Season SIX OFFICIAL TNG Blu-Ray Discussion Thread

Doesn't matter what we think. It matters what the studio thinks. I'm not aware the studio has commented on it.

I think you're under a mistaken assumption about DS9. There is no magic number of TNG sets sold that would ensure a DS9 remaster.

 

I've said this before, but unless somebody has a subscription to Videoscan, I don't think we can say much about sales at this point.

 

Well, that's literally untrue. For starters, I'd buy them.

No, I'm reasonably convinced that there is such a number. I don't know what that number is, but to take it to an absurd extreme, if TNG Blu-rays sold a billion copies, CBS would be writing some cheques right now.

Further speculation is fairly pointless, though, granted.

 

... and TNG sales dont ensure bluray sales for the other series. While I buy the TNG sets, I didnt buy ENT and TOS. And I probably also wouldnt buy DS9 and VOY, but rent it (like I did with ENT), watch the extras and only the couple of episodes I liked in a season.

 

Easy metric for that in the DVD sales though, if the DS9 DVDs sold 50% of the TNG volumes (say, I've no idea of the actual figure) they can work that into their costs for Blus.

 

There is all this talk about sales, but the supply of the various seasons seem to be dwindling with each release. I look for the blues when I walk in a best buy or Target and they have none. I also remember target didn't even have season 6 listed in have ad and the price on amazon skyrocketed after the first week. With such a limited supply, I hope CBS isn't counting on high sales figures.

 

Chicken or the egg?

If Target isn't selling as many blu-rays as they did a year or two ago, then they'll probably stock less of them going forward.

 

I think when it comes to more blus this touches on part of the problem, a sharp decline in all forms of physical media sales, if they start Ds9 next year by season 7 they are actively pursuing an anachronism.

 

Physical media will remain a reality for years to come. Take a look at the reality of alternatives right now, specifically streaming. ISPs are pissed that companies like Netflix and YouTube are using a bulk of their bandwidth, so the connections are being throttled unless they shell out millions.

Since about six months ago, I can no longer watch YouTube at 1080p without it buffering throughout. It used to never do that, but AT&T is reducing bandwidth.

I used to be able to watch Netflix in HD with no problem. Now I'm lucky if it goes beyond 480p.

Blu-ray will be around for a while. The only alternative is heavily compressed video with lossy audio, which would be a significant downgrade from Blu-ray.

 

Years for sure, decades no. Also Blu will be the last physical format.

Really though, a short term technical problem. The ISPs want a piece of this soon to be massive pie of online video as they are saying they have to supply a lot of the kit so they deserve some of the profit.

Deals like this aren't because there is a problem with Netflix, they are because Netflix is going to be enormous, or enormouser. Look at amazon's strategy as well, while not good at making a margin they do know which way the wind is blowing.

As hard as it is to believe these technical problems will be resolved for 90% of people within the next decade.

Five years as a mainstream format I'd say..

And well, yes that's true. However you and I and those who have amassed large Blu collections are a small minority of the people who make up the home video market. Most people are buying a big TV for sports, which they get in HD from their provider, and watching movies either on-demand or on old DVDs.

Blu Ray sales are slowly dropping, in the UK at least catalogue releases are pretty rare now, and DVD sales have been in decline for almost a decade. Blu 3D has not taken off, and Blu 4K will be a non-starter.

Of course the kicker is, that the industry will now only get revenue from the streaming sites, as the physical media leaves the building. They will run in a tier from Cinema >> Premium Streaming >> Slightly Cheaper Streaming >> What we currently have on Netflix, I expect Netflix and co will get pricier over time so they can compete in that "just below premium" tier.

 

I believe physical media will continue to be produced for, at least, the next decade. Two of the reasons are above and point to a model that will become much pricier over the next few years.

Right now, Netflix represents a nice alternate way of consuming media. But, I think, people will be re-examining it when either the price goes up on Netflix itself and/or when ISP's begin charging for bandwidth beyond certain usage (something that is already seen in some markets). While I enjoyed watching Frasier last night on Netflix. Am I going to be willing to pay my ISP a premium when that inevitable model comes?

I think things are still shaking out and that the future regarding physical media isn't written in stone.

 

There's more to consider than just the ISPs getting deals done with the content providers to eliminate throttling.

For instance, there's the reliability and longevity of streaming. Content on Netflix comes and goes. We're at the mercy of contracts for being able to watch content. Then when there's an outage, we have no recourse. It's rare, yes, but physical media (generally) always works.

The other alternative is downloads. The entire TNG in full quality is over 1 terabyte. That really adds up after a while. Plus if a disc goes bad, just get another one. If a hard drive full of movies dies, you're screwed.

 

One of the problems to be overcome, at least for cable broadband customers, is the fact that we all share one giant connection and quality is dependent on how many people are using the internet at a given time. I don't think the infrastructure yet exists to have hundreds of thousands of people in a given area to stream all at the same time.

 

I agree it will be produced for a decade, though will be fairly niche by the end of it.

Agreed - I think Netflix will want to avoid two-tier pricing but Amazon video is already a hodge-podge of premium pay-per-view titles and prime ones that is a bit of a mess.

That said, people in the UK happily spend a fortune on Sky.

I don't think it will. The mobile phone companies are having issues right now here in the UK as they sell speed and video chat etc. as their services, but supply contract data caps at absurdly low levels of 500MB, 1GB etc - insane in the modern world.

The ISPs have been in a race to the bottom price-wise, but now are selling pricier fibre-based internet services. This is arguably an example of what you predict, but I expect going forwards it is actually Netflix and co who will (as they have been) pay for the extra bandwidth, and you would pay for it through them.

It's muddy, but I think the direction things are heading is pretty clear, IMHO of course.

 

I'll believe it when I see it. I've been told about the cashless society for thirty-five years and am still waiting for it to arrive. Physical media may become niche and more expensive, but I believe there will be enough people around who want it that it will continue to be profitable for studios.

 

I'm much more critical of Trek than I was even a few years ago, and enjoy it less. Old age, I guess.

I just watched Schisms, which used to be an interesting episode because it's so creepy. I guess I last watched it on DVD at least 5 years ago.

Last night, on blu-ray (not that the medium makes a difference in this case), it seemed awkwardly directed. The actors seemed like they could barely spit out the onerous Treknobabble.

I have to admit, the new matte when the ship is entering the area (Expanse?) near the beginning looks gorgeous.

 

Every time someone says "physical media will be gone in X years..." all I can think of is the Paperless Office.

 

The big difference being nobody who wasn't trying to sell you something predicted the paperless office with a straight face.

Besides it isn't a strict analogy, the reason people like paper is because it allows direct expression without technology. No more efficient and effective note-taking technology exists than the post it and pen.

Physical media is just putting a digital file on a disk and putting it in a shop. Downloading and streaming is instead delivering that physical file over the internet.

Also, I should clarify that as a niche thing, physical media has longer than as a mass-market product. There is still amazingly a market for SACD with new DSD recordings, its tiny but that market are happy to pay a significant premium for it. I guess in ten years you will see a similar thing for Blu Ray.

There is an element of personal taste to it as well. I switched from buying CDs to MP3s a couple of years back and often it just, well, feels weird. My logic (I just bought the CDs and ripped them before shoving them in a cupboard) remains sound, but part of me misses the feeling of owning a product.

With my Blu Rays it will be even worse, my library has taken me five years to build and to see it becoming an anachronism in front of my eyes is going to be hard!

 

Sort of like printing a book? Another physical medium that people thought would go away.

I'm not blind to the fact that sales for certain things will continue to decrease, but I don't think those who say, "It will be gone in X years" have much chance of being right.

 

Well maybe for certain markets they have. What is tragic is a lot of younger people these days don't read at all, which I think is very sad.

And basically, no! Books are analogue physical things, actual words on a page. A CD or DVD is merely a carrier for encoded data, there is no actual music on the disc, no actual film, just some data that will be rebuilt into one.

As an absolute statement, it requires qualification. So yes, it might be a bit premature to say "In ten years blu rays will be things you buy on ebay that your kids dont understand", but if you were to say "In ten years physical media will be basically obsolete or at most niche as a mainstream delivery method for digital movies and music" I don't see how that can be debated, the way things are going.