The Future of Home Video

[FrauBlucher]

How many streaming services do you subscribe to, in addition to all the new subscriptions one must maintain to do things like run a home computer? Studios that are pushing streaming in a big way seem to be aligning their distribution model to ‘disrupt’ theatrical distribution. With Disney acquiring 20th-Fox, repertory theaters have been told they won’t be supplied with Fox product, and the foreign disc companies I know have been told that Fox product will no longer be licensed to them.

I just noticed that Fox is partners with Regency Enterprises, which have been a huge presence in the last 20 to 25 years. So, does this mean the only place to view these films going forward will be on the Disney streaming platform, as well as the physical media for them going away? Although, the Wikipedia page says the deal between 20th Century Fox and Regency is up in 2022. I could see this easily getting renewed

[flyonthewall2983]

Universal and Warner Brothers are set to merge their home video divisions

[knives]

There's this book I read as a kid, Jennifer Government, where corporations become monopolies to the point of being countries. News like this makes me think Australia falling under the domain of McDonald's isn't so crazy.

[domino harvey]

Universal and Warner Brothers are set to merge their home video divisions

It only sounds like a good idea because both labels are still releasing and licensing titles on physical media, but the very real threat of all older Fox films disappearing completely with the Disney merger should give any and everyone pause from praising any further consolidation

[Grand Wazoo]

There's this book I read as a kid, Jennifer Government, where corporations become monopolies to the point of being countries. News like this makes me think Australia falling under the domain of McDonald's isn't so crazy.

Wow, you're the first person I've ever seen mention this book in the wild, one I also read back as a sophomore in high school.

It would be ironic if this were somehow a merger our government squashed, but something tells me that won't be the case.

[jindianajonz]

My plasma TV is dying, and I'm starting to look at OLEDs. Is it true that 3D TVs aren't really a thing anymore? I only have a handful of 3D titles, but damn, that was a quick disappearance for a fad that seemed omnipresent only 5 years ago.

[DarkImbecile]

I only have a handful of 3D titles, but damn, that was a quick disappearance for a fad that seemed omnipresent only 5 years ago.

Much like those curved screen TVs that have completely vanished! I'd highly recommend the LG 55"/65" C-series OLEDs, if you can make that kind of investment.

[captveg]

Universal and Warner Brothers are set to merge their home video divisions

Distribution is not the same as merging authoring/compression, or even possibly replication. Remains to be seen how this effects things for the consumer (if at all).

[MichaelB]

My plasma TV is dying, and I'm starting to look at OLEDs. Is it true that 3D TVs aren't really a thing anymore? I only have a handful of 3D titles, but damn, that was a quick disappearance for a fad that seemed omnipresent only 5 years ago.

I needed to buy a 3D screen this week to QC Indicator’s The Mad Magician, and much to my very pleasant surprise I was able to pick up a second-hand LG monitor for just £75 including delivery, which just goes to show how obsolete the technology is now regarded as being.

Works fine for my purposes, though, and I was equally pleasantly surprised to discover how many 3D titles I’d somehow amassed purely because combined 3D/2D editions were the only ones available at the time - around ten all told, including the animated Czech Fimfárum 3 and the Polish 1920 Battle of Warsaw. (Two out of four of my players also turned out to be 3D compatible, another surprise.)

[tenia]

which just goes to show how obsolete the technology is now regarded as being.

Not sure if you can correlate things like this.
I suppose, given the price, that you bought a Full HD TV and not a UHD one. Considering the market today, that'd be the main reason.
Then, it's second-hand, and I've seen high end TVs being heavily discounted because the seller had reasons for that. I suppose you took a bit of time to look for the best price-quality compromise you could find, and thus possibly find someone willing to go that low.
Finally, 3D FHD setups quickly were the same price than non-3D ones, the glasses being the main element (for a time) upping the price of the whole set.

It doesn't mean 3D TVs aren't obsolete (they are : the market for 3D BDs - which accounted for the utùost majority of the 3D content - never went passed a few % of the BD market), but I doubt the price of a second-hand FHD TV is a good indicator for judging that.

[fdm]

Projectors still support 3D, even the newest 4K ones. My plasma still does too, knock on wood. (I recall looking for a 3D copy of 1920 Battle of Warsaw, but at the time it wasn't easy to come by.)

[jedgeco]

I suppose, given the price, that you bought a Full HD TV and not a UHD one. Considering the market today, that'd be the main reason.
Then, it's second-hand, and I've seen high end TVs being heavily discounted because the seller had reasons for that. I suppose you took a bit of time to look for the best price-quality compromise you could find, and thus possibly find someone willing to go that low.

Older HDTVs are also going to have to be heavily discounted because brand new 4K sets are so ridiculously inexpensive now (mainly because the price to the consumer is heavily subsidized by adware and data collection).

[tenia]

Older HDTVs are also going to have to be heavily discounted because brand new 4K sets are so ridiculously inexpensive now (mainly because the price to the consumer is heavily subsidized by adware and data collection).

Yes, that's what I meant by "considering the market now". Most retailers are selling UHD TVs and most buyers of new sets are buying UHD TVs, so HDTVs are already heavily discounted already in retail and most likely have to be even more so in the second hand market (otherwise, they'll never get sold).

[Michael Kerpan]

I keep hoping to hear that someone has cured/greatly reduced the OLED burn-in issue. For now I'm sticking with our antique plasma.

[David M.]

If you've not managed to burn a Plasma, I'd be amazed if you could burn an OLED.

[mfunk9786]

Right. I sometimes see a ghost of something I just got through doing on my OLED, but never anything that doesn't go away in mere moments. Permanent burn-in would take a lot of effort.

[Michael Kerpan]

Glad to hear this... (though, since we WERE able to repair our lightning-shorted-out plasma, we'll probably stick with it until it dies for good).

Speaking of even more antique equipment -- I thought one of our old VCRs still worked -- but it still doesn't. Can one even find working VCRs anymore (for cheap)?

[Altair]

On eBay I imagine - I still have a working VCR in order to play my (dwindling) collections of videos (mainly canonical classics which for one reason or another I haven't yet upgraded to BD). It's a testament perhaps to how bizarrely well made VCRs from the '90s were that they're working a quarter of a century later.

[Michael Kerpan]

One of ours turns on but is otherwise "unresponsive" -- the other can't respond to any remote control (and no way to deal with tracking without the remote control). It seems the sensor on the VCR died (I even opened it up and cleaned it of dust etc to see if this might help).

Addendum -- the non-responding to remote control VCR has ALSO completely died since I last checked it a year or so go -- pushing the power button now does nothing.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Speaking of even more antique equipment -- I thought one of our old VCRs still worked -- but it still doesn't. Can one even find working VCRs anymore (for cheap)?

Not sure how many here are like me, but I'm a hoarder of old media and equipment (part of my day job). I have a six-head RCA VHS player I use all the time for watching tapes along with a few laserdisc players. I have both for watching numerous Hong Kong films only available on these formats along with a few oddities that for some reason or another never made the leap to any other format (Dennis Hopper's sleazy thriller, Nails, comes to mind). I've been tempted to buy a beta player, but still haven't. I have a couple of halogen 16mm projectors too and have been looking into investing in a xenon one eventually. I have a similarly wild setup for my audio with a Technics CD player, a Technics dual cassette with Dolby functionality, and a more modern Pro-ject turntable. Aside from my turntable which I bought new, I find everything second-hand either at thrift stores and Craigslist. I'm also proud to say I've never spent more than $14 on anything. For example, I have excellent condition Altec-Lansing Model 5 speakers from the 70s for my older media setup that I got for free off Craigslist from an old man who was too old to move them and was a former engineer for JBL. For display, I use a late model Sony Trinitron with component and S-video function, but thinking of switching to one of the professional models of Trinitron. It takes patience, but if you're a scavenger like I tend to be, finding equipment for old formats is certainly not impossible.

[movielocke]

One of ours turns on but is otherwise "unresponsive" -- the other can't respond to any remote control (and no way to deal with tracking without the remote control). It seems the sensor on the VCR died (I even opened it up and cleaned it of dust etc to see if this might help).

Addendum -- the non-responding to remote control VCR has ALSO completely died since I last checked it a year or so go -- pushing the power button now does nothing.

i wonder if there are any youtube videos on reviving/repairing old electronics oneself. my sisters successfully revived some old 90s era battery operated toys over the holidays, following some youtube videos and using nothing more than a quetip and vinegar.

[Michael Kerpan]

I'm afraid I've shifted this topic (at least temporarily) to "The Past of Home Video"

[Godot]

The Wall Street Journal article on this Universal-WB merger emphasized "the death of physical media" angle, including a dramatic bar chart.

Michael K, I see a number of name brand models of VCRs that sell for $30-40 on eBay. Another option is to check your local Goodwill type storefront; in my area we have a "Savers" chain that sells used electronics equipment, and they often have VCRs, DVD players, computer monitors, musical keyboards, etc. for $10-15. I have two VCRs that I keep for the rare tapes that I can copy for neighbors (old home movies) onto DVD (Sony DVD recorder with hard-drive), or copying foreign films that hadn't been released on DVD yet (a decade ago that was how I saw the rarer Renoir, Ozu, and Lang films ... now all available on sparkling blu-rays).

[Lemmy Caution]

I basically own a TV to solely watch movies and watch no Tv at all, except for NBA games. I also don't stream anything. So I have no idea what to make of this article about the insanity of paying for multiple streaming services.

But this struck me as bizarre:

Television shows became the score to which I lived my life; I played these shows on a loop in the background of my life while I cleaned my apartment, folded laundry, did my makeup or cooked dinner.

Sounds like some kind of nightmare to me.
To each her own, but hasn't this person ever heard of MUSIC?
Honestly, I'd be worried if TV shows dominated my life so.

[willoneill]

Television shows became the score to which I lived my life; I played these shows on a loop in the background of my life while I cleaned my apartment, folded laundry, did my makeup or cooked dinner.

Sounds like some kind of nightmare to me.
To each her own, but hasn't this person ever heard of MUSIC?
Honestly, I'd be worried if TV shows dominated my life so.

I don't do it myself, but my wife does. She also likes to fall asleep to a perpetual rerun of Arrested Development. I would make the argument though that I listen to podcasts in the background when I'm working around the house, and that's not really much different than having a TV show running. To each their own, is I guess what I'm getting at.