12 ms·

I wonder who buys dvd/bluray anymore... after netflix.

drivers99 8y ago
Me. For example, I’m currently legally rewatching Game of Thrones before the new season comes out even though I don’t currently have an HBO subscription. It is a durable copy that doesn’t buffer, is high quality, isn’t modified after the fact (such as when they removed the George W. Bush prop head-on-spike). For a one time price, I own it for life. I can and have lent it out to others. When I watch it, my analytics aren’t tracked, and there are no promos for other shows at the beginning.
- dorkusmagnus 8y ago
  You sound fun at parties.
- jonknee 8y ago
  > When I watch it, my analytics aren’t tracked Unless you watch it on a smart TV. It's a shame you can't get the features of a modern TV without content tracking.
  - dstaley 8y ago
    I mean, just turn off the internet on your TV. Most TVs have terrible built-in software anyway. My TV isn't connected to the internet, so it can't track what I'm watching.
    - drivers99 8y ago
      I forgot to mention that my Blu-Ray player also has an Ethernet port and a bunch of "apps" available, and probably has the ability to report back on Blu-Rays viewed, but I don't use it for that reason (and I have better devices for apps, such as Roku.)
erichocean 8y ago
People who care about audio. Netflix streaming audio is shit. A Blu-ray has incredibly good audio tracks—usually 24-bit/96kHz lossless.
- seattle_spring 8y ago
  This got me really curious about what quality Netflix actually streams its audio, but the only thing I came across were tech support threads regarding low quality streams. Does anyone know of a good comparison of Netflix vs physical disc quality, and/or any hard numbers? FWIW, I have an extremely good system and I've always thought that streamed audio sounds great. I honestly wonder if I've been missing out on the next tier!
  - erichocean 8y ago
    What I recommend is having a DVD, Blu-Ray, and Netflix streaming of a movie with good sound and a lot of dynamic range that you can A-B-C with. Apollo 13 is a reasonable example and fairly cheap. :) It's super obvious side by side, at least on my setup. Streaming is more-or-less DVD quality at best in my experience.
  - dstaley 8y ago
    From what I've found, Netflix's highest quality audio is a lossy 640 kbps Dolby Digital+ (E-AC3) stream. For comparison, the highest quality BluRay audio would be the lossless formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. Both of these formats support variable bit rate encoding, and from my personal library I'm seeing average bit rates of 4727 kbps for Atmos TrueHD and 2525 kbps for DTS-HD MA.
    - erichocean 8y ago
      Dolby TrueHD is lossless, so the bitrate is somewhat irrelevant. DTS-HD Master Audio is also lossless, but "degrades" back to a lossy version if the decoding device does not support it. The actual bitrate after decoding for a 24-bit 2-channel song with a 96kHz sample rate is 4.39mbps. With 5 channels, that's 10.975mbps (higher than a DVD for both picture and sound combined).
ddingus 8y ago
I do. A DVD is low on the list now, unless i know the material is best in SD. BluRay is still a great purchase at times. I like the 24p film editions for classic movies, and in general, get best quality over most streams. And no connection hassles.
sys_64738 8y ago
I always buy DVDs and CDs only. Streaming is like renting a movie as you don't physically own it.
toast0 8y ago
I've started buying discs when they're on sale, because the discs should work for a long time, and I have no idea if I'm going to be able to watch what I want to watch when I want to watch it with Netflix (actually, I have a pretty good idea that I won't be able to watch it, because they rarely have what I want to watch anymore)
ReinholdNiebuhr 8y ago
I buy criterion still. I'll use amazon and netflix but more or less prefer dvd. Also I like a lot of old movies, not all of which are available for streaming.

Me. For example, I’m currently legally rewatching Game of Thrones before the new season comes out even though I don’t currently have an HBO subscription. It is a durable copy that doesn’t buffer, is high quality, isn’t modified after the fact (such as when they removed the George W. Bush prop head-on-spike). For a one time price, I own it for life. I can and have lent it out to others. When I watch it, my analytics aren’t tracked, and there are no promos for other shows at the beginning.

dorkusmagnus 8y ago
You sound fun at parties.
jonknee 8y ago
> When I watch it, my analytics aren’t tracked Unless you watch it on a smart TV. It's a shame you can't get the features of a modern TV without content tracking.
- dstaley 8y ago
  I mean, just turn off the internet on your TV. Most TVs have terrible built-in software anyway. My TV isn't connected to the internet, so it can't track what I'm watching.
  - drivers99 8y ago
    I forgot to mention that my Blu-Ray player also has an Ethernet port and a bunch of "apps" available, and probably has the ability to report back on Blu-Rays viewed, but I don't use it for that reason (and I have better devices for apps, such as Roku.)

erichocean 8y ago

People who care about audio. Netflix streaming audio is shit. A Blu-ray has incredibly good audio tracks—usually 24-bit/96kHz lossless.

seattle_spring 8y ago
This got me really curious about what quality Netflix actually streams its audio, but the only thing I came across were tech support threads regarding low quality streams. Does anyone know of a good comparison of Netflix vs physical disc quality, and/or any hard numbers? FWIW, I have an extremely good system and I've always thought that streamed audio sounds great. I honestly wonder if I've been missing out on the next tier!
- erichocean 8y ago
  What I recommend is having a DVD, Blu-Ray, and Netflix streaming of a movie with good sound and a lot of dynamic range that you can A-B-C with. Apollo 13 is a reasonable example and fairly cheap. :) It's super obvious side by side, at least on my setup. Streaming is more-or-less DVD quality at best in my experience.
- dstaley 8y ago
  From what I've found, Netflix's highest quality audio is a lossy 640 kbps Dolby Digital+ (E-AC3) stream. For comparison, the highest quality BluRay audio would be the lossless formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. Both of these formats support variable bit rate encoding, and from my personal library I'm seeing average bit rates of 4727 kbps for Atmos TrueHD and 2525 kbps for DTS-HD MA.
  - erichocean 8y ago
    Dolby TrueHD is lossless, so the bitrate is somewhat irrelevant. DTS-HD Master Audio is also lossless, but "degrades" back to a lossy version if the decoding device does not support it. The actual bitrate after decoding for a 24-bit 2-channel song with a 96kHz sample rate is 4.39mbps. With 5 channels, that's 10.975mbps (higher than a DVD for both picture and sound combined).

ddingus 8y ago

I do. A DVD is low on the list now, unless i know the material is best in SD. BluRay is still a great purchase at times. I like the 24p film editions for classic movies, and in general, get best quality over most streams. And no connection hassles.

sys_64738 8y ago

I always buy DVDs and CDs only. Streaming is like renting a movie as you don't physically own it.

toast0 8y ago

I've started buying discs when they're on sale, because the discs should work for a long time, and I have no idea if I'm going to be able to watch what I want to watch when I want to watch it with Netflix (actually, I have a pretty good idea that I won't be able to watch it, because they rarely have what I want to watch anymore)

ReinholdNiebuhr 8y ago

I buy criterion still. I'll use amazon and netflix but more or less prefer dvd. Also I like a lot of old movies, not all of which are available for streaming.