Something I noticed recently.

mantis

Whats up everyone?
I don't know if I mentioned this but I don't work for the Audiolab anymore. I switched teams and now work for Stone Glidden. They are a high end Custom Integrator. We carry some badass stuff and don't focus on 2 channel like my last company did.
One thing they do and do extremely well is dedicated Theaters. I have seen some of the nicest Theater rooms of my long career.

With that being said my position in the company is unique. I'm a service Tech. What my role is to go out and fix issues that have come up over the years of use of these systems or go out and upgrade older systems to todays standards.

So where I'm going with this is most people even in the custom Theater world seem to have switched more to streaming movies then buying or renting Blu Ray's. I had a conversation with a few of my clients and the sum is the following.

Blu ray disc's have take so long to get to the movie. I have to sit here and navigate threw all the preview movies and stupid ads. It also takes so long just load the disc so I can sit here and try to get past all the ads etc.
With Streaming ,I pick my movie , wait a few seconds for it to load and away we go. The Sound and picture is getting so close to the Disc now that it seems silly to keep getting disc's.

This conversation is where most people are. I didn't fully agree until I sat down last night and just wanted to watch the Hulk on Blu ray. It was so annoying to get to the main menu to start the disc.
I still think the end experience is better and still worth the time it takes to get the movie started but the distance I feel is starting to get closer to going streaming.
Where I'm at with it is I only get the Blu ray movie if it's something that I want to keep or want the highest quality of. Everything else I just stream from iTunes on the Apple TV and the quality and sound is damn good. Much better then DVD and getting close to Blu ray.

What do you guys think?

Toolfan66

We rush to work, we rush to get home, we rush to get to the store, we rush everywhere we go, yet no one has any patients just to sit and relax through a few movie trailers... Amazing....

I personally like sitting through the movie trailers, and if I've seen them, it just gives me time to get a few things, and get comfortable..
Not only that, I like shopping for BluRays for the movies I like or want to own...


Congrats on the new job....

zane77

I'm with Larry, if I skip through the trailers my wife will go crazy, she has to see them all. But you are right streaming is getting closer to physical media.

pearsall001

mantis wrote: »

Whats up everyone?
I don't know if I mentioned this but I don't work for the Audiolab anymore. I switched teams and now work for Stone Glidden. They are a high end Custom Integrator. We carry some badass stuff and don't focus on 2 channel like my last company did.
One thing they do and do extremely well is dedicated Theaters. I have seen some of the nicest Theater rooms of my long career.

With that being said my position in the company is unique. I'm a service Tech. What my role is to go out and fix issues that have come up over the years of use of these systems or go out and upgrade older systems to todays standards.

So where I'm going with this is most people even in the custom Theater world seem to have switched more to streaming movies then buying or renting Blu Ray's. I had a conversation with a few of my clients and the sum is the following.

Blu ray disc's have take so long to get to the movie. I have to sit here and navigate threw all the preview movies and stupid ads. It also takes so long just load the disc so I can sit here and try to get past all the ads etc.
With Streaming ,I pick my movie , wait a few seconds for it to load and away we go. The Sound and picture is getting so close to the Disc now that it seems silly to keep getting disc's.

This conversation is where most people are. I didn't fully agree until I sat down last night and just wanted to watch the Hulk on Blu ray. It was so annoying to get to the main menu to start the disc.
I still think the end experience is better and still worth the time it takes to get the movie started but the distance I feel is starting to get closer to going streaming.
Where I'm at with it is I only get the Blu ray movie if it's something that I want to keep or want the highest quality of. Everything else I just stream from iTunes on the Apple TV and the quality and sound is damn good. Much better then DVD and getting close to Blu ray.

What do you guys think?

Loading a BD movie isn't an issue with the time it takes, for me anyway. It's just that pretty much anymore I only buy a Blu-Ray if it's a movie that I know I'll watch again. Most stuff for me is one & done. That's where streaming comes in. Between my Direct TV & ZULU HD Movies I have a selection that can't be beat. The picture & sound quality rivals BD. The fun part is sitting down with the family & pouring over the movie selections till we all agree one which one to watch. Now this actually takes quite a bit longer than any BD will take to load but it's a nice fun factor. This whole movie/TV streaming thing is pretty much the way things are heading. No different than a music server. The convenience & quality just can't be beat. Do they still make CD's???

AsSiMiLaTeD

Sure they make CDs, how else would you get your music on to a server to begin with???

I do streaming for the majority of my movies, although I stream locally from a selection of about 1500 movies that I have ripped down from DVD. For movies where I really care about the sound and video a lot I still purchase on blu ray.

Conradicles

I love movie trailers. In no hurry here. I stream nothing.

polklifer

I got rid of the blu-ray player, streaming all now, I hated the trailers to the point of not even watching the movie...

smglbrth

Agreed on the hurry, hurry, hurry bit. I like the internet, it's a great tool, but it has made most persons as impatient as heck. Even those of us who remember the days of ordering a catalog, then waiting 6-8 weeks for it to show up (after you've already forgotten you sent for it in the first place) have issues with wanting things "now". That being said I don't mind waiting for many things, whether it be traffic, in line at the store behind an older person wanting to write a check, etc..., or waiting for a BD to load up. Heck, we ought to be happy we have such a thing nowadays anyway...

gudnoyez

We stream and watch blu rays, the trailers let you know of movies you might of not been aware of, so I don't mind plus like Larry said it gives you time to get comfortable get the snacks what not and makes waiting for that feature film even better.

tonyb

Trailers....hate 'em. But you don't have to watch them on BR disc's. There's a certain window of time when it starts to hit "top menu" on your player to go straight to the movie menu. If you miss that window, just keep hitting the chapter button to by-pass the trailers. Point here....is your in control.

Now with streaming, as soon as enough start doing it how long do you really think it will be before the same happens ? Only you may not have the control to by-pass trailers. I won't watch Hulu for that reason on my computer because I can't by-pass commercials.

polk500

I'm with you Dan even though I still buy the BR movies I really want which is not very offen these days.

When BlockBuster shut down in our city a couple of years ago I felt a bit of remorse as I used to buy used movies from them at a good price.

Fast forward now I love to stream, it's quick and easy, buffering sometimes was an issue but I hard wired everything in my HT setup.

Cheers
Roger

AsSiMiLaTeD

So for you guys streaming had movies, do the streams typically have the lossless audio tracks? I don't think I could give up the sound quality for the convenience of streaming. Again, streaming movies that I'm ok with DVD quality is one thing, and that's a large portion of my collection, but not having the lossless audio track on Man of Steel just doesn't work for me.

4xoddic

Dan - I think your observations are on target for the affluent "silent majority." (Hey I know that's Nixonian, but IF you had to live thru those years = entitled to use the reference.) The <affluent portion of that group is following as their budgets permit. We have a similar outfit here (pop. 60K), but the large # of soldiers & students still support 2 rental operations & "redboxes."

Until we had our Cox cable buried a few years back, streaming Netflix was unbearable, as it couldn't maintain a connection & would drop out. No way to watch Breaking Bad, even for an ex-science teacher. Cox has been replacing buried trunk lines in our part of town (going fiber optic?). We only have Basic, as there's no reception here of Topeka channels. We subscribe to the NetFlix 1 blu-ray plan. Returns now go to KC, instead of Topeka; turnaround time is now sporadic. I'm guessing NetFlix has dropped centers all over the US, due to the streaming trend. Have yet to stream a video from iTunes.

Streaming 5.1 > renting/buying 7.1 blu-rays is no surprise. IF you don't experience 7.1, you don't miss it? Ever notice how high production quality 5.1 commercials sound so much better than the networks' 5.1 programming? Another way to grab our brains & $s.

I understand the reluctance to have to watch trailers; but then I used to escort late arrivals down the aisle with a flashlight & ask patrons to move over to get 2 open seats together. Can you imagine filling a 2000-seat theatre (loge, 3 balconies) with people dressed up in sport coats + ties & dresses + heels; twice per Friday & Saturday nights? Midnight Cowboy, to date, is the only X-rated film ever to win Best Picture, this meant the Box Office girls checked IDs! Of course, I wasn't old enough to actually see it, except while seating patrons./sarchasm

billbillw

How about putting the movie in, then going to fix a drink or make popcorn? By the time you get back, its waiting on the main menu.

Honestly, I think Netflix streaming quality has only gotten worse over the last year or so. I'm to the point where I can hardly stand to watch it on my projector. Its ok on the 42" or 55", but not when its pushed to 100". Even the stuff they call 'super HD' is awful.

mrbiron

Doesn't the kaleidoscope allow you to go straight to movie??...$10k?....I know what to get you for Christmas.

Like others, the trailers give me time for that last minute prep.

recoveryone

I have always been a fan of owning my media content, from CD's, VHS, DVD's and now BD. So streaming has never been of much interest. I will admit streaming has come a long way over the years if you have the service support (High speed internet, in home or unlimited data on your cell phone). If your a big TV series watcher I guess streaming has the advantage, but I prefer being able to reach for a disk and sit back and enjoy.

tonyb

I think you hit on the other part of the equation, well 2 parts. One, to stream good quality in bulk without interruptions, buffering issues, you need better internet plans, not the low tiered crap. Plus you have issues with some slowing down your speeds depending on usages.

Second, it's about monthly subscriptions. Taking a chunk of your money on a monthly basis. Everyone and their brother is after you to subscribe to something, that's where the coin is. Physical media is one and done....streaming subscriptions is an ongoing sucking of your wallet. Companies wet their shorts on guaranteed income.

PSOVLSK

That's what I liked about HD DVD. Put the movie in and your at the menu.

My HT is upstairs, so "put the movie in and get popcorn and a drink" doesn't work so well. Maybe it seems lazy, but I don't want to go upstairs, start the movie, go back downstairs get food, go back upstairs to watch the movie. In the living room that's fine, but not in my HT.

Mr. Sharpe

We used regular netflix via mail for a while. I don't have a blu ray player but I watched a few minutes of oblivion on it at a friends house and like you said it took him a while to figure out how to make it play the menu, I didn't understand. I would watching the actual disc itself would be more worth it though

Jhayman

rent the movie rip it in it's full lossless playback, TrueHD or whatever floats your boat and stream it using one of the many many players out there..
I have not watched a Blu-Ray in over 2 years..
Been streaming since I first realized the PS3 was capable using PS3 Media Server..
I hate trailers and Never ever watch commercials I download everything I watch..

F1nut

Toolfan66 wrote: »

We rush to work, we rush to get home, we rush to get to the store, we rush everywhere we go, yet no one has any patients just to sit and relax through a few movie trailers... Amazing....

I personally like sitting through the movie trailers, and if I've seen them, it just gives me time to get a few things, and get comfortable..
Not only that, I like shopping for BluRays for the movies I like or want to own...


Congrats on the new job....

^This^

blehmbo

You can get by some of the negative aspects of physical media with a bit of coin: a HTPC with a lot of storage, anydvd HD, and a player like JRiver can skip trailers or even catalog all of your titles on the PC.

I still buy the movies that I think are keepers, use redbox for the maybes, and netflix the rest. The higher picture and audio quality are important to me.

disneyjoe7

As the sound improved or is at the same level as a dvd? Last time it wasn't the same Prologic 2 channel vs. 5.1dd night and day IMHO.

blehmbo

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

As the sound improved or is at the same level as a dvd? Last time it wasn't the same Prologic 2 channel vs. 5.1dd night and day IMHO.

Hm, the audio quality potential in blu-ray has definitely improved over dvd. I can hear the improvement even with just the higher bitrate lossy codecs (DD/DTS) on BR.

As for streaming AQ, I want to say it's around DVD quality with some content.

dave shepard

mantis wrote: »

Whats up everyone?
Where I'm at with it is I only get the Blu ray movie if it's something that I want to keep or want the highest quality of. Everything else I just stream from iTunes on the Apple TV and the quality and sound is damn good. Much better then DVD and getting close to Blu ray.

What do you guys think?

I think (with streaming) there are just too many things between their original and your system that can inter fer with the sound and picture to get to the level of Blu-Ray in your system. Because if that was the case then the argument of needing better cables, a better player etc. is crap. When you have a signal flying miles and miles in the air but not before being sent through hords of equipment to send it and then having your equipment/reciever catch it decode it and send it to your equipment to play it and have it equal to or come close to having it play directly from your player, I just aint buying it.
I have quite a few songs downloaded from I tunes and some are just plane crap when I play on my Kenwood in my truck and my wifes car and when using my head phones those songs are not as nice as others. The biggest problem I see is when there is a bad recording on a disc you can exchange it for another and see if that plays better, with a bad recording on Itunes, net flix etc., well your stuck with it cause that is what they have.

Nice arguing with ya Dan
Dave