The true future with downloads: RECESSION!!!!!

[buckshot]

here is my opinion and vision of what will happen if the people talking about how downloads are the future are right. How all physical media will disappear. You'll just log onto your computer and watch whatever movie you want.

Here is the problem I see with that logic. 1 the infastructure is not there to make this feasible (already talked about endlessly). 2 quality will diminish (that too talked about a lot). 3. What will become of the hundreds of thousands of people employed to sell physical software? When everyone downloads there content the brick and mortars such as best buy, walmart, circuit city, and frys will be losing millions. The same argument was made when places like amazon came about. And the sting was felt by b&ms. Though not as painful as some thought. If downloads come about and there is a 2 pronged assault against retailer from the internet, how long until stores no longer carry physical media? With profits lost what will happen to shares of such companies? How many people will be laid off? That is a slippery slope example. But one that could very well occur if the digital downloads took off as some hope for. Unskilled labor in decline there are 2 outcomes. Skilled labor wages declining as cheaper unskilled laborers enter the hiring pools in greater numbers and are willing to work for less. Or unemployment rises dramatically. I see a middle ground of the 2. Even skilled labor and salaried labor will be affected. With less people to manage as there are fewer employees at production facilities, retailers, transport companies and just fewer employees in general there are no needs for human resources, supervisors, managers, buyers, planners, or coordinators.

Mind you I'm all for saving the planet but as long as we get our electricity from burning coal, natural gas, or nuclear power we're not saving anything by going digital downloads. So the ''green'' argument is moot. Am I wrong? That's just the way I see it going.

Did I mention that hd content on demand or on cable is crap?

[EricJ]

You can rub DiVX in "Downloads are the future!"-ites' faces till the cows come home, but they still don't grasp the basic principle--

Namely, a basic application of Scott Adams' "Dilbert Principle":
In order to function successfully, every business system MUST take take into account the fact that presented with any opportunity, people will basically turn out to be Lazy, Greedy, and Horny.
Lazy, in that most theater fans don't want to download a movie every single time they want to watch it; Greedy, in that they only want to pay for it once (like, buying a hard-disk you can pull off your living room shelf unlimited times for free), and Horny...well, that's a different thread, and that one peaked with the Internet anyway.

[95pgtproject]

people have been able to download full music albums for over a decade and the music cd market is still big as ever. So what if downloads for hd movies start coming it wont effect BD its just hurt hd dvd fanboys trying to sway people from blu ray and Microsofts wet dream. This topic is getting old fast

[bferr1]

Without physical media, downloads can't be traded in as a used item or sold on ebay, and rental businesses both online and B&M would die. Such companies aren't going to like this new business model one bit. Also, how does the consumer recoup any of the original purchase price if he can't sell off a title he's done with, and how exactly can I let a friend or family member borrow a movie that I downloaded?

Lastly, if it's going to take a significant amount of time to download a movie, I don't think many impulse purchases will be made. This will only hurt Hollywood.

Call me old-fashioned, but I think a download-only distribution system is a terrible idea.

[Joe Cain]

Originally Posted by 95pgtproject

people have been able to download full music albums for over a decade and the music cd market is still big as ever. So what if downloads for hd movies start coming it wont effect BD its just hurt hd dvd fanboys trying to sway people from blu ray and Microsofts wet dream. This topic is getting old fast

Actually music industry sales have been on the decline for years now. Making commercial downloads available was the only way the industry could combat the rampant piracy and file-sharing that was impacting the bottom line---all of which have helped make lossy audio a de facto standard.

[actionhank]

So your saying we should not use new technology if it eliminates jobs? Should we go back to using ships with sails because of all the poor seamen who were laid off now that mega tankers can be crewed by 5 guys? Maybe we should stop using tractors and sprinkler systems in our farms because people were laid off.

What about the pony express? Should we stop using email?

Do you realize how difficult life was for our ancestors during the dark ages when we didn't have technology? Our lives are so much more comfortable because of advances in robotics, computers and communication.

The consumer will decide if they adopt digital downloads or not. They'll decide if the benefits of greater efficiency will outweigh the negatives that previous posters above have pointed out. Much like people decided to use email or not. I mean you can still send a handwritten letter if you wanted right?

[Thundercrash07]

Downloads are only good for porn.