Saturday, April 02, 2011

Digital Digest: Netflix - The Future of Digital Home Media?

Welcome to Digital Digest, our weekly blog feature about all things digital in the world of sitcoms! We have another slow news week this week (as typical), but we also have a blog feature story about Netflix and how it may just be the future of digital home media. Let's get going!


DIGITAL NEWS

The Simpsons is a series that will seemingly never end, and as long as it is continuing, DVDs have to continue too, of course! Although the series still has quite a ways to go to be caught up with the current season, the fourteenth season is on the horizon for later this summer, though an exact date is not yet known. It is expected that it will contain plenty of special features (as always) and there will likely be a Blu-ray Disc release of the season.

In keeping up with the trends of releasing value-priced "best of" collections of series, Universal is now getting into the game with four separate releases containing "best" episodes of some of their classic 80s action dramas. Set to be released on June 14 at a $14.98 MSRP, be on the lookout for two-disc sets of The A-Team, Knight Rider, Magnum, P.I., and Miami Vice.

The Wonder Years is a series that seems as if it will never get a DVD release, and that is too bad... but don't lose hope on seeing it in a digital format! A recently announced deal between Twentieth Century Fox and Netflix is about to make the series available for streaming online for Netflix subscribers! This isn't a total victory for everybody waiting to see the series on DVD, but it is significant in that it finally provides a way for fans to watch the series at their leisure. It isn't available just yet, but hopefully it will be soon. We have more on Netflix in our feature story today.


UPCOMING WEEK PREVIEW

Tuesday (April 5) brings us only one release in the sitcom world, with House of Payne - Volume 7. We hope to have a review of this set soon.


BLOG FEATURE STORY

Netflix - The Future of Home Media?
by skees53

Just two weeks ago, we talked about how physical home media could be dying out. It sounded like all gloom and doom, but it isn't. We've talked about Netflix on here several times (even before Digital Digest started), and how they began streaming TV series online, and in many cases not just a few isolated episodes but entire series.

It really all started a few years with a few series from the Universal library, but it has widely expanded now to include many other series. As we mentioned earlier in today's Digital Digest, a new deal was recently announced that will bring library series, including The Wonder Years (which has only seen two single episode DVD releases, both of which have been out of print for over a decade) and Ally McBeal, among other Fox library series to Netflix.

It all sounds promising, and they will be far from alone when they join Netflix. Already, you can enjoy every episode or at least many episodes of series including 3rd Rock from the Sun, 30 Rock, The Addams Family, Arrested Development, Cheers, The Cosby Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Family Guy, Futurama, The Munsters, The Office, Roseanne, Scrubs, Soap, South Park, That '70s Show, and many more series, including edited versions of episodes from every season of Saturday Night Live. For just a low monthly fee, you can watch all of these programs at any time you want.

The most obvious way to watch this programming is through your computer (you can view them on any Windows or Mac computer), but there are even better ways that you can watch the programming. We'll start with the "big picture." If you have a TV (which I'm sure that just about everybody reading this blog does), you can buy certain Blu-ray players and even televisions that have Netflix capabilities built right into them, provided that you have an active internet connection. You can also watch the programming on all of the major current video game systems, including those from Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. And if you don't have any of those, there are still even more options out there, including Apple TV. But what if you want to go portable? Well, if you own any one of Apple's current wi-fi or 3G enabled "portable devices," such as the iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, you can even download a free app from the App Store that will allow you to watch all of this programming anywhere you go provided that you have an active subscription. And recently, a test application for Android devices was leaked online, although it isn't functional, but it does suggest that an Android app is on the way.

There are downfalls, however. A series becoming available on Netflix is not a permanent arrangement. When you purchase a DVD, you own that DVD for life, and unless your home is burglarized or destroyed, you own that DVD forever. With Netflix, everything comes down to limited term deals which decide when a series will be available on there and how long it will be available on there. There are many series which were previously available on Netflix such as Gimme a Break!, Simon & Simon, and The Twilight Zone (just to name a few) that are no longer available to view on there at any price. There could be multiple explanations as to why they were removed; maybe they weren't popular enough among fans, maybe they removed them so that they could free up server space for new programming, or maybe content deals for the series expired. Additionally, if you stop paying your monthly fee for Netflix, you obviously won't be able to access this programming anymore.

Another potential problem is streaming issues and quality. In a perfect world, we'd all have an internet connection that runs at the speed of light with no hiccups at all. But we live in a world where we still have internet connections that, while being much better than the 14K than we used about a decade and a half ago, are still not ready for all of this streaming activity. As a result, when you watch many of these programs on Netflix (as well as other streaming video sources), you may occasionally have your program stopped for buffering and won't necessarily get a picture that is up to par with true high definition quality. That isn't to say that some people won't get great results a majority of the time, but very rarely is streaming video as easy and reliable as sticking a DVD or Blu-ray Disc into your player and watching it play smoothly (assuming that the disc isn't damaged).

Still, streaming video seems to be the future of home media, for better or for worse. And it appears that as time goes on, it will get better, and it will provide us with more options than physical media could have ever dreamed of offering us. I was hesitant to use it at first, but once I finally signed up for Netflix a little over a year ago, I realized that the streaming video is the best part of it, and it places a very large library of programming into your hands at a relatively low price, with benefits of being portable and no organization of DVDs to worry about. Hopefully, as time goes on, we'll have the ability to watch just about any episode of any series that we want to watch at the palm of our hands, although it would certainly be best if DVDs and Blu-rays (or their higher-tech future replacements, whatever they may be) continued on into the future for those who want the thrill of ownership of their favorite programs.


LOOKING AHEAD

We come to an end for this week's Digital Digest, and we hope that you are logging in or signing up for Netflix right now to watch the great programming that is already on there and anticipating what is to come! We hope to have more positive news regarding Netflix and other similar services in the upcoming weeks, but of course, we hope to have more DVD and Blu-ray news as well! In the upcoming weeks, you'll see some reviews of even more classic Hanna-Barbera animated series from the Warner Archive Collection. Until then, keep it digital!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, December 3

St. Denis Medical - "A Peanut and Caramel-Filled Miracle" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Ron and Bruce butt heads over a candy bar; Alex is forced to fire an incompetent employee; Matt seeks appreciation for saving a patient's life.

Night Court - "The Hole Truth" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
When a citywide sanitation strike makes its way into the courthouse, Abby must find a way to solve it; Julianne shows Dan how to make the most out of the strike.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "If It Ain't Broke" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ella prepares to open a battered women's home in the church's unused classrooms, but it is shut down when C.J. cites dangerous fire code violations.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living "Where's My Refund?" - (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Jeremy and Leah can't seem to see eye-to-eye on how to spend their unexpected I.R.S. refund check; Anastasia and Vinny have their hands full trying to help Theodore study for science.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 2)

Tuesday, December 3

  • Kyle Mooney (Arrested Development/Hello Ladies) - Catch Kyle on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Fortune Feimster (Kenan/Bless the Harts/Champions) - Fortune is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also discusses her comedy special Fortune Feimster: Crushing It on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building/Wizards of Waverly Place) - Selena appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Keri Russell (Running Wilde/Daddy's Girls) - Keri is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm/Blockbuster/The Millers/Bent/'Til Death) - JB appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He discusses his series Buy It Now on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Brandon Kyle Goodman (Human Resources) - Brandon is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • David Alan Grier (St. Denis Medical/Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!/The Cool Kids/The Carmichael Show/Bad Teacher/Life with Bonnie/DAG) - NBC's Today catches up with David in the 9am hour.
  • Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara is telling Drew about the new venture she's taking on, where she's currently at with dating and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Bridget Everett (Somebody Somewhere) - Bridget talks about Somebody Somewhere on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
  • Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken/Community) - Ken talks about his new film, A Great Divide, and the new season of Accused on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Carlos (Big Time Rush) and Alexa PenaVega (Ruby & the Rockits) - Carlos and Alexa are guests on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 8:50am.
  • Alicia Witt (Cybill) - Alicia appears on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - The Ropers - The Complete Series (VEI)
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - Video Scrapbook
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K UHD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

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12/02 - Scripps Networks (Laff, Bounce, ION) Holiday Schedule; First Look at Watson on CBS
12/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of December 2, 2024)
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11/28 - 2024 Thanksgiving TV Marathons
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11/20 - NBC Midseason 2025 Schedule; Apple TV+ Announces The Studio
11/19 - Antenna TV's Thanksgiving on the Eastside: The Jeffersons Marathon; Fox Midseason 2025 Schedule
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11/16 - SitcomsOnline Digest: HBO Orders Kaley Cuoco Comedy from Hacks Creators; Reboot of Friday Night Lights in the Works
11/15 - Bookie Season 2 Premieres December 12 on Max; Apple TV+ Mythic Quest Is Back in January
11/14 - CBS Midseason 2025 Schedule; Reasonable Doubt Renewed for Season 3 on Hulu
11/13 - Harlem Season 3 Drops in January; James Acaster HBO Comedy Special
11/12 - ABC Midseason 2025 Schedule; Jim Gaffigan Gets First Hulu Comedy Special
11/11 - We Got Time Today, A New Tubi Talk Show; Bill Maher Gets 13th HBO Special
11/10 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 11, 2024)
11/09 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Two New Sitcoms in the Works at CBS; The CW Adds Bob ♥ Abishola to Lineup
11/08 - CBS Orders Full Season for Poppa's House; The CW Acquires Bob ♥ Abishola Reruns; Remembering Alan Rachins of Dharma & Greg
11/07 - A Very Merry MeTV 2024 Schedule; Stranger Things Final Season in 2025
11/06 - Outer Banks to End with Season 5; Nothing to See Here Season 2 on Netflix
11/05 - ABC Holiday Schedule for 2024; NBC Holiday Schedule for 2024
11/04 - Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas Schedule 2024; A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin at NJPAC
11/03 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of November 4, 2024)