Celestial in talks to bring SB films to iTunes, other services

[xianzai]

Celestial closer to a bite of Apple's online market
Entertainment firm expects announcement soon of deal to put Shaw Brothers movie library on iTunes
Bien Perez
Jul 10, 2012
Celestial Pictures aims to open the doors of Apple's digital media store for a vast global audience of smartphone and media tablet users to download Shaw Brothers' iconic martial arts movies onto their devices....

[nectarsis]

Nice that they plan to expand their market/audience, but let's see some of the unreleased movies out, and re-releases of the dvd's PLEASE.

[xianzai]

Originally Posted by nectarsis

Nice that they plan to expand their market/audience, but let's see some of the unreleased movies out, and re-releases of the dvd's PLEASE.

I thought the DVDs didn't sell well. These digital distribution channels should better match the amount of demand for SB films instead of someone guessing how many thousands of DVDs to press.

[So High]

Thats awesome they should have already been doing this.

[ChanBiaoHungLungFuSheng]

The more successful digital distribution of these movies is, the more likely that no other DVD's will ever show up again.

I can definately understand the appeal of digital copies, but I'm not looking forward to a world full of digital-only releases (movies, music, books etc.). I think consumers ultimately get screwed. At least the consumers that care about quality, pricing and having some sort of control over the content they buy.

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

Originally Posted by ChanBiaoHungLungFuSheng

The more successful digital distribution of these movies is, the more likely that no other DVD's will ever show up again.

I can definately understand the appeal of digital copies, but I'm not looking forward to a world full of digital-only releases (movies, music, books etc.). I think consumers ultimately get screwed. At least the consumers that care about quality, pricing and having some sort of control over the content they buy.

My thoughts exactly....

[Eastern Evil]

This makes the most sense money wise- most people using Itunes don't illeagally download, I bet. If they market & advertize correctly, it should help bring funds in.

[waywardsage]

My views on this are mixed. Would I like a physical disc in case my hard drive melts down or my digital rights get revoked? Yes! But shaw's on disc have pretty much died off. Digital distribution on such a niche market oddly enough might be the easiest way for us to get access to their HD film archive. They are more likely to release more of the films digitally due to the ease of the distribution channel.

And for those that are irritated about quality, how many terrible boots have your bought just to see the film? iTunes might result in more distribution of the HD transfers Celestial have gathering dust in their vaults.

My only question is how the subtitles will work.

[John]

Originally Posted by waywardsage

My views on this are mixed. Would I like a physical disc in case my hard drive melts down or my digital rights get revoked?

Why not burn a disc?

And for those that are irritated about quality, how many terrible boots have your bought just to see the film? iTunes might result in more distribution of the HD transfers Celestial have gathering dust in their vaults.

Exactly! I doubt we'll get Blu-ray bitrates, but hopefully we can get HD files in 24p or at least PAL resolution at 25p.

My only question is how the subtitles will work.

I'm pretty sure Quicktime supports them, so they should be a non-issue.

[blue_skies]

Forgetting that I like something tangible that you can hold in your hand, play wherever you wish or if you decide you don't like it can sell it on. There's no way on earth I would pay DVD prices for a digital copy. I've never used iTunes and someone correct me if I'm wrong about the pricing but with only a digital copy, I would only ever be willing to pay a fraction of the cost of a DVD, more like the price of a rental