Download or buy a disc?

[greekjgg]

Originally Posted by Kristin Simard

We've been through this on other threads, but generally, how long would it be before 1080p with uncompressed PCM sound is available for download in all places in the world? A dreamtime from now? Certailny Blu-rays will be long established by then.

How long will it be before Blu-ray discs are available all over the world? (Or, how long ago was that?)

You can travel with BDs and play them in different machines.

You can resell BDs. After you have built up an extensive library you have an asset that can be resold at any time, or passed on to someone else. (Or passed on to a library, archive, school, in-patient hospital, etc.)

A dead server could destroy your library. But a damaged BD? (Just buy another.)

My Dear!! Lets say blu does continue on and win the war. Just how many people will have a PCM receiver? How many people own just DVD today w/o a surround sound. Quite a bit!!

Yes, enthusiasts will prefer a higher quaility DISC that will still be around for some time. However, like CD's, mp3's are not always the same quailty. In fact, on Itunes (THE MOST POP MUSIC DL SITE), they are of a lesser quality in most cases, yet people buy them up buy the thousands daily. People want the conveinence versus quality.

If all I have to do is turn my tv on and DL a movie, even if it takes a few hours, it's still more conv then driving to BB or BBY to buy one when I can have it NOW. I LOVE when a song comes on the radio and I can WALK over to my pc and INSTANTLY own it. Not drive to the store. YES, this isn't th ecase today with Movies, but so many of you seem resistant to the idea even if it was available today?

[Kristin Simard]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

My Dear!! Lets say blu does continue on and win the war. Just how many people will have a PCM receiver? How many people own just DVD today w/o a surround sound. Quite a bit!!

Yes, enthusiasts will prefer a higher quaility DISC that will still be around for some time. However, like CD's, mp3's are not always the same quailty. In fact, on Itunes (THE MOST POP MUSIC DL SITE), they are of a lesser quality in most cases, yet people buy them up buy the thousands daily. People want the conveinence versus quality.

If all I have to do is turn my tv on and DL a movie, even if it takes a few hours, it's still more conv then driving to BB or BBY to buy one when I can have it NOW. I LOVE when a song comes on the radio and I can WALK over to my pc and INSTANTLY own it. Not drive to the store. YES, this isn't th ecase today with Movies, but so many of you seem resistant to the idea even if it was available today?

My dear,

You are in the wrong forum.

[greekjgg]

Originally Posted by Kristin Simard

My dear,

You are in the wrong forum.

Oh, I'm sorry!! I forgot to drink the Kool Aid??

It is not surprising that many of you are in favor of a tangible copy. The bulk of the members on this forum are early adoptors and tend to be purists. I can respect that, but you need to review this scenerio from a mass standard.

Pictures and Audio both went the way of downloads and so will video. You don't have to use it, thats your choice, but at least acknowledge that it is coming and will have big impact in a couple of years.

[Denzelio]

Discs 100%, The majority of movie watchers are to lazy or incompetent to understand a Microsoft operating system to understand a computer in general. Be great if Microsoft put all their resources into the downloads then no more Microsoft.
That would actually solve much more then just the Format war haha.

[Kayne314]

I think what Microsoft is advocating isn't really a movie download service, but instead a Video on Demand service, where you get to see the movie, but not own it, and no physical data dump is required. The data remains on the Microsoft server, and you access it when you want to see it, at a fee.

There are a lot of systems already set up to do this across North America and the the rest of the World. Increasing this to HD quality is definitely feasible.

If one wants to "own" the movie, an extra fee could be paid to initiate a record function at the same time the video is streamed to the set-top box. Where it is stored on the hard-drive or copied to a HD/BD burner. Microsoft's contribution will be to create DRM software that prevents copying of the VOD if the extra fee isn't paid.

I already have SD VOD in my home. Let me say this. IT SUCKS. The VOD crashes if there are too many people accessing it at one time. The Video quality is well below that of even DVDs. The sound is usually a 2.1 Dolby mix that sounds like it came out of the South end of a North bound donkey. It has NONE of the features DVD or Blu-Ray give me, and I rarely use it.

If this is the unstoppable future of High Def Movies, then I really can't see it catching on to the point it crushes Blu-Ray. They've got a LONG LONG way to go before they can have this up to Blu-Ray quality. They can't even replicate DVD quality. Maybe in 10 years it will be feasible, but not before.

VOD is already here, and has been for years. It hasn't affected DVD sales. It hasn't even affected rentals. I don't see anything to worry about.

[greekjgg]

Originally Posted by Kayne314

VOD is already here, and has been for years. It hasn't affected DVD sales. It hasn't even affected rentals. I don't see anything to worry about.

It hasn't had in impact because they only offer the most recent titles.

Imagine now, having access to ALL the movies Netflix offers, but now I can watch instantly!!

Yes, it is a maturing process. I suspect it won't even be HD at first , but they are laying down a solid map. LG is just a pawn for netflix, if they show that this is even remotley successful, I see it being integrated into the ps3.

[Kristin Simard]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

Imagine now, having access to ALL the movies Netflix offers, but now I can watch instantly!!

And imagine information about your viewing habits, when, from where, what and how often you watch, which scenes you watch over and over again...etc. all being monitored and tracked by a corporation who does God-knows-what with that information.

- not for me, thank you

[Kayne314]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

It hasn't had in impact because they only offer the most recent titles.

Imagine now, having access to ALL the movies Netflix offers, but now I can watch instantly!!

Yes, it is a maturing process. I suspect it won't even be HD at first , but they are laying down a solid map. LG is just a pawn for netflix, if they show that this is even remotley successful, I see it being integrated into the ps3.

As I said, anything feasible will be probably 10 years off. They'll start with SD yes. They will be able to show off their SD content and convenience in about 3 to 5 years time. By that time Blu-Ray will be the dominant movie choice for consumers. Consumers will be comparing the new service with that technology.

SD < HD Everyone will be able to see that. So it will struggle to gain acceptance in an increasingly HD world. SD will be fine for portable media, but not home theater. In another 3 to 5 years they'll be ready to go full bore with HD content... IF they survive their stint into SD.

By that time there may be an even better alternative to Blu-Ray. (3D Movies?)

Bottom Line, they should have started this 5 years ago, to even have a chance of catching the runaway train that is Blu-Ray. IF they are talking about a pure download like Itunes, then they have a GIGANTIC hurdle to overcome. 5 Mb stereo sound Verses 50 Gb 7.1ch Surround + 1080p Video. I can't even do the math at the ratio of change they'll have to leap to.

SD is their Achilles heel. When they are ready to show off their technology, HD will be dominant. When they are ready to go HD, consumers may have lost interest.

[Kristin Simard]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

Oh, I'm sorry!! I forgot to drink the Kool Aid??

It is not surprising that many of you are in favor of a tangible copy. The bulk of the members on this forum are early adoptors and tend to be purists. I can respect that, but you need to review this scenerio from a mass standard.

Pictures and Audio both went the way of downloads and so will video. You don't have to use it, thats your choice, but at least acknowledge that it is coming and will have big impact in a couple of years.

I think you are right, downloads are coming, but I don't think they will replace discs. Not in video anyway, and not for a very long time if at all. It will be an option. The consumer will decide ultimately what they want. I think there will be a demand for discs for a long enough time to not worry about buying into something obsolete for now. Downloads can become obsolete, too. (Hardware changes, Format changes, etc.)

[greekjgg]

Originally Posted by Kristin Simard

I think you are right, downloads are coming, but I don't think they will replace discs. Not in video anyway, and not for a very long time if at all. It will be an option. The consumer will decide ultimately what they want. I think there will be a demand for discs for a long enough time to not worry about buying into something obsolete for now. Downloads can become obsolete, too. (Hardware changes, Format changes, etc.)

THANK YOU!

I think we'll have some sort of disc/media in stores for a long time coming, however the stock will continue to get smaller as time goes on as people start to embrace dl's.

[Kristin Simard]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

I think we'll have some sort of disc/media in stores for a long time coming, however the stock will continue to get smaller as time goes on as people start to embrace dl's.

I agree with the first half of that sentence, I would not bet on the second part right now. Why? You can walk into a store and buy 20 BDs in 5 minutes. How long would it take to download that much?

Not to mention all the possible restrictions on DLs.

[greekjgg]

Originally Posted by Kristin Simard

I agree with the first half of that sentence, I would not bet on the second part right now. Why? You can walk into a store and buy 20 BDs in 5 minutes. How long would it take to download that much?

Not to mention all the possible restrictions on DLs.

I use CD's as a reference for this. Years ago, best buy had rows and rows of CD's in stock. Online purchasing made it feasable for Best Buy to still offer the rare but not popular titles from their online store. As itunes and sites like Napster back in the day cut into CD profits, they have steadily reduced the amount on hand in their store. They will still carry most movies but instead of having 10 copies, maybe its only 5 as DL's become more popular.

[jsteinhauer]

Obviously, the posters on this forum are not a representative cross section of home movie viewers and are biased. There is a little bit of denial, as well. The ability to download already exists, and it will take a minimal amount of tweaking to get SD, widescreen, DD5.1 downloads on demand into a huge number of homes that already rent movies and buy DVDs. It doesn't need to be saved, if the one fee, 48 hours per month plan is effective. This is far more time than most spend watching movies. I don't know too many who travel with movies, either, so this will not impact the mass market.

I've said this many times. It does not matter what YOU want. What matters is what is most profitable.

[photorebel]

Originally Posted by greekjgg

Yes, enthusiasts will prefer a higher quaility DISC that will still be around for some time. However, like CD's, mp3's are not always the same quailty. In fact, on Itunes (THE MOST POP MUSIC DL SITE), they are of a lesser quality in most cases, yet people buy them up buy the thousands daily. People want the conveinence versus quality.

:

Convenience over quality, you're exactly right! Although I'd add "inexpensive" to go along with convenience, in that both are preferred over quality by the mass market.
I think the HD disc market will be around for sometime, but the download..direct to your TV rental model will probably take off, displacing current rental models. (brick and mortar stores, Netflix and any other online).

BTW, I have an iPod, and have never purchased a single song from iTunes. I still buy CDs, upload them to my iTunes and listen to them on my iPod, because it's convenient. If I want a quality listening section, I have a decent home theater setup with good speakers. So I still have a choice.
I like the idea of renting a movie via internet, direct to my TV. If I really like it, I'll buy it on BluRay. If I hate the movie, I'm only out a couple of bucks. That's the way I see it.

[BlurayManiac]

i will only nuy discs never download them