High Definition discs or download movies - Blu-ray Forum

richard lichtenfelt · 01-08-2008, 05:07 AM

Some people think that download movies are a direct threat to blu-ray.
I tend to think of download movies as a rental option, and therefore more in competition with Blockbuster, Netflix, etc.

Many people have collected 100+ hd movies in less than a year. At an average of 35gb per movie a 100 title collection would = 3500gb. Are people going to be willing to purchase a 7000gb set top box to hold their collection and still have room to grow?

Hard drives have an anticipated life of 5 years. Can you imagine trying to re-download a collection of hd movies if hard drive failure occured?
I imagine it would be a DRM nightmare trying to move movies between drives.

It seems as though downloads will only work as rentals, and dvd sales have co-existed with rental options all along.

I live in an affluent area of Houston, the fourth largest city in America, and fiber optics isn't even available in my area. Downloading a hd movie would take a day. If there was a glitch, would I have to wait another day for it to download again?

I just can't see download movies being much of a factor.
What do you think?

krispyjala · 01-08-2008, 05:13 AM

It will be, in about 10 years, when everyone has a fiber pipe to their homes. Until then, I'll get my HD fix elsewhere, thank you very much.

quetzalcoatl · 01-08-2008, 05:15 AM

Richard this poll need to be changed. Since I cannot say I am not interested but that will be in about 5 years when I can have something faster than my 10Mbps connection.

richard lichtenfelt · 01-08-2008, 05:17 AM

You have a good point, but I don't think that I can edit the poll.

quetzalcoatl · 01-08-2008, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richard lichtenfelt

You have a good point, but I don't think that I can edit the poll.

Guess you could just edit the last line or two with this.
In the Blu-ray DVD fight about to begin?
Since we know that will start in the next few weeks and should last a few years say around 3-5.

richard lichtenfelt · 01-08-2008, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quetzalcoatl

Guess you could just edit the last line or two with this.
In the Blu-ray DVD fight about to begin?
Since we know that will start in the next few weeks and should last a few years say around 3-5.

I like your poll title better, but it won't let me change it now.
Plenty of excellent answers though.

cartier · 01-08-2008, 05:20 AM

All the talk is about digital downloads not HD Downloads. I want HD content and downloads are not going to provide the features, picture and sound I want in a convenient storage medium.

davidPS3 · 01-08-2008, 05:23 AM

I agree with the original post here. I think that downloads will be fine for "rental" and not purchases. Maybe sometime way in the future, but not now.

Lou-Cipher · 01-08-2008, 05:24 AM

I think having a movie collection to look at on a shelf is part of the fun of purchasing movies. I also felt that way about cd's, and now I have an mp3 player full of music without that many cd's on the shelf.

pizat · 01-08-2008, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krispyjala

It will be, in about 10 years, when everyone has a fiber pipe to their homes. Until then, I'll get my HD fix elsewhere, thank you very much.

10 years?? it will probably be alot longer than that. the cost to run fiber the the home is R I D I C U L O U S!!! maybe around 2025 or so...

krispyjala · 01-08-2008, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pizat

10 years?? it will probably be alot longer than that. the cost to run fiber the the home is R I D I C U L O U S!!! maybe around 2025 or so...

Well, Verizon is already starting FIOS and AT&T has already started building out fiber through U-Verse (though yes, not to the premise yet except for new homes). Not really familiar with what the Cable guys are doing, but I heard a rumor of something about 100mbps cxn to homes. So, 10 years might not be too much of a stretch. Remember that 10 years ago, we barely had broadband. I was still playing Starcraft on 56kbps lol.

Ex Accountant · 01-08-2008, 05:15 AM

I'm with you. The possibility of downloads as a viable replacement for blu-ray/hd-dvd seems extremely minute at this time. Maybe in 10 years?

unreal1080p · 01-08-2008, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ex Accountant

The possibility of downloads as a viable replacement for blu-ray/hd-dvd seems extremely minute at this time. Maybe in 10 years?

Not even in 10 years. In 10 years, standalone Blu-Ray players will be in everyone's homes and the cheapest models will sell for 29.99$ at Wal-Mart. Blu-Ray movies will be everywhere and the average price will be like today's average DVD price --> under 15$. In 10 years, the PS3 will be 100 million strong and will sell for 99$ or less. Downloads will always be more complicated and require more effort (dedicated HTPC or set top box + broadband internet) and the infrastructure for downloads will always cost more money. You cannot lend/swap movies with friends with downloads. We have been hearing about how the "Digital Home" is here for the past 10 years and it has'nt happened... neither will movie downloads in 10 years.

Until the majority of North American homes have broadband internet in their living rooms as well as at least one "connected" device capable of downloading movies, downloads will remain a Microsoft induced pipe dream.
Even when the conditions above are met, downloads will always provide less audio/video quality then disc media.

Downloads will NOT replace disc media. They will be an alternate source of revenue for the Studios just like PPV, and VOD but they won't replace physical media. One day downloads might overtake physical media in popularity... but that probably won't happen until the second half of the 21st century (IMHO). In 40 or so years, the next evolution in TV, Super High Vision http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Hi-Vision will probably become a reality in North American homes but that format will also require a disc based format as the files will be so ridiculously big that there won't be a choice in the matter.

RC-Bruin · 01-08-2008, 07:34 PM

Download HD movies? Forget it.

I have a hard time with the connection for my AT&T Yahoo DSL and Router just looking at static pages. Something is always wrong.

SGRSBSKIER · 01-08-2008, 07:57 PM

The overall price for downloading HD movies would be much more than physical media.

Downloads:
Fastest internet - higher monthly fee than if you don't download movies
Storage - once filled need to buy another one
Movies - same price

Physical Media:
Player - one time price
Movies - same

Robmx · 01-08-2008, 08:02 PM

They remind me of cables " video on demand " service. I asked a friend about the XBOX live movies and he said he's tried three and they stream and he said they are perfect 720p resolution, so I asked if its a good as Blu-ray since he has PS3 and he said he can't answer that since he's tv is 720p/1080i.

He said u own it for 24 hrs for 7.99, sounds like crap to me ! Most people buy movies they really like and want to watch more then once !

rigpig · 01-08-2008, 05:19 AM

...well technically you wouldn't if you got it from usenet or somesuch, since they are posted in let's say 100mb or 200mb chunks w/ PAR archives so you could have data errors & repair 'em with the PARS. Just as an example. But yeah i think you answered your own 'poll' & know what the outcome is.....the entire concept of d/l replacing disc delivered highdef is pure unmitigated bollocks for the reasons you indicated. The infrastructure ain't there & long term magnetic storage is a temporary solution at best.
When the infrastructure is there.....30-50mbit dsl for everyone with no bandwidth caps from provider (yeah right), then the next iteration of 'beyond-hd' ...8000x4000 lines whatever, half a terabyte per movie etc....oh right we'll just whip up a quick d/l of those too while we're at it.

k20king · 01-08-2008, 05:54 AM

What Happens when internet is down.

It reminds me of when E-Trade went down right before the 1st Rate Fed Funds Rate Cut of this. E-Trade Crashed Right Before the Announcement, Leaving E-Traders in the Dark.

Sucks for customers, Internet is not fool proof.

And...

How the Heck are you going to DL 60 Gigs over the Net?!?!?!?

Hard Copy is the Way to go, Especially for HD Content.

Deacon220 · 01-08-2008, 05:57 AM

I mean come on... the Red camp is going to download movies? Right.. I mean how many movies can they download at 48,800 to their Blue Hippo computers?

quetzalcoatl · 01-08-2008, 06:00 AM

I put this in another thread.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...83&postcount=8

And I have posted in the last few days about the cost of hard drives to add to the thing. And with 750GB hard drives at 50GB a movie it is about $15 per movie if you want to keep it.

View Poll Results: Interested in downloading movies?
YES!	8	3.21%
NO!	232	93.17%
Undecided?	9	3.61%
Voters: 249. You may not vote on this poll

01-08-2008, 05:07 AM	#1
richard lichtenfelt Power Member Member since:Jul 2007 Location:I'm not drunk, I'm just tired cause I been up all night drinking. Blu-ray reviews:3	High Definition discs or download movies Some people think that download movies are a direct threat to blu-ray. I tend to think of download movies as a rental option, and therefore more in competition with Blockbuster, Netflix, etc. Many people have collected 100+ hd movies in less than a year. At an average of 35gb per movie a 100 title collection would = 3500gb. Are people going to be willing to purchase a 7000gb set top box to hold their collection and still have room to grow? Hard drives have an anticipated life of 5 years. Can you imagine trying to re-download a collection of hd movies if hard drive failure occured? I imagine it would be a DRM nightmare trying to move movies between drives. It seems as though downloads will only work as rentals, and dvd sales have co-existed with rental options all along. I live in an affluent area of Houston, the fourth largest city in America, and fiber optics isn't even available in my area. Downloading a hd movie would take a day. If there was a glitch, would I have to wait another day for it to download again? I just can't see download movies being much of a factor. What do you think? Last edited by richard lichtenfelt; 01-08-2008 at 06:10 AM.

01-08-2008, 05:54 AM	#18
k20king Senior Member Member since:Feb 2007	What Happens when internet is down. It reminds me of when E-Trade went down right before the 1st Rate Fed Funds Rate Cut of this. E-Trade Crashed Right Before the Announcement, Leaving E-Traders in the Dark. Sucks for customers, Internet is not fool proof. And... How the Heck are you going to DL 60 Gigs over the Net?!?!?!? Hard Copy is the Way to go, Especially for HD Content. Last edited by k20king; 01-08-2008 at 07:06 PM.

Similar Threads
thread	Forum	Thread Starter	Replies	Last Post
Why didn't they add an anamorphic enhancement option to High Definition discs?	Display Theory and Discussion	gand41f	54	06-06-2010 12:45 PM
High Definition discs now outselling VHS	Blu-ray Technology and Future Technology	dialog_gvf	14	08-09-2007 02:02 PM
Does Ps3 play High definition discs HDD?	Blu-ray Players and Recorders	TheFollower	6	05-16-2007 05:35 PM
TrueHD, Lossless Audio for High Definition Discs	Blu-ray Technology and Future Technology	erdega79	6	09-09-2005 05:35 PM
Blu-ray discs and 1600 High Definition television...	Blu-ray Technology and Future Technology	tron3	0	12-15-2004 02:31 PM

01-08-2008, 05:13 AM	#2
krispyjala Active Member Member since:Dec 2007 Location:Fremont, CA	It will be, in about 10 years, when everyone has a fiber pipe to their homes. Until then, I'll get my HD fix elsewhere, thank you very much.

01-08-2008, 05:15 AM	#3
quetzalcoatl Special Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Grants Pass, OR	Richard this poll need to be changed. Since I cannot say I am not interested but that will be in about 5 years when I can have something faster than my 10Mbps connection.

01-08-2008, 05:17 AM	#4
richard lichtenfelt Power Member Member since:Jul 2007 Location:I'm not drunk, I'm just tired cause I been up all night drinking. Blu-ray reviews:3	You have a good point, but I don't think that I can edit the poll.

01-08-2008, 05:20 AM	#7
cartier Expert Member Member since:Jun 2007 Location:Pacific NW	All the talk is about digital downloads not HD Downloads. I want HD content and downloads are not going to provide the features, picture and sound I want in a convenient storage medium.

01-08-2008, 05:23 AM	#8
davidPS3 Special Member Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Seattle	I agree with the original post here. I think that downloads will be fine for "rental" and not purchases. Maybe sometime way in the future, but not now.

01-08-2008, 05:24 AM	#9
Lou-Cipher Active Member Member since:Jan 2008 Location:New Mexico	I think having a movie collection to look at on a shelf is part of the fun of purchasing movies. I also felt that way about cd's, and now I have an mp3 player full of music without that many cd's on the shelf.

01-08-2008, 05:15 AM	#12
Ex Accountant Special Member Member since:Feb 2007 Trading Score:54	I'm with you. The possibility of downloads as a viable replacement for blu-ray/hd-dvd seems extremely minute at this time. Maybe in 10 years?

01-08-2008, 07:34 PM	#14
RC-Bruin Member Member since:Oct 2007 Blu-ray collection:18	Download HD movies? Forget it. I have a hard time with the connection for my AT&T Yahoo DSL and Router just looking at static pages. Something is always wrong.

01-08-2008, 07:57 PM	#15
SGRSBSKIER Senior Member Member since:Sep 2007	The overall price for downloading HD movies would be much more than physical media. Downloads: Fastest internet - higher monthly fee than if you don't download movies Storage - once filled need to buy another one Movies - same price Physical Media: Player - one time price Movies - same

01-08-2008, 08:02 PM	#16
Robmx Active Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Niagara, Ontario, Canada	They remind me of cables " video on demand " service. I asked a friend about the XBOX live movies and he said he's tried three and they stream and he said they are perfect 720p resolution, so I asked if its a good as Blu-ray since he has PS3 and he said he can't answer that since he's tv is 720p/1080i. He said u own it for 24 hrs for 7.99, sounds like crap to me ! Most people buy movies they really like and want to watch more then once !

01-08-2008, 05:19 AM	#17
rigpig Member Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Alberta Blu-ray reviews:3	...well technically you wouldn't if you got it from usenet or somesuch, since they are posted in let's say 100mb or 200mb chunks w/ PAR archives so you could have data errors & repair 'em with the PARS. Just as an example. But yeah i think you answered your own 'poll' & know what the outcome is.....the entire concept of d/l replacing disc delivered highdef is pure unmitigated bollocks for the reasons you indicated. The infrastructure ain't there & long term magnetic storage is a temporary solution at best. When the infrastructure is there.....30-50mbit dsl for everyone with no bandwidth caps from provider (yeah right), then the next iteration of 'beyond-hd' ...8000x4000 lines whatever, half a terabyte per movie etc....oh right we'll just whip up a quick d/l of those too while we're at it.

01-08-2008, 05:57 AM	#19
Deacon220 Member Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Dallas, Texas Blu-ray reviews:3	I mean come on... the Red camp is going to download movies? Right.. I mean how many movies can they download at 48,800 to their Blue Hippo computers?

01-08-2008, 06:00 AM	#20
quetzalcoatl Special Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Grants Pass, OR	I put this in another thread. https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...83&postcount=8 And I have posted in the last few days about the cost of hard drives to add to the thing. And with 750GB hard drives at 50GB a movie it is about $15 per movie if you want to keep it.

Best Blu-ray Movie Deals