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

[Wendell R. Breland]

For many years I have told folks the providers view themselves as being in the collection business and if they absolutely must they will be in the service business.

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by Ender14

I agree Vilya. I have had my own modem and router for over 10 years now. Performance is generally better and you have more control over your settings.

I honestly think that’s what I want. Especially if I can do so from a phone app. My wife is getting all antsy on how she’s getting our home set up and I’m like what kind of internet are we looking at

[Steedeel]

So what is Comcast like? They may be taking over Sky TV and I have a subscription with them. All I seem to here are negative stories.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

Big thanks to Groot for sharing their set up. This post is directed at the pro digital members and I’m wondering what works for you. I know the preferred way to stream is hardlined for most. But I’m curious for those who stream without issues, are you hardlined or wireless, do you rent/own your router or use a modem and router separately in your set up? I’ve always rented equipment from my cable company and streamed wirelessly without an issue. However now I don’t know what my options are, what I’ll be pulling internet wise or if it is fiber optic until we move in at the end of the month. So just trying to get some ideas on the best equipment.

Donster, you know I'm a Wired Guy but now that you are going to move into a new house your options are open. I've moved three time in 30 years, and ran my own Cat5e back in my home in the Bay Area in 1989. Then in my next two homes Palm Desert, CA, and here in St. George I had the Builders put in Structured Cat5e in all the rooms including behind my Entertainment Centers. Never had any problems Streaming always solid connections. Now I would recommend putting in two runs to each room including your Entertainment Center of Cat6a that's rated up to 10Gbps. I know people say that Wireless is good enough, but if you want that Consistent Bandwidth Wired is the only way to go especially with Fiber. My ISP also provides IPTV and their STB's use the Data Wiring. So the Fiber comes into a Switch in the Garage, and all the Ports can connect with an IP Address. So no Modem/Router involved, but I do have my own Switches and Router (Linksys) to connect Computers, Laser Printer, and BD Player.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

So what is Comcast like? They may be taking over Sky TV and I have a subscription with them. All I seem to here are negative stories.

Most, if not all, of the telecoms are reviled.

According to USA Today, Comcast is number 15 on a list of America's most hated companies. They were #1 on this list last year.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...es/1058718001/

[ZIROK]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

So what is Comcast like? They may be taking over Sky TV and I have a subscription with them. All I seem to here are negative stories.

Well I am stuck with Comcast because there is no other choice but ATT's joke 18Mbs high speed 2 wire . I am in a big Metro area SFLa. I have not had any problems with them yet. Signed up for 75Mbs but speedtest gets me over 100.
Service is stable . There are Xfinity stores you can walk into to talk with a person and the stores are run quite well. They can connect to the router to fix things,(only needed it once) Remote control is great , no black buttons all illuminated as soon as you touch it. Voice control works great. they host Netflix and YouTube so not need to switch devices. Web page is easy to navigate. . You can stream anything they have from Ipads/phonesetc with the apps. TV guide is easy to navigate. SO ,My only complaint is the price. But so far I like the service.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by ZIROK

Well I am stuck with Comcast because there is no other choice but ATT's joke 18Mbs high speed 2 wire . I am in a big Metro area SFLa. I have not had any problems with them yet. Signed up for 75Mbs but speedtest gets me over 100.
Service is stable . There are Xfinity stores you can walk into to talk with a person and the stores are run quite well. They can connect to the router to fix things,(only needed it once) Remote control is great , no black buttons all illuminated as soon as you touch it. Voice control works great. they host Netflix and YouTube so not need to switch devices. Web page is easy to navigate. . You can stream anything they have from Ipads/phonesetc with the apps. TV guide is easy to navigate. SO ,My only complaint is the price. But so far I like the service.

Sounds like Sky, I’m guessing Xfinity will be combined with the Sky store/Now Tv which are U.K. streaming services. Thanks for that.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Most, if not all, of the telecoms are reviled.

According to USA Today, Comcast is number 15 on a list of America's most hated companies. They were #1 on this list last year.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...es/1058718001/

Blimey.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Were any of you folks around in the days of DVD vs Divx DVD? IIRC, there was a site called eTown and it did not have a moderator of the forums. Folks called each other every name in the book. The only reason for going there was a few folks in the know would post there.

Somewhere around that time period The Big Picture, AVS, Digital Bits, etc. started coming online and eTown slipped into the sunset. IMO, CompuServe was the best of all public forum places and to this day no one has matched their forum software.

Wendell back in the late 1980's early 1990's, when I was a Service Manager for PacBell, CompuServe was one our Priorty Clients and my Marketing Team Supported them in California. They had Modem Pools all over the State, and I would be awakened at all hours of the night when they had problems with those Modems. All their Modem Pools had DID Lead Numbers, and I would have to work with our Support to Re-Route that Number to a different Modem Pool. I remember that was top priority keeping those Modem Pools up and working.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Groot

99% of all viewing is on a TV. I have a tv in my office, my work space, my living room, my bedroom, my bathroom... I always have something on while doing work and if I want to relax I usually just hang out in the living room or use my couches in my office to watch movies or shows. Or I like to get in a nice bubble bath and watch some Netflix.

I use a projector for "big" release films I want to see larger again or when I'm on my deck and/or backyard in the summer.

Hey Groot, you sound like the Property Brothers with their Big Home in Las Vegas. To me Projector is a sophisticated Home Theater, I just think a Big Screen TV is good for most people for their Home Theater.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I keep saying it's all Digital Bit Streaming, and with enough Consistent Bandwidth Disc Quality can be achieved. I see no difference in PQ with Streaming Digital HD as compared with BD. So Flyry is correct, it's the next Natural Order or Evolution.

Originally Posted by Vilya

Streaming is not the "next natural order or evolution" as things stand now. It has not matched the quality of the corresponding disc format in either picture quality or in audio quality. Multiple sources have attested to these facts; the bitrates do not lie.

Streaming can look very, very good, but it has not equaled, and it has not surpassed, physical media. You, of course, can perceive these as you so please, but perceptions do not override facts.

To be evolutionary it needs to be more than just different, but an actual improvement, as is the term's usual connotation. Nothing has been improved with streaming. Even if streaming ever does match the quality of physical media, that would not be evolutionary, either. It would just be matching what already exists with physical media.

Subscription streaming offers convenience, affordability, and good quality. It could be argued that people's viewing habits have evolved, if you see this growing preference for convenience over quality as a good thing. I, personally, do not see this as an advancement in consumer behavior. Streaming, itself, though, still lags behind physical media in objective quality measurements.

I guess some of you saw that I was gone for a few weeks, I was on a road trip visiting Family & Friends. Hit four Western States, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Idaho. I always talk to people and ask them about their viewing habits. None that I talked with, bought or rented Discs. They used Amazon, Netflix, or their TV Provider. Their Disc Collection was small, and they only had DVD's. So I would say if PQ equals DVD the Average Person is more than happy. Only us Tech people want more.

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

So what is Comcast like? They may be taking over Sky TV and I have a subscription with them. All I seem to here are negative stories.

Hopefully this is a good thing for you folks over there. Because just like digital vs physical discussion everyone’s experience is going to be different based on where the live and their options. So take those experiences with a grain of salt, mine included. Up until this point I’ve been with Comcast/Xfinity so long that I can’t remember what they were called before Cable was always hit or miss. It became apparent when we switched over to our flatscreens. I immediately got rid of the boxes and went down to base cable. Picture was beautiful.

Then, supposedly, the FCC demanded they scramble their feeds or whatever snow job they gave us to get the boxes back in our house and it sucked No, where they were king in Western Washington State was internet reliability. At least where I lived. Which is why I refused to hook up a box to my 65”. Unfortunately, like most cable, satellite, cellular, etc they love their packaging. So they tell you that you can have just internet, but the price will bump up if you don’t have a bundle I have no doubt that it will be the same with ETex or any other provider I choose once we move in. Good luck and let us know your experience once the honeymoon period is over.

[Groot]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Hey Groot, you sound like the Property Brothers with their Big Home in Las Vegas. To me Projector is a sophisticated Home Theater, I just think a Big Screen TV is good for most people for their Home Theater.

Yeah, a decent sized tv is affordable now for most folks and will be good enough for the majority. I have three different projector setups. One is a built in 120 inch screen, another is an 80 inch tri-pod screen for watching movies on my deck and another is a 180 inch yard screen I can inflate and put up easily.

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Donster, you know I'm a Wired Guy but now that you are going to move into a new house your options are open. I've moved three time in 30 years, and ran my own Cat5e back in my home in the Bay Area in 1989. Then in my next two homes Palm Desert, CA, and here in St. George I had the Builders put in Structured Cat5e in all the rooms including behind my Entertainment Centers. Never had any problems Streaming always solid connections. Now I would recommend putting in two runs to each room including your Entertainment Center of Cat6a that's rated up to 10Gbps. I know people say that Wireless is good enough, but if you want that Consistent Bandwidth Wired is the only way to go especially with Fiber. My ISP also provides IPTV and their STB's use the Data Wiring. So the Fiber comes into a Switch in the Garage, and all the Ports can connect with an IP Address. So no Modem/Router involved, but I do have my own Switches and Router (Linksys) to connect Computers, Laser Printer, and BD Player.

Thank you for your suggestions. Outside of knowing my wife is over the moon in love with our new home, owning it outright and the year it was built (1935) I don’t know too much about anything, especially the cable wiring. According to the owner of the place we are staying ETex is offering fiber optic and the latest tech in town, but I won’t know for sure until we get moved in and settled on what that is. I did however just pick up this router thanks to Groot’s advice and Prime Day in preparation

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Groot

Yeah, a decent sized tv is affordable now for most folks and will be good enough for the majority. I have three different projector setups. One is a built in 120 inch screen, another is an 80 inch tri-pod screen for watching movies on my deck and another is a 180 inch yard screen I can inflate and put up easily.

Real Nice!!!

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I guess some of you saw that I was gone for a few weeks, I was on a road trip visiting Family & Friends. Hit four Western States, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Idaho. I always talk to people and ask them about their viewing habits. None that I talked with, bought or rented Discs. They used Amazon, Netflix, or their TV Provider. Their Disc Collection was small, and they only had DVD's. So I would say if PQ equals DVD the Average Person is more than happy. Only us Tech people want more.

Anecdotes serve little purpose except to reinforce opinions we already have. The sample size of our respective social circles are too small and our biases too ingrained for such stories to be considered as evidence of anything beyond that same social circle. Actual sales data tells us what the market is really doing.

If all of these people you talked to during your travels do not buy discs, how is that they have a DVD disc collection, small or otherwise? You appear to contradict yourself again in your desire to exaggerate.

For every relative or friend that you can cite as satisfied with subscription streaming and DVDs, I can name a relative or friend that collects and enjoys blu-ray discs. Our limited observations of the comparatively few people we know do not prove anything; they are hearsay besides.

I know an 80 year old woman with a brand new 65" Samsung 4K TV, and a LG blu-ray player. She regularly buys blu-ray discs and has a substantial collection. She does not have any subscription streaming services, just her extended basic cable package. Do I conclude from this that she is a typical female octogenarian and home video entertainment customer? Of course not; but she has impeccable taste. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she buys a 4K disc player next.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Groot

Yeah, a decent sized tv is affordable now for most folks and will be good enough for the majority. I have three different projector setups. One is a built in 120 inch screen, another is an 80 inch tri-pod screen for watching movies on my deck and another is a 180 inch yard screen I can inflate and put up easily.

What an incredible array of viewing options! You appear to have done very well for yourself; congratulations on your success!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

What an incredible array of viewing options! You appear to have done very well for yourself; congratulations on your success!

And...........she watches films while taking a bubble bath, now that is cool. .

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

Hopefully this is a good thing for you folks over there. Because just like digital vs physical discussion everyone’s experience is going to be different based on where the live and their options. So take those experiences with a grain of salt, mine included. Up until this point I’ve been with Comcast/Xfinity so long that I can’t remember what they were called before Cable was always hit or miss. It became apparent when we switched over to our flatscreens. I immediately got rid of the boxes and went down to base cable. Picture was beautiful.

Then, supposedly, the FCC demanded they scramble their feeds or whatever snow job they gave us to get the boxes back in our house and it sucked No, where they were king in Western Washington State was internet reliability. At least where I lived. Which is why I refused to hook up a box to my 65”. Unfortunately, like most cable, satellite, cellular, etc they love their packaging. So they tell you that you can have just internet, but the price will bump up if you don’t have a bundle I have no doubt that it will be the same with ETex or any other provider I choose once we move in. Good luck and let us know your experience once the honeymoon period is over.

Well, at the minute I have a 4K picture with Sky Q and can record several channels at once. My fibre is reliable compared to the horrific broadband service I had several years ago. I’m guessing it (Comcast buying Sky) will eventually lead to a Universal/Focus pictures and NBC based movie and tv streaming service with sports and Sky store as a added extra. I only get Satellite for the sports mostly as I’m sure you are well aware, I’m a disc person for my films. I do watch quite a few tv series on satellite though. I treat streaming in the same way I treat broadcast and satellite, it’s just another tv service to me.

Like you say, my service will always try to bundle in their other offerings to make phone bills, fibre cheaper. Sky are also mobile operators now so they have the full spectrum of choice.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

Up until this point I’ve been with Comcast/Xfinity so long that I can’t remember what they were called before

Comcast started as a small CATV operator in Tupelo, Mississippi as American Cable Systems. Not sure when American Cable Systems was started.