UHD Content Format

[AWeakling]

So I was having a chat with the Mrs last night and we got onto native content for UHD and I thought it would be good to get some views on what format this is going to come in?
I put my futurologist hat on and having seen lots of reviews about UHD TV's and most content being supplied in said reviews, digitally, is it plausible that micro SD cards or USB's will be the format of choice to sell you your UHD content?
This also made me think especially as most modern tv's and Bluray players are capable of reading USB sticks why this hasn't happened long ago?
I can see 2 reasons copyright/hacking concerns, although try as they might, Bluray's are still copyable. The other reason the death of Bluray player sales. Let's face it if they truly went digital they would kill the ability to sell you new players and therefore eliminate a huge revenue source for the manufacturers. So what do you think, will manufacturers take the plunge and provide UHD through digital means or are they going to try to give us something new to maintain their sales?

 

[next010]

UHD content is going to be overwhelming internet streaming media from services like Netflix, Youtube, iTunes and Amazon Prime.

The only UHD that exists as files like .mp4 or whatever are demo videos, UHD wont be sold in this manner.

The cross platform industry DRM standard Ultraviolet facilitates digital file playback but few devices ever allow it or provide the media in this format, it is largely redeem this code to stream movie from this streaming media service.

BD sales are dropping not because BD's are easily copied but because the whole industry/market is moving towards digital streaming, people who use tablets and many other internet enabled devices simply do not care about Blu-ray it is an out dated delivery system as is any other physical system like USB flash drives or SD cards.

 

[AWeakling]

Hmmm very interesting, my brother agrees with your line of thought but in a different market. He said that soon you won't be able to buy CD's at all (agreed it's a dying or already dead format) and all content will be digital and digitally owned. He went as far to say you will have to have a storage/streaming service and they will make it illegal to "own" CD's altogether. It appears that the digital approach to films is the same. My problem with that is, not everyone is connected to the internet and the majority who are, aren't connected all the time. I want to own what I buy. Not everything available on disc is available online and certainly not all in one place.
This approach and move to streaming is a let down for me, I still don't think streamed content is as good as putting in a disc. I have to buy films that I can't find on Amazon Prime and I like to own some of the Films I have already seen on TV or on Prime so that I can pick it up and watch it anytime. The biggest problem with digital media is that you never truly own what you pay for and this can create major issues. Some of the recent disruptions in the gaming world where always online requirements for games is in place and companies have collapsed, or long standing games servers have been closed and people who still play those games can no longer do so. You paid £40 so you can play the game for a year or 2 and now you can never play it again, where's the ownership in that?

 

[next010]

CD's aren't really necessary much more because music is already sold DRM free and in lossless formats, the music industry resisted that move a great deal but eventually succumbed to it and the world didn't end, now the market is moving towards subscription based systems like Spotify.

But the DRM free stores will continue to stick around so you still have an option for I want to own this product, that those would disappear or CD's being illegal is just silly talk.

The movie/TV industry though have resisted DRM free stores greatly, perhaps in the passage of time that will change too. For now they have settled on DRM based digital lockers holding your library, it is possible to store movies offline for playback but they only play within the DRM system e.g Google Play Movies, iTunes etc. and you cannot swap between them.

Apple have been pressuring the movie industry to go DRM free for a while now and it still might happen, especially if subscription services become the dominant revenue stream and only small numbers still care about owning an offline copy.

Physical media like Blu-ray wont disappear entirely in the near future at least, that I'm sure of. But BD still largely appeals to AV nerds (like us) and while it can offer superior bitrates/image quality over streaming services, 90% of the customer base likely doesn't give a damn as the streaming services are good enough.

It's easier and cheaper to deliver UHD content via Internet then it is through some sort of physical system, you still wouldn't really own it anyway, it would be a DRM coated video using Ultraviolet if on USB or SD card. Blu-ray has DRM as well of course but the difference is that it doesn't have a online authentication component like UV does.

I think in time it will eventually sort itself out, in USA there are services for people with more money then sense were you can get movies in cinemas played in your home, they cost an incredible amount of money and have ludicrous levels of security but in time that could change, the door is slowly being creaked open.

 

[AWeakling]

Agreed I thought the concept of owning a CD being illegal was ludicrous too. I am mostly concerned about the silence on how we are going to own our UHD films, with so many announcements around UHD but nothing around how Films will be released in this format is concerning. Is it possible, given the amount of storage space needed, that UHD could come in Bluray flavour? Plus I think a lot of people who think that they are going to be able to rely on streaming services for their UHD content will be in for a bit off a surprise when things move forward given the bandwidth that will be needed to get reliability. It seems at the moment this is something people take for granted.