I Might switch to iTunes from Blu-rays

[Dave3000]

I might switch to iTunes from Blu-rays and buy a 4th gen Apple TV. Main reason: physical space. I try to minimize the physical space be used by my blu-ray collection by recycling the cases and storing the discs in binders, buying more binders, but even all that is becoming a hassle and a loss in resale value, though I'm trying to avoid reselling my blu-rays because I might regret it later on for many of them. Also no trailers/warnings before the movie starts in iTunes and I can resume where I left off with iTunes. Am I better off going with iTunes since I get rid of most of my blu-ray cases and store them in binders. No point in owning physical media if I get rid of the cases to save physical space?

 

[Charlie98]

One of the things that motivated me to build my HTPC was how fragile a BD disk is. Our set-top BD player ruined my Star Trek BD in about 3 months with little scuffs on the disk... and one of the reasons I turned away from BD for a while (until I started ripping to the HTPC.) I don't think storing your disks in a binder/sleeve thing is such a hot idea, and, as you mention, you destroy any resale value.

Personally, I'm not a 'cloud' streaming kind of guy, I like hard copies because that's what I paid for. I lost a bunch of music when WalMart's online music thing folded up, so I'm a bit jaded; that's not saying iTunes is going to go out of business any time soon, that's for sure.

Having said that, and given your desire to consolidate and save space, it should work pretty well for you. Normally I would recommend an HTPC for this kind of application, but anymore I think the HTPC is on it's way out with all the capable PnP hardware out there, unless you are willing to build it and rip your entire BD library to storage.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Honestly OP this is like saying you prefer FM radio to CDs because you can record cassettes off of FM radio, even though everyone in the modern age has moved onto digital music and iPods.

iTunes video quality quite frankly is crap. Their "1080p" stuff is about a fourth the quality of a Blu Ray if you are looking at bitrate, and their audio is BARELY better than a DVD (worse than some DVDs actually). iTunes content is the absolute FLOOR for what should be acceptable for HD video, it is almost as bad as Netflix. Meanwhile Blu Rays are the best 1080p content sources we have, with 7.1 uncompressed audio and bitrates far beyond what iTunes or most streaming services offer.

Where you are correct is in saying that the physical space Blu Rays take up sucks. That is why all of my actual Blu Ray disks are either sitting in my attic or at my parent's house (they love disks). DVDs sucked for the same reason, but both are AMAZING sources of video content that are yours forever if you archive them properly (unlike iTunes which is yours until you buy a device that doesn't have a fruit logo on it and then the content is worthless).

The way to mitigate the space issues of Blu Ray isn't to fall backwards into iTunes barely-HD content. Do what a lot of us have done- rip the disks onto a media server and then serve that content to your devices via software like Kodi or Plex. Then you are in complete control, but the only physical space used is whatever spot your server sits in.

 

[Charlie98]

iTunes video quality quite frankly is crap. Their "1080p" stuff is about a fourth the quality of a Blu Ray if you are looking at bitrate, and their audio is BARELY better than a DVD (worse than some DVDs actually). iTunes content is the absolute FLOOR for what should be acceptable for HD video, it is almost as bad as Netflix. Meanwhile Blu Rays are the best 1080p content sources we have, with 7.1 uncompressed audio and bitrates far beyond what iTunes or most streaming services offer.

I didn't know that about iTunes video... interesting. With all the streaming devices out there, and what I've seen recommended here, I figured it was a no-brainer.

What's odd about the OP's situation is, any solution besides storing his library locally, will still leave him with a pile of disks to manage.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I didn't know that about iTunes video... interesting. With all the streaming devices out there, and what I've seen recommended here, I figured it was a no-brainer.

The success of McDonald's proves people value convenience over quality.

With that said, I love a good streaming box. Something like a Roku gets you top tier access to Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime easy and cheap. TV Blu Rays aren't as common, so Netflix is much better for binge watching a show you missed than DVDs.

For MOVIES though, aka the productions that cost tens of millions to make, what Netflix or ITunes does to the quality isn't worth the cost. Here is a great comparison for Gravity sources:

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-ne...udu-versus-blu-ray.html?nocache=1453260720263

Scene after scene the iTunes copy lacks details.

 

[Childs]

I finally replaced the batteries in my 3D glasses and hooked up my sub, setup Audyssey, then gave Fury Road a spin. Holy crap! I forgot how good blu-ray is. Then went through the pile of blu-rays that I buy and don't actually watch, just rip and put on my nas. Man, I've been missing out. I got used to streaming video quality, but its kinda hard to go back now.

 

[Tegeril]

Honestly OP this is like saying you prefer FM radio to CDs because you can record cassettes off of FM radio, even though everyone in the modern age has moved onto digital music and iPods.

I'm totally onboard with everything else you said, but this analogy makes no sense.

 

[Charlie98]

The success of McDonald's proves people value convenience over quality.

With that said, I love a good streaming box. Something like a Roku gets you top tier access to Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime easy and cheap. TV Blu Rays aren't as common, so Netflix is much better for binge watching a show you missed than DVDs.

For MOVIES though, aka the productions that cost tens of millions to make, what Netflix or ITunes does to the quality isn't worth the cost.

No... true that.

We don't have cable, just Netflix... the Binge Watchers street hookup.

That explanation makes sense, now.

but this analogy makes no sense.

That's the point.

 

[cytoSiN]

Then went through the pile of blu-rays that I buy and don't actually watch, just rip and put on my nas. Man, I've been missing out. I got used to streaming video quality, but its kinda hard to go back now.

This. The only way to get that quality is by watching the BD or ripping it. I rip everything to a Synology NAS and stream through my home theater. There's nothing quite like full 1080p and 7.1MA. Well, maybe at an IMAX or Atmos theater, but most of us can't afford anything like that at home.

 

[thesmokingman]

I've been using x265 to compress while maintaining the high bitrate ql video, keep the lossless audio and you end up with a file half the size to 5/8's depending on content complexity. I've been doing this to my large rips. I've shrunken my collection size quite a bit. I was almost forced to enlarge my backup array to cope, but then cutting almost a terabyte thru using HEVC has saved the day. I no longer need to buy more drives.

 

[smitbret]

I've been using x265 to compress while maintaining the high bitrate ql video, keep the lossless audio and you end up with a file half the size to 5/8's depending on content complexity. I've been doing this to my large rips. I've shrunken my collection size quite a bit. I was almost forced to enlarge my backup array to cope, but then cutting almost a terabyte thru using HEVC has saved the day. I no longer need to buy more drives.

HDDs are cheap and you don't lose quality by encoding again. That had to be a pretty lengthy project.

 

[thesmokingman]

HDDs are cheap and you don't lose quality by encoding again. That had to be a pretty lengthy project.

Cheap, yea... ok for one or a couple. Now try and back up 27tb, or hell even building a 27tb array.

 

[cytoSiN]

Cheap, yea... ok for one or a couple. Now try and back up 27tb, or hell even building a 27tb array.

Personally, if I owned all the discs, I'd just delete movies I never watch and re-rip later. It's not worth the time and effort to reencode imo.

 

[thesmokingman]

Personally, if I owned all the discs, I'd just delete movies I never watch and re-rip later. It's not worth the time and effort to reencode imo.

Remember when there were those 400CD jukeboxes from Sony? That's what we need lol. That said, it's not like I'm waiting around for the encoding you know. Create a queue and let it run, its not a big deal. Sure it takes time, but it's not like my htpc slash all around workhorse is busy doing anything else when I'm asleep. That said I like having things on tap and having the disc not in view in storage. I have a disdain for walls of discs.

 

[smitbret]

Cheap, yea... ok for one or a couple. Now try and back up 27tb, or hell even building a 27tb array.

Still a lot cheaper than replacing all of those Blu-Rays with the iTunes Equivalent. You already invested the time in encoding your existing collection to h265.

 

[thesmokingman]

Still a lot cheaper than replacing all of those Blu-Rays with the iTunes Equivalent. You already invested the time in encoding your existing collection to h265.

What??

 

[poofyhairguy]

Cheap, yea... ok for one or a couple. Now try and back up 27tb, or hell even building a 27tb array.

Actually I have two servers with 27tb+ total storage space each. Unraid makes building a massive media server pretty easy.

 

[thesmokingman]

Actually I have two servers with 27tb+ total storage space each. Unraid makes building a massive media server pretty easy.

lol you have the disease worse than I do.

 

[Charlie98]

Remember when there were those 400CD jukeboxes from Sony? That's what we need lol.

I was just thinking about those the other day... they need to make one for BD!

My first CD player was a Pioneer 6-disk magazine changer... how slow and cumbersome, in hindsight. (...and expensive, if you wanted to preload more than 1 6-disc magazine!)

 

[lupi]

I agree, paying near or more of BRR cost for less than BR quality doesn't make sense.

 

[thesmokingman]

I was just thinking about those the other day... they need to make one for BD!

My first CD player was a Pioneer 6-disk magazine changer... how slow and cumbersome, in hindsight. (...and expensive, if you wanted to preload more than 1 6-disc magazine!)

There were one or two made. The go to one was the 400 disc unit from Sony, it was an ES model from 2009/10. It stickered at 2500K or so. It didn't catch on because Sony jukeboxes were/are notorious for eating disc at the worst times and realistically, who wants to have their 400 disc BD collection stuck inside a box the size of a mini fridge? Logistically, it never caught on. I catch myself eyeing it on ebay every now and then though, but still 1500k used is a lot to throw at a potential nightmare.