Bad news for home theater enthusiasts


Disney is ending all DVD and Blu Ray releases down under for Australia and New Zealand which may be a harbinger of what can eventually happen to the rest of the world. Their last release will be Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. From now on it's streaming only for them.

It's a good read for those with a big investment in physical media as streaming still can't match the quality and the big players just don't care as there'll be one less product to make.

Are we going to see a run on blu ray players with prices going through the roof again like we did when OPPO decided to call it quits? My OPPO BDP-103 is old and the mid level Panasonic DP-UB820-K is starting to look a bit desirable right now. 

All the best,
Nonoise

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@kota1 LPs used to be the dominant force in music, then it diminished so far it was almost extinct.  Growth from ground zero is not indicative of of shift in the masses consumption pattern.  A good analogy is tube gear.

 

tues and vinyl will always be with us,   Technology moves on and CDs, video media will remain, but drift into the edges of mainstream use.  I personally prefer the sound of a vinyl rig, but have succumbed to the ease of streaming.  Just like I store backups on the cloud instead of floppy disks, separate hard drives, or memory sticks. 

Agreed, LP sales will never get back to pre-CD numbers. I upgraded my front end for streaming by getting a streamer with built in ARC room correction and a Sony TAZH1-ES DAC that has a DSD remastering engine that actually works whether I am playing Spotify, an MP3 or any other file, it is played back in DSD. It still ain’t vinyl but a big step up from the raw non DSD streams.

 

@nonoise Development of OTA (Over-the-Air) broadcasts is moving in the opposite direction. According to the Antenna Man (on YouTube) and others, providers are seeking permission from the government to ENCRYPT their broadcasts in order to lock in their subscribers. Talk about a profit motive! You are encouraged to contact your representative to put a stop to it. 

@oldrooney Everyone's out to make a buck. We're old enough to remember free OTA and then came the ON Box. It's been downhill ever since. Contact my congressman I will as they're very receptive where I live but once the smell of profit and a captive audience start to converge, it's tough to fight, but worth the challenge. Take care.

All the best,
Nonoise