Sony to stop distributing discs in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (1 Viewer)

[YANG]

Sony Pictures Entertainment stellt den Vertrieb von Discs in Deutschland ein

Eine Enttäuschung für Anhänger der Disc: Der Vertrieb Sony Pictures Entertainment stellt den Vertrieb in DACH-Region ein.

www.4kfilme.de

 

[Capt D McMars]

Sony Pictures Entertainment stellt den Vertrieb von Discs in Deutschland ein

Eine Enttäuschung für Anhänger der Disc: Der Vertrieb Sony Pictures Entertainment stellt den Vertrieb in DACH-Region ein.

www.4kfilme.de

Don't read German, can you para phrase this for me please

 

[Kyle_D]

Don't read German, can you para phrase this for me please

Sony is going to stop distributing discs in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland starting June 30, 2023.

Mods: Might be helpful to change the thread title.

 

[benbess]

yikes

 

[willyTass]

We’ll always have Paris

 

[Worth]

It looks like they won't distribute discs themselves, but will licence them out to other companies.

 

[Jeffrey D]

The writing seems to be on the wall- we’re not going to be able to get new films on physical media in the near future. Sad. Oh, well- I have over a thousand films, and many titles I haven’t gotten to yet.

 

[YANG]

...Mods: Might be helpful to change the thread title.

the mods have my support!
as i couldn't think of better words for the thread title.

 

[Malcolm R]

I wouldn't blame the studio. Blame the consumers who aren't interested in buying/owning physical media anymore.

There will likely always be boutique labels that are interested in licensing product. The bigger question in the future is if the studios will be willing to license titles, spend the staff time/resources/money needed to negotiate these licenses, and accept what fees the small labels are willing to pay for the rights. There's likely a tipping point at which it's just not worth it for the studios to go through this process, either.

 

[Kyle_D]

There will likely always be boutique labels that are interested in licensing product.

The article states that "Plaion Pictures (formerly Koch Media)" is taking over distribution from Sony in the region.

This is similar to Universal taking over disc distribution from Warner in Europe, while Warner distributes Universal domestically.

It's not great news, but it's not the end of the format yet either. It's just more writing on the wall.

 

[Joe Wong]

It's a pity that discs are getting less popular, especially for those (like me) who value the higher quality that physical media currently has over streaming.

I can understand CDs losing their appeal because one can now buy and download similar or higher quality versions of the same music. But with films, streaming (at least technically) can't compete with physical. Nowhere was this more evident for me than when we watched Avatar on streaming just prior to The Way of Water's release last December. I had the 2010 blu-ray, but out of convenience (and because the disc was stored in a box in the basement) I just put it on streaming. Luckily, as it turned out, my internet service dropped for some reason in the middle of the film and I had to go hunt for the blu-ray. When we hit play, it was a very noticeable improvement, both in the sound and picture. More robust, more vivid, more detail.

 

[JohnRice]

the mods have my support!
as i couldn't think of better words for the thread title.

Is it really that difficult?

How about "Sony to stop distributing discs in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland"?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Is it really that difficult?

How about "Sony to stop distributing discs in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland"?

Thanks, John. Edited the thread title.

 

[cineMANIAC]

It looks like they won't distribute discs themselves, but will licence them out to other companies.

So, nothing to see here. Boutiques do a better job overall anyway but Sony is notorious for not allowing outside parties to commission their own extras so that could be a hindrance.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I have bought many discs from Germany (thought the Germans were big disc buyers) and France, who fortunately are not mentioned.

 

[JC Riesenbeck]

The writing seems to be on the wall- we’re not going to be able to get new films on physical media in the near future. Sad. Oh, well- I have over a thousand films, and many titles I haven’t gotten to yet.

I have over 2000 4k's and Blu Rays. I've watched close to three hundred movies since putting together my home theater three years ago. So no matter what happens, I'm still good. (I watched a lot more before the theater, though) I'd probably have watched even more than that, but having been in and out of the hospital quite a bit kind of puts a cramp in your movie-watching.

 

[jcroy]

Lets hope Sony DADC does not close down their giant cd/dvd/bluray disc manufacturing facility in Salzburg, Austria as a result of this downsizing.

Discs manufactured at this Salzburg plant, will have ipi code 94** etched into the first transparent ring away from the center of the cd/dvd/bluray disc. (** are alphanumeric wild card characters).

Over the past 20+ years or so, discs manufactured at this Salzburg plant were some of the more reliable ones for quality control.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Don't read German, can you para phrase this for me please

 

[Robin9]

So, nothing to see here. Boutiques do a better job overall anyway but Sony is notorious for not allowing outside parties to commission their own extras so that could be a hindrance.

In the U.K. Indicator produce their own "extras" for Sony titles. I'm not worried about Sony not distributing in Europe because of Indicator's work with Sony titles.

 

[bmasters9]

I wouldn't blame the studio. Blame the consumers who aren't interested in buying/owning physical media anymore.

Especially since many streaming services are coming out with more onerous rules and regulations about how their content can be viewed (Netflix especially).

It's a pity that discs are getting less popular, especially for those (like me) who value the higher quality that physical media currently has over streaming.

I can understand CDs losing their appeal because one can now buy and download similar or higher quality versions of the same music. But with films, streaming (at least technically) can't compete with physical. Nowhere was this more evident for me than when we watched Avatar on streaming just prior to The Way of Water's release last December. I had the 2010 blu-ray, but out of convenience (and because the disc was stored in a box in the basement) I just put it on streaming. Luckily, as it turned out, my internet service dropped for some reason in the middle of the film and I had to go hunt for the blu-ray. When we hit play, it was a very noticeable improvement, both in the sound and picture. More robust, more vivid, more detail.

And above all that, you can see it when you want-- don't have to worry about the streamers dropping it (Netflix has dropped many a show that its users were enjoying lately, and if those users didn't have the physical backup, they were out of luck [especially if that physical started going for insane prices, as has been with many releases on Amazon]).

In the U.K. Indicator produce their own "extras" for Sony titles. I'm not worried about Sony not distributing in Europe because of Indicator's work with Sony titles.

I have one of those releases from that brand, a region-free Blu of Columbia's 1979 hit The China Syndrome.