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

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

One thing they will do is crack down on password sharing - you can take that to the bank.

The tighter they squeeze, the more that will slip through their grip.

One of the things that Netflix should offer in addition to ad discounted plans are discounts for annual subscriptions. Many of their competitors do this and it helps to combat churn by requiring their customers to make a commitment in exchange for that discount.

I don't see how they can tie usage of their services to the primary account holder's home location when one of the main advantages of any streaming service is the ability to watch from anywhere with anything.

People travel and they like being able to access their subscriptions from wherever they are at. They like that their kids can watch while away at school. I don't see how they can tie access to a location when people expect to be able to watch from virtually any location.

As was pointed out earlier by Wendell, a subscriber to Netflix's premium plan pays for 4 simultaneous streams; what location those streams are going to should not matter as the subscriber paid for them, period.

Netflix is looking to recoup its recent losses by essentially penalizing its remaining customers rather than addressing their bigger problems, such as fierce competition and the huge expense of having to continually create their own content.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Curious question: IF SVOD services change their cancellation method from online to call in will you continue with that service?

It should be every bit as easy to cancel a service as it was to subscribe to it.

I don't want to have to speak to anyone to cancel and if I had to do it that way they would not like the earful that I would give them.

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I think many stocks are over rated but it's still kind of a surprise when they fall.

I think TSLA in particular is over rated by 10x. But, there's an army of minions with a crush on Elon that will do literally anything to support him.

I went in on some Redbox stock when it crashed in January, was able to snag a nice chunk when it was $1 and some change, and it hit $11 this week. It's back down to $6 or so a share, but I'm still up by quite a bit. Aside from that, though, I do like the company in general -- I always post about them buying/using their products/services.

[cheez avenger]

Watched Doctor Strange 2 last night in Dolby Cinema and it was pretty cool. Looked and sounded great. It was horror infused, so nice touch there.

Just started watching Bosch Legacy on Freevee (rebranded IMDB TV). Has limited ads, but it's in HD/5.1. I hate ads but I understand that's what funded the making of the show, so if they're using leverage like that to get me some more Bosch to stream, then I'm all for it.

[bhampton]

I'm trying to avoid spoilers for Dr Strange but from what I have failed to avoid it seems the things people don't like about it are actually the things I will probably like about it.

[Ender14]

I actually enjoyed Dr. Strange more than I thought I would. Raimi hasn't made a great film since Spider-man 2 and this was a return to form for him.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

Watched Doctor Strange 2 last night in Dolby Cinema and it was pretty cool. Looked and sounded great. It was horror infused, so nice touch there.

Just started watching Bosch Legacy on Freevee (rebranded IMDB TV). Has limited ads, but it's in HD/5.1. I hate ads but I understand that's what funded the making of the show, so if they're using leverage like that to get me some more Bosch to stream, then I'm all for it.

Did you notice any ads in the content itself? Billboards, windows, background scenery? It’s a thing now with Amazon apparently.

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Did you notice any ads in the content itself? Billboards, windows, background scenery? It’s a thing now with Amazon apparently.

I did not, but they did film it all in Los Angeles and adjacent cities, so that's advertisement in of itself.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I think many stocks are over rated but it's still kind of a surprise when they fall.

I think TSLA in particular is over rated by 10x. But, there's an army of minions with a crush on Elon that will do literally anything to support him.

The Stock Market is very volatile, but when stocks go down it makes for a good buying opportunity. I'm a Stock holder in TSLA, it was suppose to split and a good ratio is 10:1 that would bring it down to where you guys think it should be. Invest in good Companies and you can't go wrong! Don't wait on the Come, just go for the Long Run!...Know the Companies you invest in!

[bhampton]

Seems like either a high number of UHD BDs are going Out of Print or maybe it's a supply issue.

I've seen movies I"m interested in suddenly selling for $80-ish.

One way to find out if something I want is OOP or soon to be OOP is to look at my collection on the database here and the "update to 4K" option and then sort by price. High priced new copies often have low priced used options.

For example Warm Bodies on UHD BD new from $84.99, Used from $11.99.

I just bought the used for $11.99 option. I only do this for something I'm willing to watch right away this way I can be sure the used copy is ok.

If it's something I'm not eager to watch then it doesn't matter as much if it goes OOP.

Invest in good movies and you can't go wrong! Don't settle for the streaming version, just go for the Long Run!...watch the movies you invest in!




-Brain

[slimjean]

Originally Posted by Ender14

I actually enjoyed Dr. Strange more than I thought I would. Raimi hasn't made a great film since Spider-man 2 and this was a return to form for him.

I hate supporting streaming and wonder if Wandavision is essential to see first?

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by slimjean

I hate supporting streaming and wonder if Wandavision is essential to see first?

Disney Plus is the best of the streaming services. You just need to borrow a friends code and problem solved.

I'll likely still wait for the disc for Dr. Strange 2.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by crutzulee

Even with the legendary blacks of a JVC, and having a an all blacked out room, I am a bear for matting each film individually. The JVC finally allowed me to go AT and CIH so that my matting is simply moving black velvet from the sides on velcro now. Having lens presets set at the touch of a button is clutch

not trying to spend your cash but have you thought of looking into remote controlled blinds/curtains. what I have is old and OOP and a bit custom but these days they are not that expensive and some can have presets so the macro that controls the AR on the remote can control the matting as well


ANYONE can walk into the dadcave and say OK GOOGLE FIRE UP THE THEATER or TURN ON THE TV and everything comes to life. Once a movie is selected, it can be paused, played and stopped, channels can be changed all with voice commands. [/QUOTE]


I tried voice commands around 20 years ago. It worked well but

1) loudness was sometimes an issue (need to be loud enough so that it hears you over the presentations sound).
2) one of my pet peeves is people talking during a presentation and obviously this required that.
3) I found it worked OK for me (new what I had defined for each command) but it was a lot harder then a simple graphical interface for everyone else.

Now that was possible at the time because the remote editing software would send commands through the remote if it was attached. That meant that unless I bought a second one the remote was either connected to the PC or in my hands and not both so it had to be a choice. These days I guess the same remote can do both so 3 disappears and 2 becomes less of an issue, but #1 will always remain.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

No difficulty when it can hear me but in the home theater that was a problem at times, voice 79 dB SPL, movie 94 dB SPL, movie wins . Routine home theater use is via macros on the remote. I can push a button on the remote and be in the popcorn room before I could call out a voice command.

agree
forgot speed as an other minor issue.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

They will 100% introduce ads. I thought that 5 years ago and I believe it now. They simply have no choice. They will be clever with it as to not frustrate their subscribers and may even have ads as screensavers when a person pauses a show. I see regular ad slots for a tv show or film and self promotion ads for the method I mentioned. It will be perfect to advertise their upcoming shows and latest mobile games.

I hsve said for years these streaming services are built on sand, studios starting to lose their nerve now and it’s not surprising.

Now,we have news Peacock will force ads in their free tier apparently. There will be a frame around the currently running show used to advertise and possibly introduce interactive elements.

ads are an odd thing. It all depends how they are served.

For example
a) small ads o n the selection browser page
b) a couple of ads before the presentation (like most disks)
c) ads that stop the content every few minutes and play (like broadcast)
d) ads that pop in front of content and blocks part of what you want to watch from time to time
e) shrink the image size and use left over space for advertisement

IMHO a) would be the least annoying/most acceptable and the rest get worst as the list goes on )depending on how we assume each one is implemented). And it does not need to be limited to just one ad revenue selection.


The problem is that at the end of the day it costs a lot in content, infrastructure and maintenance and someone has to pay for it because these companies are in it to make money.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Seems like either a high number of UHD BDs are going Out of Print or maybe it's a supply issue.

I've seen movies I"m interested in suddenly selling for $80-ish.

Invest in good movies and you can't go wrong! Don't settle for the streaming version, just go for the Long Run!...watch the movies you invest in!

-Brain

I was wondering if you guys Collected for Quality or for other reasons. Here is a Video of two Knowledgeable guys Jeff from Films at Home and from the UK Elliot Coen. They are talking about Boutique Labels, where you are going to get the Quality, but the prices will go up. Do you guys want Quality or just Collect for the best Price?

Boutique Blu-rays with Elliot Coen | The Films At Home Podcast - YouTube

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I was wondering if you guys Collected for Quality or for other reasons.

I'd say for me it's Quality and Reliability.

Price most of the time is not a factor.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Netflix's stock was way over valued to begin with so it's no surprise there was a market correction when they hit a speed bump.

the issues are
1) it is still way over valued
2) companies like this the real value is in the stock price. so what you see as market correction (which I agree) hurts the company considerably.

All SVOD Streaming Services will have to offer a cheaper with ads version. Why they haven't already is a mystery. Ad revenue is in the 100s of billions of dollars per year. Business 101: follow the money.

the issue is ads are not a panacea.
1) it annoys to some degrees customers and that can have a negative effect on the business.
2) diminishing returns. The more ad space there is the less advertisers are willing to pay for it
3) passive vs active. If I click on one of the titles on the banner here and buy from Amazon, BD. com will get some cents from it, that is active and possibly way more lucrative. If I look at old fashion news papers or TV watching that will be passive because there is no direct link between me spending my cash and the advertisement.

And no . . . they will not make it difficult to cancel a membership. They will fight churn by selective programming content. Weekly episodes helps.

I don't see them going the phone route but it is still possible for them to make it harder to leave.

One thing they will do is crack down on password sharing - you can take that to the bank.

agree but that is easier said than done. You either make stuff too restrictive and that is a problem for some legal scenarios you don't and that means password sharing is easy.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I don't want to have to speak to anyone to cancel and if I had to do it that way they would not like the earful that I would give them.

didn't you say you use someone else's password? I don't think they have anything to fear.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

didn't you say you use someone else's password? I don't think they have anything to fear.

It was an "in general" comment. Canceling a service should be as easy as subscribing to it.

The only streaming service that is shared with me is Netflix.

I get HBO Max for "free" with my AT&T wireless service and I in turn share that with two people. Likewise with my Vudu account, but that's not an SVOD.

Thus, I give more than I receive.

I technically pay for Amazon Prime streaming as I have been a Prime member since its inception in 2005, but I subscribe for the shipping benefits, not their streaming service.