John Lewis ditches DVD players

Got an Xbone which plays 4K Blu Ray. Bought a few 4K Blu Rays but the cost of the films is definitely too high so it's basically going to be only the absolute best examples of 4k like Planet Earth 2 that I will buy.

I'd rather Sky, freeview etc just broadcast in 1080P, it's still 1080i or 720p for sports which is ridiculous.

I still find the obsession with massive TV's bizarre. If you've got a dedicated home cinema or genuinely have a colossal room then I can get behind the idea, but they look strawberry floating hideous in an average UK living room.

"Hi welcome to my house, here's my massive strawberry floating television which dominates the entire room!"

My TV is 32 inch, and i'm perfectly happy with that size. Yet when i look through the Argos catalogue, if i want the same features next time around (when i bought my Samsung in 2012, it was one of the top sets with Freeview HD, 3D, and all the associated bells and whistles), i'm expected to get something way bigger for the same price i paid before (the 32 inch sets in there have less features than what i have now, not even freeview HD on some), which just seems bizarre as there simply isn't room in here for something like that.

Grumpy David wrote:Got an Xbone which plays 4K Blu Ray. Bought a few 4K Blu Rays but the cost of the films is definitely too high so it's basically going to be only the absolute best examples of 4k like Planet Earth 2 that I will buy.

I'd rather Sky, freeview etc just broadcast in 1080P, it's still 1080i or 720p for sports which is ridiculous.

I think this is basically why broadcast TV is a dead end, I've been streaming 4K over Amazong, Netflix and YouTube over the past week and it looks fantastic.

I'm even tempted to drop my NowTV subscription as that only currently goes up to 720p.

NickSCFC wrote:

Grumpy David wrote:Got an Xbone which plays 4K Blu Ray. Bought a few 4K Blu Rays but the cost of the films is definitely too high so it's basically going to be only the absolute best examples of 4k like Planet Earth 2 that I will buy.

I'd rather Sky, freeview etc just broadcast in 1080P, it's still 1080i or 720p for sports which is ridiculous.

I think this is basically why broadcast TV is a dead end, I've been streaming 4K over Amazong, Netflix and YouTube over the past week and it looks fantastic.

I'm even tempted to drop my NowTV subscription as that only currently goes up to 720p.

Yeah the bandwidth available for broadcast TV is tiny in most cases so they have to go for the cheapest encoding and bitrate options. Whilst Netflix and Amazon are never going to match a physical disc for quality they still manage to do surprisingly well if you've got the bandwidth for it.

I still don't get the appeal of streaming when it comes to movies and TV.

I much prefer just to put on a disc, they do the job just as well and it's nice to have a physical copy.

I can't see me ever wanting a TV bigger than my current 55 inch one.

As for DVD's, I haven't bought anything on the format in around 8 years, almost all the films I buy are Blurays with the occasional 4K Bluray for select films/content shot in 4K (Planet Earth II).

I much prefer physical media to streaming for films but for TV shows Netflix and Amazon are sufficient, I hardly ever watch TV as its being broadcast as I hate ads.

It depends on the film of course, but pacing is a thing and I'd worry you'd lose the intended experience by pausing a film or watching it in multiple sittings.

Vermilion wrote:I still don't get the appeal of streaming when it comes to movies and TV.

I much prefer just to put on a disc, they do the job just as well and it's nice to have a physical copy.

Convenience? Easy access to a massive library of titles 24/7? Able to watch anything from that library on any device, even multiple devices at the same time? Suspend and resume watching across devices? Continue watching things anywhere you like without needing to bring discs with you? Share your library easily with family? Access to content only available on those services?

Owning movies and shows you like on physical disc is still a great way of consuming media you love, but streaming is a great additional part of the modern entertainment package.

Vermilion wrote:I still don't get the appeal of streaming when it comes to movies and TV.

I much prefer just to put on a disc, they do the job just as well and it's nice to have a physical copy.

My Blu-ray movie collection (which will no doubt dwindle and be replaced with 4K Blu-rays now) is comprised only of my favourite movies, I have about 30.

EVERYTHING else, I stream over Amazon or Netflix, having a smart TV running Android just makes this so convenient now and the image quality is incredible these days.

I was blessed with an unusually large living room so TV is too big to be in the corner of the room though

Jenuall wrote:

Vermilion wrote:I still don't get the appeal of streaming when it comes to movies and TV.

I much prefer just to put on a disc, they do the job just as well and it's nice to have a physical copy.

Convenience? Easy access to a massive library of titles 24/7? Able to watch anything from that library on any device, even multiple devices at the same time? Suspend and resume watching across devices? Continue watching things anywhere you like without needing to bring discs with you? Share your library easily with family? Access to content only available on those services?

Also, I would add that streaming allows you to try before you buy at no additional cost (assuming you already have a subscription). You don't want to be buying physical media for stuff that turns out to be shite.

Nibble wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Vermilion wrote:I still don't get the appeal of streaming when it comes to movies and TV.

I much prefer just to put on a disc, they do the job just as well and it's nice to have a physical copy.

Convenience? Easy access to a massive library of titles 24/7? Able to watch anything from that library on any device, even multiple devices at the same time? Suspend and resume watching across devices? Continue watching things anywhere you like without needing to bring discs with you? Share your library easily with family? Access to content only available on those services?

Also, I would add that streaming allows you to try before you buy at no additional cost (assuming you already have a subscription). You don't want to be buying physical media for stuff that turns out to be shite.

Indeed. I have tried loads of additional films and shows that I would never have bothered with thanks to streaming services. Some turn out to be shite but often you discover something great that you might otherwise have missed!

Echoing other people here, I buy my favourite films on Blu Ray. I still buy DVD for things I haven't seen. I have very few Blu Rays.