I am not sure If this should be in tech talk or entertainment. I was wondering how people bought movies today. Do you buy the bluray or iTunes/amazon? I think that the bluray is a higher quality...correct? I haven't found a lot of discussion and was wonder what people did today.

10/14/2012 2:08:49 PM

I don't know what the deal is with the triple posts....certainly didn't mean to.

10/14/2012 2:10:54 PM

BluRay videos can have HD quality, up to 1080p, and can be encoded in old-school DVD-style MPEG-2 or in the more advanced MPEG-4 AVC or Microsoft VC-1: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#Codecs

Many an HD video sold as a downloadable title also has this quality, but at least YouTube allows for higher-res (4K) video: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/High-definition_video#World_Wide_Web_HD_resolutions

10/14/2012 2:58:45 PM

I haven't owned a physical movie in years, I rent or buy them through Zune (Xbox) and rarely Amazon or iTunes. And only even do that if its not available on Netflix.

10/14/2012 7:40:45 PM

NetFlix, iTunes store, Amazon, etc all are pretty shitty quality. I don't think they're above 5mbps. Blurays are capable of much higher bitrates both audio and video. If you care anything about quality you'll want to buy actual Blurays.

-Of course that's assuming you have the HDTV and sound system to take advantage of it. You won't notice DTS or TrueHD unless you have the receiver and speakers to push it. Same with the TV. If you're watching movies on a laptop or older HDTV with poor contrast and brightness it probably won't matter a whole lot to you. I know I can tell a pretty distinct different in black levels and detail comparing a NetFlix or iTunes movie to an actual Bluray.

I'd say if you can't tell a difference don't spend the extra on the Bluray. Although looking at prices these days if you already have a Bluray player Blurays are comparable to digital downloads. If you're spending the same amount why not buy the better quality one?

[Edited on October 15, 2012 at 10:32 AM. Reason : s]

10/15/2012 10:21:45 AM

There are very few movies today that are worth repeat viewing, the vast majority of my movie viewing is netflix or redbox if it's the type of movie that needs to be seen in all of it's HD/DTS glory.

The only movies I buy are disney/pixar/dreamworks type movies that my daughter watches. She'll watch 'em a hundred times, so it's worth it to me to go ahead and purchase it, and then i go for the Bluray/DVD/Digital combo to cover all devices.

10/15/2012 10:49:28 AM

Redbox Blurays are legit. It's nice to be able to pick one up watch it, then return it. Think it's still $1.50 a day for Blurays? Not bad compared to some of the online services which are more expensive and far worse quality.

10/16/2012 4:38:30 PM

^plus if your register with redbox online, you will find weekly deals for cheaper prices for renting.

10/16/2012 5:54:54 PM

and if you sign up for Redbox text messages, they send you a code for 1 free rental/month.

I think it's only for $.99 though, so you'd have to pay the $.51 difference for a bluray

10/17/2012 8:40:13 AM