For Those Who Still Think Physical Media Has No Place in the 21st century… (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

That's right. I have two functioning VCRs, but the last VHS tape I can think of that I bought was The Phantom Menace and that was 20 years ago! I'm sure there are others that were released after that, but that's the last high profile VHS release AFAIK.

DVD was definitely beginning to take over by that point but VHS went on for more than 5 years so all the big movies during that time had VHS releases too. I think the last VHS release was A History of Violence in early 2006.

 

[Carlo_M]

To clarify my earlier point about stocking up on BD/4K players and the concept of "tech marching on".

I am no stranger to that. I have zero desire to play any of my VHS (long ago discarded) or my few remaining LDs (which have higher-def counterparts) or even my DVDs except for those rare ones that have no HD counterparts because basically anything at under 480p resolution looks...pretty darned bad on any screen larger than a phone. I mean we knew it back in the day. It was just the best we had so we made do. If the choice was a Star Wars VHS or LaserDisc or nothing, we chose something over nothing.

But now that most of my favorite titles have a HD release (not all, but most, and I know my use case isn't equal to everyone else's, so I sympathize with those whose favorite movies have not had releases yet) I have zero desire to ever revisit the older formats.

However Blu-Ray, and 4K even more so, has really hit the threshold of near-indistinguishable quality from the original source material at home-screen sizes (I've seen 4K on an 85" LED, and at normal viewing distances my eyes still can't see pixels) These are essentially reference quality home reproductions of movies (assuming the transfer is done well). So these are the discs that I want to make sure are able to be played for the remaining years I have left on this Earth.

I knew even as a college student collecting VHS, or even in the first days of DVD, that something better was going to come along in the years to come.

It wasn't until HD, and especially BD with it's 1080p resolution (vs. 1080i from the early days of HD) where your eye couldn't reliably distinguish pixels at normal viewing distances up to say the 65" range. And now with 4K you can essentially project that onto a large home theater screen of 110" and unless you're way too close, the average human eye still can't pick up pixels at standard distances. Add in the higher color reproduction ability (not to mention HDR/DV when done correctly) and you're essentially at near-original-reference-quality for $25 a movie.

That's why I will likely stockpile a few players if it seems like manufacturers will be leaving the hardware market.

Even back in the VHS/LD/DVD days I could have told you it wasn't the "last time" I would be buying certain movies. But for all my 4K discs? Yeah, those are likely the last times I will be purchasing those films.

 

[Malcolm R]

You can still buy blank cassette tapes and players/recorders at Walmart, in the aisle around the corner from the vinyl records.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

In 20+ years, there might be something bigger and better than 4kbluray.

Who knows? Maybe holodecks will become standard !

But I don't imagine too many of us will want holodeck versions of The Godfather, Citizen Kane, My Fair Lady, etc... at least to the exclusion of flat presentation as originally intended.

And unless we also get bionic eyes upgrades or the like, none of us will likely benefit from at-home presentation that's significantly greater than 4K HDR10+/DV -- and not many of us can make full use of what Atmos can already do on the audio side...

Of course, maybe many of us will get largely tired of revisiting flat films in general if holodecks become reasonably affordable reality... although sound, color, modern SFX and CGI, 3D, etc haven't (completely) turned us all off to the best of the silent era, etc and I still wouldn't want to watch any B&W classics colorized if I can help it...

There will likely always be a need/desire for faithful presentation (and preservation) and appreciation of old art/artforms no matter how far new tech advances...

_Man_

 

[TJPC]

We had one of those 45” back projection monsters that was capable of receiving HD. I recorded everything we watched on tape so we could ff through thecommercials. I do remember being very impressed with the leap in quality I saw when I first bought commercially made VHS tapes.

Also, on a tangerine, (as a local radio DJ says), why do my DVDs of DS9 and Voyager look so much better than the episodes I see broadcast on our SciFi channel? Is it because Blu ray players up grade DVDs?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Also, on a tangerine, (as a local radio DJ says), why do my DVDs of DS9 and Voyager look so much better than the episodes I see broadcast on our SciFi channel? Is it because Blu ray players up grade DVDs?

It may be more than one thing. The most obvious to me is that cable signals are usually highly compressed, so the signal the Sci-Fi channel is sending out may just be carrying less detail than what’s on the DVDs. And the other thing, as you said, is that standard definition signals need to be upscaled to play on a high definition or 4K television. That upscaling can be done by the TV itself, by a cable box (with cable signals) or by your disc player, and some devices just do it better than others. Then on top of all of that, the DS9 masters are ancient by today’s standards and they have their own quirks which can lead them to not look great on modern equipment to begin with.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

However Blu-Ray, and 4K even more so, has really hit the threshold of near-indistinguishable quality from the original source material at home-screen sizes (I've seen 4K on an 85" LED, and at normal viewing distances my eyes still can't see pixels) These are essentially reference quality home reproductions of movies (assuming the transfer is done well). So these are the discs that I want to make sure are able to be played for the remaining years I have left on this Earth.

I knew even as a college student collecting VHS, or even in the first days of DVD, that something better was going to come along in the years to come.

Even DVD can still look good on current equipment, depending on the transfer. I just bought a DVD of Eric Clapton's 2010 Crossroads Guitar Festival concert, as it was the only concert in the series that I didn't have, it was out of print, and the blu-ray version was outrageously priced on the used market. It arrived yesterday, I popped the disc in my Panasonic 4K/UHD player, and I was amazed at how good it looked on my 70-inch 4K display. I had to double check that I had not inadvertently received a blu-ray copy instead.

I recently got rid on all my VHS players except one, as we have been trying to clean out stuff stored in our basement. I kept one S-VHS deck "just in case", but I cannot imagine ever using it again. My wife sold the other two for about $20 - $25 each on Facebook Marketplace.

 

[Carl David]

Has anyone notice a significant rise in prices for steelbook Blu Ray discs lately?

Here in the UK I have noticed many Steelbooks selling for prices way higher than their normal equivalent packaged film on disc.

It's only the last few months where I have started to see how they have been going higher and higher in price gradually to levels where they are actually pricing me out of my comfort zone to make a purchase and go with the standard version.

I don't particularly favour steelbooks over the standard packaging and I only have a few in my collection but I must admit I do like them and it would be nice to have a few more but these recent prices are not tempting me.

Is it a similar case in the USA?

 

[KeithDA]

Here in the UK I have noticed many Steelbooks selling for prices way higher

Carl, it's just not steelbooks that are more expensive in the UK - ALL physical media is more expensive here

 

[TJPC]

Wow! Try Canada. Amazon.ca wants $65.00 for "Fear The Walking Dead" season 6 on Blu ray! I will be able to get it for roughly half that price in the US, if the border ever re-opens! That's why I have a US post office box. There really is no reason for this difference. An analysist once said that since Canadians are used to this, retailers are able to gouge. They used to print the US price and under that print the Canadian price on books. Consumer anger actually stopped this, and now it is hidden.

 

[TonyD]

In the U.S. Steels seem to typically be $5-$10 higher then their plastic case counterpart

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Wow! Try Canada. Amazon.ca wants $65.00 for "Fear The Walking Dead" season 6 on Blu ray! I will be able to get it for roughly half that price in the US, if the border ever re-opens! That's why I have a US post office box. There really is no reason for this difference. An analysist once said that since Canadians are used to this, retailers are able to gouge. They used to print the US price and under that print the Canadian price on books. Consumer anger actually stopped this, and now it is hidden.

Amazon.ca is notoriously overpriced for US imports, but it's far worse in the UK. For the most part, you swap the pound Sterling sign for the US $ sign on new releases, and that's domestically.

 

[Sam Favate]

The LOTR steelbooks were/are $10 higher than the regular edition 4ks, but the Black Widow steelbook is just $5 more than the regular edition, which is typical for Marvel and other films.

 

[Carl David]

Carl, it's just not steelbooks that are more expensive in the UK - ALL physical media is more expensive here

I have not noticed all physical media has gone up here to be honest.

On the contrary, it seems to have gone down a little.

It's only steel books that I have seen gone up.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

Which is why I jumped in for the Paramount 'Bugsy Malone'. The only other 4k transfer available most places is the horrendously expensive UK Steelbook edition.

 

[PMF]

I happened by Best Buy, yesterday. When I made a comment concerning their dwindling selections of BD and 4K/UHD, the floor assistant concurred.

At only 24 years old, this young man was not just playing along to gain confidences with me, as I was spied to be standing next to their best LG OLED displays.

Yes, indeed, this 24 year old had volunteered a discussion to which he shared his knowledge for physical media, which included a collection of Criterion laser discs and a love for analogue. He boasted that he still buys DVDs when a BD is not yet available. And he favors physical media over streaming, as he deemed the latter is only about conveniences over quality.

At 24, he also spoke of Katharine Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Gene Tierney, James Mason and holds a particular admiration towards Grace Kelly, which included his recent capture of the 4K/UHD of “Rear Window”.

Our discussion ended with one impressive round of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game.

Oh, BTW, his physical media purchase for next week will be Kino Lorber’s 4K/UHD of “The Silence of the Lambs” and Criterion’s BD of “Heavens Gate”.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I happened by Best Buy, yesterday. When I made a comment concerning their dwindling selections of BD and 4K/UHD, the floor assistant concurred.

At only 24 years old, this young man was not just playing along to gain confidences with me, as I was spied to be standing next to their best LG OLED displays.

Yes, indeed, this 24 year old had volunteered a discussion to which he shared his knowledge for physical media, which included a collection of Criterion laser discs and a love for analogue. He boasted that he still buys DVDs when a BD is not yet available. And he favors physical media over streaming, as he deemed the latter is only about conveniences over quality.

At 24, he also spoke of Katharine Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Gene Tierney, James Mason and holds a particular admiration towards Grace Kelly, which included his recent capture of the 4K/UHD of “Rear Window”.

Our discussion ended with one impressive round of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game.

Oh, BTW, his physical media purchase for next week will be Kino Lorber’s 4K/UHD of “The Silence of the Lambs” and Criterion’s BD of “Heavens Gate”.

Wow, Philip, it's almost as if you were destined to meet this guy.

A 24-year-old that knows about and collects laserdiscs? Amazing anyone of Gen Z has knowledge of the great movie stars that passed long before they were born.

That was a memorable trip to Best Buy!

 

[cinemel1]

Wow, Philip, it's almost as if you were destined to meet this guy.

A 24-year-old that knows about and collects laserdiscs? Amazing anyone of Gen Z has knowledge of the great movie stars that passed long before they were born.

That was a memorable trip to Best Buy!

If this guy lived near me, I’d give him most of my laserdiscs if he wanted them. The only ones I’d keep are the Roadshow The Alamo, Song of the South and Raintree County. I guess I’d keep the big boxes of Disney animation and the original Star Wars Trilogy which has some sentimental value.

 

[ScottRE]

If this guy lived near me, I’d give him most of my laserdiscs if he wanted them. The only ones I’d keep are the Roadshow The Alamo, Song of the South and Raintree County. I guess I’d keep the big boxes of Disney animation and the original Star Wars Trilogy which has some sentimental value.

Where in NY are ya? If you're close enough, I'll swing by and pick 'em up.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I happened by Best Buy, yesterday. When I made a comment concerning their dwindling selections of BD and 4K/UHD, the floor assistant concurred.

At only 24 years old, this young man was not just playing along to gain confidences with me, as I was spied to be standing next to their best LG OLED displays.

Yes, indeed, this 24 year old had volunteered a discussion to which he shared his knowledge for physical media, which included a collection of Criterion laser discs and a love for analogue. He boasted that he still buys DVDs when a BD is not yet available. And he favors physical media over streaming, as he deemed the latter is only about conveniences over quality.

At 24, he also spoke of Katharine Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Gene Tierney, James Mason and holds a particular admiration towards Grace Kelly, which included his recent capture of the 4K/UHD of “Rear Window”.

Our discussion ended with one impressive round of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game.

Oh, BTW, his physical media purchase for next week will be Kino Lorber’s 4K/UHD of “The Silence of the Lambs” and Criterion’s BD of “Heavens Gate”.

Sounds like an unusually good trip to BB... though he's very wrong that DVDs generally offer better quality than streaming (in HD, NVM 4K)... unless one's still stuck w/ very poor internet service.

_Man_