Fred588 wrote:Please correct me if I am wrong but its my understanding that the actual media used to deliver video has nothing to do with its quality, except to the extent it limits resolution or file size. A traditional DVD is, of course, limited to standard definition but its not the DVD media itself. A DVD ROM is just a storage device. The same is true of a file delivered on a memory stick or on line. What ultimately determines the quality is the resolution (2k vs 4k) and the bit rate. The QD resolution does produce some enormous files but if one can download them that should not be an issue. Such files can then be stored on a hard drive or anything else one wishes to use.
A file will look the same regardless of the delivery vehicle; that's true. But what happens, at least in today's world, is that a blu-ray (or DVD) represents a captive amount of storage. There's 50GB of storage there and a 90-minute movie; there's no reason not to render the movie out at a very high data rate and make it look amaze-balls. For online delivery, tho... the typical household user can't download 50GB of data in a reasonable time (4 1/2 hours on the connection I have right now), nor reliably stream something with such high data rates. Compression is the "compromise."
The day may be coming where transfer rates are so high and compression is so clear that we're watching 16K video in real time and transferring multi-terabyte files in the blink of an eye. Today, though,
The difference between theory and reality is that, in theory, there is no difference between theory and reality.