Search results

That’s not going to be possible in the United States. The DMCA law forbids the breaking of encryption - even for making backup copies of material you own - so any company offering such a service would be in immediate legal jeopardy. I can’t imagine there’s much of a market for such a service...

The enthusiast community generally recommends the 820 as a successor to the Oppo.

The high-end Panasonic players are widely considered to be the replacement for Oppo. Seen any new VCRs for sale lately? How about laserdisc players? 8 track? At some point, if sales decline below a certain level, and if software manufactures throw in the towel on discs, the hardware will...

That seems unusual to me. If it happened once, I’d chalk it up to the player being a lemon, but if your players are consistently dying after about a year, with respect, it might be worth looking into environmental factors in your home that could be contributing to their premature demise...

I’m looking forward to seeing it again at home - I think some of the stuff that started feeling long-winded at the theater may play better from the comfort of my couch.

That has already happened. That is pretty much the entire reason that studios have been willing to license content to third party distributors like Kino, Arrow and Criterion, and have cut back on putting out catalog titles under their own shingle.

I think you may be fighting a losing battle pointing this out - it’s never worked any of the times I tried :D If you go back through historical posts on this site, there are always holdouts when a new format comes along. I remember when DVD first came out and there was a vocal contingent that...

I mean, I just sat in rush hour traffic for two hours each way to see Dune in IMAX, so yeah, I’m on that train too.

That’s how I am with “2001” and “Dr. Strangelove” - I have watched all my different versions but I will almost always hold out for a theatrical screening, whereas other movies that don’t show up in theaters nearly as often will get watched more at home.

I love the theatrical experience when it’s a well maintained facility with a respectful crowd. I’m less enamored of experiences that lack one or both of those conditions, and sadly, I’ve found that to be the case more often than not when I’ve went over the last five years. I know that can vary...

I feel like that’s the exception that proves the rule. There might be a few discs that carry astronomical value - you can already get hundreds for some OOP Disney Treasures tins - but most discs aren’t going to come anywhere near that.

I understand the theory and the logic behind what you’re saying, but at the same time this is also true for me: no one will want my disc collection when I’m gone. It’s just junk from my hobby to everyone I know. I’m sure the same will be true for my digital collection as well. It’s the plight of...

We have numerous threads about disc failures. Optical discs were never conceived or engineered to be an archival medium. They’re not meant to last forever. The most frequent cause of failure is the glue that holds the layers together beginning to separate. Pretty much any disc is...

It sure would be nice if that was the case. Sometimes it’s ineptitude on the part of the rights holder. Other times, there are rights issues that prevent that from being a possibility. Subscription streaming is treated as equivalent to broadcast on a contractual level, while digital purchases...

If you’ll forgive me, this is one of those murky comparisons I try to avoid. A subscription streaming service isn’t meant to be the equivalent of disc ownership, so a program vanishing from a subscription service that was never meant to be equivalent of disc ownership isn’t really a fair...

I interpreted Bryan’s post as waiting for lossless audio and higher bandwidth video on streaming before switching from physical, which I get. But I’d just point out that what separates us enthusiasts from the general public is that streaming has already met that metric for them. Most people...

Speaking only for myself, I’m not really moved by the ISP part of the equation any more than I would be if someone said, “books are better than movies because movies require electricity and what if you lose power?” Now that may be speaking from a position of privilege but internet access will...

I think that gets us back to the title of this thread, about how to explain your love of physical media to people who don’t share that enthusiasm, and the answer I gave at the time still holds, I think. I don’t try to explain it. I don’t try to justify it. It’s my hobby. I’m not in the...

One can always nitpick at the way things are setup or what could be done better, but taken as a whole, I have access to more content today than I ever would have dreamed possible in the 1980s, 1990s or even the 2000s. I’m able to buy discs when I want, rent and purchase digitally instantly when...

I don’t understand the point of this question. I’m not even sure what you’re referring to when you say “streamers”. If you mean “people who stream,” that question can really be applied to any media format at any time. In general, audiences always gravitate towards newer content that is more...

I don’t disagree but I also don’t see that as being much different than when one of those titles goes out of print on disc.

Halloween 4 is readily available for purchase on iTunes today - if you buy it now and the rights change hands in the future, the new rights holder may choose not to make it available for new purchases but that won’t affect an existing purchase already made, in just the same way a disc going out...

I don’t think this is really a matter of opinion, with respect. We have literally decades of market research and sales data to back this up. The average consumer - that is, the people who make up the bulk of entertainment spending - have time and again chosen easy and convenient access to...

This is a hugely important point. Discs are merely a container for data. Streaming is merely a delivery system for data. At some point, probably sooner than later, both will contain identical data and arguments about relative quality for high end enthusiasts will be beside the point. This is...

Unfortunately this seems to be a recurring feature of these discussions. Three different categories of streaming get lumped under one umbrella, and then in turn get used in apples to oranges comparisons that in my opinion are less than productive. I appreciate you taking a moment to mention...

There is no one in my family that wants my collection after I’m gone, and frankly, they would be just as irritated having to haul it out to the trash as if it were any other kind of collectible that is past it’s moment. I’ve been weeding my collection for the past several years of titles I’ll...

I imagine the current scenario will also continue in that many titles now have higher resolution/quality versions available on either subscription streaming or digital storefronts than on discs. To give just one example, the James Bond films have been available digitally in 4K for about five...

It would be. Titles sometimes temporarily or permanently become unavailable for new rentals/purchases, but if you have it, you have it. Think of it like a disc going out of print: just because someone else can’t buy it doesn’t change that you already have it.

Yeah, even though I know better, I always seem to get sucked into arguments over whether something is “real” Star Trek. (Hint: it’s all Star Trek.)

It may be age for me as well. I’ve also noticed that my hobbies have become more solitary pursuits. Ten, fifteen, twenty years ago, the majority of my movie watching was with friends and family. Today, the majority of it is by myself, after my wife and kids are in bed. I’ve noticed that people...