Purchasing digital movies and TV • Non-Gaming • General Non-gaming • Eurogamer.net

Downes_87 9 Jul 2018 21:22:15 172 posts
Seen 1 month ago
Registered 7 years ago

Just wondering how many of you have moved over to purchasing your movie and tv content via the likes of iTunes and google play. I’m considering making the switch from physical and would like people’s thoughts on the two services. I use mainly apple devices now, but the idea of being tied to the ecosystem is off putting. Their free UHD upgrades are tempting though!

Putting aside the options of torrents and ripping discs (which I did for a while, but it became tedious, especially for tv seasons).

Any experiences I’d love to hear.

You-can-call-me-kal 9 Jul 2018 21:31:55 23,013 posts
Seen 3 hours ago
Registered 15 years ago

I’ve been purchasing digitally from Apple for ages now. Yes, I’m tied to the ecosystem. But its not that different to being tied to a format.

The convenience of having all my movies on any device, wherever I am is ace. The upgrade to 4K was incredible. There’s sales nearly every day and I rarely pay more than Ł9.99 for a film even for brand new releases.

The main reason against it imo is the likelihood of an eventual subscription service a la Netflix but with a far bigger selection. It will come I’m sure. But in the meantime I have absolutely no regrets over going digital.

Downes_87 9 Jul 2018 21:37:18 172 posts
Seen 1 month ago
Registered 7 years ago

@You-can-call-me-kal sounds good! I’m definitely leaning more towards iTunes as the selection of 4K is better than Google and prices seem more competitive. Google is a bit more flexible with regards to playback options though.

The example of being tied to a fomat was the thing that sold it to me. I bought dvds for years only to end up buying blu rays. Prior to that it was VHS which obviously have no way of playing now. Now I just have lots of boxes sitting in the loft.

Getting iTunes purchases to the tv does mean purchasing an Apple TV though I guess.

Your-Mother 9 Jul 2018 22:06:23 8,173 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 5 years ago

Movies Anywhere has really opened up the floodgates for me. That I can purchase a movie on Google Play and also get it in my Vudu and Amazon libraries, meaning I'm not forced into an ecosystem, means I'm purchasing a lot more digitally. Still not perfect as some studios still aren't allowing it, but still.

Downes_87 9 Jul 2018 22:11:57 172 posts
Seen 1 month ago
Registered 7 years ago

@Your-Mother I tried to sign up to Movies Anywhere and it indicated I needed to be in US?

Your-Mother 10 Jul 2018 00:31:01 8,173 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 5 years ago

Ah. Guess it's US only for now. Sorry. It's awesome though.

mrpon 10 Jul 2018 08:35:40 37,367 posts
Seen 5 hours ago
Registered 15 years ago

Anywhere.

ModoX 10 Jul 2018 08:53:35 3,480 posts
Seen 1 week ago
Registered 12 years ago

I haven't bought a physical movie for years - never even bought a single Blu Ray. Granted I don't buy a lot of films, but there's frequently sales on Rakuten, Google Play, and Amazon (the three services my LG WebOS TV has apps for, I use an iPhone but I don't think there's an easy way to watch their stuff on my telly?) and so I buy from those. Means my films are spread about a bit but it's not the end of the world.

The best bit is not needing space for all those stupid boxes

JoelStinty 10 Jul 2018 09:29:05 9,530 posts
Seen 11 hours ago
Registered 8 years ago

I use Amazon and mostly buy 95% of my films from there now. Still buy the odd blu ray as some movies just deserve it (Blade Runner 2048 comes to mind).

I think if you want to buy movies digitally i would probably look at amazon, google or Apple. They're not going anywhere soon and your purchases should be safe from any financial crashes.

Amazon has an advantage in that their app is on all devices so you should be able to watch your films on any device. Apple's service is tied to their products.

Edited by JoelStinty at 09:29:45 10-07-2018

Deleted user 10 July 2018 10:19:51

I still purchase the Bluray if a film is good enough to warrant it (and is rewatchable enough). Usually wait for a sale though as I think some of the pricing is a bit silly (25-30 Euros? Get outta here).

The problem I have with digital only libraries is that not only are you at the mercy of companies going bust (as Joel mentions, unlikely to happen anytime soon to be fair), but your library being updated by the service provider.

I don't really know if this can happen with purchased movies/series, but Netflix has form removing series/films if the licence expires, and a recent gaming example is GTA4 on Steam - a lot of the music songs were removed (most of the Vladivostok FM stuff) due to licence issues. Game is still available but the product has changed a fair bit (suppose this is less likely to happen with movies though).

I'm 100% digital in terms of games now but with films I prefer to keep a physical collection of my all-time favourites at least (also looks good around the house imo).

retro74 10 Jul 2018 10:27:16 3,802 posts
Seen 6 hours ago
Registered 13 years ago

I still buy stacks of dvds and blu-rays, especially now a dvd is Ł3 to Ł5 and a blu-ray is Ł5 to Ł7

I'm wondering if the digital versions are significantly cheaper to make it worth the transition? Never bought digital content previously

If I'm travelling I just download from Sky Q to my iPad for free

Armoured_Bear 10 Jul 2018 10:29:29 31,234 posts
Seen 1 day ago
Registered 10 years ago

retro74 wrote:
I still buy stacks of dvds and blu-rays, especially now a dvd is Ł3 to Ł5 and a blu-ray is Ł5 to Ł7

I'm wondering if the digital versions are significantly cheaper to make it worth the transition? Never bought digital content previously

If I'm travelling I just download from Sky Q to my iPad for free

SD makes my eyes bleed.

RawShark 10 Jul 2018 10:45:42 2,207 posts
Seen 5 hours ago
Registered 10 years ago

I've got various subscription services so I find that I rarely buy movies at all now, and when I do spend money it's usually for rental purposes. I get a staff discount for an on demand rental service so that's usually my go to.

Digital games are different though. I never thought the act of switching discs would become such a chore, but good god it's a pain. Digital games just get more play because I don't have to get up and mess around with discs. I'll always wait for a price drop, though.

mrpon 10 Jul 2018 10:52:22 37,367 posts
Seen 5 hours ago
Registered 15 years ago

Yup NowTV, Prime and Netflix covers most things. Anything rental wise, I use my Google Rewards in conjunction with the numerous 50%/99p rental deals Google Play offers.

Derblington 10 Jul 2018 11:16:46 35,161 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 17 years ago

In iTunes, not all available 4k disc films are actually 4k digital, right?

I just had a very quick look and, as easy examples, Thor Ragnarok and Black Panther weren't 4k HDR.
The Harry potter collection and Spider-man Homecoming were though.

chessboxer 10 Jul 2018 12:32:08 377 posts
Seen 8 hours ago
Registered 13 years ago

Yes many films are have a 2K (the master format) and are then upscaled although they may have been shot at a much higher resolution. The number of films with a 4K D.I. has increased though and Sony's studios have been mastered in 4K for several years now.

Thor: Ragnarok was actually shot in 6.5K and 4K but the D.I. was only 2K.

Edited by chessboxer at 12:32:52 10-07-2018