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

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Well, Digital HD has grown just 4% this year so far. It was double figures at the same stage last year. That is not healthy. If Digital does eventually win out, it won't be a collectors market. It will be rental with a few hangers on. Think I will stick with Blu-Ray thanks.

What's going down is the sales of Physical Disc, Blu-ray and especially DVD. The primary revenue stream for The Studios. Sales of Digital HD are soring, spurred by Movies like The Martian, Jurassic World, and Star Wars. This is according to Variety. So keep buying those Blu-rays, The Studios will Love You.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

quality has everything to do with movies. Films like The Revenant for example? Amazing experience projected or on a large tv. 4K is even better I hear and I will be going that route soon.

You're right, Revenant was Fantastic, I Streamed it to my Big Screen DLP Months ago. The beginning scenes, where they are walking through the water are Amazing....Sounds coming from everywhere.

[Russ103]

Quite an interesting topic, and timely, as this is something I am currently dealing with.

For the longest time, I've been "physical media only. F*ck digital." That mentality is now changing for me.

My main issue now comes down to space. I just don't have the physical space to house every film and TV show I want. It's simply not a practical possibility.

I am perfectly aware the quality differences between a Blu-ray and an iTunes HD file, but for some things it just doesn't matter. I've decided that I'll now only buy Blu's for titles that truly deserve it. Where PQ is just as important as everything else.

- Batman V Superman; The Force Awakens; The Martian; The Life of Pi? They deserve Blu-Ray quality.

- Next season of Big Bang Theory, or Always Sunny in Philadelphia?? Not so much. I'm pretty sure iTunes 1080p will suffice. Cinematography isn't high on their production list.


I've been through it with vinyl. As great as music via wax can be, the sound is only as good as the combination of recording, mastering, and then pressing ... and even then, it's only comes out with a ridiculously high quality system. Half these dudes talking about "vinyl sounds better" listen to it through some $300 trendy mobile turntable. Trust me. Your vinyl doesn't sound better through that shit. I don't care how high quality the pressing is.

Blu-Ray's are no different. Even the best home theatre setups can't mask a crappy transfer. Actually, in that instance, the better the system, the worse it looks/sounds.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Rocket Richard

I find Netflix looks great on my 80” TV. Not as great as Blu-ray, but still a great experience.

We all know it’s a matter of time till 4k streaming will be the norm, it’s already on Netflix.

Data caps anyone?

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Russ103

Quite an interesting topic, and timely, as this is something I am currently dealing with.

For the longest time, I've been "physical media only. F*ck digital." That mentality is now changing for me.

My main issue now comes down to space. I just don't have the physical space to house every film and TV show I want. It's simply not a practical possibility.

I am perfectly aware the quality differences between a Blu-ray and an iTunes HD file, but for some things it just doesn't matter. I've decided that I'll now only buy Blu's for titles that truly deserve it. Where PQ is just as important as everything else.

- Batman V Superman; The Force Awakens; The Martian; The Life of Pi? They deserve Blu-Ray quality.

- Next season of Big Bang Theory, or Always Sunny in Philadelphia?? Not so much. I'm pretty sure iTunes 1080p will suffice. Cinematography isn't high on their production list.


I've been through it with vinyl. As great as music via wax can be, the sound is only as good as the combination of recording, mastering, and then pressing ... and even then, it's only comes out with a ridiculously high quality system. Half these dudes talking about "vinyl sounds better" listen to it through some $300 trendy mobile turntable. Trust me. Your vinyl doesn't sound better through that shit. I don't care how high quality the pressing is.

Blu-Ray's are no different. Even the best home theatre setups can't mask a crappy transfer. Actually, in that instance, the better the system, the worse it looks/sounds.

In my book, that is selling out. Just my opinion.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

You're right, Revenant was Fantastic, I Streamed it to my Big Screen DLP Months ago. The beginning scenes, where they are walking through the water are Amazing....Sounds coming from everywhere.

Incredible on Blu-Ray. Best way to view it.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

What's going down is the sales of Physical Disc, Blu-ray and especially DVD. The primary revenue stream for The Studios. Sales of Digital HD are soring, spurred by Movies like The Martian, Jurassic World, and Star Wars. This is according to Variety. So keep buying those Blu-rays, The Studios will Love You.

They are not soaring. That type of growth shows very little future prospect. That fact of the matter is if you take away Netflix, Amazon and Hulu those (why are tv style services included anyway?) figures look very different. Streaming is booming yes, but Netflix and Amazon (or some newcomer) will be the victor. What that means for home cinema, I have no idea.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Zu Nim

Digital has already won. Growth is still growth. In 2012, physical revenue was $8.5B and digital revenue was $5.2B ($800M in sales, $2B in VOD, and $2.4B in subscriptions). In 2015, physical revenue was $6.1B and digital revenue was $8.9B ($1.9B in sales, $1.9B in VOD, and $5.1B in subscriptions).

Physical sales have lost $2.4B while digital has gained $3.7B. In three years. There's no indication that trend is changing.

Exactly. Tv style subscriptions are bundled in. That is not a fair comparison. EST is not at a level where it can provide a healthy picture. The growth is simply not there. Now, if you are saying Netflix is the future, I would agree but not for movies. Do you see? That huge amount in subscriptions is supporting the entire Digital realm. EST going from double figures to single figures is alarming. It is not what the studios were hoping for IMO. Of course disc sales are down, DVD has been around for a long long time.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by tiger_qc

I don't think the end of physical is near (CDs still exist!!! ) but digital will keep getting bigger year after year and soon the stores movie selection will be as small as their music selection, some folks around here just don't want to believe it but it's coming.

If you mean Netflix, again I agree. The growth for Digital HD is going to fall pretty soon. The studios will get bored when that happens. Don't forget, Bluray is boosting Digital with UV codes as well. That little cash cow will die if you guys get your wish and Bluray becomes obsolete.

[knight17]

I have always gotten a great deal of satisfaction in owning a physical collection and so up front, I am going to say that I am not at the very least interested in moving on to a digital collection.

I do add some of the UV codes that come with the discs but that is as far as I would go.

This basically boils down to individual preference, so I am not here to debate on the two.

Space will not be a factor if the Blu rays are stored in boxes and so on. Displaying them on shelves on the other hand is when it will take up a lot of space.

I forgot to mention that there are still a vast majority of countries out there that have pretty poor internet connection speeds and/or data caps that throttle bandwidth after a minimum amount.

So physical media will not simply vanish but alas what it means is that studios won't be bothered in remastering titles that they feel wouldn't do so well (Think of Knight Rider for only the Japanese market etc)


All I can say is that I will be buying Blu rays and even UHD Blu rays for years to come and I am under 30 by the way. I started purchasing them only from around October of last year and it has been a fun ride so far.

[Rocket Richard]

Originally Posted by knight17

there are still a vast majority of countries out there that have pretty poor internet connection speeds and/or data caps that throttle bandwidth after a minimum amount.

True, for now. But even 3rd world countries are moving into the modern age. Instead of land lines, they all have cell phones now. So now they don't use land lines for internet, so they are starting to get good speeds and it will only get faster.

[Rixx]

Originally Posted by Zu Nim

Digital has already won. Growth is still growth. In 2012, physical revenue was $8.5B and digital revenue was $5.2B ($800M in sales, $2B in VOD, and $2.4B in subscriptions). In 2015, physical revenue was $6.1B and digital revenue was $8.9B ($1.9B in sales, $1.9B in VOD, and $5.1B in subscriptions).

Physical sales have lost $2.4B while digital has gained $3.7B. In three years. There's no indication that trend is changing.

Aren't those US data only, the last time I checked there was a big old world beyond Americas borders. Please can you provide global physical media revenue v global digital revenue before claiming one format has won.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Rixx

Aren't those US data only, the last time I checked there was a big old world beyond Americas borders. Please can you provide global physical media revenue v global digital revenue before claiming one format has won.

Germany and U.K are strong Bluray markets for starters. Anyway, it's all moot my friend, we won't get a realistic view until Netflix and Amazon are taken out of th equation. They shouldn't be in there if we want a fair look at things.

[tiger_qc]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

If you mean Netflix, again I agree. The growth for Digital HD is going to fall pretty soon. The studios will get bored when that happens. Don't forget, Bluray is boosting Digital with UV codes as well. That little cash cow will die if you guys get your wish and Bluray becomes obsolete.

It's not a wish, it's an observation. I wouldn't mind go to my local BestBuy and have 10 rows reserved for CDs, I just wouldn't walk through them.

[SixSpeedSamurai]

I register my UV's and I get cheap or free digitals, but I prefer physical movies as they are not limited to just 5.1 lossy audio. The masses have spoken though and that is good enough for them. We are to be the vinyl collectors of this generation.

I still buy CD's as well, I do a few digital purchases when I want a song or two, but I like to have the CD. I have a 2 minute drive to work, it would take me a quarter of that time to do the bluetooth in my car to play music off of my phone. Just faster to pop in the CD. I rip all my music to my work laptop though and listen to it digital there.

I still feel you don't "own" digital media. Relying on internet and UV to be working to watch your movies doesn't seem right to me.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Rocket Richard

True, for now. But even 3rd world countries are moving into the modern age. Instead of land lines, they all have cell phones now. So now they don't use land lines for internet, so they are starting to get good speeds and it will only get faster.

But that is mobile viewing you are talking about. You have inadvertently backed up my argument about Digital accelerating the move to movies on mobile phones becoming the norm. That is some horrible nasty shit future right there.

[V40LLY]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

But that is mobile viewing you are talking about. You have inadvertently backed up my argument about Digital accelerating the move to movies on mobile phones becoming the norm. That is some horrible nasty shit future right there.

My Apple TV works great.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by V40LLY

My Apple TV works great.

Wihout a land line?

[tiger_qc]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

But that is mobile viewing you are talking about. You have inadvertently backed up my argument about Digital accelerating the move to movies on mobile phones becoming the norm. That is some horrible nasty shit future right there.

He's talking about wifi and wireless internet.

[V40LLY]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Wihout a land line?

Does your Blu-ray player work during a power failure. If my my internet connection went down, temporarily, I would do without, until it was back on again.