Quote:
Originally Posted by
tmeader 
Actually, this seems to me to be the perfect argument for why streaming is becoming more essential. You honestly think that streaming should be downplayed by manufacturers due to quality issues vs having to leave your house and purchase a $20 Blu-ray that you don't even know if you'll like or ever watch again? Sorry, but as a consumer I don't see how that makes any sense at all. Why not just push for BETTER streaming technologies? Vudu HD is quite comparable as is, and Netflix HD is entirely watchable (especially if they would get the 5.1 audio streams) for the vast majority of films. Yes, I'll always buy movies I really love on Blu-ray... but to be expected to purchase or rent on Blu-ray exclusively at this point is just not going to happen (especially when the rental Blu-rays are now almost always stripped of the extras you get when you purchase them).
Then again, I've never purchased a DVD or Blu-ray of a film I haven't seen before, so perhaps I'm the odd man out on this, I don't know.
I could have waited another few days for the blu-ray rental to arrive via mail from block buster -- I simply chose not to. So they got me this one time on the purchase, where I likely would have preferred rental -- but that's very rare. My point was, I'm willing to pay for a blu-ray I may or may not watch very often, in order to avoid much lower quality streaming. In reality, my choice was, buy the blu-ray if I want to watch it today, or wait for a rental to come via mail. Streaming was simply NOT a viable option. I didn't set up a 114 inch screen, and 7.l surround sound (and buy an Oppo 93) in order to watch inferior AQ and PQ streams where there is an existing high quality alternative -- it simply won't happen.
With the physical media, I'm in control -- not some server some where. Nor do I like the clunky FF/Rewind and lack of menu options, etc. with streaming. I like choosing the audio from the various tracks; I like chapter skips and scene selections, etc.
Even if you get 5.1 and 1080p (non-compressed) on all new releases via streaming (which probably won't happen anytime soon), you still won't get lossless audio, and probably never 7.1 (even though 7.1 may be rare on physical blu-rays).
Streaming is to high quality home theater, what .mp3 files are to hi-fidelity music. If streaming becomes the main method for consumers to get new films, high quality home theater is dead -- and many of us wasted tons of money.
Streaming should not be "downplayed" by the studios, it should be a different target audience. Those without home theaters (or lacking a 55 inch or above display or lacking a surround sound set up); or those seeking to view old TV material and the like, which was never in high def. But to tout streaming as the future for all home viewing is simply not true. Those who push for it, do so at the peril of pushing high quality presentations to a tiny niche -- with less access and less attention by the studios.
As far as purchasing the blu-ray without seeing -- I think I've done that for almost every Pixar movie.
