With streaming services becoming the norm, it's getting much harder to go out and buy your favorite show or movie on blu ray. This feels like a huge step backwards since for years the industry has been pushing better home theatres (buy our $$$ TV and Speakers!) but the actual experience with streaming content is half-baked at best.

What worries me is Apple will only distribute their content via streaming, so major productions like Masters of the Air and Greyhound will play out like late night cable television shows. This seems like a huge wasted effort and missed opportunity. Even with a very moderate setup, the difference between blu-ray and Netflix is night-and-day.

The Blu-ray Disc will be extinct in less than 5 years. Mark my words.

Maybe; I sure hope not. Especially with the demonstrated ability (and willingness) to edit or remove content deemed politically incorrect, (not to mention the problems if you loose internet connection for a bit) I have no intention of either paying for the streaming services or giving up Blu Rays.

Anyway, the 4K/Atmos experience does seem more consistent with 4K.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of. And by extension, the home theatre will become a relic.

To some extent. Streaming services are already offering 4k quality for some of their content so having a 65" 4K TV will still be worth having. Not everyone wants to watch streaming shows and movies on a tablet or phone!

Certainly true. However, streaming "4K" does not have the same visual clarity as that from a disk (at least that is painfully the case with 1080p HD), and the sound from streaming is abysmal. For most movies it's a non-issue, but just imagine watching Band of Brothers or Das Boot on Netflix. Hardly seems worth the time.