So is physical media on its last leg in Ireland?

karaokeman

Just a thought because HMV on Grafton Street recently closed, as have a number of Xtra-Visions.

Honestly hoping the collectors (like myself who still like to buy CDs/DVDs/Blu-Rays) will help keep them around just a little bit longer.

johnny_ultimate

The 'mainstream' market is certainly on its dying breath, and it's pretty much online shopping or bust at this stage.

But for cinephiles, collectors and enthusiasts I'd put forward it's more essential than ever (the arrival of Criterion here shows there's still a market too). I actually think there have been more essential, brilliant Blu Ray releases in the last two or three years than there were at 'peak' market - companies have gotten more ambitious and braver with their choices and packages. Netflix and VOD has nothing on the sheer variety of cinema history available on disc, and there's little on the way of the wildly varying approaches to picture quality seen in the DVD era.

Sad Professor

I think the costs of making and releasing physical media is going to kill it eventually. A lot of independent distributors are ready to throw the towel in already. VOD is cheaper and it's what consumers want, but it's highly fragmented and the studios are motivated to keep it that way because of DRM and fear of an Apple-like consumer platform. And there's bandwidth issues holding it back – ISPs would like their cut of the pie thanks very much.

As a result, I don't think physical media is going anywhere just yet. And even when it does, it may hang around for a while as an niche format for collectors who care about quality – but it won't be cheap. Criterion have survived because their discs are so expensive. Also Blu-ray is such a terrible format designed to punish consumers rather than reward them that I'm not sure anyone will want it once there's a viable VOD alternative.

Nothing I've read suggests UHD Blu-ray is going to do anything but crash and burn. However I welcome it if only because it should mean the studios will start upgrading some of the terrible DVD masters they slapped on Blu-rays.

karaokeman

Sad Professor wrote: »

Nothing I've read suggests UHD Blu-ray is going to do anything but crash and burn. However I welcome it if only because it should mean the studios will start upgrading some of the terrible DVD masters they slapped on Blu-rays.

HD Blu-Rays and DVDs (of material not released on Blu-Ray) I'm happy to support, but I've no interest in UHD/4K as of now, mostly because I just started buying Blu-Rays in the last few months, and I've found it "good enough" from the stuff I've watched. I may make exceptions for certain releases, like if Disney do a collector's edition of The Force Awakens down the road, but we'll see.

Tony EH

As long as the majority of people continue to buy their films on DVD, then physical will still rule.

BTW HMV is open on Henry St.

jones

I thought the HMV on grafton street was moving as opposed to just shutting down completely? The place was jammers at Christmas (unsurprisingly).
I love physical media I've had a bluray player since they came out and its still the centrepiece of my home cinema. Netflix and VOD are great but until they have HD audio as well as visual I think physical media will always have a place

Dirty Dingus McGee

I'll always buy DVD's as opposed to downloading.I just like having a physical copy of what I'm watching.

I look at my DVD collection at home and feel that I've accomplished something in my life.

dublinman1990

I buy DVD's & Blu-rays as far as possible because I'm not able to afford to download Films/TV Shows because for me it acts as a mutliple cost if I was both an ISP & VOD customer.

I mostly download music though because it is cheap now & it doesn't require a lot of download space to your HD.

Mikey23

Regardless of the timescale, sales are clearly declining. The laziness of the likes of me (firing up Netflix rather than walk four steps to the DVD storage unit in the corner) probably doesn't help. I bought most of the classics I ever wanted and now think twice about big box sets of Hitchcock or Clint's movies that are barely unpacked.

On a different note though, it's a shame that Netflix and co don't give extra features for the vast majority of their releases. I love director's commentaries for my favourite movies and won't be giving those up anytime soon.

Starscream25

I'll buy Star Wars 7 on blue ray in town when it comes out and nothing else for a few years.

MilesMorales1

Well I buy at least a couple of blu rays a week, from HMV, cex, etc, so I hope not.

TCP/IP

Once Netflix offer HDR and Atmos/DTS-X HD audio it will be another nail in the coffin.

Will still buy a UHD Blueray player for the home cinema rack.

Sad Professor

The problem with Netflix is that it leaks licensed content and will continue to do so. So while it's a great alternative to Sky and renting to a certain extent, it's a poor alternative to purchasing. Which is why I don't think it poses a threat to physical media.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I am of the old fashioned mindset that if I'm handing over money for something I like to have something physical to show for it. However it has become increasingly hard to buy physical copies of things. As someone said above it's online shopping or nothing these days. I live pretty close to a massive shopping centre and a really small Golden Discs is the only real option there is to buy physical media and you'd struggle to find anything released more than 2 years ago in it plus it's ridiculously overpriced.

Exclamation Marc

I think HMV is on its last legs at the moment as a good sign of this. The Grafton St shop never relocated as planned and all of their stores are now heavily advertising discounts and 'everything must go' sales.

Similarly, their stock levels are all over the shop. For example, they haven't had The Martian on blu-ray for nearly a month and even the DVD is out of stock in a few of their shops for the last fortnight which for a new release is odd. Their stores are also selling off previously rented copies of films and those sections are taking up a lot of floor space.

I'm big into my physical media and I used to love HMV before it became this odd fire sale-esque brand (without the matching prices) but I'll be surprised if the Irish arm reaches 2017.

Stone Deaf 4evr

I don think you'll ever seen a complete end to it, netflix etc and all is fine and dandy, but the biggest problem is other similar services causing all the content to be split up between, Hulu, netflix, amazon, sky on demand. its a pain in the hoop that there isnt a one stop shop for all streaming services.

homerun_homer

HMV Grafton St shut down because the landlord was increasing the rents or changing the terms which meant they had to get out by a certain date. they hadn't enough room in Henry St to hold the stock until they get somewhere else to open up shop so they discounted everything to clear as much as they could.

TheDoc

I'll still buy some stuff I REALLY like on Bluray. And as has been discussed countless times, I'm an open illegal downloader. Star Wars will come into my collection, I put Batman Vs Superman on order yesterday after seeing it, and Deadpool is also on my order list with Amazon.

But in truth I'd moved away from physical years ago. I havn't bought a music CD in about 10 years, I've bought some Blurays, but they are all I buy. And not in any large volume. I've totally stopped buying DVD for a few years now. Games are somewhat similar, as I've expanded my steam library, and just buying digital copies of games. So my detachment from physical has somewhat dissipated. The benefit of also not having to deal with a midnight launch or queueing etc., is a big bonus. For World of Warcraft, I've preorderd months in advance, and on launch ,I'm just there, game preloaded, ready to go. Same with The Division there recently on Steam. That game launched ahead of schedule, so imagine if you were waiting on a physical copy. Where as I was ready to go, and started, the minute it went life.

I guess once you move on from the mindset of "needing something physical for my money" I guess you never really look back. I can't ever see myself buying a music CD ever again. Nor can I see myself buying a normal DVD. Bluray I can still get behind for the HD quality, that still to me trumps even the best of downloads or streaming content. There is still ways to go in some regards for digital. Companies and publishers still arn't ready to realign their profit margins, so you see these weird circumstances where digital costs the same as physical(it never should) or in some weird early xbox 360 iterations, digital costing massively more then physical.

But as more people move to digital, and the supply chain starts to adjust, pricing should adjust also. We should be able to receive our media for lower cost. And the benefit of just getting it instantly, well I think that is something physical could really never compete with.

While there is the obvious nostalgic and human element of people losing jobs, the writing has been on the wall for so long at this stage. I think too much faith was put in the established order, and no adaption made to the advent of internet shopping, or digital delivery, and bricks and mortar stores here have sleepwalked themselves into closure, reacting way too late.

The next biggest test for not only physical media and the cinema is Sean Parker's, of Napster, newest venture, "The Screening Room", which will allow people to get movies at home on the same day as their cinema release, and has the backing of big names like J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg, and Ron Howard, to name but a few.

A war is raging in Hollywood—and no, I’m not referring to this weekend’s titanic throwdown between the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel. Rather, it’s a battle being waged over the future of movie distribution, and it’s been instigated by Sean Parker, the entrepreneur who rose to Silicon Valley fame as the cofounder of Napster and, later, as the initial president of Facebook. Along with partner Prem Akkaraju, Parker has forwarded an idea dubbed “the Screening Room” which will allow people to watch new movies at home on the same day they make their big-screen debuts. That proposal has led many of cinema’s biggest names, as well as the theaters themselves, to square off in a debate that, at heart, is about the delivery model that has long guided the industry.

Source: Daily Best

my3cents

So how long do collectors of DVD's and Bluray expect the physical media to last?

I've had a few BBC box set DVD's that are ten years old totally fail. The surface just went cloudy. I still collect physical media but it has got me wondering how long it will last (before it becomes unreadable)?

duffman3833

the thing i never understood about dvd's especially, why someone would pay over 20 euro for a film, when it would have been cheaper to see it in cinema when it was released. that was the main reason i wouldn't buy new dvds. Id only buy if it under 15 and its a film i really enjoyed. If i never saw the film, i wouldn't buy, cause if you don't like it, well waste of money really. that just my opinion on why i see physical media dying out

Dirty Dingus McGee

duffman3833 wrote: »

the thing i never understood about dvd's especially, why someone would pay over 20 euro for a film, when it would have been cheaper to see it in cinema when it was released. that was the main reason i wouldn't buy new dvds. Id only buy if it under 15 and its a film i really enjoyed. If i never saw the film, i wouldn't buy, cause if you don't like it, well waste of money really. that just my opinion on why i see physical media dying out

DVD's on Amazon for films that aren't new releases generally cost less than €10 and a fair amount are around €5.

Also if you have the DVD you can rewatch the film as often as you like and not have to endure other people in the cinema, pause the film to go to the toilet etc.

Sad Professor

duffman3833 wrote: »

the thing i never understood about dvd's especially, why someone would pay over 20 euro for a film, when it would have been cheaper to see it in cinema when it was released. that was the main reason i wouldn't buy new dvds. Id only buy if it under 15 and its a film i really enjoyed. If i never saw the film, i wouldn't buy, cause if you don't like it, well waste of money really. that just my opinion on why i see physical media dying out

DVD became so cheap that you had a unique situation in which people were buying films that they had never seen. Streaming revived the old rental market. But for collectors who want to own films, physical media is still the only game in town. There's also iTunes, but its catalogue is relatively small, consisting mostly of new releases minus the bonus features you get with Blu-ray.

duffman3833

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

DVD's on Amazon for films that aren't new releases generally cost less than €10 and a fair amount are around €5.

Also if you have the DVD you can rewatch the film as often as you like and not have to endure other people in the cinema, pause the film to go to the toilet etc.

maybe now, but i rem working in retail and we sold dvd's and the prices started at 20 or over for new releases for like the first week then started to come down eventually. But as i said before, i wouldn't buy a dvd unless i know its something id like

Exclamation Marc

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The next biggest test for not only physical media and the cinema is Sean Parker's, of Napster, newest venture, "The Screening Room", which will allow people to get movies at home on the same day as their cinema release, and has the backing of big names like J.J. Abrams, Steven Spielberg, and Ron Howard, to name but a few.

Source: Daily Best

This won't go anywhere on a large-scale basis, guaranteed. Directors can opine all day long for it but if they think studios like Disney, Universal etc will let Triple A titles stream on the same day as cinema release they are deluded. Piracy would destroy margins from the get-go.

And put simply, people would much more happily pay €15 to have their ears blown off them in an IMAX screen than pay €150 to watch it on a 50" TV with standard sound. The cinema experience can't be replicated.

Smaller scale films would thrive on this model but to counter that, the entry price is way too high for anyone to spend that on an indie or small scale release.

As regards home media, like others I buy Blu-Rays of films I love, won't buy a DVD anymore unless it doesn't have a blu-ray and I'll only buy CDs if they're signed or limited. That said, I've started to get into vinyl and digital music pales in comparison.

Sad Professor

It's a shame we don't have a vinyl equivalent for movies. Blu-ray could have been so much more. I know there's bad vinyl as well, but bad Blu-rays are enough to turn you to piracy. The copyright warnings, the unskippable trailers, the terrible menus, the lack of resume. It's like they are daring you.

Venom

Sad Professor wrote: »

It's a shame we don't have a vinyl equivalent for movies. Blu-ray could have been so much more. I know there's bad vinyl as well, but bad Blu-rays are enough to turn you to piracy. The copyright warnings, the unskippable trailers, the terrible menus, the lack of resume. It's like they are daring you.

Any movie with unskippable trailers on the disc, deserves to be pirated.

johnny_ultimate

I buy the vast majority of my Blu-Rays blind, because frankly there's rarely any other way to see the films in question. I could've waited and hoped A Touch of Zen showed up in the IFI at some point over the next few years for a screening or two, but was more than happy to drop 15-20 quid on the gorgeous MOC set Things like Arrow's Out 1, Yoshida or Human Condition box sets I've paid far more than that having not seen any of the films in question. No regrets whatsoever.

I think once you establish a good filtering network, pay attention to the chatter surrounding the films, and stick with the companies you know deliver quality discs (and more often than not quality films) it's incredibly rare to end up with a blind buy that isn't at least interesting. Frankly, I'd struggle to identify any recent purchase (like, last couple years) that I regretted. For anything you're a bit more apprehensive over, there's always sales

I will add to the chorus of 'marketing bloat can go to hell'. Thankfully it's not something I encounter much.

Dirty Dingus McGee

my3cents wrote: »

So how long do collectors of DVD's and Bluray expect the physical media to last?

I've had a few BBC box set DVD's that are ten years old totally fail. The surface just went cloudy. I still collect physical media but it has got me wondering how long it will last (before it becomes unreadable)?

From what I've seen on the internet It says commercial DVD's should last more than 50 years which means my oldest disks will last until I'm 70.I check a 10 year old DVD I have and it was perfectly fine.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2008/may/08/howlongshouldadvdlast

Sad Professor

My Silence of the Lambs DVD got disc rot. Apparently very common with that and other discs released around that time.

homerun_homer

I remember the initial Terminator DVD was one of the first big cases of disc rot within no time of it being released. You had to send it to a postal address to get a free return but it was a one liner UK address so I couldn't do it.

AndyBoBandy

I still buy, and have a large collection of vinyl records.

What are these CD's you speak of?

and who the hell is this Blue Ray guy?

eviltimeban

Gone are the days where you would go down to Xtravision on a Saturday night without knowing what you would rent. You would browse around, see what the latest releases were, and hopefully the new big movie would actually be in stock (it often wouldn't - even after checking the returns box).

Now, you pretty much have to know what's been released and what you want to see. Movies I really like I'll buy on DVD or Blu Ray (the save the extra expense for the likes of Bond, Star Wars, or the likes of Gravity), but I miss being able to "rent" movies. The only option I have is Sky Box Office, and that is hit and miss at best. I don't stream movies from my computer, I just have this mental block about doing that. I don't stream music either, I'd rather download it or buy the CD (I'll download more than buy CDs).

Tower records has a great collection of everything, and they've actually now moved the vinyl to the front of the store, so it's the first thing you see when you walk in. This is great, as it used to be DVD boxsets (HMV's downfall). This makes it feel more like a "record store". I don't have a record player but I'd love one - I still have my records from the 80s and very early 90s.

AndyBoBandy

There are basic enough turntables on the market now and their not mad money either.

pull out a few vinyls at your next gathering, be epic.

Mizu_Ger

I think physical media is on the way out for physical shops. Soon there probably won't be anywhere you can walk in and buy a disk, it'll all be online. I don't think there's any possibility of a resurgence like vinyl is seeing. Vinyl is a very mechanical format, there's no analogy to DVD or Blu-ray (IMO!) with their fancy lasers and all!.

Downloads still aren't close to the same quality as physical (Blu-ray) disks when viewed on large displays. I invested in a projector 2 years ago and the difference is obvious. I used to like heading down to Xtravision on Fridays to see what they had new on blu-ray (and grumble about what they didn't have!), but that's gone now and some of the spontaneity has gone with it.

Disks can be had very cheap off the internet. I bought "The Assassin" for $14.99 on Blu-ray at the same time it was in the cinema here. Not much more than the price of a cinema ticket and I can replay it whenever I like.

Snake Plisken

I will still buy Blu-Ray discs as I'm of a generation of liking to have the physical disc, better picture quality and uncompressed HD soundtracks plus the extras like directors commentaries making of documentaries etc, the one thing I would like is the region coding to be dropped on Blu-Ray!

Ri_Nollaig

I used to have a large DVD collection thats now just piled up in a box somewhere in the attic, should just give it away.
I still have a good few blu rays that I add to every now and then, movies I really liked or collector editions etc.

But overall, I can't see them lasting.
Its not as if they did themselves any favors either; with region locking, really annoying unskippable ads/menus and the completely pointless copyright warnings at the start.
When I put the disc in, it should just jump straight to the movie, no menus, no trailers and no fúcking copyright notices that will only ever appear on legit versions anyway?!?!?
If I want the menu I then use the controller otherwise assume the movie should be played as normal.

I can't see 4k Blu rays improving the situation really.
End of an era really, shame in some ways but in other ways its no harm.

Skerries

Exclamation Marc

In fairness, it's few and far between these days for physical discs to have unskippable trailers, intros etc.

I think studios (thankfully) learned.

Collectors aside and just doing it because you can and because you like to -- what are the benefits to actually owning DVDs in this day and age?

Tony EH

Well, for one, there are tons of films that simply aren't available on anything else but DVD or Blu.

Netflix, IMHO, is only ok if you want to look at something relatively popular or new. But it's a poor service for many, many people. If I want to watch 'The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith', I have to reach for a DVD.

eviltimeban

Deleted User wrote: »

Collectors aside and just doing it because you can and because you like to -- what are the benefits to actually owning DVDs in this day and age?

Bonus features, portability (you might want to bring DVDs on holidays where you can't stream, or play stuff in the car for your kids), permanence of availability.

Necronomicon

Sad Professor wrote: »

The problem with Netflix is that it leaks licensed content and will continue to do so. So while it's a great alternative to Sky and renting to a certain extent, it's a poor alternative to purchasing.

That's exactly it for me. Netflix has replaced my renting habits, but I don't see it as a replacement for my buying habits. If I want to watch a film that I love at any old random time, I don't want my capacity to do so compromised by 1) the possibility that the content has disappeared, or gone to a rival subscription network or 2) the quality or reliability of my internet connection. Currently I'm living in a flat with pretty substandard Wi-Fi speeds, and the content I watch often starts to become pixelated at random intervals.

Cantona's Collars

eviltimeban wrote: »

Bonus features, portability (you might want to bring DVDs on holidays where you can't stream, or play stuff in the car for your kids), permanence of availability.

My DVD collection has ended up in the attic,the kids are now used to having stuff stored on flash drives or streaming shows and movies.Even a 1TB drive can fit in your pocket these days.
Gone are the days of watching the little darlings sliding their Disney DVD's around the floor (every parent has witnessed this at some stage) then crying that it won't work.

Snake Plisken

Yeah and because kids won't have the habit of buying disc based media like we did unfortunately it will become a niche industry which is a great shame!

eviltimeban

eviltimeban wrote: »

Bonus features, portability (you might want to bring DVDs on holidays where you can't stream, or play stuff in the car for your kids), permanence of availability.

Honestly most of this can be easily replaced by having a portable harddrive of some form - most of which can now fit in a person's pocket. Or you can get a tablet or a smartphone and pop whatever you'd like on it. And given that you can buy very reasonably priced tablets for around the same price as a portable DVD player. Because bringing DVDs with you assumes that wherever you go has a player there.

When it comes to most media, the digital route has taken over for me. Not so much for console games, because the prices here in Ireland at the moment aren't that different between physical and digital, but definitely for music, movies, and even books!

eviltimeban

Deleted User wrote: »

Honestly most of this can be easily replaced by having a portable harddrive of some form - most of which can now fit in a person's pocket. Or you can get a tablet or a smartphone and pop whatever you'd like on it. And given that you can buy very reasonably priced tablets for around the same price as a portable DVD player. Because bringing DVDs with you assumes that wherever you go has a player there.

When it comes to most media, the digital route has taken over for me. Not so much for console games, because the prices here in Ireland at the moment aren't that different between physical and digital, but definitely for music, movies, and even books!

I'm with you on music - I purchase on iTunes and it goes directly onto my phone. Don't need to even worry about capacity as its all on iCloud.

I do like to hold a book and turn the pages though. I have a bookshelf and like having the books on it. Same with DVDs actually. I have a wall of DVDs that I think is cool!

I understand that, but for traveling/exercise/and many other areas, physical media just doesn't cut it. I could carry one or two small devices, like a tablet or smartphone and it means tenfold content that I could carry as opposed to solid media. I tend to run and walk quite a lot and have found myself moving over to audiobooks so much more.