I blame you people...

[Jade Jaguar]

Not gonna happen, not for a very long time, anyway. The bandwidth requirements are just too big (twice what is needed for 1080i)

Joe

If Al Gore had been president, we would all have fiber optics to our homes by now.

Apart from the bandwith problem, I don't see why wanting a disc, instead of a computer file, should be an impediment to getting your movies as downloads, even in Blu-Ray, or HD-DVD. Why can't you just burn it to disc? Perhaps that would require a higher fee, but it doesn't seem like it would be a problem. If necessary, it could be a dedicated burner, that would burn only once, with the proper authorization.

 

[Jonny_Fever]

The interesting thing however are all the people who do not have computers or want to learn how to download music/movies etc. I constantly run into people at work who are amazed to find out that you can actually do things like that. And many who do know about it, respond the same. Why would I want to watch a movie on my computer? I have a tv for that. Then you try and explain to them how you can burn it to a dvd or stream it to you tv via another device and their eyes kind of glaze over and you lose them..

This is by no means indicative of any members of this board. I read some of these posts on my lunch break and when I returned to work, I got to thinking about how many people do not have access to high speed internet either because it is not offered or they cant afford it or they really dont care.

 

[Jade Jaguar]

JF, what you say is very true. That's why I think cable co.s are best set up to provide a download/burn-to-disc service, with on-screen selection, using an add-on box, in conjunction with a broad band cable box. That wouldn't require any real computer skills, or a computer.

 

[A_M_Swallow]

I'm sorry, where did that leap come from? There is nothing in that article the remotely suggests any impact on copyright whatsoever. Is this a provision of some proposed EU legislation? If so, please provide a link, I'd like to see it. The EU may ban the use of various forms of DRM - in which case Hollywood would not use it on the discs sold there - but that would have no impact on copyright. At worst if some DRM-enabled discs ended up in Europe they'd be pulled from store shelves and replaced.

No need for an additional change in the law. If DRM is banned then using it will be a crime and the DVD illegal. Enforcing copyright on the DVD would make the court and police accessories to the studio's crime. Courts do not like being made accessories.

Bad faith in legal proceedings undermines your case.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_faith
“Bad faith (Latin mala fides) is a legal concept in which a malicious motive on the part of a party in a lawsuit undermines their case. “

See the rules about “unclean hands”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_hands

Illegal contracts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_agreement

Accessory to a crime.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessory_(legal_term)

 

[Recoil]

Not in this thread, but I run across this prediction all the time around the 'net. "No need to buy Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. In a few years everything will be download-on-demand. No more discs." It is a remarkably widespread assumption. Mostly among people who haven't really thought the whole thing through.

To make that widespread a prediction is really a bit silly and unrealistic, but you can bet your ass that everything *I* watch in another couple years will be digitally from file. I've already got a large library of digital music (Haven't listened to a CD in my house in 3 years, and now that I have an iPod kit for my car I won't listen to CDs ever) and with Hard Drives getting larger and cheaper, I'll have a video server set up in a couple years.

I've actually come close a couple times now to doing it. I have a couple friends that have some HTPCs set up, and have started setting up storage servers for their media. But as of now, I'm not thrilled with the GUI interface programs for these media centers yet, and am waiting for a couple of the programs to develop a bit more.

I've got a good size library of DVDs already, but as soon as I get a chance, I'm doing the same thing with my DVDs that I did with my CDs.

Also, I have the bandwidth at home that I can suck down a good HD movie in a few hours tops, which helps.

 

[GKarsEye]

I've actually come close a couple times now to doing it. I have a couple friends that have some HTPCs set up, and have started setting up storage servers for their media. But as of now, I'm not thrilled with the GUI interface programs for these media centers yet, and am waiting for a couple of the programs to develop a bit more.

Why even bother with with HTPCs and fancy media software? My PC is hooked up to my TV with a good ol' fashioned VGA monitor cable. Or you can go DVI->HDMI. My computer also has a digital coax out (which I'm not using 'cause I don't do surround sound). Then I just play music and movies using winamp, windows media player, etc.

My computer did come with Windows Media Center but that software is just too painful to bother with.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Interesting article on the format war from Video Business Magazine.

Regards,

Joe

 

[snockit]

What is going on is that discs will soon not be even used. (minus current companies holding onto 'old tech') Storage as so many people have hit on is going to be the next medium. Specifically, think about solid state drives, like USB type minidrives. They are ramping up in storage dramatically all the time. To the point they will be able to store HD movies on them without a problem. Only thing being required is a dedicated 'playing box' for them.

Pretty neat direction actually, no more scratched or lost discs. Heck, you can even introduce 'on demand' type systems, just insert your key at your local terminal, and bang, you have your movie to watch from it.

But you get the idea of that interesting direction ...

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Specifically, think about solid state drives, like USB type minidrives.

Specifically, think about the cost-per-gigabyte for solid state devices vs. discs. Solid state is simply too expensive and will likely remain so relative to disc for a good many years to come. Discs, meanwhile, are ramping up data capacities as well (where do you think HD-DVD and Blu-Ray come from) and are by no means close to the limits of the current specs. Improved manufacturing and coatings also make them more scratch-resistent.

It isn't just about technology. Economics determines what happens in the marketplace.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Recoil]

Why even bother with with HTPCs and fancy media software? My PC is hooked up to my TV with a good ol' fashioned VGA monitor cable. Or you can go DVI->HDMI. My computer also has a digital coax out (which I'm not using 'cause I don't do surround sound). Then I just play music and movies using winamp, windows media player, etc.

My computer did come with Windows Media Center but that software is just too painful to bother with.

I went that route a few years ago. This is something that really can't be understood unless you are there. Trust me, if you used the platform that my MP3s are on (Modded XBOX with Custom-Made Software), you would never, EVER, attempt to use a PC with Winamp, or MusicMatch, or whatever, ever again.

It truly is like night and day. And I want that same experience for the viewing as well as the listening.

 

[darth_librarian]

Just curious Recoil, which Xbox chip / software combo did you go for? i've an old xBox kicking around and would like to build some sort of media center in the coming year. My options currently are:

1) Self built PC using either MCE / Vista / Mythbox (any preferences ?)

2) Modded Xbox (or buy a 360 and stream the lot from a home server)

3) Something quick and dirty using my old Mac Mini, a spare USB hard drive or two and the new Front row interface. There are some great DVR / tuner options out there for the mac.

I guess I would finally need a new HD panel as well. Got my eye on the Samsung LCD's which seem relatively cheap for home use...

As for the format wars , I am quite happy with DVD for now. They are sure cheap these days. Speaking of which, Mindwalker, that was a mad haul for $200 !!

 

[Mindwalker]

One of the reasons I love Oregon, no sales tax! And with the exception of the newer movies all of them were on sale for half off :beer:

 

[Recoil]

Just curious Recoil, which Xbox chip / software combo did you go for? i've an old xBox kicking around and would like to build some sort of media center in the coming year.

It's been a couple years, but I think it had "Ice" in the title of it. It was one that didn't require soldering to the mainboard. I think I got it from this site:

http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/index.html

Then I downloaded the Xenium BIOS for the chip, a 250MB hard drive and I was good to go.

My dashboard software is Xbox Media Center (Version 2.x). It can be found here:

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/

I can't rave about that program enough. Every release they have added so much functionality, and intuitiveness to it, that it really is by far better than anything I've seen from a PC. GREAT skins, good interface, tons of features, and with the IR Adapter for the XBOX Control, you can get it to work with your programmable remote control.

Has all my MP3s, some favorite video files, all my digital pictures as well.

It's pretty sweet.

 

[Jonny_Fever]

Not having sales tax is neat, but it throws me off everytime I go to Washington. Not to mention when I get gas there I'm sitting in my car wondering when they are going to come out and pump it for me.

At one time I considered modding my old xbox but I sold it to a friend. I should have kept it just for that reason. I have video files on my computer that I watch on my tv in my living room. I just burn them to a dvd-rw and watch them on my divx dvd player.