Total failure for Walmart HD Download service

[PeechCobblerPie]

all the format war pansis that wont buy until the war is over keep saying that hd DL's will be the future. I think not. I kind of like OWNING theDVD's and physically having them. Hard drivs can be deleted and computers can crash and break. Then there goes hundreds of dollars in movies and time spent DL-ing them.

plus... some people dont even know how to check their email and now they'll be asked to search, pay for and download via internet in addition to having the required computer components i.e. memory and such

[NJMetsFan]

Originally Posted by PeechCobblerPie

all the format war pansis that wont buy until the war is over keep saying that hd DL's will be the future. I think not. I kind of like OWNING theDVD's and physically having them. Hard drivs can be deleted and computers can crash and break. Then there goes hundreds of dollars in movies and time spent DL-ing them.

I feel the same way. Plus the fact that I can't take a movie that I bought to a friends house or let them borrow my movies.

[Geech]

Originally Posted by PeechCobblerPie

all the format war pansis that wont buy until the war is over keep saying that hd DL's will be the future. I think not. I kind of like OWNING theDVD's and physically having them. Hard drivs can be deleted and computers can crash and break. Then there goes hundreds of dollars in movies and time spent DL-ing them.

I totally get what you are saying but I'm sure there would be some kind of password or IP Address tag that lets you dl it again, but maybe not. which is why I wont be on the front lines on this one

[NJMetsFan]

Originally Posted by Geech

I totally get what you are saying but I'm sure there would be some kind of password or IP Address tag that lets you dl it again, but maybe not. which is why I wont be on the front lines on this one

I can see it being a User ID and Password.

[bageleaterkkjji]

dl is crap and it will never work...it just took 3 hours to download transformers on 360..even though i i already watched it for free on the internet(someone else wanted to see it lol) and what happens when a hd full of movies dies? take 2 weeks to redownload them and after you buy a new hd? i think not...there will always be physical media unless its like 2025

[WickyWoo]

Anyone willing to wait more than 10min for a movie to download is already stealing it off of torrent is the way I see it

[docjan_uk]

heh, the future's going to bite a lot of people in the ass.
2025? More like part of the everyday mix by 2015... easy.
Try to remember what average internet access speeds were in 2000, now in 2007. Extrapolate to 2015. It would be quite possible to stream movies with blu-ray bitrates.
Now that doesn't mean it replaces disc media by then, just part of the mix.

Whether I'll want to burn the movies I DL to blu-ray is something I'm not sure about... by then it might simply be a matter of streaming said content direct to the monitor and transporting things to friends via cards.

As to accidental deletion, well, the PSN already allows you to download things multiple times (I'm pretty sure, never ended up using it yet).

[AndreasSt]

Originally Posted by bageleaterkkjji

dl is crap and it will never work...it just took 3 hours to download transformers on 360..even though i i already watched it for free on the internet(someone else wanted to see it lol) and what happens when a hd full of movies dies? take 2 weeks to redownload them and after you buy a new hd? i think not...there will always be physical media unless its like 2025

+1

In my area not everyone has a broadband internet access. There are many people who can only get a dialup access. Not to forget those who don't want internet access at all. How should these people get the benefit of an high-def movie if there are only downloads?

Furthermore I really doubt that the internet in the current form would survive such a download service. Every customer would have to pay for the additional infrastructure needed. Or the download provider would have to.

I think that most people prefer a physical medium as I do.

[Blu-Generation]

When it's all said and done here, Blu will be in our lives for the next 20 years.

Period.

[WickyWoo]

Try to remember what average internet access speeds were in 2000, now in 2007. Extrapolate to 2015. It would be quite possible to stream movies with blu-ray bitrates.

Not unless the bandwidth fairy plays a major visit to every home in America, and she still hasn't gotten to most rural areas.

You're talking 30mbps sustained to how many homes for 2 hours+ at a time?

Not happening the national, not to mention worldwide internet infrastructure can't handle the load

[Uberfy]

I think Wal-Mart failed because they were dealing in the ‘sale’ of movies via download. Apple learned the same lesson when selling movies via iTunes didn’t take off the same way that selling music has. But Apple isn’t giving up like Wal-Mart is. They are doing it smarter by getting into movie rentals. One prediction I read was $2.99 for 30 days of watching the movie, and then it goes away. Fox is already on board and possibly several other studios.

From the studio’s point of view, I think they’d be all over renting via downloads. I don’t know how the profits are shared between the studios and places like Blockbuster and Netflix when we rent the physical discs, but I’m sure the studios can keep a bigger piece of the profits when movies are rented via download.

All the buzz about the MacWorld on Jan 15 is about this new rental feature in iTunes, and many people are expecting an updated version of Apple TV to go along with it. I’m optimistic that Apple TV will slowly turn into a version of the PS3 over time (minus the ability to play games). Full 1080p, a huge HD, and a Blu-ray drive would get everyone's attention. Maybe not the next version, but eventually.

Eventually, when BD-R is as common, inexpensive, and reliable as DVD-R is now, downloading movies in HD to own will be a realistic option.

[eva-01]

The whole hd downloads is an interesting subject as i can see an easy way to implement it WHEN THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS THERE.

As i see it Blu-ray will win (duh) so you will have all the studios publishing on the format by the end of next year - now the interesting thing will be to see how the whole managed copy is implemented.

Currently music download is not perfect, it's not like you can go to one site to download any track you can think of. I don't understand why the big four content providers in the music industry (Universal, Warner, Sony BMG, EMI) don't band together in some sort of consortium (like Blu-ray) to combine their efforts to create software/website to distribute their media.

Similarly when the time comes to start up hd downloads MANY YEARS down the line, the Studios could agian band together and provide a single platform to release their content. It makes sense, as there have been complaints from studios/labels on how much of a cut they get from sales.

We all know that adoption of betamax/vhs was slow because of the format war, DVD was a huge success because it had no competitors and for Blu ray to be a success, HD DVD needs to die - likewise it would be beneficial for the Music labels to work together to provide a single solution. Likewise for video downloads in the future.

In the end, it's all about convenience and cost:

I can go to a store and buy a cd in about 30-60 mins
OR
I can download the music in 20mins
BUT
If i can't find the track (legally), looks like i have to take a trip to the store

Similarly

I can go to the store and buy/rent a dvd/blu-ray in about 30-60mins
OR
I can download the video (if i can find it legally (good luck), even if you torrent it) in anywhere between a 24hrs - a couple of days

[Sonny]

Just Say NO To Digital Down Loads