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

[crutzulee]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

We watched Doctor Strange last night via Disney+ and thought it much better than the first with Sam Raimi at the helm for this one. Wish Raimi could have made the last Spider-Man. Had a fairly good sound track but like other Marvel-Disney movies the use of Atmos was not as effective as it could have been. Will add this one to the collection.

Back in the day, we waited all week and went ape $hit for 20 seconds of a young skinny Morgan Freeman in a Spiderman costume on the ELECTRIC COMPANY.

Now... it's just all too much...I couldn't do 2 superhero movies in a row... and AQUAMAN was just a steaming pile for me the night before so I tapped out on Dr Strange...
I'm sure we'll order the disc when it comes out... Like I said, according to my son, even the gimped ATMOUSE sound was better than what he felt at the VIP theater he saw it in...

Generally, I hate gimmicky sound. I breakout the old RADIO SHACK meter and double check what AUDESSEY is doing every time I make changes in my theater... I've time aligned my 4 subs and am getting the hang of the REW/MSO software since I've recently added a minidsp to the setup.... but I have to admit that I juice my tactile transducers for that extra bit of warmth that you feel... if that deviates from what a purist would call a true cinema experience, then so be it..IMHO it's better...

[bhampton]

I'll check out Dr Strange 2 on Disney+ tonight.


In the mean time, I have been impressed by the latest HT gizmo the Zidoo Z9X.

I should have bought the Zidoo before I replaced my Disc player but I guess it's a good idea for someone like me to have a disc player. That said, I will be putting my almost new Panasonic UB9000 into storage for future use. It's now a backup.

The Zidoo plays all kinds of files (most of mine are MKV) and has a great interface. Today I tried a few 3D movies on it (via frame packed 3DMKV) and it worked flawlessly.

I have been using the TMDB naming scheme for my NAS storage units and you can use TMDB to scrape for metadata on the Zidoo so the end result is most everything is identified correctly, instantly. The only things not correctly identified were music related files that I named after the albums so I have to edit those meta data manually.

I really like the iPhone app for control of the Zidoo and my harmony works with it also without relying on line of sight because of the smart hub.

I feel like Zidoo has perfected the HTPC. It's even better than I imagined it would be. I can't find any problems with it so far.


-Brian

[crutzulee]

The ZIDOO has been impressing me more and more as I get the hang of integrating it into my system...

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by crutzulee

Back in the day, we waited all week and went ape $hit for 20 seconds of a young skinny Morgan Freeman in a Spiderman costume on the ELECTRIC COMPANY.

Now... it's just all too much...I couldn't do 2 superhero movies in a row... and AQUAMAN was just a steaming pile for me the night before so I tapped out on Dr Strange...
I'm sure we'll order the disc when it comes out... Like I said, according to my son, even the gimped ATMOUSE sound was better than what he felt at the VIP theater he saw it in...

Generally, I hate gimmicky sound. I breakout the old RADIO SHACK meter and double check what AUDESSEY is doing every time I make changes in my theater... I've time aligned my 4 subs and am getting the hang of the REW/MSO software since I've recently added a minidsp to the setup.... but I have to admit that I juice my tactile transducers for that extra bit of warmth that you feel... if that deviates from what a purist would call a true cinema experience, then so be it..IMHO it's better...

That's unfortunate you didn't like Aquaman. I love that movie and the 4K disc is demo material, IMO.


I'll give Dr Strange a spin via D+ in the "enhanced version" at some point. I already saw it in theaters. One thing I am starting to feel about the MCU is fatigue. They just seem to keep cranking MCU stuff out every week.

[crutzulee]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

That's unfortunate you didn't like Aquaman. I love that movie and the 4K disc is demo material, IMO.


I'll give Dr Strange a spin via D+ in the "enhanced version" at some point. I already saw it in theaters. One thing I am starting to feel about the MCU is fatigue. They just seem to keep cranking MCU stuff out every week.

Yeah.. the whole reason I got it was to check out the DV capabilities of the ZIDOO... On that front it did not disappoint. The disc is truly reference material.
My kids are used to me falling asleep during superhero movies... unfortunately, I was awake for every minute of AQUAMAN..LOL...
Someone once tried to explain to me that I didn't "get" that MALIGNANT was meant to be intentionally bad...I now understand that James Wan seems to only be doing "intentionally " bad films....

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

That's unfortunate you didn't like Aquaman. I love that movie and the 4K disc is demo material, IMO.


I'll give Dr Strange a spin via D+ in the "enhanced version" at some point. I already saw it in theaters. One thing I am starting to feel about the MCU is fatigue. They just seem to keep cranking MCU stuff out every week.

I’m the same. Going to watch final season of TWD in October then Cancel Disney+. I only really enjoy the Spider-Man films and I buy them on disc. I have completely lost interest in the tv shows from Marvel and Star Wars.

[kfbkfb]

https://www.foxnews.com/media/paramo...-sensibilities
^^^
I don’t believe in censoring art that was made historically, that’s probably a mistake. It’s all on demand – you don’t have to watch anything you don’t want to


Kirk Bayne

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by crutzulee

Yeah.. the whole reason I got it was to check out the DV capabilities of the ZIDOO... On that front it did not disappoint. The disc is truly reference material.
My kids are used to me falling asleep during superhero movies... unfortunately, I was awake for every minute of AQUAMAN..LOL...
Someone once tried to explain to me that I didn't "get" that MALIGNANT was meant to be intentionally bad...I now understand that James Wan seems to only be doing "intentionally " bad films....

I loved Malignant and have the 4K disc. I think the final act is so batshit insane it redeems everything that came before it.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I have completely lost interest in the tv shows from Marvel and Star Wars.

We liked The Mandalorian and Boba Fett but after 4 episodes Obi Wan Kenobi I canceled Disney+. OWK had stick actors and made with handheld cameras.

[Wendell R. Breland]

We watched The Northman last night via Netflix BD rental and really liked this one. The BD has a Dolby Atmos sound track and was quite good. Will add the UHD BD to the shelves.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by bhampton

In the mean time, I have been impressed by the latest HT gizmo the Zidoo Z9X.

It is a great little box. I do wish it had removable antennas. After following media players (AC Ryan, Dune, HiMidea, Roku, Popcorn Hour, etc.) for many years finally procured the Zidoo. I intend to learn it better after I have learned all the features of the Zappiti Neo.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by crutzulee

Living in Toronto, there are no shortages of venues to suit all needs from multi plexes with all the latest formats to single repertory screens for festival circuit fair to VIP screens where they bring food to you including alcohol... but I still prefer watching in cave...

same here

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

We liked The Mandalorian and Boba Fett but after 4 episodes Obi Wan Kenobi I canceled Disney+. OWK had stick actors and made with handheld cameras.

It was the nail in the coffin. It’s just total fluff and fan service.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

We watched The Northman last night via Netflix BD rental and really liked this one. The BD has a Dolby Atmos sound track and was quite good. Will add the UHD BD to the shelves.

Securing the 4K when it releases here in July.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by alchav21

Well I know they want us to support the Theaters, but the experience was poor. The Megaplex is setup properly with nice seating staircased, with no heads in front. Sound was good, but the Picture Quality looked washed out. That's why I said the PQ is better on my Sony UHDTV. I hope your Projector has a nice bright Picture!

everyone wants cheap and tech makes it seem easy. You don't have professional projectionists any more that can take the time to make sure everything is perfect with every showing.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Projections are all about the future - not the present.

Inflation is sky high. People are hurting for disposable cash. For $20 they can buy a single movie or they can have a couple of months on a streamer. It's a no-brainer decision.

first of all that depends on what we are talking about not all movies are 20$ and some services for 20$ you can't get anywhere near a couple of months.

As to your point many will see it that way because they can't grasp that 20$ every two months adds up to 120$ a year or 1,200$ a decade.... and with inflation and prices constantly going up even more and you can't stop or the
next month you don't have anything to watch. Don't get me wrong it is not just about films, go with a more expensive house because it is 20$ more in mortgages a month, lease a car you can't afford to buy and then splurge even more because it is only 20$ more in instalments so why not get the deluxe package, instead of buying electronics/furniture get financing and have 5 years to pay it off (plus the extra money in interest - plus three years in decide it is out of date so you go back an "buy" new stuff so you are stuck paying the old stuff you threw away and the new stuff ).

[crutzulee]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

We watched The Northman last night via Netflix BD rental and really liked this one. The BD has a Dolby Atmos sound track and was quite good. Will add the UHD BD to the shelves.

... best movie experience for me this year this far... it had been rented twice in my home on demand and I was lucky enough that my inlaws picked up a UHD copy for me on their trek back from Florida... SIMPLY OUTSTANDING!!

[Ender14]

I just encountered a first I hope does not become a trend. The digital code that comes with the UHD of No Time to Die can ONLY be redeemed through iTunes. I have an aversion to Apple and its entire ecosystem so needless to say I was not happy. If that becomes the norm I will just stop redeeming the codes.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Ender14

I just encountered a first I hope does not become a trend. The digital code that comes with the UHD of No Time to Die can ONLY be redeemed through iTunes. I have an aversion to Apple and its entire ecosystem so needless to say I was not happy. If that becomes the norm I will just stop redeeming the codes.

It's rare thankfully. Most codes these days are for MoviesAnywhere.

I consider the codes in any disc to be a bonus and if I can't redeem them no big deal.

In terms of digital movies I think Apple/iTunes does it best. They always have lots of $5 UHD titles. Many people consider ATV4K to be the best of the streaming boxes. I'm pretty well into the Apple system with my phone, watch, computer and ATV4K.

I only use M$ when the app only exists for M$. For example, the calibration app for my projector is windows only so I bought a black Friday laptop just for that one program.




-Brian

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Ender14

The digital code that comes with the UHD of No Time to Die can ONLY be redeemed through iTunes.

Interesting, IIRC MGM, Lionsgate and Paramount had been redeeming at iTunes OR VUDU.