Ditch DVDs? Disney's Keychest

[Jules]

Heavily compressed. Definitely not BD quality

Then I suppose there's no fear of Blu-ray going the way of the dodo in a couple of years, is there? Movie buffs alone would be outraged if they were forced to purchase movies online to be streamed in subpar quality!

[Lnds500]

Heavily compressed. Definitely not BD quality

Then I suppose there's no fear of Blu-ray going the way of the dodo in a couple of years, is there? Movie buffs alone would be outraged if they were forced to purchase movies online to be streamed in subpar quality!

Not a single chance. Not worldwide at least They might try something in the US. I made a post about this not two days ago

I don't think so. They're already trying to push blu-rays aside for digital. This is a major reason why I decided to invest so heavily in blu-ray's, because I believe this will be the last physical format of movies.

they can't go digital and they don't want to!! there are bandwidth reasons, retailer competition, storage/disc space issues...

if the next format is 4K how exactly are they gonna distribute that?? iTunes has just started offering 1080p content and that's US only (90% sure). What are they gonna give us? compressed 4K? bad theory. you destroy the next medium right there. the new medium will probably have even lower adoption rates than Blu-ray. a lot of the people who are going to adopt it are people who want THE best quality. are they gonna give us something full of compression artifacts? it'll be dead right out of the door.
to whom will they provide the new medium? US only? cause I know most of Europe's internet infrastructure is not good and fast enough to continuously download movies over the net. even the ISPs don't want that cause solutions like that (Netflix) are crippling the system. studios don't want digital either cause they would have to lower prices and minimize profits on their end (Netflix). retailers don't want digital cause they'll close. if studios go "partially digital", the retailers would boycott the physical media and the studios would lose money... that's why (in part) digital is still expensive compared to physical.

I think BD will be the last, but I don't see it dying anytime soon. The format has enough space to take advantage of the next HD "revolution" of 4K+ displays and BD releases.

the format is nearly dead in terms of evolution, except if you're talking about 400GB-1TB Blu-ray (http://digitimes.com/newregister/join.a ... PD&SEQ=212). Blu-ray needs an update. Resolutions are getting bigger, we need a better colour gamut, more frames per second, better compression or bigger bandwidths (H.265) etc etc

[Jules]

Thanks Lnds500! This cheers me up considerably!

[SWillie!]

That's all well and fine, but you really have to add the words "for now" to every argument you're making against digital distribution. All of what you're saying is true - for now.

BD quality will indeed be better than streaming HD films - for now. Just two or three years ago, we weren't able to stream 720, let alone 1080. And now look at how many videos are at 1080 on YouTube. Compressed 1080, yes - but if you think quality won't continue to get better and better in the coming years, you have to be kidding yourself. How likely is it that in 5 years we'll be streaming uncompressed, full 1080p video with no problems at all? I'd say that's pretty likely.

Maybe other countries will have difficulties at first, due to their internet capabilities. But that will all come with time.

Studios may not want digital, but they have no choice at this point - they have to at least make it an option. So that argument is not really relevant to whether or not it happens.

Retailers don't want digital - until they start finding ways to get around it. I see digital copies coming with toys, collectibles, and books in the future. People won't be buying a disc along with a digital copy, they'll be buying something else to sit on their shelf or play with, and along with it they'll get the code to unlock the film. So yes, TODAY, retailers don't want digital - but regardless, it will happen and things will evolve.

Also, there's the matter of supplemental material. Blu-rays have already begun to drastically drop off the amount of bonus features in favor of digitally based features, whether by a streaming set-up or by app. This trend will no doubt continue, as it is indeed what the average consumer wants at this point - to access their material anytime, anywhere.

To look at all the evidence and still try and tell yourself that there will not be a time someday in the future when everything will be digital... that seems like willful ignorance. This transition won't happen over two months - it's going to take years - but it has begun and it will absolutely not slow down.

I think those who choose not to at least dip their toes in will be saying what the late blu-ray adopters are already starting to say: "I wish I had started buying blu-rays from the beginning."

[Lnds500]

That's all well and fine, but you really have to add the words "for now" to every argument you're making against digital distribution. All of what you're saying is true - for now.

BD quality will indeed be better than streaming HD films - for now. Just two or three years ago, we weren't able to stream 720, let alone 1080. And now look at how many videos are at 1080 on YouTube. Compressed 1080, yes - but if you think quality won't continue to get better and better in the coming years, you have to be kidding yourself. How likely is it that in 5 years we'll be streaming uncompressed, full 1080p video with no problems at all? I'd say that's pretty likely.

Maybe other countries will have difficulties at first, due to their internet capabilities. But that will all come with time.

Studios may not want digital, but they have no choice at this point - they have to at least make it an option. So that argument is not really relevant to whether or not it happens.

Retailers don't want digital - until they start finding ways to get around it. I see digital copies coming with toys, collectibles, and books in the future. People won't be buying a disc along with a digital copy, they'll be buying something else to sit on their shelf or play with, and along with it they'll get the code to unlock the film. So yes, TODAY, retailers don't want digital - but regardless, it will happen and things will evolve.

To look at all the evidence and still try and tell yourself that there will not be a time someday in the future when everything will be digital... that seems like willful ignorance. This transition won't happen over two months - it's going to take years - but it has begun and it will absolutely not slow down.

I think those who choose not to at least dip their toes in will be saying what the late blu-ray adopters are already starting to say: "I wish I had started buying blu-rays from the beginning."

Where the heck did you see that I ruled out digital in the future? I said "not worldwide at least" , which entails that there is a possibility that something could change in the next 2-3 years in that area. don't get ahead of yourself.

[SWillie!]

Well from comments like "not a chance"... I suppose I assumed you were one of the many on this board who are steadfastly against the very thought of digital. Regardless, I think there are a lot of people who are thinking of things as they stand right this second, while we should be looking forward to what the future holds when it comes to this.

[Lnds500]

Well from comments like "not a chance"... I suppose I assumed you were one of the many on this board who are steadfastly against the very thought of digital. Regardless, I think there are a lot of people who are thinking of things as they stand right this second, while we should be looking forward to what the future holds when it comes to this.

In general I'd chose physical over digital any day. I know that digital will prevail down the road but I can't say I'm in for that. I believe physical will always have the advantage in quality and that in the end companies will say that a "drop in quality isn't that bad after all" (I'm suspecting that they're thinking of utilising H.265, which is nearly 2 times more efficient than H.264, to fit more content on the same discs, rather than raising the average bit-rate to minimize the Blu-ray compression artifacts). But my biggest objection on digital is geo-lock. I believe that digital, with all the country specific protections and limitations is not consumer friendly. Right now I can buy any edition of any movie from all over the world. All I need is money to do so. Companies have been adopting far more aggressive policies in the digital domain. Disney All Movie Access, iTunes, Flixster, Lovefilm, UltraViolet. Everything is region-locked. I know that you can bypass most of them but how many people out of 10 can do this and who likes doing that? No one.

[Sotiris]

My biggest objection on digital is geo-lock. I believe that digital, with all the country-specific protections and limitations is not consumer friendly. Companies have been adopting far more aggressive policies in the digital domain. Disney All Movie Access, iTunes, Flixster, Lovefilm, UltraViolet. Everything is region-locked.

Couldn't agree more. Digital region-locking is stupid and unnecessary.

[stevemcqueen]

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but I figured this was the "official" one for Disney Studios All Access/Disney Movies Anywhere.

Maybe somebody already brought this up in another thread, but have you guys noticed that recent releases have dropped the DSAA trailer and even the logo from the back of the DMR code insert?

Was this actually confirmed to be cancelled after the new deal with Netflix?
They promoted it so heavily over the last couple of years...

[Joshua Clinard]

I know I haven't been here in a while, because I joined the Navy for 6 years, and I was so busy and pre-occupied that I stopped posting in forums for a long while, and had forgotten about this place. Well I've found it again, and I hope to stick around.

Anyway, have any of you used UltraViolet, yet? I have, and I think it's pretty good. It's not designed to replace physical media, of course, but it does enhance it. It's very useful to be able to be able to buy a blu-ray disc and then add a digital copy to my vudu account and watch it on any device I can imagine! I find the quality to be on par with blu-ray on displays up to at least 47 inches. There may be a marginal difference on display's that are bigger, but I don't have one. Maybe if you do, you can comment? Can you tell a difference? I recently purchased Wreck-it Ralph, and it looks very good.

I know there are a lot of nay-sayers in regards to UV, but I haven't had any problems with UV what so-ever. I also love putting a DVD into my computer and converting it to HD for 5 dollars a disc! That is a great value! And I can add my blu-rays to the cloud for $2! That's 5 dollars less than the 7 dollars Disney was charging to add my blu-ray discs to their Disney Movies Online service that they recently closed. And vudu is available on far many more devices than Disney Movies Online ever was.

I know this sounds like an advertisement for vudu, but I love watching my movies anywhere, on any device. I do have a big complaint though, and that is that more titles aren't available, especially Disney titles. I have a few on Vudu, but I won't re-purchase films that I already own on DVD, or blu-ray, and there's quite a few. I sure hope they decide to join UV soon because I don't think their so-called "keychest" initiative will be rolling out anytime soon.

So if you have used UV, what do you think of it? Do you think Disney will eventually join? I haven't heard anything about their DSAA initiative in quite some time. I think that once UV is more mainstream, maybe when Amazon begins it's rollout or when it has at least 20 million members, then it will have to join. What say you?

[disneyboy20022]

I like UV. However I wouldn't buy any on their own through the service outside of buying the Blu ray/DVD and using the code, just I like I don't on Itunes, except I did for one time and bought Hercules and the Goofy short where he buys an HDTV.

I like it because you don't have to download it where on Itunes it can take up to four hours to download onto the computer.

[Sotiris]

Was this actually confirmed to be cancelled after the new deal with Netflix?

Not officially but it certainly seems that it was cancelled (at least temporarily) because of the new deal. The Netflix deal doesn't go into effect until 2016 and we don't know when it will expire. So, it may be some time until Disney Movies Anywhere gets launched.

I believe Disney made a mistake forging that deal with Netflix. They should be focusing on developing and improving their own digital service rather than licencing their content to a slowly dying company like Netflix. But of course, Disney is only thinking about short-term profit as usual.

[SWillie!]

I believe Disney made a mistake forging that deal with Netflix. They should be focusing on developing and improving their own digital service rather than licencing their content to a slowly dying company like Netflix. But of course, Disney is only thinking about short-term profit as usual.

Totally agree. I think as we move further into the digital age, studios need to be in control of their own content. That's why I was so excited about this project.

They could be in control of organization, apps, sites, aesthetic design, etc... Instead of letting Netflix simply group everything from Pocahontas to Phineas and Ferb to Hannah Montana under one "Disney" heading with no kind of organization whatsoever.

[stevemcqueen]

Was this actually confirmed to be cancelled after the new deal with Netflix?

Not officially but it certainly seems that it was cancelled (at least temporarily) because of the new deal. The Netflix deal doesn't go into effect until 2016 and we don't know when it will expire. So, it may be some time until Disney Movies Anywhere gets launched.

I believe Disney made a mistake forging that deal with Netflix. They should be focusing on developing and improving their own digital service rather than licencing their content to a slowly dying company like Netflix. But of course, Disney is only thinking about short-term profit as usual.

Thanks Sotiris! I think the Netflix deal is a mistake as well. Shame as the idea of buying one Disney Blu-ray and having the movie playable on any device was very nice.

[Joshua Clinard]

This article claims that the Keychest program has been shutdown, but this is the first time I have heard the claim. If so, it's a good indicator they could join UV soon!

http://www.technologytell.com/hometech/ ... pre-video/

[stevemcqueen]

Thanks for posting the article! Like you said, it's pretty much confirmed to be cancelled.

[Lnds500]

FINALLY!!!!

DISNEY’S NEW ‘DIGITAL COPY PLUS’ ONE STEP CLOSER TO ‘DISNEY MOVIES ANYWHERE’

With the home video release of Oz the Great and Powerful on June 11, 2013, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will be launching a new service, ‘Digital Copy Plus.’ Taking a cue from the Disney Movies Anywhere initiative, in which consumers will be able to purchase a film and stream it across multiple devices, the Digital Copy Plus replaces the digital copy disc previously offered and transfers it into the cloud, so consumers can choose how and where the digital copy is stored/accessed from.

The way it works is relatively simple: consumers will take the Digital Copy Plus code included in their purchase and enter it into the DigitalCopyPlus.com website. They will then choose a cloud provider: iTunes, Amazon Instant Video or Vudu, each with their own offerings on multi-device playback via download and streaming, including access via Roku devices. This means at launch (and depending on chosen provider), Disney films will be available on televisions, iOS devices, Roku, Android tablets, Kindle Fire, gaming consoles, PCs, Macs and even — ironically enough — BD players that offer access to these providers.

The service is not just limited to Disney releases, however. It will apply to all of Disney’s studios including Pixar, Marvel, Touchstone and even DreamWorks, which Disney currently has a distribution agreement with.

At launch, it appears the service will be available only to consumers in the United States and Canada, with Canadian access limited to the iTunes service.

It’s still a far cry from the promised Disney Movies Anywhere service, but it certainly seems a step in the right direction, especially for the company which can now trade off manufacturing and supporting additional discs and materials for leveraging existing services from third party providers.



Read more: Disney's New 'Digital Copy Plus' One Step Closer to 'Disney Movies Anywhere' - Disney News by StitchKingdom.com

[stevemcqueen]

Thanks a lot (again ) for posting this Lnds!! Sounds great and we have been waiting for something like this for quite some time. Hope they'll continue to offer even more digital copies for non-diamond animated classics like they're doing with the August titles...