In your hand, or on Hard drive: Question (1 Viewer)

[JackKay]

I brought this up in a reply in another thread.

What is and/or will be your preference in getting your movies, and I include a new High Definition format, in the future.

On line download to your computer or tivo like device?

Or a hands on disk in a package (my preference)?.

 

[Joshua Lane]

As popular as mp3's and digital music services have become, I still enjoy owning a CD and having it on my shelf. I don't suspect that movies, DVD's, etc will be any different for me in the future.

 

[John Whittle]

Ultimately it won't be your choice, but rather that of the content provider. The biggest problem for distributors now is the first sale doctrine which allows the rental and sale of used dvds. Now if you elminate any physical media (print, disc, tape, etc) you have effectively removed the first sale doctrine and you as the viewer will have only a license to view that title.

Of course there are pitfalls to any technique (what's to prevent someone from pointing a camcorder at a tv screen) but if the product is delivered when and where you want it and you don't have anything, it solves the studios major headache.

It won't happen over night or maybe even in the next 10 years. It make be the next step after blue-ray HD-DVD, but watch for it. It's been in the planning stage for 10 years and just awaits the proper technology for a roll out.

John

 

[george kaplan]

As the above post alludes to, a Divx like system is the companies wet dream. But it would be a consumer screw-over, and the day that films are only available on any sort of pay-per-view system, is the day I sit back and watch my 1000s of dvds and don't buy anything new.

 

[Ian_H]

Only if it sells. If consumers don't buy in then it will go nowhere.


--Ian

 

[Marc Colella]

In my hand.

I want to be able to touch the product I own, and be able to read the inserts/bookles, etc.

I don't like the idea of owning something that just sits on a HD - vulnerable to hardware failures, corruption and accidental deletions.

I paid for it, I want to do whatever I want with the movie (ie. play on different players, bring it with me, back it up, etc).

Consumers have all the say. If we don't like it, we don't have to purchase via downloads.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Considering that way less than 50% of households have broadband, and almost no one outside large universities has a connection capable of on-demand for something the size of a DVD, it's going to be impossible for anyone to start distributing electronic copies of DVD-quality movies quickly for several years. The next-generation format(s) multiply that problem tenfold.

 

[Brian Kidd]

I was reading an article the other day (I'm sorry, I don't remember where) that talked about the difference between movies and music is that most people prefer to actually own their music whereas movies tend to be viewed as disposible entertainment, hence the popularity of rentals. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hollywood go the way of licensing rather than owning physical media, but it will make all of us true film buffs very sad.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

I want something I can own and looks cool on my shelf.

But the studios and music industry want us to pay every time we watch a film or listen to a song. Belive me, they wont stop until they achieve that, however long it takes.

 

[WillardK]

Broadband distribution is of course in the works. I don't see it as an either/or situation. MP3's haven't eliminated CD's nor have DVD's eliminated cable. It's not the same as the Blu-Ray/HDVD war.

Personally, an ideal option would include a massive library of online films that are always upgraded to the latest edition and accessible for a nominal fee. Even a DIVX-like public library free access for some films (they do this already for books) isn't beyond imagining.

But the reality is, until the far distant future at least we will have some combination of both. My own use of pre-recorded hard media would be limited to favorites and maybe anthologies. There are many films that interest me for no longer than a single viewing... I haven't had and won't have any need to 'collect' those.

...and though it's obvious, it's worth repeating in a thread like this that what you purchase in a DVD is a copy of a film along with a license to view it. You don't own the film, which might go on to better restorations from which better copies are made.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

This didn't even require a second worth of thought on my part, this is my preference and as George said if ever the day comes when the hard drive format is the only thing available, that's what the DVD library is for.

 

[Chris Will]

How come whenever a thread like this starts people ignore this stat. A download service, on demand or pay-per-play will not happen for a long, long time (like not in our life time or at least I'll be to old to even what a movie is anymore). Hollywood will not eliminate over 50% of its consumer base, that is stupid business practice. I think that it will take at least another 15 years before over 50% have broadband. My parents still do not have any internet services. Broadband is still too expensive plus it is really too slow for on demand content. Don't even worry about this, a physical medium will be around for the rest of our lives.

 

[WillardK]

It's already here in format of course. For higher volume distribution tests are underway in Japan for methods that will supposedly be ready within a year or so.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

I don't know about you, but downloading a 4.5GB file (which is the size of a full single-layer, single sided DVD) on my cable connection takes hours, if not days. That speed goes down with every household in the area that is connected via cable, and satellite doesn't have the bandwidth for full-bitrate HD, let alone DVD-quality (or even DivX or XviD) on demand. Imagine that using the current infrastructure, even without widespread broadband. Currently, VOD over cable is limited to titles the company has on hand, and in regular 480i. Combine that with the willful feet-dragging both media and broadband companies do when asked to upgrade by anyone outside of the FCC, and we're looking at almost exclusively physical media for the forseeable future.

 

[Chad A Wright]

I would absolutely choose buying a physical DVD. When it comes to CDs, I have never been a giant music fan. Since the advent of iTunes and the iPod, I buy all my music digitally, and have no desire to own actual CDs. However, I am a huge movie fan and love having the actual discs.

 

[george kaplan]

Well I purchase music for download for my Ipod too. But I'm not buying a limited license, I can listen to them as long as I want forever. I wouldn't mind at some distance point downloading a film to my computer if: a) I could somehow play it on my television and b) I had access to play it forever.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Physical media, absolutely. I just love holding the discs in my hand, and thinking "This is my DVD". The other options just are not the same.

 

[Joel Fontenot]

But as Chris stated, that won't be worth diddly here in the States since half the population has no such service and likely won't have that kind of service for many years.

I agree that it won't be profitable enough for U.S. studios to make that kind of overall investment.

Even though I have broadband, I'll never have only downloaded material. One hard drive crash and *poof* it's all gone. I want something in my hand.

Even in the days of LP's and cassettes, I always only bought LP's (I'd record to cassette for the car which always sounded much better than the pre-recorded kind anyway). The "permenance" of LP's over an easily erasable cassette (who put this thing next to my speaker?) just made vinyl the only choice for me. That later extended to CD's, laserdiscs and now, DVD.

 

[Ricardo C]

Physical media, unless VOD meets the following demands:

1. The license must be permanent. I don't want to lose access to films x y and z if the content provider goes under or enters a legal dispute.

2. I must be able (legally and logistically) to transfer my VOD purchases to physical media if I so choose.

3. The heads of every studio must form a circle, bend over, and kiss their own asses.

 

[dannyCraigs]

High quality VOD is definetly within our lifetimes. Broadband is only in it's infancy. 10megabit and higher connections are not uncommon in areas of many countries now, at a reasonable price. In truth most copyright holders fear the escalating speeds of broadband, as they believe this leads to higher quality unlicensed copies floating around. But this isnt an either or situation. Both physical media and VOD can be used to suite different customer groups and probably will be. The music companies have only just started to embrace the internet as a means of selling music, and only really cause it had no other option, consumers basically decided this is they way they wanted there music. In reality, we know that the music studios had to offer a legitimate means for the consumers or lose serious amounts of money. High speed broadband is already becoming a headache for the movie studios and it wont be to far of before they have to offer a legitimate solutions for people that want to recieve there movies in this way.

At the moment, we can buy a mp3 jukebox that can hold hundreds of albums with high quality bitrates. I can't wait for the days we can do the same with movies, formats like divx don't really cut the mustard. The thing with any new format is, that when your building up your collection, you have to accept that one day, these little shiny disc will be worthless to the majority of people, although they may hold sentimental value to yourself.