creative content due to copywrite acts around the world sooner or later falls into public domain. Obviously that is not a fast solution but it does mean that it is not necessarily completely lost (as you said)

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Just a curious post, how many here visit (linked):

• AVS
• The Digital Bits
• DVD talk
• High-Def Digest
• Hollywood in Hi-Def
• Home Theater Forum
• Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity
• Sound and Vision
• Media Play News
• Wide Screen Review

I used to be on AVs but have not been back there since a bit before I joined this place (format war really made it an unpleasant place to be and there was too much marketing BS)


I also visit two Canadian AV related sites

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by bhampton

But, there has to be negotiation and sometimes negations fail.

yes but depends what we are talking about.

If Netflix shuts down, it is almost guaranteed that anything of value (i.e. content) will be sold.

If Amazon continues but shut down Amazon prime then it is slightly more possible that they will look fore a better offer and negotiations will brake down. But don't forget holding on to content that brings in zero revenue is not the smartest of business decision.

but even if the content is split up or shows up on an other service it does not mean the person will be subscribed to that other service.

Now if we are talking purchased content instead of rental the other issue is that if it goes to an other service company then there is nothing forcing the new provider to offer it to you for free.

or sometimes a finished product is simply canned in favor of a tax break.

I heard this happened to a BatGirl movie.

Quoted - "The film had been shot. Postproduction was almost complete. And then… Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug, canning the $90 million production and shelving Batgirl without a theatrical release. There’s no chance of it streaming online, either."


-Brian

now you are talking about something else. No matter how much money was wasted on Batgirl it never became content you saw. The only reason it is known is because it became public knowledge how close to the end it reached. But IMHO if the studio saw the final product and said there is no way to fix it and take the loss as is instead of spending more on advertisement. and decided to write it off then do I really want to potentially waste my time seeing it *


* don't get me wrong I have very bizarre tastes and so if you want to argue that I (or some others) will find it the best thing ever I won't argue it can't be the case.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Only the popular titles. Plenty of unpopular titles will disappear completely because no streaming service will be interested in paying to license them out. Anything deemed offensive could be removed at any time as well and be completely unavailable to everyone.

Once someone owns a disc it's theirs forever. They don't have to rely on continued popularity and social acceptance to ensure that they can keep watching the movies and TV shows they love.

agree with what you said, but that does not have anything to do with your previous post or the discussion at hand. Netflix has not closed down but last year (sorry it is in French) https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/ecr...e-faire-reagir they dropped one episode of "Filles de Caleb" because of PC sensibilities.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Not True, Penguin what have you been drinking, even though Wendell says Digital is different it's not. Yes there are different Formats but they all come from one Master. If one Streaming Provider can't support their Content, then there are others that can. Amazon Prime has most people's Collection, so if they can't support it no one can....But I'm sure they can!

yes it all starts off from one master but none of us have access to that master. So you bringing it up as if it matters just makes you look foolish

If I watch a film on UHD BD instead of a DVD it looks much better even if the master was the same and if Netflix decides to chop off one episode of "Les Filles de Caleb" (which they did) that does not magically get removed from the DVDs people bought 15 years ago.

[PenguinInfinity]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

If Netflix shuts down, it is almost guaranteed that anything of value (i.e. content) will be sold.

That's the important part: "anything of value". There will undoubtedly be movies and TV shows that a small number of people love but no other streaming service will think they are worth buying. Popular titles will continue to be available on other services but unpopular titles will be lost.