Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DVD vs. Blueray

This is topic DVD vs. Blueray in forum The Afterlife at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Helmut Maripuu (Member # 2281) on 03-21-2019, 12:23 PM:

In Sweden we can buy some movies at Blueray but lots of movies on DVD. I hate DVD why DVD still exists. Never would I buy a movie on DVD. I just want Blueray!

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-21-2019, 01:10 PM:

I have several movies I'd love to buy on BluRay but they just haven't come out on that format due to not being mega-blockbusters. They may never see the light of day again - that happens anytime there's a new format. Not everything migrates.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-21-2019, 04:10 PM:

When it comes to watching movies at home I prefer using Blu-ray discs, as opposed to alternatives like streaming, watching on cable TV networks, etc.

The audio-video quality on Blu-ray is still superior, even with residential Internet connections improving to very fast speeds. The "basic" 25 megabit per second cable Internet connection I have with the local ISP was recently bumped to 50 megabits per second. It actually runs more like 58 Mb/s while the previous connection ran 27 Mb/s. The top speed available went from 125 Mb/s to 250 Mb/s, and that's pretty slow compared to some residential services now. Gigabit-speed is available in some places. Even with all that speed the video quality is only going to be as good as the video encode provided. I don't think Netflix, Amazon and others use the same video encodes that are used on Blu-ray and UHD discs. The quality also varies from one movie to the next. The same is true for Blu-ray discs. Some studios love high bit rate encodes while others compress the video just to brink of being no better than a streaming encode.

While I prefer Blu-ray, I have a pretty depressing outlook on it and physical media in general. Video rental stores have been disappearing. Retail stores specializing in selling movies and music have also been disappearing rapidly. Family Video is the only video rental store left in Lawton. For retail movie sales the selection is whatever is stocked at Walmart and Target. That pushes many customers to Amazon or other online merchants. We have no dedicated music stores left in town either. If you want uncensored music CDs, or just a decent selection, once again you have to go online.

Samsung recently announced it is pulling out of the Blu-ray player market. No more 1080p BD players or UHD BD players from them.

Movie studios have not been doing physical media any favors either. They don't put the effort into new disc releases like they did to many DVDs 10-20 years ago. Pop open the plastic case of a new movie release on Blu-ray and you'll probably find nothing more than a bare bones disc, almost devoid of any extras. Music on CD these days sucks for a different reason: loudness. They use so much dynamics compression to make tracks louder that it harms overall audio quality. The end result is something hardly any better than lossy compressed song files bought from Apple, Amazon or Google. Lately those services are struggling due to the rise of music streaming services, which feed listeners audio at even lower quality levels.

Posted by Peter Castle (Member # 1997) on 03-21-2019, 05:43 PM:

I don't like to buy DVDs when the better quality of a BD is available. But now even streamed or cable shows, when they appear on disc, are only coming out on DVD. What's the point of watching a series like Netflix's "Shadowhunters" in 4K only to be limited on disc to DVD quality?
Many of the quality movies are not getting BD release in Australia. "The Wife", "Children Act", "Old Man and the Gun" to name a few. And local movies are also getting the lowfi treatment such as "Ali's Wedding", "Three Summers" and "Don't Ask".

Very disappointing.

Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 03-24-2019, 01:22 PM:

Although I own a Blueray player, 90% of the movies I buy are regular DVD's. The quality of regular DVD's is fine for me. I only buy Blueray if it is a very visually prominent movie.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 03-26-2019, 05:37 AM:

I think because Blu Ray charges licensing fees that are high enough to discourage routine releases on Blu Ray?

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 03-28-2019, 07:09 PM:

“DVD is better than Blu-ray beause it’s cheaper and you can’t tell the difference on our 36-inch off-brand set we got for $179 at Walmart and you’re never ever getting a bigger TV anyway. This one’s fine.”

-Every wife in America

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 7758) on 03-28-2019, 08:02 PM:

I am SO glad to be done with standard def, for reason after reason. Except for a few of my friends who can't see well enough or sit close enough to the screen, the difference is astoundingly better, and only the aforementioned friends have reason to ignore this reality.

And the housewife in my family is on board with HD. I married up.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 03-28-2019, 08:03 PM:

When I buy a DVD these days it's going to be 4K Blue-ray if it's available. But I maybe buy 2-3 a year. I currently own 200is DVD (inclusive of DVD, Blue-ray, and 4K).

In the past 6 months I don't think I have watched a single movie on any of these formats. Part of the reason is I have already watched all of those movies - many of them more than once. The other reason is I have so many streaming options available with 4K resolution that there is little need for a physical media.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 04-23-2019, 02:03 AM:

I used to buy a lot of DVDs back in the day, but I stopped once I had all the movies I wanted to have in my collection. It's also not like this collection represents any tangible value, as the industry will keep superseding your copy with new and better formats, trying to force to buy the same movie over and over again on a new format.

Nowadays, when I buy a Blu-Ray, it's usually because I create a DCP out of it.

I bought a handful of titles on 4K/UHD/HDR, but only after the DRM on them had been broken. I hate the fact that they lock-in the content you buy. I know it's an anti-piracy measure, but hey... newsflash: It's not working. All they're achieving is that, once the last Blu-Ray player dies, you technically can't even play them anymore...

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-23-2019, 02:24 PM:

quote: Marcel Birgelen
Nowadays, when I buy a Blu-Ray, it's usually because I create a DCP out of it.

This is me. I love to create a DCP out of a blu-ray and watch it in the theater during the off hours.

I'm hoping there will eventually be a way to make a DCP out of a stream. (Maybe there is one already...?)

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 12-26-2019, 03:26 PM:

I love to find a 35mm print in the collector's community of a film I love and then bring in some beer and pizza and run it for my family and friends in the theatre after hours. [beer]

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 7758) on 12-29-2019, 11:45 PM:

Man, Frank, I wanna be at your New Year's party. Why do you have to be so far away?