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Why you can't get 4K Netflix and Amazon

macworld.com

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Re: Why you can't get 4K Netflix and Amazon

#81

Post by jsmeaton »

zak_mc_kracken wrote: post #62
joshstrange wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do people flock to torrents? No one I know does. I know quite a few people who use torrents (or usenet) as their primary source of TV. Combining Plex + Sabnzbd + Sickbeard you get a internet DVR with little to no maintenance once setup (other than adding more capacity as/if needed). They all have a hulu-like (next day) experience, they get it in HD, and there are no ads. Legit delivery for music has crossed the thr…

> I know quite a few people who use torrents Selection bias. You and the people you know still represent a vanishingly small fragment of the population. "People" don't flock to torrents, only tech savvy pirates do.

I would guess this is also selection bias. Australians are pretty much the global leaders (per capita) of torrent consumption. Everyone I know, tech savvy or not, downloads torrents. Our TV situation is pretty bad, the cable situation is extremely expensive (extra $20 a month for HD.. really?!), and we don't yet have any decent streaming services.

Once streaming services hit mainstream here I believe we'll see a significant drop off for torrents. Netflix is just about to enter this market in a few months, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. I just hope they don't add an Australian tax, otherwise the torrenting will continue.

Re: Why you can't get 4K Netflix and Amazon

#82

Post by jquery »

nemothekid wrote: post #76
meesterdude wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd argue "hollywood" and media companies are significantly bloated as is, and slimming down would only be in consumers best interests. They have so much money they don't know what to do with it all. They charge $80/mo (sometimes much more) and show ads because they can get away with it And we let them. There are also other old economics (like paying for channels you'll never watch) at play that are no longer applica…

In terms of content production I think the only economics that have changed significantly have been production technology (CGI, cameras, which has gotten more expensive) and distribution (which is now near free). That said I don't buy the claim that "they have more money than they know what to do with". Content Production is expensive . Netflix spent $100M in total on House of Cards, and it looks like they are spendi…

> production technology (CGI, cameras, which has gotten more expensive)

Absolutely not. Production (at a given level of quality) is cheaper than it's ever been. Consumer standards might be respectively higher, but that's not apples to apples.

> It's doubtful the Netflix model @ $20/mo will be able to cover the million dollar salaries that movie, tv, and voice actors are accustomed to.

These actors might have to get accustomed to less, like everybody else.

Re: Why you can't get 4K Netflix and Amazon

#83

Post by balls187 »

MacsHeadroom wrote: post #63
balls187 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not really an edge case, is it? Does a netflix subscription give you rights to torrent movies that exist on Netflix? If so, what happens when they no longer exist. Does the parent commenter check Netflix first before downloading a torrent? I'm not passing judgement, but merely pointing out that a netflix subscription doesn't grant you the license to download and store content, in fact, it's likely expressly forb…

>Does a netflix subscription give you rights to torrent movies that exist on Netflix? When did anything remove my right to copy data freely anyway? Copyright is an illegitimate joke.

That's an ignorant view of copyright.

I'm a photographer, and I prefer to keep control of my work. I'm glad copyright laws exist to prevent others from using my art without properly gaining consent.

Sure you can feel like you can copy my photos, but then others should be able to copy your source code. After all, it's just data.

Re: Why you can't get 4K Netflix and Amazon

#84

Post by nemothekid »

jquery wrote: post #82
nemothekid wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In terms of content production I think the only economics that have changed significantly have been production technology (CGI, cameras, which has gotten more expensive) and distribution (which is now near free). That said I don't buy the claim that "they have more money than they know what to do with". Content Production is expensive . Netflix spent $100M in total on House of Cards, and it looks like they are spendi…

> production technology (CGI, cameras, which has gotten more expensive) Absolutely not. Production (at a given level of quality) is cheaper than it's ever been. Consumer standards might be respectively higher, but that's not apples to apples. > It's doubtful the Netflix model @ $20/mo will be able to cover the million dollar salaries that movie, tv, and voice actors are accustomed to. These actors might have to get a…

>Absolutely not. Production (at a given level of quality) is cheaper than it's ever been.

I have no data to back this up, and I'll spend some time looking for this, but this doesn't seem true. While hardware, processing power, and sets may have gotten cheaper, I'd argue that the cost centers behind production has always stayed the same and that its been salaries. And I'd argue its worse now that you have to hire VFX teams - no camera costs as much as 90K/yr VFX artist.

>These actors might have to get accustomed to less, like everybody else.

Which is why I'm sure the entertainment industry is going to spend a lot more time figuring out how to squeeze comcast prices from the internet generation. And I'm sure its more likely that they will cut a few writers, and cheap out on the CGI before Brad Pitt get called in to negotiate.

Re: Why you can't get 4K Netflix and Amazon

#85

Post by nemothekid »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #68
nemothekid wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I would be all over Hulu expect I refuse to pay for a service AND see ads. I would rather pay $20/mo and not see ads then pay the $10/mo and see them. Almost as bad as having to see ads in the first place the ads on Hulu are painfully repetitive at times. You are going to have to make a better offer to the studios that are currently charging customers $80/mo AND forcing them to see ads. Hollywood would have to slim…

> Hollywood would have to slim down significantly if it was going to go Netflix-model primary on all its content. Similar to the contraction the music industry is going through because music isn't as valuable when there is so much more of it to listen to (ie Taylor Swift vs Spotify)?

I'd argue its different because the music industry only really every had one lever - marketing and distribution, and the internet made the former really cheap and destroyed the latter. Taylor Swift's label is technically an indie label, and I'm willing to bet the budget and people employed in the production of her latest album is a tiny fraction of what Michael Bay employed in his latest Transformers flick.

Due to the huge budgets and returns movies still have, studios are a lot closer to venture capital firms than distributors. If it ever contracts it would likely be in the form of making less content and making safer bets rather than paying everyone less.

Re: Why you can't get 4K Netflix and Amazon

#86

Post by jotm »

tedunangst wrote: post #75
jotm wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha, yes, Amazon, where they offer digital copies of movies that can only be downloaded when your physical copy arrives in the mail. Fooking ridiculous.

? All the times I've done that, Amazon sends me a disc in the mail and then gives me an immediate 48 hour rental. I don't wait for the disc. Unless you're talking about the "UltraViolet" or "Digital Copy" thing, but that's not Aamzon. That's the studio. You get the same thing in a store. Amazon even has a whole page that explains the difference. http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Copy-DVD/b?ie=UTF8&node=721726...

Yes, the Digital Copy - I was very confused about it.

Re: Why you can't get 4K Netflix and Amazon

#87

Post by MacsHeadroom »

balls187 wrote: post #83
MacsHeadroom wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Does a netflix subscription give you rights to torrent movies that exist on Netflix? When did anything remove my right to copy data freely anyway? Copyright is an illegitimate joke.

That's an ignorant view of copyright. I'm a photographer, and I prefer to keep control of my work. I'm glad copyright laws exist to prevent others from using my art without properly gaining consent. Sure you can feel like you can copy my photos, but then others should be able to copy your source code. After all, it's just data.

> but then others should be able to copy your source code.

As a FOSS activist and kopimist, that is exactly what I believe.

Re: Why you can't get 4K Netflix and Amazon

#88

Post by ceronman »

steeve wrote: post #49
ceronman wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pay for Netflix every month. Still I use XBMCtorrent to watch most TV series and movies. Many things are not available on Netflix or a similar service. Even if they're available on Netflix, most of the time they don't have subtitles in my native language, seeking is slow, there is not flexibility in the resolution. XBMC just provides me a better user experience.

It is discontinued, you might want to switch to Pulsar instead. (I'm the author or both)

I didn't know. Thanks for the tip.
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