Is Disney ever going to do Blu-ray 3D again?
- Thread starter edisonprime
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Disney hasn't stopped doing 3D of it's latest movies. But these are being released in the foreign markets only. Some are all regions while others are limited to Region B or C. US is region A. You can easily buy any of these, many through Amazon.UK and others. In addition, you can get an all regions 3D Blu Ray Player from several US manufacturers for those titles that are foreign region only. Every one has the full soundtrack in master audio in English so that has not been a problem. Disney's Bob Iger, has stated that they use a "strategic rollout" for all their retail products for each movie. This strategy apparently places the US market dead last on their release schedule. For example, Frozen 3D was rolled out over a 9 month period and only became available in the US near the end of 2014. Yet I had it in March 2014 just by ordering it from Amazon.UK. I see Big Hero6 in 3D will first be released in Australia in March. Yes, you'll be able to rent it only in the US and if Blu Ray is not a requirement, Vudu will offer the complete disk as a streaming owned copy ( includes 2D and extra features as appears on the disk set) early too. I had Frozen 3D off Vudu in February 2014.
Basically, if you really want it, you can get it, and it is a real Disney product, not some pirated copy off the internet. If you insist on having it your way only, then you might be waiting for a long time.
Basically, if you really want it, you can get it, and it is a real Disney product, not some pirated copy off the internet. If you insist on having it your way only, then you might be waiting for a long time.
I've only seen Frozen 3D sold through 3rd party sellers. The UK version. No-one has a US BD, BB, Amazon, etc. Even Disney doesn't sell the 3D version in its website store.
Does that matter? Why must you buy a Disney product from a Disney store? The UK version is not just UK it is all regions so it is a world wide version. Besides, Disney licenses the manufacture of it's media and these are independent companies. There is no US BD because it is only made in the UK. And the UK division of Amazon has sold it for almost a year now. What Disney does do, is roll out the licensed release in various countries on their own time table. If you want it, buy it from an area that is licensed to sell it. Ok I just checked and so does Amazon US and it is Amazon Prime, a little cheaper than from the UK now. I believe I paid a couple buck more for it last March.
Amazon product ASIN B00FZM8Z7I
Your problem is you don't accept that companies don't sell something you want, when you want it, and where you want it. Bob Iger briefly explained this in an earnings call a couple years ago. He said we will roll out our licensed merchandise manufactured by licensed companies on a schedule designed to enhance sales of the entire product line to maximize the return on investment. Considering the success Disney has had with this plan, I'd say they will continue. February 3 is the next earnings call and I will be happy to post what he says if anything relevant after then.
Like you I would also like a sooner, easier, and simpler way to buy 3D movies, but I'm also a Disney stock holder and I accept the decisions Bob Iger makes and how he runs things to make profits. So, for Disney 3D I just put a little more effort in getting them if I want.
Amazon product ASIN B00FZM8Z7I
Your problem is you don't accept that companies don't sell something you want, when you want it, and where you want it. Bob Iger briefly explained this in an earnings call a couple years ago. He said we will roll out our licensed merchandise manufactured by licensed companies on a schedule designed to enhance sales of the entire product line to maximize the return on investment. Considering the success Disney has had with this plan, I'd say they will continue. February 3 is the next earnings call and I will be happy to post what he says if anything relevant after then.
Like you I would also like a sooner, easier, and simpler way to buy 3D movies, but I'm also a Disney stock holder and I accept the decisions Bob Iger makes and how he runs things to make profits. So, for Disney 3D I just put a little more effort in getting them if I want.
BTW- I've been waiting for Big Hero 6 3D and it looks like it will repeat the same release schedule this year as Frozen did last year. Feb 3 will be the digital 3D and 2D release, listed on Vudu and the 2D disk combo set on Feb 24th. No date for the disk 3D but probably it will roll out in March, like Frozen did but not in the US. I saw the movie on the Disney Cruise 3D theater in November in 3D and it was excellent.
I don't know if you were responding to me. I have a lot of problems, this isn't one of them. I bought Frozen from the UK, as I am with Big Hero 6. Big Hero 6 UK is region locked. I've read Australia is region free. Might be the way they are going.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment does its own distribution and production in the UK, as it does in the US.
Some titles will be region locked that's for sure. Ratatouille is another I have that is. That is reason enough to justify owning a player that is region free. HOWEVER, these region locked BD are also regulated by the BDA and have their own license restrictions. A Region locked B is restricted from export outside the sale in the EEA ( European Economic Area). This means that region locked disks are technically not authorized for sale outside the region. Myself and others who purchase these region free players are at risk of non availability of future titles unless we visit the region and do our own export. In the USA, disks are manufactured by Technicolor in a factory in Mexico last I heard, but the distribution and licensing is all controlled world wide by Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Walt Disney Home Entertainment in Burbank, CA. In the UK, last I heard a company, VDC Group was making the disks under license from BVHE.
Whether Big Hero 6 will be Region free or locked when they finally license it for the US distribution is not yet known. It is known that any non region A disk will not be licensed for export to the US under BDA rules. You are correct that Disney "does" it's own distribution and I believe may have some limited production facilities but probably these are antiquated and for VHS and DVD audio media, but the BD distribution is actually a legal contract authorizing large established disk manufacturers to do the physical manufacturing. To my knowledge, only Sony does everything in house by Sony made disks.
I don't know if there is any master plan what gets region locked and what is region free. To me, it seems like a crap shoot and each title is separately negotiated.
Another thing I heard Bob Iger say in an earnings call Q&A session is that where nations are capable, Disney plans to shift the Distribution of it's titles to all digital via streaming services, and will be reducing their hard media line. He specifically mentioned Amazon but not Vudu, a Walmart company as company they are in discussions with for this service. However, Vudu has been an authorized licensed streaming service for Disney advanced release of titles, 2D and 3D, for over a year. IMO, Amazon is yet a couple years behind Vudu in the 3D streaming capability. While 4K BD are expected to be out eventually, I feel the industry is headed to streaming over the internet, so long range, blu ray disks will be as obsolete as 33 RPM records.
Whether Big Hero 6 will be Region free or locked when they finally license it for the US distribution is not yet known. It is known that any non region A disk will not be licensed for export to the US under BDA rules. You are correct that Disney "does" it's own distribution and I believe may have some limited production facilities but probably these are antiquated and for VHS and DVD audio media, but the BD distribution is actually a legal contract authorizing large established disk manufacturers to do the physical manufacturing. To my knowledge, only Sony does everything in house by Sony made disks.
I don't know if there is any master plan what gets region locked and what is region free. To me, it seems like a crap shoot and each title is separately negotiated.
Another thing I heard Bob Iger say in an earnings call Q&A session is that where nations are capable, Disney plans to shift the Distribution of it's titles to all digital via streaming services, and will be reducing their hard media line. He specifically mentioned Amazon but not Vudu, a Walmart company as company they are in discussions with for this service. However, Vudu has been an authorized licensed streaming service for Disney advanced release of titles, 2D and 3D, for over a year. IMO, Amazon is yet a couple years behind Vudu in the 3D streaming capability. While 4K BD are expected to be out eventually, I feel the industry is headed to streaming over the internet, so long range, blu ray disks will be as obsolete as 33 RPM records.
Except for VUDU streaming, I don't ever expect to see a Disney title available in 3D in the US on physical media again. Disney has pay deals deals in place with most VOD already. I do not believe Amazon does any 3D at this time. I've only seen VUDU. They do have a deal in place with NF streaming, but there has been no Disney titles to date in 3D, even some titles that were released in 3D (i.e. Tinkerbell). At any rate, I'll take physical media over streaming media any day until there comes a time when streaming media is bit for bit identical to the physical disc.
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OOOOR they could just include Measles with every regular dvd like at the amusement park.
Sorry but you seem to just not be into 3D enough to know about these things. Amazon does have a couple 3D titles but they are rather poor foreign productions and of low quality. Hardly worth mentioning.
Amazon product ASIN B00DKR52A8
Netflix also has a small collection of movies and some Asian 3D productions, about 20-25. They are good technical quality but require a fast internet connection with sustained 13-15 Mbs download speed and compatible device. Not all Netflix devices will get Netflix 3D and many will not even list those titles for you to know about. It all depends on the app and the device.
Sony Playstation Stores has about the largest collection of 3D movies in excellent streaming quality, about 100+ titles now. They have a deal in place with Disney and are among two that have the Disney 3D movies offered BEFORE it is released on Blu Ray, usually about 1 month before.
Vudu is the other service that offers Disney and other high quality 3D current movies. The Variable Bit Rate quality is a visual match for the Blu Ray but in most cases the audio is only 5.1 DD encoded while the Blu ray when it is released is usually 5.1 DTS, and in some cases 7.1. While Vudu has a couple titles in 3D 7.1 from Disney, they have no control over this according to one VUDU engineer. They can only offer what the studio sends them. I currently have a copy of Big Hero 6 in 3D from VUDU a full month before the announced release of the 2D and 2 months before the announced release of the Big Hero 6 3D on disk. In addition, VUDU offers the full Blu Ray planned package with a 2D, 3D, and many bonus features in what you buy on these titles. It's like having the 4 disk set absent a box to sit on your shelf.
Can't find new Blu Ray 3D from Disney locally? The fact is Disney has entered a delayed release of various hard media depending on the country and unfortunately, since Frozen, the US seems to be delayed by about 9-10 months. Frozen all regions version was released in the US in November 2014. But it was available on Vudu in February 2014 and in March in the UK on BD. In April it was available for Rent.
Finally, in today's marketing of hard media first run movies are being released at different times in different countries and some with restricted region codes. To take advantage of these releases before they become available in the US, you may need a region free player. There are many of these on the market and they are not expensive. Even if you have an expensive Oppo, you can get a USB dongle that will convert your OPPO to a specific region for about $70. Then order from Amazon and have the disk shipped in. I have Maleficent 3D and Planes Fire and Rescue in Region B and they play fine in my all regions 3D Player.
Just because the title isn't on the market for home video when you feel it should be doesn't mean Disney or any other studio has a blanket policy to end 3D disk distribution. However, Disney has stated they will be favoring digital media over hard media for the future. If one refuses to embrace the fact that digital streaming will one day replace hard media and that is the direction the industry is heading, then better find a new hobby because you will either join in on the fun or watch nothing except your old collections. As for the technical side, demanding that all distribution methods match bit for bit to BD is silly. It doesn't even make technical sense since the codecs are not the same. What we can insist on is that visually and audibly, streaming and downloadable media match the quality we are looking for, whether it be DVD, BD, or 4K content ( which BTW is the only way you can get it because BD do not support that high a quality yet. All 4K content, now, is downloadable to a local server. Netflix 4K is also experimenting with streaming as opposed to download. By next year we may get 4K disks but it is just a temporary measure and my prediction is it will be too expensive and not sell well. Currently the Sony Business model is the most affordable for 4K content.
I'm not interested in debating this with you. I have a region free player. I will not buy any streaming until it is bit for bit identical to physical media.
No problem, I just didn't want others to get the idea that "bit for bit match" was a possibility even in the unknown future. Some things will never happen and I believe this is one impossibility. The reason is very simple, the codec used on physical media can't be used in a streaming form until the internet is reinvented to accommodate a type of genlock for multiple streams and, more importantly, eliminate latency. That would require the internet work as fast as the speed of light.
But I will say that downloaded media delivery can be made to match bit for bit. Because the complete file set with error correction code will fix what's broke before you try to play it. This is how Sony is doing their 4K movie distribution since current BD for 4K isn't out yet. I have no problem with you claiming you will never ever watch streaming video. Your choice. For me, if it is as good as disk, in visual and sound, I don't care about the bits exact match. I don't watch bit stream, I watch the movie.
While not specifically stated, this thread is really about US release disc availability, not streaming. He asked the same thing at AVS.
I thought I provided plenty because I know about this stuff. I get it straight from the source. And when I don't, I admit it and then try to track down the truth.
I guess if you don't like the truth you keep asking until someone tells you what you want to hear. When I don't like the truth, I look for a way around it to get what I really want, that is to just see the darn movie.
