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

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Apple TV Plus may have more subscribers than Disney Plus

https://www.fastcompany.com/90455731...an-disney-plus

Misleading headline - US only.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Misleading headline - US only.

I knew I could get a quick response from you with that one.

Also most people who had the service free for a year because they bought any Apple hardware keep getting extensions to the service over and over .... so I think only one guy actually pays for it.

(That's me .... but we were paying the same amount for iCloud and Apple Music as we do for 6 services including ATV+)

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I knew I could get a quick response from you with that one.

Why would you think that?

Also most people who had the service free for a year because they bought any Apple hardware keep getting extensions to the service over and over .... so I think only one guy actually pays for it.

(That's me .... but we were paying the same amount for iCloud and Apple Music as we do for 6 services including ATV+)

Right - the most US subs but the least number of paying subs.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by cpr3584

Same here, nearly all my digital copies come from the discs.

As in disc you purchased and have in your possession or from codes that were purchased or obtained free?

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Apple TV Plus may have more subscribers than Disney Plus

https://www.fastcompany.com/90455731...an-disney-plus

Why are you using a 4Q 2019 article? Yeah what you referenced is 01-24-20.

For comparisons look at this image from Feb 2021. Remember it is showing all audio/video content, not just subscription VoD.

[Show spoiler]

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Why would you think that?



Right - the most US subs but the least number of paying subs.

Because you are the biggest Disney fanboy here?

[cpr3584]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

As in disc you purchased and have in your possession or from codes that were purchased or obtained free?

All from discs I purchased and have in my possession. I also have a handful of EST copies in there

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by cpr3584

Disc no longer offers the best quality. Streaming has caught up, its already here. Unless you have a super high-end audio system- there is no difference in the video/audio. Vincent on youtube has confirmed. In a growing amount of cases the streaming copy will offer 4K HDR/DV and no 4K disc release. However- discs remain essential for true ownership.

Seriously I don't care what YouTube personality you attempt to reinforce this opinion with, streaming has not caught up to 4K UHD media. I regularly watch both, and compare. But streaming is more compressed, lower bitrate, and doesn't offer lossless audio. Also you don't need a killer high end system to illustrate that.

The only online service using downloads to storage that is equivalent is Kaleidescape 4K Ultra HD at up to 100 Mbps. Their system is propriety.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Because you are the biggest Disney fanboy here?

I have a tremendous respect for well managed companies who follow the 6P Principle of Planning:

Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Go Disney!

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

I have a tremendous respect for well managed companies who follow the 6P Principle of Planning:

Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

I guess AT&T and WB fail at that.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

I have a tremendous respect for well managed companies who follow the 6P Principle of Planning:

Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Go Disney!

Hopefully they can turn a profit this decade with their streaming service.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Why would you think that?

Because as an investor in Disney you guard the image of Disney Plus like a paid shill.

Other than that, no reason.

Watching Maleficent tonight
Physical Media Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Because as an investor in Disney you guard the image of Disney Plus like a paid shill.

Other than that, no reason.

I WAS an investor in Disney. I sold my stock the day after Disney Investor Day and made a very nice $7500 profit which went right back into our investment account, into a REIT earning 10% a year.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

I WAS an investor in Disney. I sold my stock the day after Disney Investor Day and made a very nice $7500 profit which went right back into our investment account, into a REIT earning 10% a year.

Disney was down, you sold I bought. Now they are on the way up....Along with AT&T and Apple! Stream On!

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Disney was down, you sold I bought. Now they are on the way up....Along with AT&T and Apple! Stream On!

AT&T hasn't been "up" in over a year. It still can't break $30 a share. Disney was up when I sold it: $183 per share.

[bhampton]

Nothing beats UHD BD when upstairs everyone else is competing for bandwidth.

Well..... I guess better bandwidth beats that but fiber isn't available here yet. When it is I'll get it or Starlink if it's good. The need for internet is right up there with utilities. The need for streaming services is not.

Nothing beats UHD BD anyway.

-Brian

[lgans316]

Originally Posted by Ender14

I have a 75" TV and there is a discernible difference. It's not huge by any means but when I walk into the room I can tell the difference between a stream and a disc. The artifacts are noticeable if you're looking for them.

As I've said before, I have no problem watching streamed content but I would never purchase my movies via EST, primarily because I want to have ownership of my content and not be dependent upon the internet to watch a movie I own. There are actually some Film Noir's I would like to own but they are only available on streaming services. Until there is a disc release I will not spend my money.

You should first try some 4K films on high quality platforms like iTunes and MA.

I guess you have a 75 inch LED-LCD TV. Please correct me If I am wrong.

I will take some minor compression artifacts over the glaring LED-LCD artifacts like Blooming, crushed details and clipped HDR highlights in dark scenes. If you don't mind these artifacts then likewise I don't mind these minor compression artifacts.

We can keep endlessly bashing digital but remember there is still room improvement even with discs and we do have discs showing compression artifacts (e.g macroblocking on Studio Canal HDR10 layer) and none of it on digital because thankfully the encoder didn't doze off. Also there are few discs with incorrect black levels which have been fixed in streaming as it's easier and inexpensive over reissuing corrected discs.

I still like physical and as I type, I just backed-up my 2 recent 4K discs (Tammy and the T-Rex and Deadly Games). Just that I like both platforms and don't like to view the world with a glass is half empty mentality.

Btw, I will continue supporting boutique labels (Arrow, Blue Underground, Vinegar Syndrome, Second Sight etc.) as it will keep the format alive.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by lgans316

I still like physical and as I type, I just backed-up my 2 recent 4K discs (Tammy and the T-Rex and Deadly Games). Just that I like both platforms and don't like to view the world with a glass is half empty mentality.

When you have known good back up copies of 4K discs I'd say your glass is nearly full and your hard drive definitely is getting there.

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by lgans316

You should first try some 4K films on high quality platforms like iTunes and MA.

I guess you have a 75 inch LED-LCD TV. Please correct me If I am wrong.

I will take some minor compression artifacts over the glaring LED-LCD artifacts like Blooming, crushed details and clipped HDR highlights in dark scenes. If you don't mind these artifacts then likewise I don't mind these minor compression artifacts.

We can keep endlessly bashing digital but remember there is still room improvement even with discs and we do have discs showing compression artifacts (e.g macroblocking on Studio Canal HDR10 layer) and none of it on digital because thankfully the encoder didn't doze off. Also there are few discs with incorrect black levels which have been fixed in streaming as it's easier and inexpensive over reissuing corrected discs.

I still like physical and as I type, I just backed-up my 2 recent 4K discs (Tammy and the T-Rex and Deadly Games). Just that I like both platforms and don't like to view the world with a glass is half empty mentality.

Btw, I will continue supporting boutique labels (Arrow, Blue Underground, Vinegar Syndrome, Second Sight etc.) as it will keep the format alive.

Yes, it is an LED-LCD. The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2019 which was one of the highest rated panels in terms of picture quality at its release. I had considered going with an OLED but would rather have a higher peak brightness in HDR and this one had the highest at the time it was released. It handles black level extremely well (no grays like on my older LG model) and the local dimming feature eliminates most of the bloom (again, much better than my older LG). I know OLED handles them better but for my purposes I prefer an LCD (yes, I've seen both in action.)

I am not an Apple fan so don't use any of their platforms. Back when iTunes first launched I had an iPod and began purchasing my music digitally. The hard drive on my computer died and I lost all of my music. When I re-synced my iPod with iTunes on the new drive it erased all my purchased music since it didn't see them in the iTunes library on the PC. I contacted their support and they said it was my responsibility to back up my music and they would not allow me to re-add them to my iTunes account. I know that has changed now but it left a very bad taste in my mouth for digital. So I have stuck with physical purchases for everything since. That way I don't have to worry about losing content I purchased.

I do use MA and you are correct, the 4K image looks great but still not to the level of disc. I am not bashing digital, I never have. I use streaming services and redeem my digital codes. I just prefer the perks of disc ownership when it comes to purchasing movies.

[lgans316]

Originally Posted by Ender14

Yes, it is an LED-LCD. The Vizio P Series Quantum X 2019 which was one of the highest rated panels in terms of picture quality at its release. I had considered going with an OLED but would rather have a higher peak brightness in HDR and this one had the highest at the time it was released. It handles black level extremely well (no grays like on my older LG model) and the local dimming feature eliminates most of the bloom (again, much better than my older LG). I know OLED handles them better but for my purposes I prefer an LCD (yes, I've seen both in action.)

I am not an Apple fan so don't use any of their platforms. Back when iTunes first launched I had an iPod and began purchasing my music digitally. The hard drive on my computer died and I lost all of my music. When I re-synced my iPod with iTunes on the new drive it erased all my purchased music since it didn't see them in the iTunes library on the PC. I contacted their support and they said it was my responsibility to back up my music and they would not allow me to re-add them to my iTunes account. I know that has changed now but it left a very bad taste in my mouth for digital. So I have stuck with physical purchases for everything since. That way I don't have to worry about losing content I purchased.

I do use MA and you are correct, the 4K image looks great but still not to the level of disc. I am not bashing digital, I never have. I use streaming services and redeem my digital codes. I just prefer the perks of disc ownership when it comes to purchasing movies.

Fair points. At least you are level headed unlike some of the condescending folks here. So I appreciate you for that.

I didn't mean to demean LED-LCD TVs but my point is we can all keep endless arguing that disc is best (which no one denies) but I find it baffling to understand the lack of respect for those who support digital.