WarnerMedia/HBO Max Plan, Will it Kill Theaters & Do We Even Care?

panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
Yeah, it's definitely not for the average schlub that's for sure. More for people that have money to "waste". By "waste", I just mean that they don't care about the cost of the purchase, only the personal satisfaction it grants them.

Also, out of curiosity, why do you have 80 TB of storage, where do you have it, and what exactly do you use it for? HT related? I'm just curious.
HT related as well as backups for all my stuff. Pictures, home videos, documents. All that stuff.

4K blu-rays take up a crapload of space. I have some discs that are 100GB for a single movie. Most sit around 60GB and not all movies have 4K releases yet so those are around 30GB each. DVD's (the few I have left) are only 10GB or less.

I've got something around 3k movies so I'd have a significant investment in Kaleidescape. They (IMHO) weren't even worth looking at until they were able to stuff like the 4K Atmos release of movies you can't get anywhere else. That makes their appeal go up a lot, but no that much.
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
$17K for a 40TB server? That's a hell of a lot of markup. I'm at double that in storage and nowhere even remotely close to that price range. Granted, you're paying for their software and the ability to get their special mixes for movies, but that's all you're getting.
It does suck that the Mark up for storage is so damn high. 16tb hard drives are around $450 each. If it wasn’t for the proprietary software you could easily build your own server and just purchase the software and have access to the movie library. The kaleidoscape that’s on the market has been on the market for over 7-8 years. They don’t update very often. I’m sure the licensing for those movies is a tad outrageous as well.
 
K

Kevi9590

Enthusiast
Personally, in the past 10 years I lived in areas with very average theaters. Many times we went for the movie itself, not so much the experience, because the experience itself was generic and underwhelming. Its either too crowded to get the seats we want, or its not crowded and you get put in a tiny theater with old equipment. Plus I hate people talking during the movie.

I had friends over to my house for the Snyder Cut, Godzilla V Kingkong, and Mortal Kombat. And every time we made an evening out of it and had a great time. Probably more so than we would have had at the theater. I actually dont think we “saved money” after beer, snacks, and dinner was factored in lol. But if going to the movies is about having a good time, then I’m on the side of streaming at home, because you can make it as fun/social or as focused on the movie as you like.

I also understand that an 80 inch tv, giant couch, pb-16 sub etc isnt in the typical living room setup and many wont equate streaming to their soundbar and 50 inch tv or laptop to going to the movies.

Also going to the movie theater is a classic date night activity for me and the wife :)
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Haha, yes it's a very nice product. It's not for everyone. There are not many in the industry for Kaleidescape to compete with so the price to get one is very high. They also don't market for the everyday person either. But what's nice with them is that they work with studios where the studio will send them the actual move file and Kaleidescape will actually make it better. Uncompressed audio and video on a a ton of movies. They will also do things like with Edge of Tomorrow and offer it in 4k way before a physical disc is produced. Prices vary all the time. They have deals going year round. WB movies seem to be the most expensive on their service. But they are also expensive on physical media as well. Most 4k movies avg around $20-$25 with lots of older 4k movies going for $15.
Keep in mind that I can take any 10GB file and turn it into a 100GB file using Handbrake. So just because the file is bigger doesn’t guarantee it’s actually better quality. :D
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
Keep in mind that I can take any 10GB file and turn it into a 100GB file using Handbrake. So just because the file is bigger doesn’t guarantee it’s actually better quality. :D
True. I would hope a company like Kaleidescape would be improving upon the meta file they get from Studios. I would love to see a comparison of the Marvel movies. Physical disc vs Kaleidescapes version.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
They (IMHO) weren't even worth looking at until they were able to stuff like the 4K Atmos release of movies you can't get anywhere else. That makes their appeal go up a lot, but no that much.
There have been my instances where I have watched the 4K Atmos movies and then immediately DELETED the 4K files from my PC since I have absolutely no intention of ever watching those movies again. :D

My goal isn't about having as many 4K Atmos movies as possible. It's about having ONLY the 4K movies that I want to re-watch again.

So I definitely don't think it's worth the money. :D
 
Last edited:
}Fear_Inoculum{

}Fear_Inoculum{

Senior Audioholic
Tomorrow night! Looks like fun! It better be.:D
View attachment 49600
The sequel that's not a sequel.

I never saw the other one. I've heard it was terrible. I have no interest in seeing this one either, but hope you enjoy it and look forward to hearing your thoughts on it. Maybe you'll change my mind about seeing it, though I'll wait until it hits streaming either way.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
It's streaming on HBOMAX tonight at 7PM E. If James Gunn brings half of what he brought to "Guardians", it'll work. Went to see the first one. Not great. Robbie stole every scene, Smith half-assed it, Delevingne was horribly miscast and Leto made a fool of himself.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
There is talk of a director's cut of the first movie going to HBOMAX in the way they put out Snyder's "Justice League." Wouldn't be a huge expense for more exclusive content on the service. They deny any interest in it, but they did as much with Snyder's cut so there you go.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
Watched “Suicide Squad: Extended Cut” and “The Suicide Squad” back to back tonight. Won’t spoil anything, but had a damn good time. Liked the first one more this time around and the new one is something else for sure.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
Just watched “Reminiscence.” Interesting techno-noir flic. Some cool visuals and mood typical of the classic noir genre but not destined to become a classic itself. Made me want to play some Bioshock though, so there’s that.:p
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
Just watched “Reminiscence.” Interesting techno-noir flic. Some cool visuals and mood typical of the classic noir genre but not destined to become a classic itself. Made me want to play some Bioshock though, so there’s that.:p
I watched that last night as well. It was alright. I'd give it a 7/10. 4k picture wasn't that great and of course the ATMOS was not great either. I like Hugh Jackman and the actors, so it was entertaining.
 
panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
I probably wouldn't have HBO max if I didn't get it with my home internet.

I read that they developed the app for people that hate apps. Or something along those lines.

Basically, they didn't do a good job.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
Watched "Malignant" the other night on HBOMAX. Silly horror movie with some hilariously gory and violent scenes. If that's up your alley, I highly recommend it.:D
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
Watched "Malignant" the other night on HBOMAX. Silly horror movie with some hilariously gory and violent scenes. If that's up your alley, I highly recommend it.:D
I was debating whether or not to watch it. I like James Wan. Think he does a good job making these scary movies.

Have you seen The conjuring? Now that's legit. Watching with surround sound in complete darkness. Should do the trick :p
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
I probably wouldn't have HBO max if I didn't get it with my home internet.

I read that they developed the app for people that hate apps. Or something along those lines.

Basically, they didn't do a good job.
They definitely rushed the app. It needs a lot of work. But I think WB is just too lazy to do anything about it. They just keep adding movies, which is good, but fix and update the app to make it easier to find what you want.
 
panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
They definitely rushed the app. It needs a lot of work. But I think WB is just too lazy to do anything about it. They just keep adding movies, which is good, but fix and update the app to make it easier to find what you want.
True that WB is all over it, but ATT is still the big dog at HBO Max. Their crappy app signature is all over it. "Look, a flashy interface that isn't useful, neat huh?"
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
Yup, went to see "the Conjuring." Will watch most scary movies. Cheesy good fun. "Malignant" has some f#%ked up and funny moments in it. Turn off the lights and watch it!:D
 
S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
That HBO Max app isn’t usable on fire tv. if you try to rewind it hoses up

It works great on AppleTV though.

I’m going to subscribe to it thru Hulu app when it’s trial period ends soon. My showtime works good thru Hulu App on both FireTV and Apple TV so hoping HBO max will. :)
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top