I still believe that digital distribution will eventually push Blu-ray out. I definitely don't see any new physical media displacing it in the interim, though I also don't expect DVD to phase out before Blu-ray does.
I still believe that digital distribution will eventually push Blu-ray out. I definitely don't see any new physical media displacing it in the interim, though I also don't expect DVD to phase out before Blu-ray does.
I also agree. I will most likely never get a Blu-Ray drive. It's all digital distribution from a few years ago on out.
I still believe that digital distribution will eventually push Blu-ray out. I definitely don't see any new physical media displacing it in the interim, though I also don't expect DVD to phase out before Blu-ray does.
I agree, but I currently have major issues with most digital distribution. They're either crazy DRM-ified or streaming services. I buy mostly anime, it's what I like to watch. Buying DRM'd anime is fucking suicidal given the way the industry works. As for streaming, it's fine, but I find it still to be dodgy enough that I can't always watch what I want when I want to. So until I can purchase unDRM'd, 720P or high res files that I can save to my personal file server, I'm going to stick with buying discs. And Blu-Rays have fallen in price enough that I think it's worth the slight jump in price for the massive jump in quality.
I agree, but I currently have major issues with most digital distribution. They're either crazy DRM-ified or streaming services. I buy mostly anime, it's what I like to watch. Buying DRM'd anime is fucking suicidal given the way the industry works. As for streaming, it's fine, but I find it still to be dodgy enough that I can't always watch what I want when I want to. So until I can purchase unDRM'd, 720P or high res files that I can save to my personal file server, I'm going to stick with buying discs. And Blu-Rays have fallen in price enough that I think it's worth the slight jump in price for the massive jump in quality.
I haven't yet found an anime that I want to watch that I can't acquire digitally or on DVD that is also legally available. If it's legally available there are cheap DVDs, Netflix DVDs, or legal streaming options. If it's not legally available, there are illegal means of procuring it. The only exceptions are the old, rare, obscure shows I want to watch that just plain aren't available. That third category certainly is not going to be available on Blu-Ray. If it were, I would order a drive today.
I haven't yet found an anime that I want to watch that I can't acquire digitally that is also legally available.
I buy animes I've already seen to rewatch.
If it's legally available there are cheap DVDs, Netflix DVDs, or legal streaming options. If it's not legally available, there are illegal means of procuring it.
As I said, I like the improved quality of Blu-Ray discs over DVD. And streaming can be moody. So until there's a Amazon MP3 style 720P video store, I'm going to buy things on Blut-ray. It's a couple dollars more than the DVDs I already buy.
So with disc based media dying and streaming on the rise, how does this affect the current fight over net neutrality? Are we placing Comcast, and the other last mile providers, in a position of even greater power over us?
Will studios finally get with it and provide greater availability of titles on streaming? The last dozen or so films that I've wanted to watch weren't even available on streaming anywhere. I recommended a TV series to a friend recently only to find that it's not on netflix, or anyplace else, anymore. I'm finding this more and more actually.
Studios prefer streaming over physical media because it allows them even more control over their properties. It also allows them to more easily cook the books in regards to paying royalties.
I have agree, Blu-Ray dying is bad news for people who actually want to own a legitimate copy of said media. They don't sell unDRMed files yet, and streaming is such a crap shoot.
Why happy? How does it benefit your life in a positive way?
This settles a ton of flimsy verbal bets made with friends and acquaintances from college. I won't see most of these people, but I get to sit in my chair here all smug and narcissistic and think "I was right!"
People buy what's convenient, even when the price isn't super low. If I can't buy something online easily, and can't stream it legally easily, I either won't watch it or I'll pirate it.
I wonder what the research has shown about price points. In my case I always consider a physical copy to be worth at least double that of a similar digital copy. DRM brings that price down as well.
For example I will pay $20 for a BD copy of a movie I really like but will only pay $5 for a DRM digital copy of the same. I know that price is similar to the rental price point but I don't rent.
I have no problem paying $20 for a hardcover and $10 for a softcover of a book. An eBook I will pay $5 for but it has to be formated in a way that enhances the experience. IOW I don't buy direct scans without search and chapter breakdowns.
My price points may be different than that of kids because they are growing up in a digital world where as I have lived most of my life in a world of physical goods.
At this point I'll pay more to not have physical goods lying around. That being said, my price point for just about anything, physical or otherwise, is extremely low.
The disc rental kiosks are indeed an extremely cost-effective way to watch a good number of very recent films. I was using Redbox for a while, but I eventually gave up due to a very high rate (about 50%) of the discs being scratched up and unwatchable. The worst part was when it would only fail halfway through the movie. We learned to just settle for whatever was on Netflix that we hadn't seen yet.
It still baffles me. You can't entirely place it on streaming because streaming has only in the last few years really become a viable thing for the general public. I work with the things on a daily basis and even now I still have so many people who don't know things as fundamental as Blu Ray players play DVDs, even when it's on the box in front of them. The only thing I can think of is that people no longer care what things look like. They spend hours agonizing in the store over which terrible Vizio to buy and then watch the standard definition channels stretched out and their movies on the same DVD player they had hooked up to their tube TV. It sucks knowing about home theater sometimes
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It's $50, it plays Blu-Ray. Not much better than that.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/05/05/2258254/sony-warns-demand-for-blu-ray-diminishing-faster-than-expected
Adoption was never rapid, but has moved surprisingly quickly into actual decline.
Will studios finally get with it and provide greater availability of titles on streaming? The last dozen or so films that I've wanted to watch weren't even available on streaming anywhere. I recommended a TV series to a friend recently only to find that it's not on netflix, or anyplace else, anymore. I'm finding this more and more actually.
People buy what's convenient, even when the price isn't super low. If I can't buy something online easily, and can't stream it legally easily, I either won't watch it or I'll pirate it.
Blu-Ray is the opposite of convenience.
For example I will pay $20 for a BD copy of a movie I really like but will only pay $5 for a DRM digital copy of the same. I know that price is similar to the rental price point but I don't rent.
I have no problem paying $20 for a hardcover and $10 for a softcover of a book. An eBook I will pay $5 for but it has to be formated in a way that enhances the experience. IOW I don't buy direct scans without search and chapter breakdowns.
My price points may be different than that of kids because they are growing up in a digital world where as I have lived most of my life in a world of physical goods.
Damn, that's harsh.