The Fairy Tale is OVER ! Disney says "NO MORE PHYSICAL MEDIA in Aus" = No more high quality content.

In Australia for now at least this means going forward no more high quality content! It's streaming only for Disney. So you don't have the option to experience the movies in their best (and native) quality. Well done Disney.
The really sad thing is for those who love high quality content this is just another nudge in the wrong direction to access their movies in ways that result in even less revenue for the studio!

[@northeastcorals]

100% correct on using cash, USE IT OR LOOSE IT! I HIGHLY doubt this move by Disney will be successful in significantly boosting their channel subscription numbers, it's a sinking ship.

[@dreamav8161]

Even with the video quality on streaming, whilst not as bad as Audio, you are getting considerably short changed compared to UHD 4k.

[@rossneale6152]

I used to subscribe to D+, but cancelled because of some of the weird ideological policies they were making - I just didn’t want to support them any more. You’re right though - physical media is king. But I’m happy to order from overseas. The small premium I pay is still worth it for the vastly superior audio performance from a physical disc. Another thing is - if there’s ever an internet or streaming service outage of some sort, if you rely on a streaming service you’re stuffed! If you own the discs you’re never without content.

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

Couldn't agree more!

[@torpedo35]

After the massive box office bombs they had to give some hope to shareholders. One of hose flops would prolly cover discs distribution for the next five years but we can't have that.

[@willmahoney2452]

One of the reasons they gave is because of global shipping basically. I’m sorry to hear about this even still.

[@brettharperspodcast]

So if Disney aquired Fox, I guess we wont be getting The Abyss and True Lies on 4K the James Cameron has been promising us.

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

Oh heck I hope not! Its all profits for companies and shareholders and Disney seems to be leading the way down the drain. Sorry!

[@Robobeast76]

I had resisted buying the 4K Star Wars discs after 4:3 and 16:9 VHS, then DVD, then Blu Ray until this announcement. Music with Spotify is the same - there's no Hi-Res option. Convenience beats quality every time for the masses

[@lorindamikaela]

I've spent a lot of money on physical media and now I'm glad I did. We can buy physical media thru amazon obviously it will cost more and we will have to wait before watching a new release. This is a downhill slide with no end in sight. I guess a positive side for me is that I will not be buying as many movies which will please my wife. Maybe prices will go up on ebay for those wanting to buy physical media. Will this have a flow on affect on your HTE business ??

[@TerminatorJuice]

And to make it worse, Disney has now locked the "Atmos" audio behind the ad free version, which is way more expense than the price that D+ launched at! So I say everyone in AU should cancel D+ and download all their movies illegally to send a message! Also, can you use a VPN to have Kaleidoscape work in Australia? If you already have the equipment of course...

[@homecinemademo]

So I guess no Prey UHD disc for you guys.

[@andrewattenboroughtwothumb4697]

Been sad for most collector’s like myself but I import more from the USA and uk

[@cwhitchblu]

Disney just announced Blu-Ray and 4K releases of some of the more popular D+ shows in the US. Disney is really sending mixed messages with regard to physical media. I agree with you that I don’t want to go to streaming. It’s fine for throwaway content but quality content deserves high quality less compressed video and lossless audio.

[@jedik206]

I find that the other issue with streaming is that i don't go back and rewatch anything. I live looking through my collection to see what to watch, even if it's something i have seen many times. Just like Ghostbusters afterlife last night

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

Yes very true. I felt the same way about my records (vinyl) there was something about scanning through the covers and picking up one that matched my mood. Convenience is killing the experience. Great comment.

[@danielvh87]

I'm far more upset about the impact this will have on the Fox content etc that Disney owns than on the actual Disney content. Disney physical media was kinda lousy to begin with. Really subpar Atmos mixes for some reason and it always annoyed me that D+ got imax aspect ratio when it wasn't on the discs...

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

Couldn't agree more. We are not as yet clear where the lines are drawn for this.

[@stevenlawrence2232]

Uk matches us for region, so at least for now thats the alternative. I dont like my chances of getting my hands on a 3d blu ray for the third Avatar when it comes out though. Hypothesising but Just wait till disney removes some of its content liscencing for older bought steaming content in another 5 years or something just cos it can. Bunch of sphincters.

[@Djekkie-gj7jz]

Kaleidescape is only for the rich. ridiculously priced. You can import disks, although maybe that is too expensive too.

[@bryanp4827]

After Disney murdering Star Wars, they lost the plot COMPLETELY!

[@chevron916]

Boo Disney, boo.

[@johntullio745]

Hey guys, if this is so and we can’t access kaleidescape here in Australia. How can we access quality content? This is not great news for people with dedicated and expensive rooms. The whole industry will suffer here in Australia but the rest of the world will follow

[@Darkos134]

Time to sail the 7 seas of the internet 🏴‍☠

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

The answer I don't know! I very much feel this is a test case for the USA etc... We are obviously not happy about this...

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

Hi, I can certainly understand your sentiment especially now. But piracy is now between $40 Billion and $97 Billion a year now. That's not sustainable. In a way it explains the studios desperate push for locked in revenue. Hollywood is striking over streaming revenue and AI and $30 is not to much to ask to own a movie. Imagine if we went to work and didn't get paid for our efforts. Yes these are big corporations but theft is theft and in the end we will and we are suffering. We can't exactly say "hey give us good high quality content" and then not pay for it. Not many industries can stand losses this size. I am not defending corporations far from it. But it has to be a 2 ways street. Is it any coincidence that the very best of movies seem to have been made in the days when piracy was not possible? Look at movie revenues from the 80's for example... and the great movies that were produced.. ? Either way, it sucks...

[@johntullio745]

Totally agree, piracy is a huge issue due to blu ray and dvd media so I guess they are trying to eliminate that loss in revenue. I am in no way saying that I am against streaming, I do enjoy the convenience and love physical media but lately new releases have barely got a dvd release in which I will prefer streaming. Just wish they could up the quality of the audio bit rate from 770kb to atleast 1.5mb which I think would be a great balance and close that gap between blu ray and steaming. Then we get pretty good quality at a reasonable price and the rightful owners get our money and keep the industry at all levels financially sustainable for everybody and let’s us all enjoy this great hobby😊

[@gaetanlarocque1511]

...and 15 hours later, Disney announces physical releases for Wanda Vision, Mandalorian, and more lol...doesn't impact Aus, I know

[@wakawaka12320]

I'll be importing from Amazon mostly

[@raywatts7689]

So what happened to kaleidoscape in Australia? I thought you guys were always suggesting Kaleidoscape as a high end must have. Did they just pull out of Oz?

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

We have talked about it and said we wished it was here. Kscape pulled out of Aus a few years ago under threat from the studios as customers were only buying from the US store (no choice) which was in breach if the studios licensing agreement. Talks are in progress to bring it back to Aus. The minute we know we will be announcing it!

[@raywatts7689]

@@HomeTheatreEngineering Thanks for your reply.

[@Scott-lc5kh]

The comparison to gaming isn’t exactly a fair one, because a game physical or digital runs identically when played, as the entire thing is sitting on your console. Consuming a movie streamed vs physical is an entirely different experience. Streaming you get a sub par, compressed version, in every respect (both video and audio). Where as physical is not. If you have well set up home entertainment setup (which isn’t hard or expensive anymore), a physical movie will both look and sound significantly better, every time.

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

The comparison to gaming was in reference to the artwork and collectibles not the download quality in this case which is similar to the way Kaliedescape works. And, yes of course a well set up system will always benefit from the signal quality on physical (movie and music) media. However we are finding a level above that where with dedicated cinema rooms we are experiencing sound and image even better than that achieved on a home entertainment setup. Its hard to believe and needs to be experienced. I don't know where you live but would invite you to come and experience this if you are ever in Perth.

[@chrisburney9555]

As a boycott I am going to cancel my Disney subscription if they do this. I've always liked the fact that I can have the disk we all know the quality is better. If they do this I will cancel my Disney Plus subscription, as a protest.

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

I think it is a great gesture.. the question is do they care?

[@dimsim78]

Doesn't affect me. I have the means to watch the original content. Thank god for my Nvidia Shield.

[@petrasixz4306]

Its just Disney though a Woketard dying company hijacked my subverters of nations.

[@JunkerDC]

The manager told me at the movies a lot of the movies are just streamed. But yea you miss about 60% of the sound track on the sream and its also recorded a lot lower its all about tv speakers and notthing else they should have a system where u can rent and download a movie no one can afford kaleidoscope there need to be a nother way and even in cinema most of the time its only 5.1 and the sound is turned down a lot at the movie so u can't even see it there if u dont have the disk i guess low standard is what is high tec now

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

Ah that's not quite correct The commerical movies are downloaded as DCP content which can only be stored and played through a licensed DCI server/projector. But this is the highest quality possible. It is not "streamed" from a server in the way that Disney or Netflix is. Hope this makes sense. If you are in Perth come by and experience an in home DCI projector! It will blow your mind!

[@Jack-kx5hr]

Sorry guys i dont give flying fk Im downloading i was a loyal sub to D+ not any more.

[@HomeTheatreEngineering]

No need to apologies we feel the same way! Disney especially is backing the serious fans into a corner!