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Disney Is Lone Holdout From Apple's Plan to Sell 4K Movies for $20 (wsj.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: Apple has signed new deals to sell movies in ultra high-definition with every major Hollywood studio except the one with which it has long been closest: Walt Disney. At an event Tuesday where he announced the new Apple TV 4K, the tech giant's head of software and services, Eddy Cue, said the device will offer Hollywood movies in the high-resolution format, called either 4K or UHD, for ultra-high definition. Logos for most major studios briefly flashed on a screen behind Mr. Cue, including Time Warner's Warner Bros and Comcast's Universal Pictures. Mr. Cue said those studios' movies will be available in UHD at the same price as high-definition movies. Participating studios have agreed to a maximum price of $19.99 for 4K movies, currently the highest price for HD movies, according to a person with knowledge of the deal making. Apple had pushed studios not to raise film prices above that threshold. The one absence from Apple's list of big studios selling movies in UHD is Disney. It wasn't immediately clear why the company behind Star Wars and Marvel couldn't reach an arrangement with Apple. It currently sells its films in 4K on other digital stores, such as Wal-Mart Stores' Vudu, for $24.99.

148 comments

  1. Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Disney recently announced they're pulling their content from Netflix soon as part of their own streaming service. I suspect avoiding Apple's deal is part of the same move.

    They want more control over their content so they can charge more. I hope they continue to fracture, fail, then tank. That would be devine justice. Unfortunately, I don't think that'll happen because consumers are tools.

    1. Re:Money by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 1

      I don't think that'll happen because consumers are tools.

      The window where people have kids that are interested in disney content is pretty small. They're trying to fix this with star wars/marvel etc., but it's a lot easier to say no to your teenager than to your 5yo. I think they'll defeat themselves with this, it will just take years.

    2. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Disney recently announced they're pulling their content from Netflix soon as part of their own streaming service. I suspect avoiding Apple's deal is part of the same move.

      They want more control over their content so they can charge more. I hope they continue to fracture, fail, then tank. That would be devine justice. Unfortunately, I don't think that'll happen because consumers are tools.

      Fuck Disney, and all the rest, too.

      I stopped watching Hollywood and Disney movies, listening to major-label music, and watching TV as well, over ten years ago.

      I just don't consume *any* of their products. I am perfectly capable of entertaining myself, fuck you very much major labels/studios!

      The dirty little secret is that the MPAA/RIAA would prefer people at least pirate their content rather than totally dismiss/ignore/not-consume it/them.

      The absolute worst thing you can do to them (outside of physical harm) is to learn to entertain yourself and to teach your children to do the same.

      Don't want your ankle-biters begging for some Disney crapfest 'movie'? Don't expose them to the shit in the first place! Stop using 'the box' to babysit your curtain-climbers! Destroy their mindshare. Cripple the demand.

    3. Re:Money by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      Not all Disney films are targeted to Children.

      Tron
      The Black Hole
      Fantastic Voyage
      20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
      Pirates of the Carribean

      You were probably thinking of movies like The Lion King and Frozen, but even I enjoyed Wreck-it Ralph.

    4. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Someone needs a cup of warm milk and a nap.

    5. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Someone needs a cup of warm milk and a nap.

      Tell us, how *does* petrified Disney cock taste?

    6. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      probably better then apples

    7. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I find it just as easy to to set the rules for my 5.5yo as my 14yro.

    8. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tell us, how *does* petrified Disney cock taste?

      probably better then apples

      So, *that's* where the term 'blowJob' came from!

    9. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My vote is needing punes, to have clear that massive stick out of their...

    10. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Easy to do when you live in mom's basement you little shitfucker

    11. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bet you give your wife an allowance and don't let your use your credit cards too.

    12. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget other Disney classics like Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man, Thor, Deadpool, and Star Wars.

    13. Re:Money by innocent_white_lamb · · Score: 1

      Deadpool is Fox, not Disney.

      --
      If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
    14. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My bad, Deadpool IP is owned by Marvel (Disney), but the movie was licensed to Fox.

    15. Re:Money by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Easy to do when you live in mom's basement you little shitfucker

      Yeah, because the GP set such a high technical bar.

    16. Re: Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those were childrens movies to me.

    17. Re:Money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bet you give your wife an allowance and don't let your use your credit cards too.

      That would be one way to remain financially stable.

      The other is to not get married.

  2. Godzilla comes to me by H3lldr0p · · Score: 1

    Let them fight. The outcome is going to be the same for us no matter who wins. The landscape will be in ruins and we will be left to pick up the pieces.

    1. Re:Godzilla comes to me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are saying the plot is the same whether on 8K or 720p? Who cares about about the pixels. The book is better, of course, at 0K.

    2. Re:Godzilla comes to me by mentil · · Score: 1

      I dunno about you, but my novels come in 800K format /badjoke

      --
      Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
    3. Re: Godzilla comes to me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It took me three tries to figure that out. Must be the marijuana.

  3. Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why would I do that when I can get them from the Pirate Bay?

    1. Re:Buying Movies by cdreimer · · Score: 1

      I just wait for the movies to go on sale for $5 to $10. I haven't paid full price for a video in years.

    2. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like I said, scumbag thieves like you will steal no matter what Disney charges. Not that trailer park trash like you could afford anything other than a 1024x768 tv

    3. Re:Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I haven't been able to afford a video in years.

      FTFY. But don't worry, creimer - once you get your infosec certifications, you'll be making big-boy money and can afford some big-boy toys of your own.

    4. Re:Buying Movies by cdreimer · · Score: 0

      FTFY. But don't worry, creimer - once you get your infosec certifications, you'll be making big-boy money and can afford some big-boy toys of your own.

      Like the brand new iPad (5th gen) that I got for no money down through Sprint to replace my five-year-old iPad 2?

    5. Re:Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Deferring your financial ruin to a few months down the road isn't something to be proud of...

    6. Re:Buying Movies by CrashNBrn · · Score: 1

      If they have another lackluster summer in 2018, the content producers might wise up.

      Of course, they might not be able to afford a clue by then.

    7. Re:Buying Movies by cdreimer · · Score: 1

      Deferring your financial ruin to a few months down the road isn't something to be proud of...

      I paid off the lease balance on my iPhone 6s so I now own it outright. My iPod Touch (1st gen) lasted eight years before the batteries died. I expect the iPhone 6s to last that long. Since I'm a Sprint customer for 20+ years, I got a sweet deal on the newest iPad and my monthly bill is unchanged. I can either pay that off over two years or use my forthcoming Christmas bonus to pay off the balance.

    8. Re:Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Translation: "I'm so bitter that cdreimer made an on-topic comment that I'm going to bitch about something completely unrelated to satisfy the void in my life."

    9. Re:Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Christopher, my sugar pie,

      I am deeply sorry. I didn't feel well lately but I am better now.
      I am sorry that I called you all sorts of names on /. and I feel
      truly ashamed of myself.

      The python click script you wrote for me my sweet love for my
      pheromone revenue stream web site suddently stopped to work.

      Could you come visit me in my studio so we could look at it?

      Update: I could go get you at work around noon and we could go have
      lunch at the Cafe Latte near by where we went last week and
      tonight we could have a look at that python click script you
      wrote for me my sweet love for my pheromone revenue stream web site.

      Signed:
      Your sweetee who will love you for ever.

    10. Re:Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a 48 year old in debt, with no house, facing the prospect of a retirement of ~$1,600/month purely from SSI benefits. Shouldn't you be saving your money?

    11. Re:Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like the brand new iPad (5th gen) that I got for no money down through Sprint to replace my five-year-old iPad 2?

      Yes, conspicuous consumption is definitely something to be proud of, when you're barely making subsistence wages.

      It's no wonder you had to declare bankruptcy. It's no wonder you're well along the road to declaring bankruptcy again.

      How's it going on those certifications again, creimer? You've been studying for 3 and a half years now... still haven't passed them?

    12. Re:Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Translation: I'm creimer, and I like to pretend I ignore my trolls.

      You seem bitter, man-tits.

    13. Re:Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Chris, don't touch that girl with a ten foot pole. She is only trouble for you. I know, because she is one of our patient too and we would have used her picture in our document but it wouldn't have been viewed as politically correct. Therefore, we used a picture of a strong man, yourself instead.

      I am Nancy Guerrero and I am Director of Special Education for the Santa Clara County Office of Education. We use Chris' (a.k.a. creimer,cdreimer) picture in our document because he is the hardest case we have ever had to handle:
      http://www.sccoe.org/depts/stu...

      Our artists were inspired by the low carb diet that Christopher follows scrupulously for the small lunch box and by the picture linked below for the rest. I am sure that you will notice the similarities such as the bump on the side of his chest and more:
      https://www.cdreimer.com/slash...

      Please be easy on Christopher although, I am aware that some of our staff handling Chris post joke comments here and obvoiusly, the Santa Clara County Office of Education disapprove that behavior vehemently:
      https://school.discoveryeducat...

      But it isn't Chris' fault if he is the way he is. We do the best we can do with him and he is partially integrated into society. We try to cure his abnormal need for attention but he is kind of stubborn and won't listen to anybody.

      Thank You dear users,
      -Nancy Guerrero

    14. Re:Buying Movies by antdude · · Score: 1

      Same for me. I don't own many on discs because I didn't rewatch them like I used to due to being older with lack of free time (struggling with the new releases and unseen old ones). I do rewatch them like from higher quality like from film, SD, VHS tapes, LD, DVD, HD, BR, etc.

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    15. Re:Buying Movies by cdreimer · · Score: 1

      Yes, conspicuous consumption is definitely something to be proud of, when you're barely making subsistence wages.

      Conspicuous consumption would be upgrading to an iPhone 7 RED, getting an iPad Pro, and then figuring out how to pay for it. A dilemma that several of my friends who make significantly less than I do are struggling with. One of them told me if I had gotten the latest iPad Pro (it didn't fit my budget), he would find it necessary to upgrade to the latest iPad Pro with a higher memory capacity to stay ahead of me. And Slashdotters think I have money problems.

    16. Re:Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Slashdotters think I have money problems.

      Because you've made it very clear through your endless shitposting here that you are terrible at managing money, you have little to no prospects for ever making more, and you don't understand the basics of personal money management. NONE of that shit fits your budget if you're so far in 24% APY debt that you think an 8% "debt consolidation" loan is an improvement.

      Pointing to other people and saying "But I'm not as bad as them!" is pretty fucking stupid. By any objective standard, you're inept at managing your money, making money, and planning for the future. But you keep on upgrading those devices on your subsistence wages, man. There's always bankruptcy!

    17. Re:Buying Movies by cdreimer · · Score: 1

      Pointing to other people and saying "But I'm not as bad as them!" is pretty fucking stupid.

      I'm frequently told by Slashdotters that it's impossible to live in Silicon Valley on $50K per year. I like to point out that there are people who make significantly less than me who also live in Silicon Valley. No, they don't commute two hours each way from Stockton. Silicon Valley has pockets of extreme poverty and extreme wealth, but there are plenty people like myself who live somewhere in between.

      There's always bankruptcy!

      It's hard to file for bankruptcy when your net worth exceeds your debt obligations.

    18. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not impossible to get by in the silicon valley on 50k, it's just stupid unless you have some good reason for staying here. You aren't married and have no kids and you aren't saving money for retirement, so it would make sense to live somewhere else where you could make a similar salary but have a far lower cost of living.

    19. Re: Buying Movies by cdreimer · · Score: 0

      It's not impossible to get by in the silicon valley on 50k, it's just stupid unless you have some good reason for staying here.

      Born and raised here. Like the rest of my family, I'll probably be priced out in a few years.

      [...] you aren't saving money for retirement [...]

      That's an interesting assumption because I never commented on what I have in my brokerage and retirement accounts. As I pointed out elsewhere, what I do mention gets lowballed and what I don't mention gets made up to fit a negative narrative.

    20. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You declared bankruptcy recently, you make a crap salary and live in an expensive area. Obviously you do not have substantial retirement savings.

    21. Re: Buying Movies by cdreimer · · Score: 1

      You declared bankruptcy recently, you make a crap salary and live in an expensive area.

      I declared bankruptcy in 2011. That was six years ago.

      Obviously you do not have substantial retirement savings.

      Retirement accounts are protected in bankruptcy.

    22. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have never had substantial earnings. There is no way that you spent 10-20 years putting the 15-20k per year allowed into your retirement accounts. Instead, you racked up consumer debt, live paycheck to paycheck, and declared bankruptcy. You also like to talk about the years you spent "unemployed or underemployed," which also means you spent that time not saving towards retirement, either.

      It doesn't matter that retirement accounts are protected in bankruptcy - there was precious little to protect. My guess is you've got somewhere between 50k and 100k in an IRA somewhere, and you think somehow that's going to last you for 30 years. It won't. You don't make enough to save for retirement, so at this point, it's a toss-up for you between hoping you have that coronary or stroke early on, and eliminate the need for retirement funds, or you spend the last 15 years of your life busting your ass as a wal-mart greeter, and eat lots and lots of cheap ramen.

    23. Re: Buying Movies by cdreimer · · Score: 1

      [...] you spend the last 15 years of your life busting your ass as a wal-mart greeter, and eat lots and lots of cheap ramen.

      What makes you think I want to stop working because I'm old? My 75-year-old father kept working during the 15 years of his "retirement" until terminal cancer took over in the last six weeks of his life. If you want to die faster when you're old, stop working.

    24. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So it sounds like your retirement plan is to never retire.

      Nobody wants a 70 year old IT worker, and as a morbidly obese man you must admit there is at least a good chance your health will be a factor in your ability to work. You don't see many 70 year old 350+ pound people getting on the bus.

    25. Re: Buying Movies by cdreimer · · Score: 0

      Nobody wants a 70 year old IT worker [...]

      That's funny. My entire management team is in their 60's and 70's. But that's government IT for you.

      [...] a morbidly obese man you must admit there is at least a good chance your health will be a factor in your ability to work.

      My health haven't been an issue in the last 30 years. It probably won't be an issue for the next 30 years.

      You don't see many 70 year old 350+ pound people getting on the bus.

      Actually, I do. The busses I travel on stop at hospitals or medical centers. It's not unusual to see patients on the bus.

    26. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "My health haven't been an issue in the last 30 years. It probably won't be an issue for the next 30 years."

      Dear Jesus, besides the mental illness that you obviously suffer from, could you at least fix your war-crime-level grammar?

      Or try this:

      "My health haven't (???????) been an issue in the last 30 years. They probably won't be an issue for the next 30 years."

    27. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What makes you think I want to stop working because I'm old?

      You won't be able to, so what you want is pretty much irrelevant, isn't it?

      My 75-year-old father kept working during the 15 years of his "retirement" until terminal cancer took over in the last six weeks of his life.

      And I'm sure, just before he passed away, that he said to everybody, "If ONLY I could have spent more time working, and less time doing other things I enjoy! If ONLY I could have spent more time scrabbling for pennies to put food on the table!"

      If you want to die faster when you're old, stop working.

      I have plenty of things to do that won't require me to be a slave to paycheck once I decide to retire. And I'm on track to retire long before I'm "old." I feel sad for you - that you don't have anything else in your life other than cleaning IT closets to fulfill you. I also feel sad for you that you don't understand that "retirement" is not "being old" - it's the point at which you no longer have to go to work for a paycheck, where you can survive on savings & investments, and engage in the things you *want* to do without being beholden to your employer.

    28. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's funny. My entire management team is in their 60's and 70's. But that's government IT for you.

      Yeah, but you'll never get tapped for *management*, creimer. You're a social retard with all the social graces of a yeast infection.

      My health haven't been an issue in the last 30 years. It probably won't be an issue for the next 30 years.

      On what do you base your assertion that it "probably" won't be an issue? EVERY shred of scientific data we have about people being overweight suggests that you are shaving an average of 10-15 years off your life expectancy by being morbidly obese. In other words - it is highly probably that your weight & its co-morbidities *will* be an issue at some point in the next 30 years - in fact, probably within the next 10 years, it will be a major issue for you. Current life expectancy for a male in the US is 76.4 years. That means that you, being morbidly obese, can expect to live to about 61-66 years old. You're 48 now. Within 10 years, your kidneys, heart, arteries, insulin levels, blood pressure, and everything else will be redlining, and causing all kinds of awful symptoms. Diabetic neuropathy will take your lower extremities if you're not managing your diabetes closely. You'll be at significantly elevated risk of stroke. Your blood pressure and high blood sugar will be slowly degrading the ability of your kidneys to function - look up diabetic nephropathy sometime.

      Actually, I do. The busses I travel on stop at hospitals or medical centers. It's not unusual to see patients on the bus.

      Ah - so THOSE fat people, they're all sick and need to be at the hospital all the time. BUT YOU, creimer... you're gonna live forever. You're above it all, and have turned your obesity into a health advantage, right? If you see these heavy people going to the hospital frequently, how do you NOT pause to think, "That'll be me soon unless I make major changes in my health and lifestyle?"

    29. Re: Buying Movies by cdreimer · · Score: 1

      If you see these heavy people going to the hospital frequently, how do you NOT pause to think, "That'll be me soon unless I make major changes in my health and lifestyle?"

      These heavy people are heavier than me. I take up one seat, they take up two or three seats. I exercise, diet and don't listen to the naysayers. I've done that for 30 years. I'll do that for another 30+ years.

    30. Re:Buying Movies by dddux · · Score: 1

      Spot on my friend! They should get worried about the content, not its resolution! I can really like a 480p film, but OTOH a 1080p film can make me say "WTF have I DL-ed this POS at all???"

      --
      "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Jiddu Krishnamurti
    31. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My sweet love Christopher,

      I have to admit that I sometimes fantasize about seeing your dick. I am tempted to ask for the URL of those pictures but I will restrain myself to keep the surprise for after our scheduled marriage in 2019.

      My love, how did the trolls get the picture of your dick? Did those villains hack into you phone my poor sweetee?

      Anyway, the python click script you wrote for me my sweet love for my
      pheromone revenue stream web site suddently stopped to work.

      When are you going to come to fix it?

      I get only 5 or 6 clicks a day without it on my
      pheromone revenue stream web site and 4000+ with your genius script!

      Please don't let me go mad again, I am out of meds and my prescription isn't due to renew until Monday.

      I love you, kisses on the cheek.

      Signed:
      Your sweetee who will love you for ever.

    32. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your see people who weigh more than 350 pounds in the Bay Area? I very much doubt I see anybody that fat in an entire year.

    33. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow!

      The great circus is back again as:

      Ringling Bros. Creimer and Barnum & Bailey

      Creimer, could you set up the following web page as an additional revenue stream?:

      https://www.ringling.com/

      I think there is potential for a nice revenue stream there...

    34. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That just means they are wider than you are taller.

    35. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I exercise, diet and don't listen to the naysayers"

      Dear Christopher,

      In the 43+ years we have been handling you, we have never witnessed a single case where you would actually listen to anybody!

      -Nancy Guerrero

    36. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a social retard with all the social graces of a yeast infection.

      Rumor has it that even Tim and Eric didn't want him on their show.

    37. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you weigh them with your digital scale? How do you know how much they weigh? Even someone "only" your size is already off the charts:

      http://height-weight-chart.com...

    38. Re: Buying Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      These heavy people are heavier than me.

      Statistically speaking, the overwhelming majority of them are not heavier than you.

      https://www2.census.gov/librar...

      A 48 year old male who weighs 357 pounds weighs more than 99.1% of the male population, and 99.4% of the female population. Yes, there are some people who are bigger than you, but they are very rare - on the order of 9 out of every 1000 people you see.

      I take up one seat, they take up two or three seats.

      Ah yes, the gold standard CDC "How many seats do you take up?" health metric. You "take up one seat" because you carry a massive proportion of your excess weight wrapped up around your torso and neck. Not because you are thin.

      I exercise, diet and don't listen to the naysayers.

      Seated cable rows and slow-as-molasses walking don't constitute a regular exercise regimen. Eating thousands of calories per day of pure garbage doesn't constitute a diet, except in the loosest sense of the word, as in, "The hyena eats a diet that consists of any organic matter it can find." As for listening to the naysayers - your refusal to listen to the people offering facts and strategies for managing your weight is exactly why you will shorten your lifespan and end up dead in the next 15 years - either from heart attack, stroke, complications related to diabetes, renal failure, or cancer.

      I've done that for 30 years.

      And it's worked out so well for you, huh? Did you "lose weight" back up to 375 yet? You have stayed the same weight, or gained weight, for the last 30 years... yet you keep insisting that you have everything all figured out. By the numbers, and by the facts, you demonstrably do NOT have it all figured out.

      I'll do that for another 30+ years.

      No, you won't. You're on track to die in your early 60's, a good 10-15 years younger than your expected lifespan. That's only about 12-15 years away, Chris. And the longer you wait to make lifestyle changes instead of doubling down on the lifestyle that has led you to be the miserable health wreck you are currently, the less likely you'll be to be able to actually reverse your early date with the grim reaper.

  4. Most people aren't that interested by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    $19.99 is a lot of money for a movie, 4K or otherwise. Most of the time, when watching a film or any moving image, you quickly forget whether it's even in colour or black and white, as long as the video is free from artefacts.

    1. Re:Most people aren't that interested by mwvdlee · · Score: 1

      Take the movie Dogville as an example. The brain is incredibly forgiving as long as the story and acting is sufficiently engaging to keep it occupied.

      --
      Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
    2. Re:Most people aren't that interested by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      I didn't like the movie at all, but I agree with the point. Some of my favorite movies are either black and white or would have no advantage to being in anything beyond DVD quality. I think they really need to bring the prices down, especially for "renting" digital movies. Back when movie rental shops were a thing, you could rent a movie for $2 or less. Now, renting a single movie costs $4, and they don't even have to deal with worn out, broken, or lost movies. Bring it down to a dollar a rental, and $5 to buy the movie. Put it at the point where it isn't worth your time to find a way to pirate it and will just pay for it in the first place.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    3. Re:Most people aren't that interested by jjbenz · · Score: 1

      I bet if they brought the price of a movie down to $10 they would see a huge increase in sales.

    4. Re:Most people aren't that interested by thereitis · · Score: 1

      Agreed. $25 or even $20 is too much. Take it down to $10 and then I'll seriously consider buying it. I almost never watch a movie twice (most aren't worthy of a second watch), so unless buying is not significantly more money than renting a movie, I'll just stick with renting.

    5. Re:Most people aren't that interested by laie_techie · · Score: 2

      Agreed. $25 or even $20 is too much. Take it down to $10 and then I'll seriously consider buying it. I almost never watch a movie twice (most aren't worthy of a second watch), so unless buying is not significantly more money than renting a movie, I'll just stick with renting.

      It is cheaper to buy the movie the week it comes out on disc (about $20 for the BD) than take the family to the theater. If I don't like it or think I won't watch it again, I can sell it to FYE.

    6. Re:Most people aren't that interested by mentil · · Score: 1

      Don't forget that movie rental stores had a "new releases" section, which cost more to rent and often had shorter rental periods as well. It's moot because RedBox exists now, and you can rent current releases for $1.50 ($2 for bluray) per day. I agree digital rental and purchase prices are outrageous, particularly for HD streams.

      --
      Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
  5. Most can't tell the difference between DVD and HD by sandbagger · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The broadcast industry has effectively standardized on 720 compressed; most people can't tell the difference between DVD and HD and it's already cost them thousands to find that out. My humble opinion is that the hardware manufacturers got addicted to the consumer upgrade cycle and they're pushing 4K. Having made a certain number of industrial films, I can tell you that no-one is screaming to support 4k.

    I suspect that this will drag on so long that the screen makers will jump to 8k before there's much consumer traction.

    The uprezzing of content to four thousand px will take time and money to accomplish. If I were Disney or any other large owner of content, I'd probably want to be conservative as well.

    --
    ---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
  6. Re:F**k Disney by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's very similar to the government giving companies huge tax breaks to locate facilities in their state / municipality / county. It's a race to the bottom that nobody can win.

  7. Re: F**k Disney by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not true, i buy a lot of content..when it is reasonably priced. Why does Disney think their content is worth more than the other studios?

  8. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by mwvdlee · · Score: 1

    I can only really notice the difference between 720 and 1080 when I'm explicitely looking for it, but while actually paying attention to the events on screen, I don't.
    I dare bet this goes for most people except for the type of people who can also see the difference of $500 HDMI cables.

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  9. Re: F**k Disney by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I disagree. I was a rampant pirate a few years ago based on my feeling that the content producers refused to deal with me in good faith. Their DRM was an annoyance I wasn't willing to deal with to enjoy content that I had purchased. Their offerings were priced inappropriately. And they continued to feel as if I needed to consume on their schedule. I constantly told anyone who would listen that I would be happy to pay for reasonable access. During this entire time I did not pirate commercially available music. I treasure my CD collection. Bootlegs are another story...

    Now I subscribe to Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Showtime, and regular cable for the AMC, FX, and a few other apps. My monthly budget for content is easily $200 and I get to gorge myself on content all month long. I'm happy to pay for what I consume if they are willing to operate in good faith. If not, the market will provide.

  10. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sorry, but are you two blind? There is a clear difference from 480p to HD, and then again from 720 to 1080p. Even 1080p to 4K is noticeable. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you two are as old as fuck and don't have a clue.

  11. Buying Movies by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Here are my questions I ask myself when buying a movie:

    1) Do I Really like the movie?
    2) Am I going to want to watch it a lot?
    3) Can I spread the "cost" of the movie over the number of times I am gonna watch it enough to not wince when I am buying it?

    That's it. And since #2 is dependent upon #1 it is really comes down to how well I like the movie. As the prices go up, the less likely I am going to buy a movie. As it stands now, there are only a couple movies a year at most that I am willing to buy.

    In the meantime, I'll wait for it to show up on Cable. I don't even pay for any of the Premium Movie channels, because quite frankly, they don't offer me enough of the movies I want to watch to justify paying extra each month.

    IMHO the Entertainment industry doesn't really understand there is a lot of competition for entertainment these days. They had better start making more compelling entertainment affordable or it will die a slow horrible death.

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  12. Re: F**k Disney by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 0

    Why do you think the price they charge entitles you to do anything but choose to pay the price or not view the content?

    They can charge $199 to view their films, and it still doesn't justify you in stealing the content without paying.

  13. Re: F**k Disney by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because Disney targets the demographic of whiny brats with entitlement issues that their helicopter parents would do anything for just to get them to shut up. These same parents will also use Disney as a baby sitter to keep the brats zombified while the parents are doing fuck all in another room.

    Basically Disney believes they have a captive audience that will pay a premium for their golden shit.

  14. Children's films by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who cares - not even my kids cared much for Disney films. They thought the new Star Wars was a joke. The animated stuff is pure garbage.

    Besides who would want to keep that in some digital file that the studio could pull anytime they want. Apple or whoever could delete it from your account or computer anytime they feel like it.

    You don't own it - read the terms and conditions.

  15. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by cdreimer · · Score: 1

    I was with a friend when we were looking at HDTV several years ago at Best Buy. A Bruce Springsteen concert video was playing on a 56" HDTV. My friend noted that he could see the wood grain on the guitar and then told me the entire history of that guitar. Too much info.

  16. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 1

    Some people are looking at the content, other people are fussing about the format it is presented in. If you have a rather poor aesthetic sense, it is completely reasonable to compensate for it by focusing instead on the resolution.

    The copy of "Les Enfants Du Paradis (children Of Paradise) Marcel Carne (1945)" that I have is slightly less than VGA quality. It's still a masterpiece and worth watching.

  17. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Gilgaron · · Score: 1

    I know people that can't tell SD from HD at all. The folks with 'younger eyes' that can probably are watching on a tablet and don't care so long as the stream doesn't require buffering.

  18. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by MightyYar · · Score: 2

    Some other possibilities are that they have a small screen or sit some distance away from their big-screen TV.

    Movie theaters, with their 20+ ft screens only run at 2-4k, so people already accept a relatively low pixel density as the state of the art. In my living room, we sit about 15ft from the TV and it's very questionable whether a 4k TV is discernible from that distance in all but the most monster-sized TVs.

    --
    W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  19. The question by Voyager529 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's an interesting question. I'm wagering that most parents aren't going to be willing to spend more for a 4K version of Moana when their kids are probably just as happy with the SD version, to be frank. As long as Disney sells the HD versions for $20 a pop, I'm sure that won't be a big loss. On the other hand, the Marvel and Star Wars properties lend themselves to 4K releases, but wouldn't enthusiasts prefer Blu-Ray discs to digital files at that point? I mean, assuming 60mbit download speeds (the standard tier from my cable company), it's nearly two hours to download a 50GB file, more than enough time for lots of people to drive to Target, buy a Blu-Ray for the sameish price as Disney wants for a 4K download, some popcorn, and a case of beer, and come home. Also, 50GB movies add up pretty quickly; it would take less than a dozen to fill up the hard disks for most standard Mac configurations. iTunes is required still due to the DRM (ruling out the use of Plex or other streaming server solutions), so a library of any consequence is going to require an external hard disk or three connected to a desktop with iTunes running. "Play via streaming!" seems obvious, but iTunes doesn't seem to allow that (admittedly, the Apple TV might). Even if it did, the bandwidth requirements for 4K streaming are rather high, making repeated viewings an uphill battle for Apple justify using as an avenue of first resort without Netflix's levels of peering. Now, the storage could be eased obviously, if the Apple 4K files are smaller than the selection I came across on TPB, but if Apple compresses more than a little bit, the resolution improvement becomes a tradeoff of higher compression, and again starts to favor Blu-Ray. For those who want to view a film on impulse, I would imagine that the HD releases are 'good enough'.

    tl;dr: Disney content seems to me like something that would be 'good enough' in 1080p for most people. Between the transfer times and storage requirements for 4K iTunes downloads that aren't too heavily compressed to cease to justify the higher resolution, Blu-Ray probably still serves that niche better than downloads.

    1. Re:The question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stop making sense, will you? It's *very* upsetting.

    2. Re:The question by Solandri · · Score: 2

      This would all be a lot simpler (and friendlier to the consumer) if the studios offered upgrade pricing like the software industry does. So you could buy the HD version of the movie today. But in the future when you had a 4k projector which fills the entire living room wall and 1080p looks like crap, you could simply pay the price differential between HD and 4k version to upgrade. After all, you've already paid for a license for the movie. All you want to buy are the extra pixels, not an entirely new movie license.

      But the movie (and record) industry got used to scamming people by selling them multiple licenses of the same thing during all the format shifts the last couple decades. And they're intent on milking that cow for as long as they can.

    3. Re:The question by avandesande · · Score: 1

      I am assuming here that these would be sold when movie is in the theater?

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    4. Re:The question by MattskEE · · Score: 1

      Why would I want to drive to the store to buy a digital file on a disc (which might not even be in stock) instead of downloading it or streaming it from the comfort of my home? I already have beer and popcorn kernels at home.

      Yes it pushes the limits of current home internet in many US locales for streaming, but that's a solvable problem with better home internet or pre-downloading.

    5. Re:The question by budsetr · · Score: 1

      Having made a choice between renting a SD version or HD version of a movie I can honestly say this: At the end of the movie I never thought "Damn, wish I saw that in HD"

    6. Re:The question by Voyager529 · · Score: 1

      Why would I want to drive to the store to buy a digital file on a disc (which might not even be in stock) instead of downloading it or streaming it from the comfort of my home? I already have beer and popcorn kernels at home.

      Yes it pushes the limits of current home internet in many US locales for streaming, but that's a solvable problem with better home internet or pre-downloading.

      1. I'm not saying that there are exactly zero people who would find this useful. I'm saying that the market of people for whom are those who meet these qualifiers:

      • Have a device capable of playing back 4K video at a level where there is a visible quality improvement over 1080p,
      • Have a 100mbit internet plan,
      • Care specifically about watching a film in 4K rather than 1080p
      • In the case of the Disney films specifically, be willing to pay more than $20 for the 4K version,
      • In the case of the Disney films specifically, be willing to use a separate service than what they're already using,
      • Not be willing to wait for Amazon to ship it, or run to Target to buy it on Blu-Ray, especially when the Blu-Ray disc will likely have higher quality than the download and take less time to acquire.

      It just seems like a very niche market.

      2. Most stores put their inventories online and can be checked. Most stores also still accept phone calls and will put a desired item on the side for you if you ask.
      3. Obviously one does not *have* to purchase beer and popcorn.
      4. Since 720p and 1080p movies are generally viable to stream or download on even 15mbit internet, and the summary implies that Disney is likely to retain the HD releases (but not UHD) on iTunes, the question is whether the impluse-watching that precludes an Amazon order or a Target run must also be in 4K, or if HD is 'good enough' under those circumstances.
      5. For someone with a Slashdot UID lower than mine, it's surprising you haven't come across any of the literally hundreds of discussions about the fact that internet quality in the US varies greatly from "multiple gigabit providers" to "satellite or dial-up", depending on where you live. If getting everyone - or even 95% -
        the aforementioned 15mbit internet speeds were a 'solvable problem', there would be headway in that respect. I agree that the issue is some combination of monetary and political, but it sadly is in the hands of politicians, rather than technicians, making it 'solvable' in the same way getting across the Atlantic in a speedboat is 'doable'.

  20. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    Not everyone sits two feet from a 60 inches TV. Some of us have smaller displays and sit at a reasonable distance.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  21. Both Companies are too greedy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Both Companies are too greedy!

  22. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    The broadcast industry has effectively standardized on 720 compressed; most people can't tell the difference between DVD and HD and it's already cost them thousands to find that out

    While I agree that most people don't notice the difference between DVD and HD, HD and 4K, it doesn't cost thousands any more to find out. It's hard to find SD equipment these days and a 1080p TV and a Bluray play will cost about $200 total at Walmart. A cheap 4K TV and an ultra HD Bluray will be more, maybe in the $400 range. Granted the TV will not be a major electronics manufacturer but the Bluray player might be.

    The major problem is that most content isn't 4K these days and most people just upgraded to 1080p so there's not a real push to go to 4K yet. As people slowly replace their aging equipment then they'll get 4K equipment, but few people I know are rushing out to get it.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  23. Upgrade cycles by H3lldr0p · · Score: 1

    It's not the cycle the manufacturers got addicted to. It was the first time in a while that the margins were sufficient. And margins were only sufficient because we're down to a few companies making them. The Chinese are going to be entering the market shortly so we'll see those margins dwindle. Which leaves them only one direction to go in if they want to keep making good money. Resolution.

  24. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SUPPORT 4K! And HDR!

  25. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why would you be looking at HDTVs at Best Buy? You already have a TV in every room of your house, and live next to a television repairman with hundreds of televisions you could buy.

    Too much info

    Yes, for the intellectually bereft, any information that doesn't immediately satisfy the need to eat, sleep, or crap is too much info. For those of us who are capable of having more than one thought in our heads, information is interesting, even if it's not directly related to one of our immediate bodily functions.

  26. It wasn't clear? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    It wasn't immediately clear why the company behind Star Wars and Marvel couldn't reach an arrangement with Apple. It currently sells its films in 4K on other digital stores, such as Wal-Mart Stores' Vudu, for $24.99.,

    Considering that Disney has announced plans to create their own streaming service and will withdraw from Netflix by 2019, I would say it is quite clear. Disney will keep the contracts it has in place with existing streaming companies but will not enter into new contracts as it launches its own service. It probably will not renew any of the current contracts as well.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  27. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Translation: "I'm so bitter that cdreimer made an on-topic comment that I'm going to bitch about something completely unrelated to satisfy the emptiness in my life."

  28. disney cinemagic comeing to basic cable $3/sub by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    disney cinemagic coming to basic cable $3/sub must be in the basic pack with espn.

  29. apple 30% cut is to high for the mouse! by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    apple 30% cut is to high for the mouse!

  30. pushed studios by handbagsmsn · · Score: 0

    Apple had pushed studios not to raise film prices above that threshold. http://www.handbagsbing.com/

  31. Re:F**k Disney by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

    Why would this be modded down? Torrenting is the only appropriate response to bullshit like this.

    Studios bitch and moan about piracy, then Netflix comes along, making getting the content you actually want to watch easy. Piracy goes down..

    But Netflix is almost too good; no commercials,very low price, unlimited usage -- so consumers see the traditional content companies like Disney (ABC, ESPN, who knows what the fuck else) for the parasites that they are, and cut the cord.

    So to punish Netflix and/or regain the eyeballs they feel accustomed to, they raise the licensing costs on Netflix -- and when that fails to work, they pull their content from the service entirely, all so they can create yet ANOTHER streaming service.

    So after years of consumers hemming and hawing for a la carte TV; moves like this from Disney almost seem like a giant "fuck you" to their viewers.. Sure you can have your a la carte entertainment, but it's going to cost you even more, more due to needing to subscribe to several different streaming services. (Give it a few years.)

    Or you can torrent. Or you can just not watch their insipid bullshit. But they really shouldn't cry foul when they try to set their prices far higher than the market is willing to bear, and the result is a return to rampant piracy.

  32. Re: F**k Disney by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

    Why does Disney think their content is worth more than the other studios?

    Magic pixie dust, of course.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  33. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My humble opinion is that the hardware manufacturers got addicted to the consumer upgrade cycle and they're pushing 4K. Having made a certain number of industrial films, I can tell you that no-one is screaming to support 4k.

    Of course that's what happened. The dust had barely settled on people moving to HD (moving spec and older hardware which could no longer play content and all) before people started talking about 4K.

    Suddenly it was going to be the new thing. People like me who had spent money because (contrary to what you said), HD was a huge improvement, we rolled our eyes and thought of the time the Onion said "fuck it, we're going to 5 blades".

    And then the hilarity ensues. People start hand-wringing about how we're all going to buy new TVs, how the new 4K DVD format will be so much better, how much money the hardware people will make ... and the internet/cell carriers all braying in a demo of how awesome their network is for such things, when in reality it would collapse if we all used it for what they just demo'd and they know it.

    4K is one of those DOA technologies. No consumer wants it unless they have thousands of dollars to splash out on the latest kit. Before long they started talking about 8K. And at that point, most of us rolled our eyes and tuned out the discussion.

    I've got a modest home theater, and quite frankly I'm years away from having any interest in replacing anything. The change from SDTV to DVD was a jump, the change from DVD to HD was amazing .. the change from HD to 4K I simply don't care about, and neither do most consumers.

    This really is all about hardware companies wanting consumers on an upgrade cycle just like you said. And I understand in a cinema 4K might be an improvement. But for the rest of us, it's a totally irrelevant technology.

    People want some stability, and they expect big ticket items like their TV to be a long-life purchase, not something you buy annually.

    In my opinion, the real reasons Di$ney is holding out is a) Di$ney are greedy assholes, and b) Di$ney is planning on launching its own streaming service and therefore expects to dictate its own prices.

  34. 4K HEVC @ 15mbit/sec MAX is a SCAM by WaffleMonster · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ultra 4k blu-rays run up to 80mbit with ~50 sustained being typical depending on content. That's a 5x difference in bandwidth.

    There really needs to be a coherent metric for communicating quality to customers because right now anyone can claim 4k resolution and push it at any bit rate / quality they damn well please.

    "4k" is meaningless. Resolution is irrelevant. Nobody can tell the difference between 2160p and 1080p unless standing up comically close to a jumbotron. Demand for improved quality is really customers not appreciating blocking and banding caused by content delivery being unwilling or unable to deliver sufficient bandwidth to support the lies they are selling.

    1. Re:4K HEVC @ 15mbit/sec MAX is a SCAM by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      "4k" is meaningless. Resolution is irrelevant.

      This. I have a 1080p monitor (well actually 1920x1200) and yet I select 4k when I watch a youtube video for a very obvious improvement in visual quality.

    2. Re:4K HEVC @ 15mbit/sec MAX is a SCAM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is possible see the difference between 1080p and 2160p. I recently upgraded - including my satellite service. The difference for sports is amazing, it is most notable with what is actually in the background than the foreground. I instantly clocked that I could see individual heads of people far far away from the race track that would normally be a big blur of heads. I switched away from UHD to HD to check that I was not going mad. I wasn't. The UHD detail does enhance the viewing experience. It's actually astounding. This is just one example without really thinking about it.

      I'm about 3m away from a 49" screen. I can see it. It's obvious. I have tired eyes from a lifetime in front of monitors too.

      I was kind of with you until you started the resolution etc rant. Of course resolution is relevant and 4k is a step forward, you are just in butt hurt denial for some unknown reason. I'm not going to argue against the fact that the delivery could be better however for internet content. As for quality, I use my eyes to judge. The proof is in the pudding.

    3. Re:4K HEVC @ 15mbit/sec MAX is a SCAM by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

      It is possible see the difference between 1080p and 2160p.

      No it isn't.

      I recently upgraded - including my satellite service. The difference for sports is amazing, it is most notable with what is actually in the background than the foreground. I instantly clocked that I could see individual heads of people far far away from the race track that would normally be a big blur of heads. I switched away from UHD to HD to check that I was not going mad. I wasn't. The UHD detail does enhance the viewing experience. It's actually astounding. This is just one example without really thinking about it.

      Test methodology likely flawed. Any test must be about resolution exclusively with no other factors.

      Simply selecting an HD vs UHD version of a channel is NOT a valid test because it is extremely likely to entail selection of different codecs and bitrates.

      What the marketeers don't want you to discover is 2160p content also looks just as amazing on 1080p displays... the reason for that is NOT display resolution. Especially over satellite well known for it's piss poor display quality. OTA is "4k UHD" compared to most satellite broadcasts. People are being scammed en masse.

      I'm about 3m away from a 49" screen. I can see it. It's obvious. I have tired eyes from a lifetime in front of monitors too.

      At that distance and screen size people with perfect vision are lucky to notice the difference between 720p and 1080p. You would have to be one meter or less from a 49" display to physically see a difference between 1080p and 2160p.

      The limit of human vision is roughly 60 pixels per degree (PPD) of arc.

      49" display 3 meters away effective resolution:
      720p = 58 PPD
      1080p = 88 PPD
      2160p = 175 PPD

    4. Re:4K HEVC @ 15mbit/sec MAX is a SCAM by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      It is possible see the difference between 1080p and 2160p.

      No it isn't.

      Here's a link to a study verifying your claims.

  35. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

    When I saw this story on the front page I knew instantly that the first comment would be claiming that 4k is pointless.

    Personally it's glaringly obvious to me, but maybe I'm some kind of eagle-eyed mutant. Sadly my super powers don't allow me to shoot lasers out of my eyes.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  36. Re: F**k Disney by rogoshen1 · · Score: 0, Troll

    It's not stealing. Using that term confuses the issue greatly.

    He's not walking into their office and stealing the raw film, along with all copies.

    At worst he's depriving them of revenue that more than likely they'd never, ever get from him to begin with.

    It's more like trespassing on an old grumpy man's virtual lawn.

  37. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    uh what? ABC and Fox are the only broadcast networks that use 720p (they picked 720p for sports coverage) and the difference is fucking obvious. Whenever I see Kimmel on Youtube, even in a small window on a high-res laptop the difference is apparent.

    also not sure what you mean by "compressed 720p" of course all video is "compressed." yes a Blu Ray or movie theater look better but broadcast TV looks a hell of a lot better than cable or DirecTV.

  38. Get Laurene Powell to phone Bob Iger... by Flytrap · · Score: 2

    Isn't Laurene Powell (Steve Jobs' wife) a significant Disney shareholder... she should pick up the phone and call somebody.

    In the old days, Steve would have picked up the phone and called Bob Igor (current Disney CEO) to remind him what happened to Michael Eisner, the last Disney CEO who tried to stand up to him.

    For those who do not remember, Eisner was fired when it looked like Jobs (then CEO of Pixar) and John Lasseter (CCO) were going to take their Pixar ball and go and play with someone else (Warner Bros); and Igor was brought in with one task: Do not lose Pixar. Disney's subsequent acquisition of Pixar made Jobs the largest single shareholder of Disney and gave him a seat on its board of directors - which is presumably now filled by Powell.

    Anyway... Tim Cook, at Apple, should call Powell and ask her to call Igor, at Disney, and have a gentle conversation about the difficulty he might have in a few months when he submits his new streaming app for approval for the Apple iOS and tvOS app stores.

    1. Re:Get Laurene Powell to phone Bob Iger... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She very recently sold about half her Disney stock. Maybe that pissed off Bobby.

  39. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by chispito · · Score: 2

    I think when he says "notice the difference" he really means "care about the difference." There was a massive difference between VHS and DVD, and everything since is noticeable but suffers from diminishing returns. If anything, it all just serves to remind you that what you're watching is far more important than what format it's in.

    --
    The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
  40. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by WaffleMonster · · Score: 2

    I'm sorry, but are you two blind? There is a clear difference from 480p to HD, and then again from 720 to 1080p. Even 1080p to 4K is noticeable. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you two are as old as fuck and don't have a clue.

    I have perfect vision and can tell the difference between 480p and 720p.. but it's not huge.. 720p vs 1080p or 720p vs 2160p... not a chance in hell from normal viewing distance.

    I can see compression artifacts quite clearly over 720p on cable but commercials always look amazing at the same resolution... go figure.

    Besides differences in human vision between individuals and effective PPD (Pixels per degree) based on TV size and viewing distance another noticeable quality factor is quality of the TV's upscaler. I can notice a significant difference between playing 480p content at 4k from a cheap AML s905 vs sending at 480p native and letting TV handle it. Some TV's (e.g. Sony) have amazing upscalers and some don't.

  41. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bingo!!! We have a WINNER!!

  42. Depends on your screen size by Solandri · · Score: 1

    I agree most people can't tell the difference between resolutions. (Quiz: Two of the major TV networks in the US use 720p cameras, two use 1080i cameras. Based on the TV you've watched, name each network's resolution.)

    However, I also have a projector which throws a 150 inch image (almost floor to ceiling). 1080p looks like crap when enlarged to that size, and I'm anxiously waiting for 4k projectors to come down in price so I can replace my 1080p projector. (Quiz answer: ABC and Fox are 720p, NBC and CBS are 1080i. And if you're a sports aficionado, ESPN is also 720p.)

  43. Could this be the downfall of disney? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is Disneys recent insistence on being the only distribution point for their content finally going to get them off that golden thrown atop their ivory tower. I for one hope so.

  44. Disney's been down this road before by T.E.D. · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Back in the 70's Disney refused to license out their cartoons at a reasonable rate. Instead they produced their own TV program that would once a week air one or two of them. Meanwhile their competitors at Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barberra were tickled pink to take a nickel from anyone who wanted to air their old library.

    The result was that Warner Brothers and Hanna-Barberra cartoons were constantly playing during "kid time" (after school on weekdays and Saturday mornings). All kinds of new content was being created too, as fast as it could be shoveled out. Meanwhile hardly anyone was familiar with the Disney cartoon stable, because they hardly ever saw it. Entire generations of viewers can describe Bugs Bunny cartoons in minute detail, and couldn't care less about Mickey Mouse.

    They almost entirely destroyed their brand by being so tight-fisted. So now they have to go buy properties that were sensible about trying to maximize exposure (eg: Marvel, Star Wars), but it seems they still haven't learned their lesson.

    1. Re:Disney's been down this road before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While that may be true for some, I and every other person in my age group that I know save one, was a Disney kid. All the Disney cartoons, movies, characters. Everyone wanted the Disney channel because it played all of those things, something which none of the current Disney channels do. You can't see anything classic without downloading the app for Roku or something else. There are some on there though not that many and I don't believe they rotate.

    2. Re:Disney's been down this road before by T.E.D. · · Score: 2

      Yes, the Disney Channel is what saved their IP from total irrelevance. But did you know that it started out as a premium channel, like HBO? It took them almost 2 decades to reluctantly realize that wouldn't work and fully switch over to basic cable status. So the "Disney" world you know was one they were brought into kicking and screaming.

    3. Re:Disney's been down this road before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lucasfilm did something similar. It was difficult to ever see the original trilogy movies on television (I had a copy of ESB taped off TV with commercials and that was my earliest exposure to Star Wars). I once saw the original Star Wars on Disney Channel and sometime later ROTJ on Showtime or something. Eventually the USA Network would show the trilogy once a year during one weekend around the time the VHS set came out.

    4. Re:Disney's been down this road before by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

      That's a good point. I think the pirates saved Lucasfilm, in spite of itself. I remember my dad had a pretty good VHS of it that was still clearly cammed off of a movie screen.

  45. I'd pay about a dollar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As long as this stuff contains DRM, it's worth about $1 to me. Can't watch it on the device of my choice or convert to the format of my choice? It's dead to me.

    I'm honestly astonished at how successful Apple's movie download sales are. You'd think that people would get bitten by being unable to play these on non-Apple devices, and wouldn't come back. Yet I see posts in other forums of people who have 300+ movies purchased from them. WTF! Don't they ever want to play on a "smart" TV, Roku/ChromeCast, a friend's Android (or their own after switching)? Seriously?

    I own a lot of Apple products, but I have no use for an Apple TV, and I prefer the flexibility of being able to store and play my purchased movies however I want, even on Apple devices. Blu-Ray (not 4K yet) gives me that since its DRM is fully broken and is therefore DRM-free in practice. I won't buy anything else.

    I hate the hypocrisy here, too - 12-15 years ago Apple went on and on about how music should be DRM free. Steve Jobs fought for it and finally won. One of the greatest things he ever did, honestly. But since he had such a big stake in Pixar, he was a big fat hypocrite, claiming that movies were somehow different. No, they're the fucking same! It's all media for casual consumption! They should have strong-armed the movie industry (or at least tried) the same as music. Would have made the world a better place for entertainment.

  46. When I posted Disney wants to charge... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    $80 which is the number of posts.

  47. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The broadcast industry has effectively standardized on 720 compressed; most people can't tell the difference between DVD and HD and it's already cost them thousands to find that out. My humble opinion is that the hardware manufacturers got addicted to the consumer upgrade cycle and they're pushing 4K. Having made a certain number of industrial films, I can tell you that no-one is screaming to support 4k.

    I suspect that this will drag on so long that the screen makers will jump to 8k before there's much consumer traction.

    The uprezzing of content to four thousand px will take time and money to accomplish. If I were Disney or any other large owner of content, I'd probably want to be conservative as well.

    The difference between DVD (480) and half-HD (720) is pretty noticeable if you have a larger (42in up?) TV made in the past 5 years or so. The difference between DVD and full HD is obvious unless you have vision problems. Go watch some older series on Netflix that are only available in DVD quality then watch something in HD. The difference is impossible to miss. It's also easy to see when the quality is auto adjusted down. If you're playing actual DVD content through an HD tv it's being upscaled anyways so the quality of that process in whatever device you're using will play a part in the overall quality.

    The problem with 8k is we do start to reach the point where it doesn't matter, at least from a TV perspective. Not to mention content size becomes a problem. An 8k stream is too much for many internet connections to handle well. Not to mention the bandwidth cap issues. 8k has a place, but it's more in the professional or VR space where you need the highest possible quality for scaling and have extremely short viewing distances. If the tech price falls enough we might see 8k TVs become common but not because of an appreciable difference in quality but because they need a new selling point. Personally, I think we'll start seeing improvements in true black and color reproduction over screen resolution and size.

    The cost of upscaling their old animation is trivial. Disney is leveraging their IP and popularity. They've positioned themselves as owning many of the most profitable franchises and characters of all time so they know people will pay whatever they ask. Why bother cooperating?

  48. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Voyager529 · · Score: 1

    I don't think much of the pushback has to do with the fact that the difference isn't visible. The issue has more to do with whether people are going to try and use a different service at a higher price and less convenience to get 4K versions of Disney content.

  49. Re:F**k Disney by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mod parent up

  50. Most movies are only mastered in 2K by Kiwikwi · · Score: 2

    To this day, most movies are only mastered in 2K, meaning that with "4K" you'll just be paying for digitally upscaled video without any added detail.

    E.g. look at the IMDb box-office top 10 (as a proxy for new, popular movies), then check the Technical Specs for each movie. For the vast majority of movies, you'll see:

    Cinematographic Process Digital Intermediate (2K) (master format)

    Only two movies on the current top 10 were mastered in 4K: The Hitman's Bodyguard and Logan Lucky. Even Spider-Man: Homecoming, which Apple used when announcing the 4K movie initiative is only mastered in 2K! This is ridiculous.

    Sure, with the 4K movies you'll probably also get higher bandwidth, which directly translates to higher quality... but that property is completely separate from resolution, and upscaling to 4K will actually give slightly worse fidelity than if the same bandwidth was used to compress the original 2K video.

  51. Disney=Arrogant & Greedy by AnalogDiehard · · Score: 1

    Disney has always been greedy to the point of being arrogant.

    Their DVDs on the shelves were always higher priced and seldom discounted. $20 is too high for a children's movie.

    Disney lobbied heavily and won passage of the "Mickey Mouse" copyright extension law that prevented Steamboat Willy and Mickey Mouse from going into public domain.

    Disney's early films exploited public domain in which they mined stories no longer under copyright to make their own movies.

    When traveling I had watched the Disney Channel in hotel rooms and was aghast at the sitcoms that portrayed grown adults as bumbling idiots and children rebelling against authority. Not exactly the role models I want my kids exposed to. The only show I found entertaining was Phineas and Ferb.

    Disney used to be the beacon of wholesome entertainment for families. Not anymore. I haven't patronized them for years. If they want to take their ball home away from Apple's service, they won't be missed,

    --
    Eternity: will that be smoking, or non-smoking? I Corinthians 6:9-10
  52. Re: F**k Disney by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Access to culture is considered a universal right and content is culture. Language is also culture. You have as much right to speak a language as you do to watch a movie. Content does have an exception carved out to encourage the future creation of content, but the primary owner is the public. If you don't care about theory and only care about law, then I'm ready to Godwin your argument.

  53. Re: Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Translation: we won't let Creimer rest no matter what he post about. He burned his bridge. You bought the house, now live in it Creimer. Everyday we will be on your ass. No homo.

  54. Mutual greed balkanizes and scams customers. by jbn-o · · Score: 1

    Among the copyright holders and distributors (Apple, Disney, NBC/Comcast, etc.) mutual greed assures that no single site will offer the convenience, freedom from digital restrictions management, and respect for watching in privacy that sharing sites like The Pirate Bay do.

    Among customers (particularly those on /.) who should know better than to do business with Disney: Doing business with Disney means feeding the organization that treats you badly on copyright law (another retroactive copyright term extension, more power for software proprietors to implement more digital restrictions management, anyone?). Your shortsightedness and unwillingness to put your choices in the context of something more important will reinforce Disney's strong seat at the bargaining table. This will adversely affect you even for using services you're (foolishly) willing to trade your freedom to get: more DRM-riddled temporary access to movies with plenty of spying.

  55. Re:F**k Disney by Rakarra · · Score: 1

    You are the reason movies suck these days. You steal from those making movies and wonder why movies are so bad these days.

    Every time you BitTorrent a movie, the next movie gets just that much worse in quality.

    I hope you're kidding. In terms of effects and the actual work that goes into films, there's more money being spent on them than any other time in history, with the occasional Cleopatra as an outlying counter-example. "Oh, if only they'd been able to afford a good effects budget" is not something said in Hollywood.

  56. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by dddux · · Score: 1

    Hell, I'm still extremely satisfied with 720p and 1080p content. Extremely. 4K? I'd rather invest some money in something more meaningful. New synth or something. It's just getting ridiculous.

    --
    "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Jiddu Krishnamurti
  57. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by dddux · · Score: 1

    Especially when it comes to porn, 1080p is the top experience, but really 720p is more than alright also. The only problem is lower resolutions like 480p and 360p. That can really look bad. However, more than 1080p is also just imperceptible,

    --
    "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Jiddu Krishnamurti
  58. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by dddux · · Score: 1

    People with smaller dicks like to have bigger stuff. Simple. :) It is not about the quality, it is about dicks, really.

    --
    "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Jiddu Krishnamurti
  59. 1825lbs of CREIMEY LOVE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1825lbs is the amount of weight you would lose in 30 years if you walked 20 minutes and had one less snack a day (2 less beers, 1 less cheeseburger, 2 less cokes, no fries, etc)

    Three less slices of white bread and a nice evening stroll is what we're talking here.
    We're talking NO DIET and an hour long walk on your lunch break.

    That is a SMALL amount of diet and exercise and yet you haven't yet achieved negative mass and floated into the upper edges of our atmosphere!

    You work in IT and post on slashdot. You need to remember that you're surrounded by people who continuously subconsciously review the consistency of what you say against reality and against what you have said previously . They will judge you when it comes time for employment, relationships, platonic or not, or even socializing on the internet. You destroy your reputation. I know a few big guys and I don't hold their weight against them anywhere near what I would if I knew that I couldn't trust what they say to be true. Even getting busted on innocent little white lies will diminish you greatly in the eyes of your peers.

    I realize you're not normal so you may not know these things.

  60. Re:Most can't tell the difference between DVD and by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The fovea centralis is a tiny portion of the eye that makes up our central vision. Resolution here is the highest, and then it drops off quickly to the sides. But this tiny portion of the eye is processed by 50% of the visual cortex.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fovea_centralis

    The fovea centralis of an average person has a resolution of 31.5 arcseconds. This gives a view angle of 17 degrees for 1920 pixels (1920*31.5/3600) and 34 degrees for 3860 pixels, for no discernible difference. Compare these view angles to the human stereoscope field of 80 degrees.

    Diminishing returns - certainly. Worth it - debatable. Saying it is indistinguishable with perfect vision is simply wrong.

    The resolution power of the fovea centralis, is based on the cone density and the focal distance of the eye. I will also counter your anecdote with my anecdote. I have a 40" 4k tv I use as a monitor. I can scoot back to see where I can no longer discern between two pixels. It is in line with Wikipedia. I have perfect vision when using my corrective lenses.