Film Downloads, What's the catch? (1 Viewer)

[Jason Seaver]

What's that thing I like to say here... Oh, yeah.

You are not a representative sample.

Also, I'm not sure how a downloaded movie is qualitatively different than having it on DVD, aside from taking up much less physical space. Reading an e-book is different from a physical one, but a downloaded movie is taking a digital file and converting it to a TV signal, just like a DVD. And if the studios make getting it via download appealing enough - making it easy to play on home theaters and portable devices, the download is quicker than hiking the fifteen minutes to the video store, etc. - having that physical disc and package is going to seem relatively unimportant to many people. Maybe not to you, maybe not to me, but we're not the entire market, or even the majority

 

[Mickey Brown]

I don't know about this. What if you had to ride the subway an hour to work every day? You don't think it would be nice to watch a few tv shows or a movie en route to work? The screen on the iPod keeps getting bigger and better with each new generation.

I think many people here think of movies as something that must be watched in the home theater, lights off, with a big ole tub o pop corn. It's like it defines who they are as a person. I know because I try to show off my movie room as much as the next guy.

But when I started using iTunes and an iPod I stopped looking at everything as a 'movie' and a 'song' and started to see it as digital content that should be easily shared. And it's up to ME (the consumer) if I want to watch it on a projector in the dark, on a 22" widescreen monitor in a dorm room, on an iPod en route to work, or in the barbershop waiting for a haircut.

I know that I would love to listen to directors commentaries on the little screen (like an iPod.) Take it on the go!

 

[Brent Hutto]

So am I the only dinosaur who still expect hard disk drives to die once in a while? If I had my hundred or so DVD's on a hard drive somewhere (at upwards of $20 a pop) I wouldn't be comfortable assuming that it was going to be there in a couple years unless I had a backup somewhere. So there go the physical space savings, no?

The gist I seem to be getting of this conversation is that downloaded movies are going to appeal to people who view owning a movie on DVD as an inconvenient, transitory experience that can be improved by not taking up shelf space and by being viewed whenever you're in front of a TV screen. I must say that seems a strange combination for a bunch of people frequenting a Home Theater forum.

If so, then my first point is the one that matters. This is all a placeholder for the studio's upcoming pay-per-view downloads. I still don't get paying $20-$30 to stash a movie on my hard drive so I can watch it on the subway next week, seems like it would be pay-per-view for under $10 or not at all. I just hope the day never comes when they won't sell me a $20 DVD with a great movie on it. I like having them suckers on my shelf and watching them again (on my nice big TV with 5.1 sound) whenever I take the notion.

 

[MarkHastings]

Most likely. I hope that physical media stays around for a while, but just as I was willing to forgo paper (when I got into computers) I too will (some day) be willing to forgo optical media.


p.s. Speaking of my cell phone with the MP3's - I have a few of my bands demo songs on there. While they obviosuly sound better over a nice stereo system, how cool is it that I can be at a bar and show off (to an interested client) my music, without having to bring him to my car, or give him a CD and HOPE that he listens to it???

 

[Nelson Au]

Did you guys see the story on 60 Minutes, or another news magazine that told the story about the huge number of college students and other people who download movies via Torrent. I know we are not to discuss bootlegging, but the story is about how there is a huge number of people who love to download movies and music, and they feel they can do it with impunity. The reasons were convenience and it's free. A college student is poor, so getting movie this way they feel is a right almost.

The studios know this of course. So I see this as the studios advancing the time table for making movies available for download. I think it's a good thing, and it's the way of the near future.

I think Apple has the best model out there now. You pay for it, you can download it on your computer and place it on as amny portable devices you have. It's a matter of time, movies will join the offerings, you'll likely be able to own it and rip a DVD of it for playback in your home theater. Steve Jobs is a major stock holder now of Disney......

 

[PaulP]

I also don't get the current craze with the need for portability. Yes, I have an iPod, but I wouldn't purchase MP3s. I use the iPod as a replacement for my car CD player. I rip the CDs that I own, so I don't have to continuously change them in the car, etc. But actually buying MP3s, however cheap they may be, I just don't get that. Would you buy a car that only went in reverse and never forward?

 

[John*D]

I think the offers where you get to download a copy of the film and have then also have the actual DVD release mailed to you is a pretty good idea. Although, I'm really not interested in downloading films.

However, the AOL In2TV site is pretty cool for tv shows, a film version would be pretty cool too.

 

[Jon Martin]

What a lot of these stories are forgetting is that outside of the major cities, IPOD video and other downloadable devices are not that popular.

I mean, in suburbia, without mass transit systems, are people really using IPODS to watch TV shows? You can't drive yourself and watch a show.

The media likes the stories because most of the people who file the stories live in NY or LA where they are popular. But outside of the big cities, not so much.

But then again, I guess I'm old fashioned. I have never even watched a DVD on my computer. I'd rather use my TV.

 

[MarkHastings]

is it really that hard to understand?

Have you ever eaten a fast food burger when there's a perfectly good steak house down the street?

Have you ever drank a $20 bottle of wine instead of a $50 bottle?

Have you ever eaten Milk Chocolate when 99% Cacao is available?

Have you ever had a cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts when there are Starbucks readily available?

Have you ever bought a soft cover book over a hard cover?

Have you ever bough a single disc DVD over the 2 disc set?

etc.

MP3 purchases (vs. CD's) are hardly as perplexing as you'd think.


p.s. Here's a GOOD one!

Have you EVER bought a computer and held back on the higest amount of memory, hard drive space, processor speeds? Why would you do that when there are much better systems available?

 

[Jamie Cole]

I passed for months on the iPod video, thinking I would never use it (screen too small, love it for music but not video, short battery life, etc.).

Now having watched an entire season of NewsRadio on my iPod video during lunch, in waiting rooms and at various other moments my mind would wander or I'd be bored to tears, I must say that portable devices are a great medium for TV shows, particularly classic ones that are 1.33:1 anyway.

I tried to watch a movie on the iPod on a long flight, though, and grew tired of it. Three episodes of Seinfeld or Entourage will really make the time pass, though.

I treat my iPod as my own little portable TiVo, and find myself buying TV on DVD just so I can watch it on my iPod.

To each his own, I guess.

 

[Ruz-El]

Best point made in the thread. Some of the memberships faith in technolgy is mind boggling to me.

 

[PaulP]

No and no

I agree with Russell. I see and listen to music by albums. And anyway, I doubt the sort of music I listen to is available at iTunes.

 

[Dick]

Hmmm. Back in the 60's and 70's one could buy a "song" (45 rpm) for roughly 80 cents, with the standard 20% dscount.

 

[Marko Berg]

No, but can you imagine watching a crappy download on such a big screen TV? Remember, this isn't DVD quality we're talking about.

 

[MarkHastings]

But with hard drives, I can back them up and it's LEGAL! Try doing anything like that with optical/copy right protected material. I have more faith in optical, but since I can't copy it "legally", then I no longer have faith in it.

 

[DeathStar1]

Replying to a post brent h. made..

one of the major problems I have of not being able to make a replacement copy of a store bought DVD, even if it's not a bit for bit, pixel for pixel copy, is that if something happens to a DVD(scratching, irepareable smudges, dropping a DVD on pavement leaving other errors during transportation, spilling something accidentally on it, dog problems, kid problems, etc), you have to spend another $20's to replace an entire set, or if the studio is offering a free copy, wait 2 months for them to ship it out..it's a real pain in the neck. Especially with TV on DVD releases..

If the price drops for a full DVD + extras, and they allow you to re download it, this would be a great service....Especially for space saving.

Alo, here's something that I hope is discussable. If they allow you to copy these movies once or twice, why then can't people make legal copies of DVD's they own? Maby they can purchase a seperate service, say, $5's per copy, in order to do it legally.

 

[Mickey Brown]

Ha! And a lot of them are mixing and sequencing PURE CRAP.

I like to listen to some hip hop and rap music when I workout. Why would I want to buy an entire album of crap for the one or two songs that are descent on the album?

I still buy CD's off Amazon of artists that I know are putting out a quality product. That is my way of making sure they keep working, and I keep enjoying their music. But if I hear something on the radio, or something recommended by someone else I will download it for a buck and give it a shot.

When I have a few friends over and play music 99% of them cannot destinguish between an iTunes downloaded tune and a genuine non compressed CD. Honestly, they just don't care. If you are going to target a market, target the 99% of people......

 

[Mickey Brown]

I'm sure there were people who didn't want to use cars because they were too fast, and dangerous. I'm glad a select few had faith in that technology.

Hard drives are getting better. There are portable hard drives that can backup your entire collections.

I understand a lot of HTF people get a warm fuzzy feeling standing over their immense DVD collections. They like to touch and feel the cases. Never has this been more apparent to me then when some of you will repurchase a DVD simply because you didn't like the snap case the original was in!

Me? I'm lazy. I would rather just sit on my couch, put my feet on the ottoman and hit a button on my universal remote that can access EVERY movie, every TV show, every CD I have on a computer (in another room so I don't have to stare at 20 pieces of hardware) and play it for me in all it's uncompressed digital glory.

 

[Ruz-El]

This is the same thing that could be said about a full screen pan and scan DVD releases of a Cinemascope movie. Fortuantely their are some of us OAR HTF cranks that DO care, and the many studios HAVE listened instead of catering to those who are ambevialnt.

 

[Mickey Brown]

Good point.

But they are not chopping off the ends of the track. They are just compressing it. They compress movies to fit on DVD. The compressed movies to fit on VHS (even OAR VHS.) With each new technology the compression gets better and the picture and sound improve (VHS - LD - DVD - HD-DVD.)

The same should happen to music, but the masses are not buying expensive speakers and ten thousand dollar snake oil amps anymore. I think that is why sacd and dvd audio never took off. Which makes me wonder...

DO you still listen to cd's if there is a dvd audio or sacd equivelant available? Are you not listening to the closest reproduction the artist intended?