Some anons remember the days of VHS tapes and grainy nth-generation fansubs; a few elite enthusiasts had access to imported Laserdiscs. Nostalgic though it might be, it was a pain in the ass.
The blossoming of the anime on DVD market seemed a miracle, allowing access to compact and high-quality media, but in time physical media was supplanted by downloadable content, and the DVD market imploded as fansubs proliferated.
Now comes the age of streaming, in which we now trade selection and durability, for convenience and instant gratification.
So... anime format discussion -- where are we headed?
But seriously, streaming will take over almost completely, with blu-ray sets being for the ultra-obsessed fan.
John Hill
>But seriously, streaming will take over almost completely
Probably. Already have Crunchy, but I just found out that at some point Daisuki started a Premium subscription service.
Giving it a whirl, signed up to watch Planetarian. The quality of the subtitles seems to be pretty good.
Juan Cox
Almost every videophile will agree that VHS was (and probably always will be) the best format. However, technology capable of playing VHS will die out eventually, and I'm not sure CRT production is even still a thing.
Whenever 4k becomes the standard for anime, that will be the future. Not streamed, of course.
Asher Bailey
If this post didn't make you remember the smell of VHS tapes, you don't know shit about anime.
Jason Johnson
>that guy that never rewound the VHS tapes so you had to do it every time
Andrew Morales
>the smell of VHS tapes I used VHS all the time and I don't remember a smell. I do remember the horrible, carcinogenic fumes of cheap DVD cases though.
Kevin Powell
>Renting
Robert Anderson
I think I found a Katawa Yandere reader.
Jason Allen
What? Even Betamax is superior to shitty VHS
Parker Thompson
I actually still use VHS for any old anime I want to buy, it's much cheaper than DVDs. I got Gundam 0080 and 0083 together for like 10 bucks.
Asher Martin
>If this post didn't make you remember the smell of VHS tapes, you don't know shit about anime.
I remember the sound and feel more than anything. The soft resistance as the tape slid in the machine, the whirring as the tape loaded and the head spun up.
Joseph Barnes
Premium streaming(streamium?) will augment and then supplant simulcasting.
The major players(e.g. Netflix, Amazon) have enough financial muscle to bid in the same league as network television for major productions. Anime in comparison is fucking chump change.
Now if bigger money somehow translates into attracting better talent and making season charts look less homogenous(or at least for the love of god kill LNs), all the better.
Charles Adams
I still rented well into the DVD era. Now I just torrent everything.
Charles Adams
>The major players(e.g. Netflix, Amazon) have enough financial muscle to bid in the same league as network television for major productions. Anime in comparison is fucking chump change.
That could potentially change the finances of the industry. There's a bunch of new "Netflix Original" anime titles listed as upcoming, and we already have two seasons of Sidonia.
A title called Kuromukuro also just showed up on the list, haven't watched it yet.
Liam Phillips
Fuck off.
Joseph Moore
I hope netflix bankrolls Despera.
Adrian Ross
>I hope netflix bankrolls Despera.
I don't know how much hope there is of that, Netflix is probably going to prioritize shows that with potential for break-out appeal.
They want to own the next Attack on Titan or Bleach.
Easton Peterson
The next question is what happens to the players in the anime market. I think the following:
Regional distributors and localizers have been disappearing, retreating into niches, or moving to other markets. Those big enough (Funimation) are becoming their own streaming service.
Japanese companies are trying to either partner-up with one of the large players (like the studios making Netflix Originals), or pushing for their own streaming service (Daisuki.net).
Crunchyroll ends up being a distribution service for none-of-the-above studios, who don't have an exclusive deal.
Former fansubbers either cease operation or become employed by one of these organizations professionally. Many of the remaining groups just release edited rips of subtitles, instead of tranlating themselves.