Holy Cow - HD DVD Still Under Development???

[bt12483]

In terms of title selection and convenience, I see it as a greater technology. I can go to Blockbuster with my 32 GB memory stick and pick up the latest HD movie...Guaranteed, no "out of stock", no "long wait" at Netflix. I will be able to scroll through thousands of movies, instead of 650. I can download a movie and burn an HD disc the next day.

Yet another new future technology update from mikemorel...

In like 2 days we will all be given 32GB memory sticks for free by the studios to go download 1080p content from Blockbuster. All catalog titles. All new releases...hell anything that was ever put on film will be at your very fingertips.

Just you wait.

This will be the easiest, most convenient and cheapest method of media consumption EVER! The disc replication industry won't mind at all. It will be so simple your grandmother can use it (even though she just learned how to put a disk in a player and hit "play"). Just you wait, she will be driving down to Blockbuster, sticking her 32GB flash drive into the kiosk at her local Blockbuster, using the touch screen to select her movie, download it correctly, drive back home, stick the memory stick into her yet to be invented "content box" that will most likely play some proprietary Blockbuster video format on her TV, and then expires after it plays. But don't forget that the studios will even let granny burn a copy of that same file with that new DVD DL box connected to her entertainment center...for FREE! It's gonna be awesome. Granny is going to downloading onto flash drives and burning homemade 1080p movies in no time!

It will truly be the "next big thing" (unlike that netlfix box, which was supposed to be the next big thing before it was revealed that it didn't do anything to support the argument that bluray dies one way or another)...

Tune in later for mikemorel's weather forecast for the week...

And don't forget tomorrow's installment, where mikemorel tells us all what will be happening in the tech world in January 2015. He knows so much more than anyone else about everything, that he can tell us 7 years in advance!

We should be lucky to have this man in our forum. Deliver us from evil mike. Deliver us from evil.

[crazzeto]

Yet another new future technology update from mikemorel...

In like 2 days we will all be given 32GB memory sticks for free by the studios to go download 1080p content from Blockbuster. All catalog titles. All new releases...hell anything that was ever put on film will be at your very fingertips.

Just you wait.

This will be the easiest, most convenient and cheapest method of media consumption EVER! The disc replication industry won't mind at all. It will be so simple your grandmother can use it (even though she just learned how to put a disk in a player and hit "play"). Just you wait, she will be driving down to Blockbuster, sticking her 32GB flash drive into the kiosk at her local Blockbuster, using the touch screen to select her movie, download it correctly, drive back home, stick the memory stick into her yet to be invented "content box" that play what will most likely by Blockbusters proprietary video format on her TV, and then expires after it plays. Or maybe the studios will even let you burn a copy to that new DVD DL box connected to the entertainment center...for FREE! It's gonna be awesome.

It will truly be the "next big thing" (unlike that netlfix box, which was supposed to be the next big thing before it was revealed that it didn't do anything to support the argument that bluray dies one way or another)...

Tune in later for mikemorel's weather forecast for the week...

What I'm confused about is Mike is talking about going to blockbuster in what sounds very much like a rental senario as opposed to purchasing (since netflix was thrown in) and yet he's claiming he's going to download movies to flash and burn it to some sort of physical media (maybe BD-R? )... Seemingly he's forgetting the slight issue that for such rentals DRM will be in place which will prevent buring unless you haxor up your system to some how get around the encryption which will probably not be an easy task. Additionally he seems to miss the fact (or not care about) that such behaviour is actually against the law, I beleive technically it's called theft working under the assumption that Mike expects this new burnt physical version to not be time locked to the rental period.

[ack_bak]

Customers have spoken - they don't care about HD DVD or blu-ray. The last 1% of PQ/AQ doesn't matter to them. More convenience and more title choice trumps PQ/AQ every time.

Except this is not true at all. People are buying Blu-Ray movies this year at much higher rates than last year. In fact Blu-Ray has helped INCREASE packaged media sales from this year over last year (looking at Jan-Jun sales). Blu-Ray sales are up 350%. Face it Mike. Your prediction about packaged media being "dead" in 12-18 months is not even close to happening. In fact, the opposite is happening. Packaged media is growing. Thanks to Blu-Ray.

Blu-ray is trying to do the exact same thing as the DVD Forum. That's what BD-Live is all about.

Maybe I am confused, but BD Live is out right now. There are millions of players in consumers hands right now and many studios are going to release BD Live on 100% of their releases starting this year. How is Blu-Ray trying to do what the DVD Forum is doing? Am I missing something? Are their DVD's being released with BD Live like features from the studios? Or is this "the future" you are talking about?

Why is it a lesser technology? There is nothing limiting it in terms of PQ/AQ quality over the longer term. And my present sets are 720p (as most others are) anyway. By the time I upgrade sets, this tech will be just as good, or better than BD in PQ. In terms of features, this will blow away BD-Live, because it is far easier to program. Every player will be able to get content from the multiple internet sources.

In terms of title selection and convenience, I see it as a greater technology. I can go to Blockbuster with my 32 GB memory stick and pick up the latest HD movie...Guaranteed, no "out of stock", no "long wait" at Netflix. I will be able to scroll through thousands of movies, instead of 650. I can download a movie and burn an HD disc the next day.

I can pick up "Horror of Dracula (1958)" in HD, instead of waiting 10 years for it to come out on BD, only to find out it will never come out on BD.

Besides, it doesn't matter what you or I want. In the end, it's what millions of others want. It's what the masses want. They will probably want to stick to DVD, because they can rip and burn it for free.

What technology are you talking about? Can you provide an actual link that discusses what you are describing? I have not seen one valid link for a product (this is going to be released in October right?) that describes what you are talking about. Or is this 100% more BS speculation on your part?

[bt12483]

What I'm confused about is Mike is talking about going to blockbuster in what sounds very much like a rental senario as opposed to purchasing (since netflix was thrown in) and yet he's claiming he's going to download movies to flash and burn it to some sort of physical media (maybe BD-R? )... Seemingly he's forgetting the slight issue that for such rentals DRM will be in place which will prevent buring unless you haxor up your system to some how get around the encryption which will probably not be an easy task. Additionally he seems to miss the fact (or not care about) that such behaviour is actually against the law, I beleive technically it's called theft working under the assumption that Mike expects this new burnt physical version to not be time locked to the rental period.

No worries, mikemorel has already thought out everything.

He knows everything about studios, content, content contracts, hardware, software, retail chains. He has direct contact with the CEO of every CE manufacturer and CE retail store.

He knows what the consumer wants.

He is a man of honor, principle and the utmost integrity.

And he stands by what he supports, never wavering in the slightest.

[bt12483]

What technology are you talking about? Can you provide an actual link that discusses what you are describing? I have not seen one valid link for a product (this is going to be released in October right?) that describes what you are talking about. Or is this 100% more BS speculation on your part?

Ack...please stop asking stupid questions.

If mikemorel says it is going to happen, then you better damn well believe it.

He knows the future of CE. Always has, always will.

I mean, just examine the man's track record...it's impeccable!

Trust in mikemorel.

[ack_bak]

Ack...please stop asking stupid questions.

If mikemorel says it is going to happen, then you better damn well believe it.

He knows the future of CE. Always has, always will.

I mean, just examine the man's track record...it's impeccable!

Trust in mikemorel.

Your right.. What was I thinking? I mean we all know packaged media will be gone in 12-18 months...

[bt12483]

Your right.. What was I thinking? I mean we all know packaged media will be gone in 12-18 months...

....time keeps slipping away....

[vinnie97]

You're killing me over here, bt.

[bt12483]

You're killing me over here, bt.

It is killing me reading about IMAGINARY, FANBOY INVENTED formats on a daily basis.

They scour the DVD forum docs and then piece together little tidbits of information into some mystical format that will be hitting the streets ASAP. What was the foundation for any of this you ask? Because they found a f*ck*ng logo. Thats it...a logo.

From a simple logo an entire new delivery method was created, one that will magically let you download a 1080p version for FREE when you buy a DVD and have one of these magical new DVD boxes that burns copies for you.

Not only that, but apparently Blockbuster is setting up download kiosks for 32GB drives to be used with. This is also supposed to be happening "soon".

Oh and then of course we have Toshiba's amazing SUC player, that has still yet to materialize, and as far as I can tell SUC is limited to laptops and TVs.

None of the above three media consumption "things" currently exist in the real world, yet they are being pushed as if they are imminent replacement technologies for bluray. How convenient that is...and on another note - why is it that every new technology that comes out these days is somehow targeting bluray? Hell, gijoela is over in another thread spouting about the iPhone vs. bluray.

I have a wrist watch with an OLED display...better watch out bluray! You're going down. 1.1" diagonal screen FTW! WB is going to give me a free copy of their movies to watch on my wristwatch...

It is ridiculous the lengths that people will go to propagate this stuff. It is to the point where misinformation has become the norm. Granted, the internet is a big part of the problem, because one fanboy can propagate a rumor on various forums...but when people actually start to believe these things the line has to be drawn. The only way imo to combat it is to post in the same thread that what that person is saying is completely unfounded (and thus if some newbie comes wandering along he can at least see two sides of the story).

[chaz_uk]

Five star thread all of it.

I find it absolutely amazing that someone would think it viable for a person to go out with a memory stick and buy a HD movie via some PC in a store only to take it home to burn.

1 Blu-ray player + Optical media = FAIL!

1 32GB Memory stick + Device to play/burn from memory stick + Blank media to burn said purchases = WIN!

WHY NOT BUY THIS DIRECTLY ON DISC OR AM I CRAZY?

I'm sorry mike, I'm too much of a lazy shit to go through all that just for a film. I'll buy it in a pre-packaged case complete with printed artwork and already on the disc, thanks all the same!
And surely Mike isn't hoping that he would be able to burn a physical copy of a movie he RENTED? That would send the studios crazy.

[crazzeto]

I'm with Chaz on this one, I like the idea of digital downloads only in the context that from my lazy boy I can point a remote at a settop box and say "download" then in a reasnoble amount of time later I can actually watch the movie...

If someone wants to talk about me having to buy a 32GB flash card of some sort (SD more than likely) and then DRIVING to the store with my card to download movie data to said card just so I can drive back home and then finally watch the movie what the hell was the point???

That defeats the whole purpose of digital downloads (convinience), if that's the case give me a bluray disc instead, at least that tech has had a couple of years to mature.

[ack_bak]

It is killing me reading about IMAGINARY, FANBOY INVENTED formats on a daily basis.

They scour the DVD forum docs and then piece together little tidbits of information into some mystical format that will be hitting the streets ASAP. What was the foundation for any of this you ask? Because they found a f*ck*ng logo. Thats it...a logo.

From a simple logo an entire new delivery method was created, one that will magically let you download a 1080p version for FREE when you buy a DVD and have one of these magical new DVD boxes that burns copies for you.

Not only that, but apparently Blockbuster is setting up download kiosks for 32GB drives to be used with. This is also supposed to be happening "soon".

Oh and then of course we have Toshiba's amazing SUC player, that has still yet to materialize, and as far as I can tell SUC is limited to laptops and TVs.

None of the above three media consumption "things" currently exist in the real world, yet they are being pushed as if they are imminent replacement technologies for bluray. How convenient that is...and on another note - why is it that every new technology that comes out these days is somehow targeting bluray? Hell, gijoela is over in another thread spouting about the iPhone vs. bluray.

I have a wrist watch with an OLED display...better watch out bluray! You're going down. 1.1" diagonal screen FTW! WB is going to give me a free copy of their movies to watch on my wristwatch...

It is ridiculous the lengths that people will go to propagate this stuff. It is to the point where misinformation has become the norm. Granted, the internet is a big part of the problem, because one fanboy can propagate a rumor on various forums...but when people actually start to believe these things the line has to be drawn. The only way imo to combat it is to post in the same thread that what that person is saying is completely unfounded (and thus if some newbie comes wandering along he can at least see two sides of the story).

Spot on.. Next week it will be something completely different.

[luclin999]

I find it absolutely amazing that someone would think it viable for a person to go out with a memory stick and buy a HD movie via some PC in a store only to take it home to burn.

1 Blu-ray player + Optical media = FAIL!

1 32GB Memory stick + Device to play/burn from memory stick + Blank media to burn said purchases = WIN!

WHY NOT BUY THIS DIRECTLY ON DISC OR AM I CRAZY?

I believe he is trying to say that a business model based upon a company with huge data servers and the option to "rent or buy" the encode downloaded to a media stick would be able to potentially offer a much larger library of movies/programs than the current business model followed by the DVD/Blu industry today.

Such a business model would allow a virtually limitless "inventory" of programming which could never go "out of stock" or "out of print".

A company like this would offer both DLs over the web as well as having stores where people could browse movie listings and watch previews in small kiosks in the store and then load their portable media sticks with their choices to take home.

Think Itunes and the Apple store evolving just a bit further along what they already offer and you will see where the potential for this model has already been tested (successfully) in the music industry.

However, certain companies such as Disney, prefer to be able to market their films as "limited releases" or "Special editions, for a limited time only" so that they are able to double, triple or sometimes even quadruple dip. As such, they would be highly resistant to a business model which would allow their "masterpieces" to be available for an unlimited period of time.

Other than that problem, the only flaw with such a business model is that we are probably about two years away from where data storage prices to the consumer would allow large enough hard drives (over one Tb) and 32g flash drives to be affordable enough to make this model attractive to the average consumer.

But once we see 32+ gig flash drives commonly priced at $20 or less I fully expect to see some company attempt a push into the market with just such a strategy.

And I wouldn't be surprised if it had a big apple logo all over it when it happens.

Oh, and just to be clear...

I do NOT believe that such a business model would "kill" Blu-Ray or pressed optical media in general any more than Itunes "killed" CDs, however it would certainly take a bite out of the market.

How large or small that bite may be we can only guess at until/if the day comes where a concept like this comes to market.

[DaveS1138]

I believe he is trying to say that a business model based upon a company with huge data servers and the option to "rent or buy" the encode downloaded to a media stick would be able to potentially offer a much larger library of movies/programs than the current business model followed by the DVD/Blu industry today.

Such a business model would allow a virtually limitless "inventory" of programming which could never go "out of stock" or "out of print".

A company like this would offer both DLs over the web as well as having stores where people could browse movie listings and watch previews in small kiosks in the store and then load their portable media sticks with their choices to take home.

Think Itunes and the Apple store evolving just a bit further along what they already offer and you will see where the potential for this model has already been tested (successfully) in the music industry.

However, certain companies such as Disney, prefer to be able to market their films as "limited releases" or "Special editions, for a limited time only" so that they are able to double, triple or sometimes even quadruple dip. As such, they would be highly resistant to a business model which would allow their "masterpieces" to be available for an unlimited period of time.

Other than that problem, the only flaw with such a business model is that we are probably about two years away from where data storage prices to the consumer would allow large enough hard drives (over one Tb) and 32g flash drives to be affordable enough to make this model attractive to the average consumer.

But once we see 32+ gig flash drives commonly priced at $20 or less I fully expect to see some company attempt a push into the market with just such a strategy.

And I wouldn't be surprised if it had a big apple logo all over it when it happens.

Oh, and just to be clear...

I do NOT believe that such a business model would "kill" Blu-Ray or pressed optical media in general any more than Itunes "killed" CDs, however it would certainly take a bite out of the market.

How large or small that bite may be we can only guess at until/if the day comes where a concept like this comes to market.

The problem with this is one I have always had with the argument of Digital Downloads replacing Blu-ray....

and that is, if this is a viable model and one that people want to adopt then why are we not seeing it replace SD-DVD which it would logically be able to do a long time before it could replace Blu-ray (just because the files are so much smaller).

You can already get a 8Gig USB drive for about $35

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer.../dp/B000UZN2ZK

so why is nobody setting up a distribution model where you can rent an SD-DVD this way. They would already have the model in place by the time that prices of flash media of a size to make HD viable would be low enough for people to consider.

I just think if there is anything to this whole digital download argument you are going to see it as a viable alternative to SD-DVD a long time before it is a threat to Blu-ray and even then I think it will be a rental model only.

[Kid Banana]

In terms of title selection and convenience, I see it as a greater technology. I can go to Blockbuster with my 32 GB memory stick and pick up the latest HD movie...Guaranteed, no "out of stock", no "long wait" at Netflix. I will be able to scroll through thousands of movies, instead of 650. I can download a movie and burn an HD disc the next day.

Surely this model works just as well if the customer takes in a 50GB blank blu-ray disc rather than the more expensive flash drive?

I can pick up "Horror of Dracula (1958)" in HD, instead of waiting 10 years for it to come out on BD, only to find out it will never come out on BD.

Or you could achieve near HD quality by renting the DVD and then SRT'ing it? You need to make your mind up as to which tech will be the easiest and cheapest for the consumer...