Ditching Blu-ray And DVDs To Go Digital

I would not be cool with all digital. I don't have a cap on my usage, but that doesn't mean one day that could change. Plus the quality of of Netflix, Hulu, Crackle and any other streaming service, lack in quality compared to my discs, and lack in selection.

With kids in the house, re-watching movies is a given. You think that just because the power, internet goes out I'm going to regale my family with the story of Star Wars? Hell no, we gonna watch it on the laptop......
 
i still keep my bluray discs , i like the security it gives me in that i'll be able to watch them anytime i want and i dont have to worry about my hd's crapping out or running out of download allowance.
 
Domingo said:
Blu-Ray is better, but there's something to be said for convenience. I like to have the option of both as needed. Some movies need high fidelity and others don't. Especially if I'm just looking for something to watch on a random weekend afternoon.
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Thats kind of why I haven't bothered with BD at all. Does the latest Hollywood remake, Vince Vaughan or Jennifer Anniston romcom need HD to make it any less funny?

It just has to entertain whilst eating pizza and a bottle of wine on a Saturday night.
 
As larger screens become cheaper, the current limitations of streaming will start to become more apparent to many. On my 40" bedroom screen, I have trouble distinguishing netflix from blu-ray. On my 12ft wide theater screen, anything less than blu-ray is practically unwatchable.

I imagine the push for 4k and 11.1 audio will continue this trend.
 
kumquat said:
The very highest Netflix bandwidth is still less than a quarter of Blu-ray. You don't give up 75% of your video and audio bandwidth with no ill effects.
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Very true, and it is a trade off, and one that works for me.

It's also not as bad as it sounds. Netflix HD mode streams in 720p, which is ~44% of the resolution of 1080p, so you really only need 44% of the resolution to get equivalent lower resolution lack of artifacting.

Netflix also uses a more efficient compression algorithm, relying on eyeIO technology than the standard AVC / VC1 algorithms on blu-rays.

So, yes. Under ideal conditions quality will still be lower than a good blu-ray, but really not as bad as "25% of the bandwidth" makes it sound.

And that's not to say that blurays are all perfect either. I've watched many that show terrible levels of contrast film grain and poor color bands as well. The bluray for "I am legend" was particularly bad.

It's a minor tradeoff rather than a major one.

IMHO the biggest tradeoff is the availability of titles, but I can live with that. I just approach it differently. When I fire up Netflix I am looking to watch "a title" and when I do this, I am pretty happy. Netflix really only sucks if you fire it up with your mind set on exactly what you want to watch.
 
How about not buying any movies ever....

that is what I am doing. I think the only movie I have watched twice in the last 5 years has been Batman Dark Knight Rises.

Seriously to me it is point less to watch the same movie more than once when I have a collection of 100s of movies on Netflix or Hulu that I have not seen ever.

That is the future, not physical media.
 
Bone_Enterprise said:
I don't remember the last time I have even watched a movie. =/
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Good point.

It also really depends on what level of importance movies and film play to your life.

To me they are utterly unimportant, and I really don't care about them much.

I only watch movies if I'm bored and have some time to kill. Often I wind up getting bored before they end, and go do something else.

I can't remember the last time I was in a movie theater. Probably getting close to a decade.

Film as a medium just isn't that interesting to me, and is probably the reason why I care less about quality/selection than many of you.
 
All you guys streaming movies from a computer, I currently have a WDTV Live but am forced to stream to it using Tversity on my computer because it will stutter like crazy on a network share. Anyone have some tips for better/easier/more streamlined sharing?

Current set-up -- computer w/ Tversity -> cat5 -> uverse box -> WDTV -> HDMI to TV
 
My wife streams Netflix HD all the time and the quality varies widely from movie to movie. When it looks "good" it looks like upscaled DVD quality. When it's "not so great" it looks like VHS and it makes me cringe to see it on my 60" TV. Plus no matter how fat your pipe is, when the streaming is blowing up on the Netflix end, you are SOL.

The other night my wife kept crying that her movie kept pausing and buffering.... try another movie, if that doesn't work pop a disc in. Or read a book.
 
Wrecked Em said:
As larger screens become cheaper, the current limitations of streaming will start to become more apparent to many. On my 40" bedroom screen, I have trouble distinguishing netflix from blu-ray. On my 12ft wide theater screen, anything less than blu-ray is practically unwatchable.

I imagine the push for 4k and 11.1 audio will continue this trend.
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Good point too.

I have never owned (or even really seen) a TV larger than 42". I don't understand the need for one either, as my 42" screen was more than large enough for my living room. Any larger, and it might just have filled too much of my field of view and been too big.

I had no idea people were using huge 12' projectors...

When I first heard about 4k, I thought "well that's a silly waste, you'll never tell the difference between 4k and 1080p on normal screens at normal viewing distances". But if you have a 12' screen, I guess you could... I certainly will never have anything like that in my home though.
 
Since when is "good enough" good enough for [H]ers? :eek:

It's a sad day with Internet streaming (crappy quality) and non-professional content (youtube) reigning. Long live cinema and Blu-Ray.
 
SilverSliver said:
All you guys streaming movies from a computer, I currently have a WDTV Live but am forced to stream to it using Tversity on my computer because it will stutter like crazy on a network share. Anyone have some tips for better/easier/more streamlined sharing?

Current set-up -- computer w/ Tversity -> cat5 -> uverse box -> WDTV -> HDMI to TV
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Get rid of all that shit?

I transcode which is like killing a first born if I am lazy and don't want to copy shit to the xbox, but I am using media center or the xbox video player wirelessly. As long as I am around the 800 mb mark I can do it wirelessly, Otherwise I have to copy them to disc. Depends on what I am watching.
 
Zarathustra[H];1039539653 said:
I don't understand the need for one either
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Says the guy with an overclocked i7 and 32GB of RAM in his desktop ;)
 
mls1995 said:
Couldn't agree more! Blu-rays have HIGH DEF AUDIO... good luck getting that via streaming.
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Many newer Netflix titles now use SRS 5.1 surround.

I haven't been able to compare it myself though.

I don't have a surround receiver, I just use the built in speakers in my TV, they are good enough for me, and I have no desire to further complicate my TV with more remotes, wires, etc.
 
I'm good with my bluray discs with digital copy of it. The digital copy I get with the bluray isn't nearly as good as the bluray, but it looks fine on things like my 10" tablet or smartphone. I just hate having to pay extra for it.

I'm getting into spending a couple hours to rip my blurays though. I still get the digital copy ones, as I just let my sis use my Vudu acct to watch the crappy versions.
 
Zarathustra[H];1039539677 said:
Well, The difference is that I LIKE computers. :p

I only have a passing minor appreciation of film. :p
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And many people LIKE films.

Surely someone who is such a computer enthusiast that his desktop is mega-overkill mode and runs a personal VMWare host can understand that people who "LIKE" film might have rather nice audio and video setups and appreciate the improved quality that comes from them.

Looking at your gear, you can appreciate an extra 10 FPS in RO2. There are those among us who can appreciate a 60" plasma or 102" projector, and who can appreciate high quality 7.1 audio as opposed to TV speakers.
 
Until Netflix stops compressing the hell out of their 1080p feed resulting in massive black crush...
Until DTS-MA, DolbyHD, and LPCM 7.1 are streamed...
Until the extras are included as part of the digital service...
Until 3D is handled in a proper, L/R alternating 1080p/24-48...

I will still buy Blu-Ray discs.
 
Zarathustra[H];1039539538 said:
(I mean, who on earth re-watches movies anyway? The appeal instantly evaporates once you know what happens...)
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Yeah, absolutely. I mean, why did they even make VCRs to begin with? If you saw it in the movie theater, that's all you need! Crazy bastards wanting to watch shit again. Just unheard of. :rolleyes:
 
roaf85 said:
Get rid of all that shit?

I transcode which is like killing a first born if I am lazy and don't want to copy shit to the xbox, but I am using media center or the xbox video player wirelessly. As long as I am around the 800 mb mark I can do it wirelessly, Otherwise I have to copy them to disc. Depends on what I am watching.
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My MKV's are in the 12-20GB range. I don't want to keep the physical media around, that's the whole point.
 
SilverSliver said:
My MKV's are in the 12-20GB range. I don't want to keep the physical media around, that's the whole point.
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Good grief. If I kept all my movies and tv shows in that kind of uncompressed format, I'd need terabyte storage by the dozens. :eek:
 
kumquat said:
And many people LIKE films.

Surely someone who is such a computer enthusiast that his desktop is mega-overkill mode and runs a personal VMWare host can understand that people who "LIKE" film might have rather nice audio and video setups and appreciate the improved quality that comes from them.

Looking at your gear, you can appreciate an extra 10 FPS in RO2. There are those among us who can appreciate a 60" plasma or 102" projector, and who can appreciate high quality 7.1 audio as opposed to TV speakers.
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Yeah...the myopia there is rather baffling. "Lolz my computer is l33t...y u spend so much on TV?"
 
Stiletto said:
Good grief. If I kept all my movies and tv shows in that kind of uncompressed format, I'd need terabyte storage by the dozens. :eek:
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You're on HardOCP. A lot of us have terabytes of storage by the dozens. If I combine all my storage together, I think I have around 15 TBs and I don't have nearly as much as others. I do plan to upgrade though, as I'm running out of space.

I do compress though. I bought Futurama Season 7 on bluray and I compressed it down to 16 GBs total for both discs.
 
The biggest resistance to this is going to come from a small group of vocal people who dropped a lot of money into what they try to call a "home theater" that basically is just a bunch of large speakers and a big flat panel TV without the sort of science necessary to actually set the thing up so that it sounds good. They sort of cobble together $20,000 of AV junk in a room without taking any real measurements of their environment and say, "ZOMG it sounds and looks so amazing!" then get upset when there might be a loss of quality between a disc and a file (which doesn't have to be the case) that only they can notice because of the stuff they bought. For the rest of the world that's streaming NetFlix from their Wii, losing discs is no big deal and will happen with an apathetic shrug over the fact that there's no optical media around.
 
SkribbelKat said:
The biggest resistance to this is going to come from a small group of vocal people who dropped a lot of money into what they try to call a "home theater" that basically is just a bunch of large speakers and a big flat panel TV without the sort of science necessary to actually set the thing up so that it sounds good. They sort of cobble together $20,000 of AV junk in a room without taking any real measurements of their environment and say, "ZOMG it sounds and looks so amazing!" then get upset when there might be a loss of quality between a disc and a file (which doesn't have to be the case) that only they can notice because of the stuff they bought. For the rest of the world that's streaming NetFlix from their Wii, losing discs is no big deal and will happen with an apathetic shrug over the fact that there's no optical media around.
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You're painting with a pretty big brush there, friend.
 
SkribbelKat said:
The biggest resistance to this is going to come from a small group of vocal people who dropped a lot of money into what they try to call a "home theater" that basically is just a bunch of large speakers and a big flat panel TV without the sort of science necessary to actually set the thing up so that it sounds good. They sort of cobble together $20,000 of AV junk in a room without taking any real measurements of their environment and say, "ZOMG it sounds and looks so amazing!" then get upset when there might be a loss of quality between a disc and a file (which doesn't have to be the case) that only they can notice because of the stuff they bought. For the rest of the world that's streaming NetFlix from their Wii, losing discs is no big deal and will happen with an apathetic shrug over the fact that there's no optical media around.
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...and then when their internet connection goes down, or Netflix goes down(as has happened multiple times in the last month), they're going to realize not only how valuable optical media can be, but how flawed "cloud computing" is.
 
I think the biggest resistance is going to be the fact that majority of the US population isn't able to get high speed broadband that will allow them to download movies in a timely manner.
 
Stiletto said:
...and then when their internet connection goes down, or Netflix goes down(as has happened multiple times in the last month), they're going to realize not only how valuable optical media can be, but how flawed "cloud computing" is.
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If they're silly enough to get upset over an outage, they're probably looking for a reason to justify being an optical disc fossil anyhow. Movies aren't _that_ big of a deal that someone has to watch one _right now_ for the survival of humanity.
 
DeathPrincess said:
The problem with 8k is going to be the human element. Most people (especially older people) have crappy eyesight and can barely tell the difference between SD and HD. SO convioncing them that a decent HD is decent is difficult...
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Since when do "older people" need to be "convinced" that a new, better media format is worth it?

The companies just introduce the newer format. People buy the newer format because it is the newer format. Rinse and repeat.
 
striker444 said:
no DTS-HD or Dolby TruHD audio, until they can give me my 5.1 and in some movies 7,1 in full HD audio I will not be doing this
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Yep, same. Digitial is fine for certain things, but a good movie needs proper audio and video.
 
I don't have time to wait 60 damn seconds for my stupid POS blu ray player to boot up and I am sure as hell not wasting more money on a newer one. Digital plz. Discs are pointless for me.
 
I mostly have ditched DVD and Bluray, except for certain movies where I want to encourage Hollywood to make more like them, like super hero movies. We need more proper hero movies. We've lost too much in our culture without heroes.

These days, many movies portray good men as just like the rest of us, highlighting their flaws and diminishing their value to people. This has lead to kids not growing up with an ideal to strive for. Without this, kids find other things to idealize, they become selfish, and we get more drug use, violence, teen pregnancy, theft, and general lack of moral values, They need to see that a hero can sacrifice their own good, and even their lives, for the good of others, and that they can strive for that same ideal.
 
DeathPrincess said:
The problem with 8k is going to be the human element. Most people (especially older people) have crappy eyesight and can barely tell the difference between SD and HD. SO convioncing them that a decent HD is decent is difficult...
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Very true...even I can't tell much difference between SD and HD. If I do notice, it's a "so what" kinda thing and my eyes work just fine (mostly).

Are you left or right footed?
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When it comes to foot-crayons, I'm ambifooterous...or maybe equally illegible with either foot.
 
Stiletto said:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, why did they even make VCRs to begin with? If you saw it in the movie theater, that's all you need! Crazy bastards wanting to watch shit again. Just unheard of. :rolleyes:
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You guys ran that shit into the ground. The point isn't rewatching movies are bad its just to me if I have 100s of movies and TV shows to chose from I really don't have time to be rewatching movies.

That is the future, discovery.

It is the same thing with music. Everyone is always looking for the next great song or something that sounds similar to things they like. Pandora does this now and the 100 other music suggestion services.

Netflix does this as well.
 
SkribbelKat said:
If they're silly enough to get upset over an outage, they're probably looking for a reason to justify being an optical disc fossil anyhow. Movies aren't _that_ big of a deal that someone has to watch one _right now_ for the survival of humanity.
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You're on a tech enthusiast forum saying how people would be silly to be angry at their tech being inoperable. You should go to an auto forum and tell people that they're silly to get upset if their car doesn't start.
 
kumquat said:
Since when do "older people" need to be "convinced" that a new, better media format is worth it?

The companies just introduce the newer format. People buy the newer format because it is the newer format. Rinse and repeat.
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I think when we're taking "older" it's more of a resistance to change age group of really, really old people. Think +35 or so. The ones that jumped on Facebook to seem trendy and ended up just creeping out their kids. The ones that say, "We walked there in -500 degree weather and it was uphill both ways!" We're talking OLD people.
 
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