Do you still collect DVD, Blu-ray, 4K?

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

If I can watch what I want, when I want, on a service which is obviously not going anywhere, then logically speaking it's irrelevant whether or not I "own" what I'm watching.

Besides, with iTunes, it can be argued that I really DO own it! They don't even charge a yearly fee! So once I buy something from them, I'm in the clear.

Edit: Just so you know, I'm talking about iTunes, NOT AppleTV+. That's a different thing altogether.

Titles leave streamers all the time before I get around to watching them.
Streamers often do not have director's cuts / special editions, which I prefer.
Streamers usually have few to no "special features," which I value as much as the film itself.
Even with things like iTunes, you do not own the title. If iTunes loses licensing rights, I believe you lose your "purchased" titles. I have heard stories of this.

 

[Ríu ríu chíu]

Streamers often do not have director's cuts / special editions, which I prefer.

Which I do not.

Streamers usually have few to no "special features," which I value as much as the film itself.

Which I do not.

Even with things like iTunes, you do not own the title. If iTunes loses licensing rights, I believe you lose your "purchased" titles. I have heard stories of this.

Those stories were false.

Even if iTunes stops carrying something, it's still there in your library. You don't even have to download a copy to your computer.

That's happened to a few titles I own (such as Prodigy). Licensing is irrelevant. They can't take anything away from you.

 

[cal888]

How do you feel about a franchise being scattered across multiple streamers, sequels being unavailable, or series or films not streaming at all? A lot of people will just pick a streamer on their TV menu and "explore" until, "Oh, cool, let's watch that." I'm more title-oriented in that I'm looking for specific titles in contrast to stumbling over something that looks good.

I have 7 streamers and the original 2 Ghostbusters films are on none of them.

&

Titles leave streamers all the time before I get around to watching them.
Streamers often do not have director's cuts / special editions, which I prefer.
Streamers usually have few to no "special features," which I value as much as the film itself.
Even with things like iTunes, you do not own the title. If iTunes loses licensing rights, I believe you lose your "purchased" titles. I have heard stories of this.

I think many people take streaming for granted. The ease and pricing of streaming circa 2015 will likely never (legally) be available again. We're well past the peak.

John Campea of all people did a great video a few months back talking about that for streaming to be sustainable, they'll likely need to introduce long term service contracts to cut down on churn, meter how much content you can watch in a given month through internal variable pricing, and include even more ads.

Most public libraries have access to Kanopy, a free to the end user streaming service. Kanopy runs on a "ticket" system. One library I have a card with grants 30 tickets a month, another 18 tickets. Some films "cost" 2 tickets, others 4. This model could easily be adopted by Disney+ where new films and streaming series are more expensive, whereas something old would be cheaper per hour of content.

And this is assuming the film or TV series you want to watch is even available to stream. Over a third of my Letterboxd watchlist isn't available to stream, so I'd need to pay a lot of money for pay per view online renting, get it from the library if they have it on disc, or blind buy on disc.

TV series wise, there are many seasons not even 5 years old that have been pulled. I only have access to RAISED BY WOLVES now because I imported the Blu-rays from the UK and Australia (and it was never even granted a US physical release).

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

&

I think many people take streaming for granted. The ease and pricing of streaming circa 2015 will likely never (legally) be available again. We're well past the peak.

John Campea of all people did a great video a few months back talking about that for streaming to be sustainable, they'll likely need to introduce long term service contracts to cut down on churn, meter how much content you can watch in a given month through internal variable pricing, and include even more ads.

Most public libraries have access to Kanopy, a free to the end user streaming service. Kanopy runs on a "ticket" system. One library I have a card with grants 30 tickets a month, another 18 tickets. Some films "cost" 2 tickets, others 4. This model could easily be adopted by Disney+ where new films and streaming series are more expensive, whereas something old would be cheaper per hour of content.

And this is assuming the film or TV series you want to watch is even available to stream. Over a third of my Letterboxd watchlist isn't available to stream, so I'd need to pay a lot of money for pay per view online renting, get it from the library if they have it on disc, or blind buy on disc.

TV series wise, there are many seasons not even 5 years old that have been pulled. I only have access to RAISED BY WOLVES now because I imported the Blu-rays from the UK and Australia (and it was never even granted a US physical release).

Thank you for this, but no streaming limitations, please. If there's viewing limits, better not charge me more than $5 a month, otherwise cancelling.

Currently, I have Paramount+ for $13 per month.
Disney+ & Hulu bundled with phone service for $10.
Max & Netflix bundled with phone service for $10.
A friend shares his Amazon with me, plus Roku is free.
If it's not on one of these 7, I get the disc, or I do without.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

Those stories were false.

What about this story?

Even if iTunes stops carrying something, it's still there in your library. You don't even have to download a copy to your computer.

I did a little Googling, and it seems Apple iTunes may be an exception, but the point is, if Amazon can do it, what's stopping from iTunes from getting the same idea?

That's happened to a few titles I own (such as Prodigy). Licensing is irrelevant. They can't take anything away from you.

Oh, they absolutely can, and they do.

 

[Ríu ríu chíu]

What about this story?

What about it? That's Amazon, not iTunes.

I did a little Googling, and it seems Apple iTunes may be an exception, but the point is, if Amazon can do it, what's stopping from iTunes from getting the same idea?

Sorry, I must have misplaced my tinfoil hat.

Besides, remember what I just said about Prodigy. Everybody knew about it getting yanked from all services - presumably including iTunes - yet even after that happened, I could still watch it.

And like I also just said, iTunes has yanked other things I bought, and I can still watch them too. So you will forgive me if none of this rates particularly high on my give-a-crap-o-meter.

 

[cal888]

If it's not on one of these 7, I get the disc, or I do without.

Tubi, Pluto, and Xumo are all worth checking out FAST wise.

See if your library has Kanopy and/or Hoopla. If they don't, maybe the next county over does.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

Tubi, Pluto, and Xumo are all worth checking out FAST wise.

And when a movie or series is not there either, then what?

See if your library has Kanopy and/or Hoopla. If they don't, maybe the next county over does.

Why would I go through all of this effort when I can just buy a movie for $2-10?

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

What about it? That's Amazon, not iTunes.

You said the stories are false. Do you concede that the stories are true, but Amazon and not iTunes?

Sorry, I must have misplaced my tinfoil hat.

First, don't be an asshole, please. Second, do you really think iTunes would not jump on the band wagon?

Besides, remember what I just said about Prodigy. Everybody knew about it getting yanked from all services - presumably including iTunes - yet even after that happened, I could still watch it.

What about this class action lawsuit? Still gonna accuse me of tinfoil hats?

And like I also just said, iTunes has yanked other things I bought, and I can still watch them too. So you will forgive me if none of this rates particularly high on my give-a-crap-o-meter.

My point is, it can happen. If you don't care, you do you.

 

[cal888]

Why would I go through all of this effort when I can just buy a movie for $2-10?

How many movies are you 50/50 on and don't want to blind buy?

BTW, Hoopla has a ton of Star Trek comic eBooks on it as well. Worth checking out for that alone considering how variable in quality the IDW line has become over the last decade or so.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

How many movies are you 50/50 on and don't want to blind buy?

If it's 50/50 and it's not on one of the streamers I use, oh well, there's other stuff I'd rather watch.

BTW, Hoopla has a ton of Star Trek comic eBooks on it as well. Worth checking out for that alone considering how variable in quality the IDW line has become over the last decade or so.

I've actually never read a comic book.

 

[Tosk]

Ownership is overrated.

Besides, with iTunes, it can be argued that I really DO own it! They don't even charge a yearly fee! So once I buy something from them, I'm in the clear.

So which is it?

 

[St. John Talbot]

No. I already have the complete set.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

No. I already have the complete set.

Complete set of what?

 

[St. John Talbot]

Star Trek DVDs.

 

[cal888]

I've actually never read a comic book.

There's actually some really good Star Trek ones. What do you have to lose by checking one out for free?

 

[Avro Arrow]

TV series wise, there are many seasons not even 5 years old that have been pulled. I only have access to RAISED BY WOLVES now because I imported the Blu-rays from the UK and Australia (and it was never even granted a US physical release).

Wow, we got a physical release here in Canada that the US didn't get? That certainly doesn't happen every day. Both seasons came out on blu-ray here.

 

[cal888]

Wow, we got a physical release here in Canada that the US didn't get? That certainly doesn't happen every day. Both seasons came out on blu-ray here.

Oh yeah, that's right. Main theory at the time was that UK, Australia, and Canada not having HBO Max was the factor that let it out on Blu-ray in those countries, while in the US they wanted to encourage people to get on the streaming pipeline.

Apparently there was a show called THE WITCH(?) that had a similar release pattern.

 

[cal888]

Ok, turns out the other memory holed project on disc was THE WITCHES, an HBO Max TV movie that was directed by Robert Zemeckis based on a Roald Dahl story.

Here's the review from the Blu-ray Forum. Doesn't exactly look like my cup of tea, but another example of how people shouldn't depend on streaming.

 

[Lord of Gifts]

First, don't be an asshole, please

You need to stop doing this, the forum rules are quite clear about it.

Infraction for flaming, comments to PM.