Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[Uxi]

I'm kinda surprised the rental window went to zero. I despised how long it used to be with VHS, of course, but don't think a month or two window is unreasonable. I'd have thought the studios would have wanted to keep it at least a month, if not three. Was VoD the big catalyst for that with DVD or was it BB?

[svenge]

TDB crew, any clue why Vivendi decided to go with lossy DVD-spec 448kbps DD 5.1 audio for Grindhouse, or was it just another case of monkeys at the controls a la Ponyo?

[Jeff Kleist]

DVD was originally conceived as a replacement for LaserDisc that they hoped would have a larger market penetration

It took off so fast, and all the customers got used to the day-one availability. That killed the rental window dead. Now even the VOD window is essentially dead

The only video store left within a half hour of my house is the one owned by local indy video house TLA Video, it survives because it services the art house crowd in a very hippyish/college area. And by its great selection and knowlegeable staff. Even that store I'm figuring has about 5-6 years left till netflix kills it tho

[PaulGo]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

DVD was originally conceived as a replacement for LaserDisc that they hoped would have a larger market penetration

It took off so fast, and all the customers got used to the day-one availability. That killed the rental window dead. Now even the VOD window is essentially dead

The only video store left within a half hour of my house is the one owned by local indy video house TLA Video, it survives because it services the art house crowd in a very hippyish/college area. And by its great selection and knowlegeable staff. Even that store I'm figuring has about 5-6 years left till netflix kills it tho

If it the same stores in the Philadelphia area that I came up with in a Google search I don't think they could ever get replaced by netflix the content they have is very "unique".

[Jeff Kleist]

It should be the same stores

And the 4 ONLINE stores, not what's in the physical store, and wow, that's new Inside the typical store it's half new releases and half arthouse for the most part.

Another former local chain, Movies Unlimited went online-only. They used to be awesome, GIGANTIC television section, anime when no one else carried it. Huge LD section too

TLA Home video does distribute a lot of legitimate non-porn gay subject film however

[cjamescook]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Doc Hollywood is derivative itself of half a dozen other film variations on the "City Slicker finds meaning in simple small town life" theme

And Doc Hollywood is based on the book, "What, Dead Again?" by Dr. Neil Shulman. The book is quite different, but still an entertaining read.

I suppose this is the point where I give my annual lament, "When is Doc Hollywood coming out on Blu-ray?"

I assume the answer is now, "How Back to the Future sells may provide motivation to issue other Michael J Fox films."

[Jeff Kleist]

Eh, I wouldn't say that.

Doc Hollywood is an early 90s romantic comedy that won't get a substantial boost from HD, nor does its main audience care that much

My guess would be a very long time (5+ years)

[Moviefan1203]

Hey Jeff, any chances of seeing The Santa Clause released this Christmas season? It's one of my Christmas favorites and have been dying to see it on Blu-ray, to the best of my knowledge it has yet to receive a Blu-ray release anywhere in the world.

[abintra]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

Eh, I wouldn't say that.

Doc Hollywood is an early 90s romantic comedy that won't get a substantial boost from HD, nor does its main audience care that much

My guess would be a very long time (5+ years)

Being a WB title, could also be a double feature release much sooner.

[Jeff Kleist]

For some reason I thought it was Uni. The most obvious pairing would be Secret of My Success, and that's the Uni one

[MerrickG]

After having spent a little time playing with the Move on Heavy Rain I can say without hesitation that it is indeed no more than a Wii HD.

Having the glowing ball is pretty mice because it can often be helpful when it reflects off the screen.

Although it does seem to be more sensitive to calibration problems than the Wii is.

In short, its fun but controller gaming is better.


Here is another question:

What was the point of Disney acquiring Marvel Entertainment if they don't have the movie rights to any of the big time heroes?

[Bobby Henderson]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

The only video store left within a half hour of my house is the one owned by local indy video house TLA Video, it survives because it services the art house crowd in a very hippyish/college area. And by its great selection and knowlegeable staff. Even that store I'm figuring has about 5-6 years left till netflix kills it tho

Hastings is now the only retail store near my home that rents DVD and Blu-ray movies. The Hollywood Video location nearby closed a couple months ago. Blockbuster Video and Family Video each have a location a couple miles away. I think there may still be one or two mom and pop rental stores left, but I don't see how they can survive with all the Red Box kiosks that have popped up at every Stripes convenience store, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, McDonalds, etc.

Hastings slashed its rental prices to match or even beat those of Red Box. I'm just wondering how they can turn a profit. It would make sense from a view point of using the cheap rentals as a loss leader to encourage people to buy books, magazines, movies, games, etc. while they're in the store. The physical book and music CD business has been hurt by online sales of e-books and music downloads.

Movie streaming services, like Netflix, are becoming more popular. Unfortunately the convenience of renting movies without leaving the house comes at the cost of seriously reduced image & sound quality.

I really have to laugh and be disgusted at the same time whenever I see a representative of the electronics, movie or computer industry suggest online streamed movies have "Blu-ray" quality. The technologically illiterate press never calls these guys on that mistruth. The all you can eat Netflix streamed movies aren't even equal to standard DVD quality.

Blu-ray represents the "high water mark" of what home video can deliver in terms of sound and video quality. No other method of home video delivery, be it broadcast or online downloading, can come close to the standard, especially when the format's capacity and bandwidth are used to its full capability.

I expected levels Internet bandwidth and speed to radically improve between 2010 and 2015 to where download speeds of 30 million bits per second or better would be pretty common across much of the United States. I'm no longer that optimistic. Companies who traditionally spent the most money on Internet infrastructure in the US are now throwing much of that development money into cell phone networks instead.

I think the movie and TV broadcast industry might be happy with the delay. Once average Internet bandwidth levels pass the 30mb/s mark a lot of business models in many industries are going to be radically changed. For instance, we're currently talking about the pending death for traditional video stores, book stores and newspapers. Many local TV stations could fall as casualties to high bandwidth Internet connections. That's just one of the obvious examples.

[SpaceDog]

Originally Posted by merrick97

Here is another question:

What was the point of Disney acquiring Marvel Entertainment if they don't have the movie rights to any of the big time heroes?

Rights have to be honored until they expire - and one day they probably will. In the meantime, Disney will still cash in on any project at another studio that features the Marvel Characters. It's a win whether the project is financed and produced by Disney or not.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by SpaceDog

Rights have to be honored until they expire - and one day they probably will. In the meantime, Disney will still cash in on any project at another studio that features the Marvel Characters. It's a win whether the project is financed and produced by Disney or not.

One thing you can pretty much guarantee (as Jeff eluded to with Superman) is that whenever someone holds a license that is set to expire they will use it. I just hope that it doesnt mean that the studios that currently have movie rights will rush and throw together films. Once those rights go back to Disney they will control all Marvel films.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by merrick97

One thing you can pretty much guarantee (as Jeff eluded to with Superman) is that whenever someone holds a license that is set to expire they will use it. I just hope that it doesnt mean that the studios that currently have movie rights will rush and throw together films. Once those rights go back to Disney they will control all Marvel films.

How did Jeff escape with Superman?

Disney has already alluded that they will also explore TV with their Marvel properties, not just films.

I always thought Fantastic Four or the X-MEN academy would make a good TV series.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

How did Jeff escape with Superman?

I always thought Fantastic Four or the X-MEN academy would make a good TV series.

I don't disagree with this at all, since TV is really the only way every character in X-men can get proper character development.

I have never been a huge fan of the Fantastic Four and I never understood what made them so popular. They do, however, have the best villain in all of Marvel comics with Dr. Doom.

[SpaceDog]

Originally Posted by merrick97

One thing you can pretty much guarantee (as Jeff eluded to with Superman) is that whenever someone holds a license that is set to expire they will use it. I just hope that it doesnt mean that the studios that currently have movie rights will rush and throw together films. Once those rights go back to Disney they will control all Marvel films.

Studios will definitely work hard to assure their rights to the properties don't expire from disuse. Most will be smarter than to release crap films though.

[Jeff Kleist]

Originally Posted by SpaceDog

Studios will definitely work hard to assure their rights to the properties don't expire from disuse. Most will be smarter than to release crap films though.

They're shootig Ghost Rider 2 as we speak

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

They're shootig Ghost Rider 2 as we speak

Was the first one any good?

The reason I ask is because the first Daredevil got a lot of crap, but I thought the Directors Cut was actually pretty damn good. I just think people had such an anti-Affleck thing going when he actually made a good Daredevil/ Matt Murdoch.

[SpaceDog]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

They're shootig Ghost Rider 2 as we speak

I've already made it clear that Nicholas Cage has some faustian deal himself that keeps putting him on movie screens. I'm certain that Ghost Rider 2 is a part of that.