A Proposal for TV Shows: Replace Individual Boxed Sets with Optical Studio Disks (1 Viewer)

[Mark Talmadge]

I have just thought of this and I'm surprised that a similar idea hasn't been forthcoming.

I don't see why studios, and I mean the separate studios likes Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal, etc, create their own network stations. Instead of consumers purchasing individual sets, consumers would purchase a studio disk that, when placed in a DVD or blu ray player, that disk would be able to access content on the network or studios servers, and that consumer would be able to have access to watch any and every show and episode of that show on their televisions, albeit, with added limited commercials, sort of like Hulu on your television set.

Each studio would release their own disk to access the server content and they wouldn't have to worry about their television shows being pirated online. It would be setup to where when you slipped a studio's disk into your player, that disk would allow you access to that studios server and all of the content they have in their libraries.

There would be a disk for TV Shows, a disk for movies, a disk for soap operas, a disk for Reality TV Shows, a disk for Game Shows and so on. Each disk would have their own separate automatic login and password and I think this would be ab excellent idea and eliminate the need for piracy.

I would gladly pay $50, even $100 for such a disk and the commercials wouldn't even bother me that much.

 

[Justin Boggan]

BAD idea. Especially since a number of high speed internet providers (what you would need to get high qaulity loads and at a speed fast enough to make it worht the time) hare putting bandwidth caps on their service.

For those who don't know, when you go over your allotted bandwidth cap, they shut your srvice down and won't re-activate it until you pay for more bandwidth.

Right now this crappy practice doesn't affect very many users at all, but when the consumer starts getting their filsm and series from online -- like complete series -- it's going to start pissing a LOT of people off who didn't read their contract very well.

And eventually they will start making have to download certain programs to get in there and get stuff, which will ultimately contain spyware and who knows what else -- maybe even things that will prevent your comptuer from making copies of things you purchased and have a right to make a copy of for your own use.


And if you don't want to watch on your computer screen, you'll have to burn to DVD-R. If you live in areas with not a lot of shopping, DVD-R qauntities will become scarce when you hav eto compete with anyone else in the area doing the same thing.



This is just a bad idea all around. I am sure I and others could come up with negatives.

 

[Corey3rd]

better off just selling you a 2 TB harddrive with all their shows inside.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

Well, I wasn't thinking bandwidth, or using the internet. Sort of like how Comcast or Sat TV allows you to choose when you want to watch a particular show. The only difference would be in being able to use the disk to access the content through a DVD or blu ray and allowing it to access television shows through cable access where the studio would have all of their shows accessible only via these disks.

It's far fetched, but it would be a great idea. Maybe even charge a monthly fee for that access without the need for cable.

But, it's just an idea.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Okay, so you want more of an On Demand type service than the old DIVX type thing, right?

 

[Mark Talmadge]

It wouldn't be such a bad thing.

 

[EricSchulz]

Mark, since this is just an idea that you are bouncing around, why not choose a thread title that reflects that? Or did I miss some big announcement from the studios today?

 

[Nebiroth]

YECHHH! No thanks! I don't want to have to rely on some sort of on-demand service that the studios can pull at any time of their own choosing.

When I buy a TV show on DVD, it means I can play it as often as I want, in any way I want, forever.

The idea of being in thrall to some sort of "service" does not appeal to me at all.

There are all sorts of issues with network access - all the ways you describe are of Video On Demand of some form or another.

No thanks!

 

[RickER]

He likes to get you with the hook. Like his thread about Best Buy eliminating DVDs!

Add me to the no thanks, on the idea.

 

[Joe Tor1]

As a "veteran" of that Best Buy thread, I was thinking the same thing when I opened this thread.

Perhaps Mark is really a "TV Journalist"!

 

[Michael Reuben]

I'll modify the thread title.

 

[David Levine]

The need for a high speed connection is a killer. That means the discs would be worthless in portable players, in cars, on planes, lots of cabins or vacation homes, and to people who don't have anything beyond dial-up.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

Sorry guys, the Best Buy thread was a news report that was being reported on by other news agencies that I decided to post here.

Michael, thanks for changing the topic title.

My intent wasn't to get everyone excited by this topic I just think it would be a great idea for something like this. Or better yet? Sell single optical disks that, when inserted into your computer, would allow you to download the actual season of that series onto your computer and allow you to burn that content onto blank media.

Meaning you would pay a nominal fee.

Either way, it would eliminate the problem with shelf space in stores and allow entertainment fans to be able to buy pre-paid disks that allow you to down the complete series of that show. For $60 or $70, would you buy a single disk that allowed you to legally download the complete series? The studio doesn't pay a lot in packaging and allows fans to download the complete series of a particular show.

This would also allow fans of a currently broadcasting show to automatically have free subscription to future "new" episodes. If you bought the "Bones" disk, you would be able to download future episodes without having to pay extra since you already paid for that disk.

Like I said before, these are just ideas.

 

[smithb]

It won't work for the studios if there isn't away to protect the content in some way. While breaking the copy protection of most DVDs is not all that difficult the average person either doesn't know how or doesn't know how easy it can be done, or morally doesn't think it is right.

However, to just allows downloads to then burn without any copy protection included will not fly with the studios. It is just too easy to buy and distribute to friends. To include copy protection after the fact is just too difficult or open to issues, which defeats the whole simplicity and reduced cost angle.

As an on demand option that always replay but no copying is the only potential I see. When household computers are finally integrated into the household entertainments systems this could be the preferred option. But at this time not many have this integration and others don't want to watch from their computer screen. Maybe in 20 years.

 

[David Levine]

Why would you need a disc for this? It sounds similar what iTunes already offers. It would be much more efficient for the studios to just set up a website that does the same thing and you pay for a sign-in/password. And you could then download whatever you payed for.

The disc seems like an unnecessary part of the equation. Almost like having to put a "pre-payed CD" into your car stereo to unlock your Sirius Radio.

 

[Nebiroth]

Hmmm...I'm not really sure how the "disc" you buy comes into this, unless you are imagining some sort of "pre-payment card" type thing?

I think what you're talking about is that you see a TV series you want on the store shelf, which you buy. Inside is a disc which you stick into your, well, let's call it "home entertainment centre" (more likely, a PC, for now, but could be in the future a dedicated home media server...with LOTS of storage on it). You stick the disc in, and then the TV series downloads itself. I guess a variant might be, it downloads, and then goes onto recordable DVD's. It;s kind of like iTunes, but where you still buy something off the shelf. Whatever, the process would be automated.

Hmmm. Maybe, but I really don't see much advantage in this over having a service that is just like iTunes. Most people now are capable of downloading stuff without having to be totally spoon-fed. Then there are the DRM issues, stopping people using the disc over and over, or making copies of their copies, etc.

Plus, you have to have the infrastructure to support that size of downloading. Fine, if you have a very fast connection with unlimited useage, but most people don't have that...

 

[wh5916]

Ken Pohlman predicted something similar to what you're describing, some years back, either in an article in Sound and Vision Magazine or possibly its predecessor, Video Magazine. He felt that individual copies of movies and TV shows would fall by the wayside, and that eventually we would instead be purchasing digital keys to access content on secured servers. Mr. Pohlman was also a staunch supporter of Circuit City's failed DIVX format.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

David, iTunes sucks. They format, the video format, is only compatible with iPods. The resolution is horrible and it's not digital. The studios have an opportunity to offer varrying screen resolutions for the video downloads and I think that's something that needs to be done.

Also, Divx isn't what I would call a failed format. I use it on my compuer when viewing videos. And, Windows Media Player wo0n't play videos without DIVX.

I just think we'll start seeing something like in the near future and that Sony's optical disk media is doomed. I doubt we'll see a new media format. Maybe a new format in five years to replace blu ray, but after that, we won't see a new format. Everything will be online and digital.

 

[smithb]

That's not the DIVX he was referencing. He was refering the disk that you could purchase for around $5. Once you played it you had a short period of time to watch it as many times as desired and then the disk for stop operating. It required a DIVX compatible player that CC sold. It lasted a few years and went away. What you are talking about is a video format. Two different things.

 

[David Levine]

Its fine if you don't like iTunes, but the business model is the same as what you're suggesting. I was just saying I don't see how the physical disc fits into the equation.