Do you think Blu-Ray / 4k BR optical media's days are numbered?

[mikeymikec]

I'm mainly thinking about as a medium for conveying movies/TV series; I don't think there's a connection between how long BR drives on PC will be around for.

My film/series collection is a mix of DVD/BR/4k, I'm in the process of upgrading a bunch of the DVDs to BR/4k depending on how much I like the title in question and what price I can get the BR/4k for. I'm typically aiming at 4k by default these days because it seems more forward-thinking, but I'm also ripping the content to movie files on my PC as I go.

I've upgraded most of my most-loved titles already as well as ones that had a truly sucky quality DVD to begin with (e.g. Carlito's Way, the DVD version was diabolically awful), and I read up on bluray.com for the quality of BR/4K versions (though I have issues with their testing methodology), I've put a bunch of remaining ones on my 'pressie list' if family/friends want to get me something then my wife can make suggestions from the list, but there are also stragglers like say '2001: A Space Odyssey', which while it's a very good quality movie, do I watch it very often? No. 'Enter The Dragon' is an example of a DVD I haven't watched in over 20 years and watched it recently again largely because I haven't watched it in ages, the DVD quality isn't great either.

I just wonder whether I should snap up semi-decent offers (2001 4k and Enter The Dragon 4k are on Amazon UK for a cheaper price than average at the moment) with the notion in mind that there won't be any notable fanfare and "get them while stocks last" if they do stop being produced, on the other hand like I see BRs for bargain bucket prices, maybe 4k's time will come too.

IMO streaming is not a viable replacement option because if you don't hold it in your hand, you don't own it.

Thoughts?

 

[purbeast0]

I do and it saddens me.

When I saw Redbox go out of business I knew that it means the death is near.

People laugh at me but I used to go to Redbox all the time to rent Bluray discs. I have a high end home theater sound system and the sound on bluray discs simply can't compare to streaming. And I don't really want to buy every movie that I want to watch one time.

I have zero interest in 4k content at this point though, simply because there is hardly enough sources to justify it for me personally. I'd need to upgrade my projector and AVR if I were to do that, and true 4k projectors are like $5k minimum (unless things have changed) and it would be to watch barely any content.

None of the sports I watch are close to 4k, streaming "4k" isn't really 4k since it's all compressed and shit, and then I don't PC game only console, and hardly anything can be at 4k now with a good frame rate. It's just pointless for me at this point.

I do try to get all of my games physical though, when possible.

 

[WilliamM2]

I got a Blu-Ray player in 2009 (and an HD DVD player), I don't buy discs. I rent them. When rentals STILL weren't available by 2011, I sold the players. It never played a single Blu-Ray. The HD player only played the free ones that came with purchase.

Been dead for me since the day it launched.

 

[nakedfrog]

It's hard to say, there does seem to be an increased interest in owning physical media. I hope it doesn't go away.

 

[mikeymikec]

@purbeast0

Admittedly any 4k title I get is always BR+4k because I'm hedging my bets about a future 4k upgrade. I have a very hit-and-miss BR player which will be replaced at some point and it'll only be logical to get a 4k player at that point, and the TV will need replacing some day too.

I got a Blu-Ray player in 2009 (and an HD DVD player), I don't buy discs. I rent them. When rentals STILL weren't available by 2011, I sold the players. It never played a single Blu-Ray. The HD player only played the free ones that came with purchase.

Been dead for me since the day it launched.

I used to think that too, believing that my DVDs were "good enough" quality, then when I later downloaded movies that were ripped from say BR format, I realised the level of detail upgrade involved. I started seeing BRs for bargain bucket prices and decided to take the plunge because it's quite a difference when watching on my desktop PC screen for example.

 

[WilliamM2]

@purbeast0I used to think that too, believing that my DVDs were "good enough" quality, then when I later downloaded movies that were ripped from say BR format, I realised the level of detail upgrade involved. I started seeing BRs for bargain bucket prices and decided to take the plunge because it's quite a difference when watching on my desktop PC screen for example.

I never said they weren't better quality. I said the discs just weren't available. Redbox was not offering them around here until much later. By then streaming was better quality than regular DVD's. As I said, I don't buy discs. I don't watch movies twice, so there is no point.

I still have a Denon DVD player, mostly to play the few SACD discs I was able to acquire. Another stillborn format...

 

[mikeymikec]

I never said they weren't better quality. I said the discs just weren't available. Redbox was not offering them around here until much later. By then streaming was better quality than regular DVD's. As I said, I don't buy discs. I don't watch movies twice, so there is no point.

I still have a Denon DVD player, mostly to play the few SACD discs I was able to acquire. Another stillborn format...

I wasn't trying to argue with you Really I'm a bit surprised at my old perspective that I'd ever think a detail upgrade for a film I like wasn't welcome, but maybe I convinced myself that standardising on a format was a good idea as well as one I can watch on my computer. Maybe it also stuck in my craw that there are crappy quality DVD versions and that logically they'd sell as approximately a crappy BR for a high price "because they can" or something, dunno.

 

[purbeast0]

@purbeast0

Admittedly any 4k title I get is always BR+4k because I'm hedging my bets about a future 4k upgrade. I have a very hit-and-miss BR player which will be replaced at some point and it'll only be logical to get a 4k player at that point, and the TV will need replacing some day too.



I used to think that too, believing that my DVDs were "good enough" quality, then when I later downloaded movies that were ripped from say BR format, I realised the level of detail upgrade involved. I started seeing BRs for bargain bucket prices and decided to take the plunge because it's quite a difference when watching on my desktop PC screen for example.

Yeah I just don't think 4K is worth the cost for the minimal gains.

Like I've never once watched a bluray or played a game in 1080p (which my projector is) on my 10 foot screen and been like "man I wish this was 4k and was higher resolution!" Like even on a 10 foot screen from about 13 feet away things look amazing in 1080p.

The time you WILL see stuff like that though is watching live sports. I have FIOS TV and the 720p crap they serve up is low quality. A 4k projector isn't going to fix that. The TNF games on Amazon Prime are NOTICEABLY better quality than what FIOS TV gives me.

 

[nakedfrog]

I never said they weren't better quality. I said the discs just weren't available. Redbox was not offering them around here until much later. By then streaming was better quality than regular DVD's. As I said, I don't buy discs. I don't watch movies twice, so there is no point.

I still have a Denon DVD player, mostly to play the few SACD discs I was able to acquire. Another stillborn format...

And then Blu-Ray Audio came out, and then died... we still have HDTracks but they just seem outrageously priced.

 

[nakedfrog]

Yeah I just don't think 4K is worth the cost for the minimal gains.

Like I've never once watched a bluray or played a game in 1080p (which my projector is) on my 10 foot screen and been like "man I wish this was 4k and was higher resolution!" Like even on a 10 foot screen from about 13 feet away things look amazing in 1080p.

I've definitely thought that, I have Lord of the Rings in 4K, which hasn't been exactly kind to the CGI and some of the other visual trickery, so my partner wanted to go back to the Blu-Ray next time we watched it. I turned it on, and she ultimately decided dealing with the CGI/etc in 4K was worth the overall upgrade.
I also think gaming in 4K is fantastic (I'm on PC).
Naturally we all have our preferences, I'm 100% for 4K over 1080P, excellent improvement. We're using a 75" screen at about a 6' viewing distance though.

 

[mikeymikec]

It's hard to say, there does seem to be an increased interest in owning physical media. I hope it doesn't go away.

Perhaps it'll have a niche like vinyl does these days, though hopefully without all the hipster tech and hipster prices to go with it.

 

[IronWing]

Sadly, I think the physical media era is going to end sooner than ten years. Why deal with a physical distribution network when they can rent you the same product over and over?

 

[waffleironhead]

I agree with above about redbox, except i used them for buying blurays. I have upwards of 100 blurays bought from the kiosks. All for $3.99 or cheaper. The discs were all in near perfect condition. I would just hit the kiosk up weekly and buy a copy of the soon to be dumped films. Its a bit of a hassle organizing them, but the price couldnt be beat.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I have a nice TV and sound system -- gimme dat 4k/atmos remux file.

 

[dullard]

Blu-Ray was always dead. Market really went from DVD to streaming. Blu-Ray was just an upstart that never really got going.

That said, I hope to never pay for streaming in my life. Just grab a large box of DVD's or Blu-Rays from a garage sale now and then for a few dollars and have enough to watch for years and years. Plus, you own it for life. No bills to pay. No steaming shenanigans (negotiations between various companies taking what you want to watch away). Watch it anywhere on any device even with no possibility of internet connections. Etc.

 

[WilliamM2]

I wasn't trying to argue with you Really I'm a bit surprised at my old perspective that I'd ever think a detail upgrade for a film I like wasn't welcome, but maybe I convinced myself that standardising on a format was a good idea as well as one I can watch on my computer. Maybe it also stuck in my craw that there are crappy quality DVD versions and that logically they'd sell as approximately a crappy BR for a high price "because they can" or something, dunno.

Didn't think you were arguing. But you said that you used to think like me, that DVD was good enough. I was just clarifying, I never said that.

All good.

 

[lxskllr]

I'd love it if I could download drm free video files. DVD quality would be just fine. I have almost zero interest in movies, but I'd like to have some select tv series. I recently debated buying the Angel dvd box set, but I have zero interest in dicking with discs, and ripping that many to digital files is the definition of unfun. I ended up finding an http download source /somewhere/, and while I wouldn't have minded higher quality, it vastly outweighed ripping 5 seasons of tv. Money they lost I was more than willing to spend.

 

[Chaotic42]

I think we'll have some form of physical media for a while, but it'll be somewhat niche and probably pressed on demand like a lot of books. I'm a huge fan, since access to physical media isn't likely to be taken away. Still waiting on the 8K revolution though.