Arrowverse's Crisis on Infinite Earths to be 5-Part Crossover

[Marc]

It is a odd that it's going right to MOD, that's usually for older more niche stuff. I've never seen a brand new release go straight to MOD.

it's quite possible that sales haven't been high enough to justify a full production run for the second season.

Do we know what broadcasts are BL are like outside of the U.S? It's never had an FTA or cable broadcast in Canada (not sure if it's on netflix). With a smaller audience, the number of people who will buy the dvds or blu-ray are greatly reduced. For example if it aired in Canada it would increase the demand for home media in the same region format as the U.S.

 

[Tosk]

I've never seen a brand new release go straight to MOD.

Just glancing at my shelf, eight seasons of Bob's Burgers, four of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, one of Veronica Mars, three of Fresh Off The Boat, one of Young Justice.

 

[Masiral]

Dynasty, the other current CW show that premiered in the same season as Black Lightning, has only had the first season released on home media. Legacies was MOD, and Roswell, New Mexico will be as well. This may just be the CW's plan going forward.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I'd wait for Batwoman to hit DVD/BD before making a call on Black Lightning being mistreated. I would hope that it is its later release date rather than anything sinister. Unfortunately, this is probably the future of home media.

 

[Marc]

I'd wait for Batwoman to hit DVD/BD before making a call on Black Lightning being mistreated. I would hope that it is its later release date rather than anything sinister. Unfortunately, this is probably the future of home media.

When streaming services and Apple iTunes are prepared to pay for the content and handle the distribution it would be very appealing the content creators. They take the money, while the streaming services handle the costs for the distribution and there's no cost of producing physical media, distributing it and having to account for unsold stock.

 

[The Realist]

When streaming services and Apple iTunes are prepared to pay for the content and handle the distribution it would be very appealing the content creators. They take the money, while the streaming services handle the costs for the distribution and there's no cost of producing physical media, distributing it and having to account for unsold stock.

Oh, there's little doubt that physical media is on its way out. It's sad, but true. Corporations love streaming for the reasons you cite. "The kids" love it because it's a shiny new technology, it's convenient, and AV quality doesn't much matter when you're watching everything on your phone anyway.

But as of right now, Warner is still releasing all its DC TV series on Blu-ray. All of them, that is, except ....

 

[Mr. Adventure]

It is conspicuous being a DC show but Legacies on CW came out about the same time as Black Lightning and does slightly better ratings wise and also has a similar On Demand only DVD release. Looks to be the same for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

The odd thing is that Warner has Manufacturing On Demand for Blu-Rays so I don't know why they don't make that available. I don't know how that process works and just how "on demand" it is but it seems like they could pump out both fairly easily.

 

[JD]

I didn't realize so many other shows were going MOD now, so it sounds like this might just be normal for shows that aren't huge hits. With so many people switching over to streaming, I could see where it might not be worth going into mass production for something that the majority of people aren't going to buy on physical media.

 

[The Realist]

It is conspicuous being a DC show but Legacies on CW came out about the same time as Black Lightning and does slightly better ratings wise and also has a similar On Demand only DVD release. Looks to be the same for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

The odd thing is that Warner has Manufacturing On Demand for Blu-Rays so I don't know why they don't make that available. I don't know how that process works and just how "on demand" it is but it seems like they could pump out both fairly easily.

I can't cite chapter and verse for either of these, but I've been told that Blu-ray tech is proprietary, such that studios have to pay a licensing fee to release movies/shows in that format. I've also gathered that DVDs continue to sell well to Joe Sixpack because they're like five bucks cheaper than Blu-rays, and Joe doesn't care about AV quality or can't tell the difference.

 

[Ovation]

DVDs continue to sell well to Joe Sixpack because they're like five bucks cheaper than Blu-rays, and Joe doesn't care about AV quality or can't tell the difference.

This is very true (there are a number of such people on this board, and millions more out there).

The reality is, to non-A/V enthusiasts, the jump from VHS to DVD was far greater in quality than the jump from DVD to blu-ray (and what difference they might see is greater than 1080p to 4K). The appropriate viewing distance for the resolution to matter is far closer than 99.99% of people are willing to sit from their 40-55” TVs (the majority of HD TVs currently in people’s home). The additional benefits of HDR, better contrast and wider colour gamuts are irrelevant to most people (I’ve demonstrated these things to dozens of people and while they almost all see them when pointed out to them, they simply don’t care enough to use what they have to its fullest potential, let alone upgrade).

I suspect movies will remain available on high resolution discs for a while, but TV shows will go streaming/download for high resolution and DVDs for the non streaming crowd. It’s simply way more cost effective.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

The reality is, to non-A/V enthusiasts, the jump from VHS to DVD was far greater in quality than the jump from DVD to blu-ray (and what difference they might see is greater than 1080p to 4K). The appropriate viewing distance for the resolution to matter is far closer than 99.99% of people are willing to sit from their 40-55” TVs (the majority of HD TVs currently in people’s home). The additional benefits of HDR, better contrast and wider colour gamuts are irrelevant to most people (I’ve demonstrated these things to dozens of people and while they almost all see them when pointed out to them, they simply don’t care enough to use what they have to its fullest potential, let alone upgrade)

Good summary. Contrary to another opinion, there's no specific cultural type who does not care and/or cannot tell the difference between DVD and Blu-ray's quality, and as you point out, some do not even care. If they're old enough to remember the video tape era, they feel DVDs are leaps and bounds over the pressed or blown out appearance of video tape transfers of the 70s-90s, and are quite satisfied.

Then, some should be aware of the true economic cost of replacing entire DVD collections. Its easier said than done, and ultimately begs the question: "is it worth it?" In some cases--like camera negative transfers of the classic Star Trek or The Twilight Zone, I would say yes, as both series had poor tape transfers for Beta/VHS and were still used for laserdisc (I had collections of both on that format), so the opportunity to see 50+ year old film as it was meant to be seen falls into my "yes"/must-have category.

I cannot say the same for guilty pleasures, or films that were shot in a manner that the Blu-ray transfer made a recognizable improvement with the image (many AIP horror films from the 70s come to mind).

I suspect movies will remain available on high resolution discs for a while, but TV shows will go streaming/download for high resolution and DVDs for the non streaming crowd. It’s simply way more cost effective.

While that might be true, the point about Black Lightning's seasons not being available on Blu-ray, while the other CW/DC shows are. Something is not right about that.

 

[N-121973]

While that might be true, the point about Black Lightning's seasons not being available on Blu-ray, while the other CW/DC shows are. Something is not right about that.

As I pointed out upthread, in the UK at least Krypton isn't available on Blu-Ray so it's not just Black Lightning. Oh, and the Ray and the Freedom Fighters animated is DVD only here.

 

[Guy Gardener]

This is very true (there are a number of such people on this board, and millions more out there).

The reality is, to non-A/V enthusiasts, the jump from VHS to DVD was far greater in quality than the jump from DVD to blu-ray (and what difference they might see is greater than 1080p to 4K). The appropriate viewing distance for the resolution to matter is far closer than 99.99% of people are willing to sit from their 40-55” TVs (the majority of HD TVs currently in people’s home). The additional benefits of HDR, better contrast and wider colour gamuts are irrelevant to most people (I’ve demonstrated these things to dozens of people and while they almost all see them when pointed out to them, they simply don’t care enough to use what they have to its fullest potential, let alone upgrade).

I suspect movies will remain available on high resolution discs for a while, but TV shows will go streaming/download for high resolution and DVDs for the non streaming crowd. It’s simply way more cost effective.

With games now, you get a serial number in the box at the store, and then you download it yourself. The next generation of playstation does not have an optical drive.

I suppose if you can be bother buying dual layered dvds, and they are willing to restrict their media to 8 gb parcels, you can legally down load and legally back up your data on a dual layer dvd, even though the files play off your media drive fine, as it becomes harder to find a box store that still sells dvd players not so far into the future.

This is definitely an interim point before it's all downloaded or streamed.

Buy your own blank dvds and burn your legal media yourself legally.

The enemy will save millions in logistics, resources and freight.

 

[The Realist]

As I pointed out upthread, in the UK at least Krypton isn't available on Blu-Ray so it's not just Black Lightning. Oh, and the Ray and the Freedom Fighters animated is DVD only here.

Interesting, those are both available on Blu-ray in the States.

Believe me, if Krypton were DVD-only, I'd be bitching about that too.

 

[N-121973]

Interesting, those are both available on Blu-ray in the States.

Believe me, if Krypton were DVD-only, I'd be bitching about that too.

We still haven't had Constantine in any format yet over here. Though I've been told in other threads that its region free.

 

[Ovation]

Interesting, those are both available on Blu-ray in the States.

Believe me, if Krypton were DVD-only, I'd be bitching about that too.

I’ve imported a number of movies from Europe that have not had a Blu-ray release in North America (including a couple that have not even had a DVD release in North America—I’m referring to films that had a theatrical run and VHS and/or DVD release). It’s rather arbitrary as far as such things go. Thankfully, it’s not too difficult to get region-free disc players in Canada (though it requires a bit of legwork).

The strangest trend is 3D releases. I have a 3D projector and my son loves the Marvel films in 3D. Since about 2014, though, I’ve had to import them (and anything else by Disney, like the recent Star Wars trilogy and two side movies) from the UK, despite the fact North America is a much larger (by volume) 3D display market.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Interesting, those are both available on Blu-ray in the States.

Believe me, if Krypton were DVD-only, I'd be bitching about that too.

I bet you would.

 

[JD]

As I pointed out upthread, in the UK at least Krypton isn't available on Blu-Ray so it's not just Black Lightning. Oh, and the Ray and the Freedom Fighters animated is DVD only here.

Someone also pointed out upthread that several other CW shows are also only coming out on DVD, so Black Lightning is not alone. It might be the only Arrowverse show without a Blu-Ray release, but I think that might a coincidence, I'm not sure how much the Arrowverse is separated out from other WB and CW shows when it comes to the things like home media releases.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Someone also pointed out upthread that several other CW shows are also only coming out on DVD, so Black Lightning is not alone. It might be the only Arrowverse show without a Blu-Ray release, but I think that might a coincidence, I'm not sure how much the Arrowverse is separated out from other WB and CW shows when it comes to the things like home media releases.

I live on the South Side of Chicago where I see "equal but separate " in action.

I believe in a "rainbow of racism" in action...so that BL not getting a Blu Ray release is NOT PART of A KKK conspiracy red racism, but more of a green or blue variety, where more diverse exec's would notice a disparity.

Just watch and see if Batwoman gets a quick Blu Ray release or promotion

 

[JD]

What about the other CW shows that don't have mostly black casts? Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Legacies also didn't get Blu-Ray releases, so it's not just BL.