Criterion Collection Flash sale... 50% off!.... YAWN!

David G. Smith

David G. Smith

Steak Knife Member
The Criterion Collection has a "Flash" sale that started today, 02/26/2013 at Noon Eastern Standard Time, and runs until Noon, Eastern Standard Time, on 02/27/2013.

http://www.criterion.com/sale

It was not long ago that I would have been excited about that. Now... Not so much. With Netflix and other internet based video providers, streaming and such, I just can see buying discs anymore. I was wondering if anyone else felt the same.
 
I'll still buy the occasional disc, but mainly for special features. I love commentary tracks and behind the scenes stuff. For the most part, I'm a streaming guy, though.
 
I buy discs for great movies that bear repeated watching and or that I can learn valuable techniques from. The Criterion collection has many of those. All time classics many of which aren't available from streaming services.
 
Criterion and other boutique suppliers it's all about the digital transfer. Anything made in the last 10 years or so probably makes no difference but for older films shot and distributed on film is unlikely to be given a decent transfer by the major production companies. My Masters of Cinema copy of Silent Running is simply astounding...I have trouble believing it looked that good on opening night. On DVD my Criterion Naked Lunch can't even be compared to the hack job official release.
 
Yeah, I was going to say the audience for Criterion will be discerning enough that they will want to pay for better quality (both in terms of transfers and in terms of delivery medium).
 
Egg Born Son said:
Criterion and other boutique suppliers it's all about the digital transfer. Anything made in the last 10 years or so probably makes no difference but for older films shot and distributed on film is unlikely to be given a decent transfer by the major production companies. My Masters of Cinema copy of Silent Running is simply astounding...I have trouble believing it looked that good on opening night. On DVD my Criterion Naked Lunch can't even be compared to the hack job official release.
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Hmmm, I didn't really think about that..... Duhhhh! Yeah, I do have to give mad props to Criterion for the image quality of their discs.
 
I prefer buying discs. The compression of streaming just ruins it for me.
Also, I've been building my film library for 20 years so I don't see myself stopping now.
 
Streaming quality is nowhere near acceptable enough to replace Blu-ray for any movie I'd want to appreciate rather than just consume. Plus, there are still feed hiccups. Not to mention -- is the sound feed even 5.1 yet, let alone 6.1, 7.1, or DTS?

I've been on a movie-buying binge again. Didn't really mean to be, just did.
 
David Jimerson said:
Streaming quality is nowhere near acceptable enough to replace Blu-ray for any movie I'd want to appreciate rather than just consume. Plus, there are still feed hiccups.
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On top of that, sometimes Netflix streams will look okay, and then suddenly the connectivity will slow down and the picture gets heavily pixelated and soft. That doesn't happen with Blu-ray. Plus, lossless audio sounds awesome on my 5.1 system.
 
Gary Huff said:
On top of that, sometimes Netflix streams will look okay, and then suddenly the connectivity will slow down and the picture gets heavily pixelated and soft. That doesn't happen with Blu-ray. Plus, lossless audio sounds awesome on my 5.1 system.
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And with more and more studios making "rental" discs that are stripped of features, I am willing to purchase a quality release that includes the extras and added value.
 
David Jimerson said:
Well, that's the thing -- for a good home-theater system, streaming just doesn't come close.
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On a good day, the 1080i/5.1 streams from Netflix on my PS3 are "good enough". But there are some films I refuse to see on anything less than the best format available. For example, I recently watched Godfather 2 for the first time, and I waited for the Coppolla Restoration bluray to become available on Netflix before I watched it, even though an HD stream was already available.
 
refocusedmedia said:
And with more and more studios making "rental" discs that are stripped of features, I am willing to purchase a quality release that includes the extras and added value.
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In all fairness though, barebone discs and special edition discs have been happening since DVD appeared on the market 15 years ago, and barebones were more common then than they are now.
 
Netflix just upgraded their streaming to SuperHD for qualifying ISP's, and my provider is one of those. Titles that have good transfers look to me about 95 percent as good as Blu-Ray. Watched Titanic and it looked amazeballs, in 5.1. I have a 106 inch screen so it's not very forgiving. 2.35 films like Titanic have an advantage as the black bars means even more bits can be applied to the actual image over full frame stuff. I never have hiccups, but I've got a 50mbps down, 10 up connection. Still, for the movies I love, I definitely purchase the blu-ray, also for the special features. Last Criterion I bought was Seven Samurai, which I got half off at Barnes and Noble when I was in California. Amazing transfer. Like watching it for the first time.
 
It'll get there, but there's always the threat of ISP data caps that could bring the whole thing crashing down as well. Plus, is that lossless audio still or is Netflix just streaming the heavily compressed Dolby Digital surround tracks?
 
I'm sure it's not lossless, but it sounds pretty good. Personally, I've never been able to tell much difference between lossy DTS and lossless DTS-HD.
 
Batutta said:
I'm sure it's not lossless, but it sounds pretty good. Personally, I've never been able to tell much difference between lossy DTS and lossless DTS-HD.
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Well, DTS is significantly higher bitrate than Dolby Digital...768 vs 448mbps so those tracks were always preferred on DVDs.
 
Batutta said:
I'm sure it's not lossless, but it sounds pretty good. Personally, I've never been able to tell much difference between lossy DTS and lossless DTS-HD.
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Jurassic Park is an eye(ear?)-opener in that regard. I heard things I never heard before, despite dozens of viewings of the DTS DVD.
 
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