Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

[stryperrocks67]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

I think that UV needs to understand that there are more disadvantages to a digital media format than advantages, and price accordingly.

Advantages of physical media over digital:
1) As pointed out, quality is usually significantly better with a physical disc.

2) Some people live in areas where internet speeds are slow, or they can only use access cards which are slow AND limit how many GB they can use each month.

3) A physical disc you can play in any room in the house, no matter if you have internet or not. I personally have a small tv/dvd combo in one of the upstairs bedrooms that I still play dvds in to fall asleep with. I have no desire to buy a Roku or something to stream internet to it.

4) As a Comcast customer, sometimes we lose internet totally. Still have my discs though

5) THE EXPERIENCE!!! On physical media, I usually get appealing, interactive menus and I consistently get some great special features (commentaries, documentaries, featurettes, trailers, deleted scenes). Sure, some of the newer UV movies come with a handful of "bonus" features. No commentaries though. Very few times I have seen any real "special features", they are usually just promo type featurettes. UV bonus features are NEVER interactive, like some DVD/BR ones are. And to access the BR special features is very easy, as you can do it from anywhere, including during the movie. UV you have to back out of the movie and go into it just like if you were changing to a different movie entirely. Some UV bonus content is PC only.

6) Organization. Sorry, the whole way UV movies are organized is cumbersome. You need to be able to create custom filters and organize them that way. For example, I keep my dvds/BRs organized in different ways..Clint Eastwood movies together, my 50's Science Fiction together, my James Bond together, my Toho films together. You need to be able to create custom tags and filters in Vudu. And if Vudu were to fold, we would be screwed because all of the other interfaces suck royally. Target, CinemaNow, Flixster...sorry...they are horrible front ends.

7) I have NEVER scratched a disc where it had issues playing. Even used discs I bought that were scratched play fine. If a movie did get scratched to the point of non-playing, I can always buy a new one. However, if there is a flaw in your UV movie you are FOREVER stuck with it...no control. There is a Godzilla movie that has several seconds of interference in it, they know it is there (I sent screen caps, they confirmed, and they contacted the supplier but it has not been replaced and they can't guarantee it ever will). There is another Godzilla movie where they have the wrong movie as the cover, they have never replaced it either.

8) I can take a physical disc to a friend or family member's house to watch with them, without having to try and add them as a user to my account (they may not even have something to access Vudu anyway).

9) I can rip backup copies of my physical media to play on my computer, and actually choose which format to save it as. Depending on the format, the size will vary. I only have the SD or HD/HDX option for Vudu downloads. And even then, I am limited to where I play it. I can also make a backup copy of physical media to use in the car player, so who cares if that gets scratched?




Sooooo..with all those advantages of physical media....and considering that for $20 I can get all those benefits PLUS it will come with the UV copy..WHY would I pay $20 to get JUST the UV copy?

PLUS...I can buy the physical and do a disc to digital for dirt cheap, so I can actually buy a DVD only or Blu-Ray only version of the movie then just get the Disc To Digital for $2-$4, so then THAT package is actually cheaper than buying just the UV copy.

[Walter-S_North_Carolina]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

Advantages of physical media over digital:
1) As pointed out, quality is usually significantly better with a physical disc.

...I respectfully disagree. I own many titles on DVD. I ran the gambit converting via D2D always up-scaling to HDX.

There is just simply no question that a title watched on Vudu HDX is a superior viewing experience then the same title on DVD. The color pallet is deeper on the 1080p version then what is seen when watching on DVD.

In a forensic lab, there are recordable differences between Vudu HDX and BRD, but to my eye, the subtlety is lost and considering they were up-shots from DVD, my care-o-meter is reading zero.

I have wanted the liberties and increased features from a digital library for about a decade. With Vudu, I have fully baked mobility and save point retention across all devices. Those are just a few. TV Remote access to the entire library from any TV in the home another. No fumbling around for a case with a plastic disc to watch a movie. Just pressing a button a few times. The convenience factor just can not be overstated.

I respect your stance, but hold a different perspective.

A friend and I were eating lunch when a discussion came up about the new SoA episode "Poor Little Lambs". We watch the whole episode on my iPad just now while we ate lunch. To do so with a title on physical, I would of had to drive home, get it, drive back, find some player here at work connected to a TV, and then fire it up.

With Vudu, we were watching after a few swipes of a finger.

sincerely,

[stryperrocks67]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

There are MANY factors why the value of used discs have gone down..

Obviously, streaming services like Netflix and even Amazon Prime are a big factor (sorry, I don't think UV is that much a factor)..BUT

Market saturation due to disc copying is a HUGE factor, too.

A lot of people are using commercially available software, that is both cheap and easy to use, to rip copies of their collection and then dump their physical discs, thus flooding the market with used discs. (The software defeats any copy protection the disc maker may have installed.)

Market saturation due to overproduction is another.

Manufacturers simply flood stores with discs anymore. Everywhere you go, dvds/brs are available for sale. Just so many produced. So when someone wants an older movie, if they can usually find a NEW copy of it still available for $10-$15 dollars, why buy a used copy?

Also, you have movies being reissued constantly with one or two new special features, so everyone always wants the newest "special edition" and will pass on the older version.

There are still cases though, of out of print dvds being highly collectible and going for $40 plus. You would be surprised. The Disney movie "Under wraps" is a perfect example.

[Walter-S_North_Carolina]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

There are MANY factors why the value of used discs have gone down..

Obviously, streaming services like Netflix and even Amazon Prime are a big factor (sorry, I don't think UV is that much a factor)..BUT

Market saturation due to disc copying is a HUGE factor, too.

A lot of people are using commercially available software, that is both cheap and easy to use, to rip copies of their collection and then dump their physical discs, thus flooding the market with used discs. (The software defeats any copy protection the disc maker may have installed.)

Market saturation due to overproduction is another.

Manufacturers simply flood stores with discs anymore. Everywhere you go, dvds/brs are available for sale. Just so many produced. So when someone wants an older movie, if they can usually find a NEW copy of it still available for $10-$15 dollars, why buy a used copy?

Also, you have movies being reissued constantly with one or two new special features, so everyone always wants the newest "special edition" and will pass on the older version.

There are still cases though, of out of print dvds being highly collectible and going for $40 plus. You would be surprised. The Disney movie "Under wraps" is a perfect example.

Good points. I do not dispute any. Thx.

[stryperrocks67]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

...I respectfully disagree. I own many titles on DVD. I ran the gambit converting via D2D always up-scaling to HDX.

There is just simply no question that a title watched on Vudu HDX is a superior viewing experience then the same title on DVD. The color pallet is deeper on the 1080p version then what is seen when watching on DVD.

In a forensic lab, there are recordable differences between Vudu HDX and BRD, but to my eye, the subtlety is lost and considering they were up-shots from DVD, my care-o-meter is reading zero.

I have wanted the liberties and increased features from a digital library for about a decade. With Vudu, I have fully baked mobility and save point retention across all devices. Those are just a few. TV Remote access to the entire library from any TV in the home another. No fumbling around for a case with a plastic disc to watch a movie. Just pressing a button a few times. The convenience factor just can not be overstated.

I respect your stance, but hold a different perspective.

A friend and I were eating lunch when a discussion came up about the new SoA episode "Poor Little Lambs". We watch the whole episode on my iPad just now while we ate lunch. To do so with a title on physical, I would of had to drive home, get it, drive back, find some player here at work connected to a TV, and then fire it up.

With Vudu, we were watching after a few swipes of a finger.

sincerely,

My DVD players up-converts my dvds to the same or better quality that I see on UV, BR always seems better to me.

That you do not agree with my points of view, well, I don't find that surprising. Your being IN this forum would be a strong indication that you, personally, prefer digital media. I would assume a majority of people in THIS forum feel the same way you do.

However, my point of view is coming from someone, and representing those, that have not decided to go 100% digital.

I assure you, there are countless others (again, maybe not in this forum..since it is an UV forum) that agree with me.

I see it every day in my interaction with movie fans.

My points were trying to show why UV needs to come down in price to compete and get people to switch.

[tsken02]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

D2D is a very cost effective way to get digital. For new releases, all the options are too expensive, and Disney is the worst.

[stryperrocks67]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

Strangely, optical disc media of console games has held.

Sincerely,

It takes more knowledge to rip a video game and successfully play it on a game console than to rip a dvd or br.

Some game systems don't read dvd/br recordable discs very well (or at all) and obviously, it takes more skill to rip a game and transfer a digital copy to your video game system's HD than just storing a ripped dvd on your laptop.

Also, a lot of the dvd/br ripping software available from stores won't properly rip or burn a PS3 or Xbox game.

[stryperrocks67]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

D2D is a very cost effective way to get digital. For new releases, all the options are too expensive, and Disney is the worst.

Yes, Disney prices are ABSURD!!!

[Walter-S_North_Carolina]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

My DVD players up-converts my dvds to the same or better quality that I see on UV, BR always seems better to me.

That you do not agree with my points of view, well, I don't find that surprising. Your being IN this forum would be a strong indication that you, personally, prefer digital media. I would assume a majority of people in THIS forum feel the same way you do.

However, my point of view is coming from someone, and representing those, that have not decided to go 100% digital.

I assure you, there are countless others (again, maybe not in this forum..since it is an UV forum) that agree with me.

I see it every day in my interaction with movie fans.

My points were trying to show why UV needs to come down in price to compete and get people to switch.

You make fair points which I do not dispute. I think we can agree that a UV HDX copy is worth more then a DVD copy since if nothing else, it looks better. The question at the start of this thread is if an HDX copy is worth the same price as a BRD copy.

Sometimes they are are dollar more, sometimes a dollar less. If we are nickle and diming around, then I guess we can count pennies and prove a point.

My view is what-ever. I just like the features of an all-digital library and do not mind the price being a dollar more or less on given titles. I think it is kinda petty to raise this as an issue, but I feel the physical crowd is feeling increasingly threatened that streaming will cause their investments to cease to have value and they are coming up with silly argument like this to attempt to smokescreen in a vain attempt to stem the tide.

The tide is clearly shifting into the streaming camp.

[stryperrocks67]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

You make fair points which I do not dispute. I think we can agree that a UV HDX copy is worth more then a DVD copy since if nothing else, it looks better. The question at the start of this thread is if a HDX copy is worth the same price as a BRD copy.

My view is sometimes they are are dollar more, sometimes a dollar less. If we are nickle and diming around, then I guess we can count pennies and prove a point.

My view is what-ever. I just like the features of an all-digital library and do not mind the price being a dollar more or less on given titles. I think it is kinda petty to raise this as an issue, but I feel the physical crowd is feeling increasingly threatened that streaming will cause their investments to cease to have value and they are coming up with silly argument like this to attempt to smokescreen in a vain attempt to stem the tide.

The tide is clearly shifting into the streaming camp.

But my point wasn't about the dollar or two difference, it never was, It was that there is not enough of a financial reason to buy digital only if for the same (or close to the same) price I can get the digital PLUS all the features of physical discs that I spelled out. I don't believe in paying more for less.

And that will hold back UV from ever becoming the next big thing.

I would love to know how many people actually buy UV movies for their collection, or simply get their UV movies when they come with their physical media (or as sign up incentive).

[stryperrocks67]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

Streaming may be the future (and in some ways the present)...but I am not convinced that Ultraviolet is going to be the biggest player in the future.

[Walter-S_North_Carolina]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

But my point wasn't about the dollar or two difference, it never was, It was that there is not enough of a financial reason to buy digital only if for the same (or close to the same) price I can get the digital PLUS all the features of physical discs that I spelled out. I don't believe in paying more for less.

And that will hold back UV from ever becoming the next big thing.

I would love to know how many people actually buy UV movies for their collection, or simply get their UV movies when they come with their physical media (or as sign up incentive).

If given the option of buying a fruit basket or a fruit basket that costs the same price that comes with a lamp that has a stiletto leg with fish net stockings on it as the stem, which would you buy?

I have no need for a physical copy. It gets put into a box in my garage and does nothing but take up space. I am not altruistic enough to buy the stiletto lamp with my fruit basket to give away to someone who likes things like that. What if they say "No" and I am stuck with it?

Anyway. I'm out...

[stryperrocks67]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

If given the option of buying a fruit basket or a fruit basket that costs the same price that comes with a lamp that has a stiletto leg with fish net stockings on it as the stem, which would you buy?

I have no need for a physical copy. It gets put into a box in my garage and does nothing but take up space. I am not altruistic enough to buy the stiletto lamp with my fruit basket to give away to someone who likes things like that. What if they say "No" and I am stuck with it?

Anyway. I'm out...

I would take the A Christmas Story lamp leg version every time.

I never turn down MORE for the same price. Even if I can't immediately see a need for it. Down the road, that collectible may be worth a lot of money.

Anyway, even if I throw it away eventually, it came at no additional cost to me, so why would I refuse it?

I do the same with special features on discs.

If I have 2 options to buy the same movie at the same price, but one is coming with deleted scenes or a special case, I am buying the one that has more. Every time.


I would also venture a say that I bet a large number of Netflix (streaming users) are not people who were big dvd buyers to begin with.

[Cranston37]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

I still think physical and streaming isn't a one or the other proposition. Look at Coke - you can buy it in cans, snack cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles, 1 liters, 2 liters, at the soda fountain... The point is there is room for more than one way to consume a product. Some people like cans, some like bottles. I personally only like it out of a fountain. As long as they each sell, physical and digital will BOTH remain in the marketplace.

[lujan]

Re: Edge of Tomorrow - another reason why UV prices need to come down

I still think physical and streaming isn't a one or the other proposition. Look at Coke - you can buy it in cans, snack cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles, 1 liters, 2 liters, at the soda fountain... The point is there is room for more than one way to consume a product. Some people like cans, some like bottles. I personally only like it out of a fountain. As long as they each sell, physical and digital will BOTH remain in the marketplace.

This is true. I don't always buy the physical media but I prefer it especially when it's an action packed movie with lots of special effects. The sound quality is especially evident on those types of movies. I buy a lot of digital only movies also when they are on sale and have higher quality than the physical media. One instance of a movie that I just bought today. I bought "Murder By Numbers" which is available for sale at $7.88 and in 1080p. I would not buy the physical disk because it is only available in DVD.