General Discussion Digital Movie/TV Deals (1 Viewer)

[Osato]

My Dr Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs is HD on ITunes.

Right. Same here on girl bombs.
Dr goldfoot and the bikini machine is sd only.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Definitely some excellent titles on sale since Tues, including a few that have never or very rarely ever dropped to $5 before.

The Dish is one such, and there hasn't been any BD release so far either.

I also bought these so far (and debating several others... in part because I'd like to wait for actual 4K releases for MA-eligible titles that seem likely enough):

Mystery Science Theater 3K
War of the Worlds (1953) in 4K
Innerspace
Repo Man
Under the Skin in 4K
eXistenZ

Plus a couple lesser known, solid (non-Disney) animation titles.

_Man_

 

[Todd Erwin]

Definitely some excellent titles on sale since Tues, including a few that have never or very rarely ever dropped to $5 before.

The Dish is one such, and there hasn't been any BD release so far either.

I also bought these so far (and debating several others... in part because I'd like to wait for actual 4K releases for MA-eligible titles that seem likely enough):

Mystery Science Theater 3K
War of the Worlds (1953) in 4K
Innerspace
Repo Man
Under the Skin in 4K
eXistenZ

Plus a couple lesser known, solid (non-Disney) animation titles.

_Man_

Be aware that Innerspace is an older transfer, taken from the HD master created for the DVD released in 2000. Director Joe Dante supervised a new 4K scan nearly five years ago that was the basis of that year's Blu-ray release that has yet to appear on any digital platform (the newer scan is more vibrant and has the 2015-era Warner logo at the beginning).

 

[Robert Crawford]

Be aware that Innerspace is an older transfer, taken from the HD master created for the DVD released in 2000. Director Joe Dante supervised a new 4K scan nearly five years ago that was the basis of that year's Blu-ray release that has yet to appear on any digital platform (the newer scan is more vibrant and has the 2015-era Warner logo at the beginning).

Another example of how the studios are screwing up the digital format as they've done with previous home video formats.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Another example of how the studios are screwing up the digital format as they've done with previous home video formats.

Wonder if this is intentional at least in Warner's case... to maximize their sales in both formats combined.

I'd be ok w/ that if they actually made it more clear which transfers we get on digital...

Guess I might just ask for a refund. Apple's been getting plenty of business from me and should be happy to accommodate...

_Man_

 

[Robert Crawford]

Wonder if this is intentional at least in Warner's case... to maximize their sales in both formats combined.

I'd be ok w/ that if they actually made it more clear which transfers we get on digital...

Guess I might just ask for a refund. Apple's been getting plenty of business from me and should be happy to accommodate...

_Man_

Of course, it's intentional. They know what they're doing.

 

[TonyD]

Innerspace is on hbo and it looks like an old fuzzy dvd.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Of course, it's intentional. They know what they're doing.

I agree, totally. Not really.....

I recently opened a case with Universal to request WHY there are NO special features included on MOST of their digital releases, and if they are, they can usually be found and viewed ONLY on the Apple Tv app on an Apple TV device, but not on other services. I even included screen shots showing the availability of special features on Apple TV, but not on Vudu, FandangoNow, etc.

In their infinite wisdom, they referred me to...




Apple support, claiming that it is an iTunes issue. WTH?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I can’t speak to the process in 2020, but ten years ago it was an arduous, time consuming process to submit digital masters to the streaming service, and it was expected that the associated costs would all be borne by the entity providing the content.

I’m not convinced that studios hold back new masters indefinitely specifically to give discs a leg up. Given that a catalog title can sell several hundred to several thousand copies, while a digital version between purchases and subscription streaming will reach a far larger and more lucrative audience, I don’t think that makes sense from a business perspective. It may be more of a case where home video departments are sparsely manned, resources are tight, digital deals are handled by another unit of the company, and these upgrades just kinda fall through the cracks.

In my experience, it’s far more often the fault of inertia rather than clever scheming.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I can’t speak to the process in 2020, but ten years ago it was an arduous, time consuming process to submit digital masters to the streaming service, and it was expected that the associated costs would all be borne by the entity providing the content.

I’m not convinced that studios hold back new masters indefinitely specifically to give discs a leg up. Given that a catalog title can sell several hundred to several thousand copies, while a digital version between purchases and subscription streaming will reach a far larger and more lucrative audience, I don’t think that makes sense from a business perspective. It may be more of a case where home video departments are sparsely manned, resources are tight, digital deals are handled by another unit of the company, and these upgrades just kinda fall through the cracks.

In my experience, it’s far more often the fault of inertia rather than clever scheming.

I don't doubt you re: most other studios, but Warner may be one real exception to that likelihood.

They certainly seem generally more calculated, well organized and practiced in such than the others. Again, I don't begrudge them if so, just think/wish they should be more transparent about what we're actually getting when we buy is all.

_Man_

 

[Robert Crawford]

Coming to America is $4.99 on iTunes and with it coming out on 4K disc in less than three weeks, it's going to get upgraded from HD to 4K.

 

[Osato]

The saint
Ferris buellers day off

Both $5

 

[Todd Erwin]

Another example of how the studios are screwing up the digital format as they've done with previous home video formats.

Innerspace is on hbo and it looks like an old fuzzy dvd.

So, yesterday I contacted Warner Bros customer service regarding that 20 year old transfer of Innerspace that appears across nearly all digital platforms, and if those services would be upgrading to the newer and better transfer that was used on the Blu-ray release that came out in 2015. This was their response:

Hi Todd,

Thanks for contacting Warner Bros. Digital Support. We appreciate your interest in Innerspace.

Unfortunately, we do not have information as to when or if titles will be released in certain formats on different digital platforms. Thus, we are unable to provide an answer to your question.

We want to thank you again for contacting us. We hope you have a great day.

Best regards,

Brian

 

[Osato]

So, yesterday I contacted Warner Bros customer service regarding that 20 year old transfer of Innerspace that appears across nearly all digital platforms, and if those services would be upgrading to the newer and better transfer that was used on the Blu-ray release that came out in 2015. This was their response:

Typical, but at least you let them know

 

[Todd Erwin]

Typical, but at least you let them know

Typical run-around, you mean.

 

[JohnRice]

Dark Star HD for $5.

 

[Tino]

Typical run-around, you mean.

Were you really expecting a different response?

 

[Osato]

Were you really expecting a different response?

Right. I meant they will respond but only a canned response stating we hear but nothing will change for now.

Hopefully it will change over time.

When I receive those responses I sometimes write back kindly and ask for more information or that my request be sent on to management. It may not change anything but at least I feel I’ve done all that I can do. Within reason of course.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

So, yesterday I contacted Warner Bros customer service regarding that 20 year old transfer of Innerspace that appears across nearly all digital platforms, and if those services would be upgrading to the newer and better transfer that was used on the Blu-ray release that came out in 2015. This was their response:

FWIW, I tried doing some quick comparisons of the first quarter or so of it across the 3 major MA-connected services, and seems like Vudu might be (marginally) best for this flick... and also 9 to 5, which I also bought a week ago from iTunes for just $3.


I'm currently debating a batch of Warner Archive BD purchases (between DeepDiscount and expected upcoming Warner sale) some of which may depend on how the digital versions compare (and whether I might want to wait for a sale for some of those digitals).

I'm aware I should definitely go w/ the BD for The Letter, so I had previously passed on a $5 iTunes sales. But not sure about some of the rest -- I'd love to just buy them all on BD at $11-12 each, but not sure I really should all things considered...

Here are ones I already bought the digital, but are considering the WA BD:

*Cat on a Hot Tin Roof -- haven't gotten around to watching yet
*Streetcar Named Desire -- ditto
*Whatever Happened to Baby Jane -- ditto
*Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf -- ditto
*Papillon -- ditto
*I Confess -- ditto
*Cabaret -- ditto, except I did sample much of it, which largely looks very soft on iTunes, but maybe the BD will be similar

There are some others I'm considering, but I don't have digitals for:

*Victor/Victoria -- most likely get the BD
*Meet Me in St Louis -- ditto
*Days of Wine and Roses
*Thin Man
*Possessed
*Joe vs the Volcano
*A Little Romance
*Ladyhawke
*Unsinkable Molly Brown
*Silk Stockings
*Les Girls

I'll probably also get The Wrong Man BD since that's supposed to be substantially better than the digital versions -- I do already have the digital for this.

Seems like most Warner Archive BDs (at least those that aren't simply reissues of old non-WA releases) are significantly better than the available digitals though not always clear by how much... Of the above, seems Papillion and Cabaret might not benefit much from the BD since the WA versions are just reissues. Might be true of Streetcar and one or two others too.

There are others I might consider, but those I might defer to another time beyond this season...

Yeah, I'm very late to the Warner Archive "game"...

Thanks much for any input... especially since this is somewhat OT (though not completely so)...

_Man_

 

[Mark-P]

Blindfold is $4.99. Given that Matt’s review states that the Kino Blu-ray hasn’t had much digital cleanup and another review I read said that it was the same as the older UK Blu-ray, I think it’s a pretty safe bet that the digital version is the same transfer.

A Cry in the Dark is also $4.99. Anybody know if it is in its OAR of 2.35:1?