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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jon @ Mar 14th 2008 4:51PM
Once again i want to OWN my media . Not rent it , Unless i am renting it on purpose , i hope VOD never really takes off because right now HD is not really HD .. VOD reminds me of when i bought a divx dvd player way back when and not the good kind
Nfinity @ Mar 14th 2008 5:20PM
well you do own media in digital distribution system. We have XBox Live as a great example. Once you buy the right to a movie in digital form you can always redownload if you data gets corrupted, a huge benefit over actaully having the media where you LEGALLY can't backup because you'll be breaking the law and if your disc becomes unplayable you will be forced to spend ANOTHER $20.
The key thing here is that WE CAN have digital distribution now, but movie studios are the ones who are refusing to provide content. I think it's time for consumer strike this time around. Unfortunately the popularity of digital downloads needs to grow to a large level so people really see the convenience. Already in rental market digital downloads are whooping ass.
We want content to be accessible, to be cheap and we want to be able to watch it anywhere and digital downloads give us that and much more.
DEEZNUTZ @ Mar 14th 2008 5:43PM
@NFINITY:
Isn't XBL just movie rentals? I'm pretty sure you don't buy the movies.
I agree that digital content that is easily transportable is ideal, but let's be real, studios are going to DRM the shit out of any downloadable content they put out so we will be stuck at square one. With discs, it's almost a sure bet that we will be able to copy it and compress for portability or for streaming throughout the home at better quality than what DL's would give us. Legal or not, if I bought the movie and have a copy of it on my PC, I'm quite OK with that.
Anyhow, I agree with the studios. Physical media ain't going nowhere, and I like the idea of owning the movie, not some crappy compressed to shite rental.
Jon @ Mar 14th 2008 6:05PM
Exactly , you dont own anything on Xboxlive , just rent it , Well shows don't run out, movies do , but i want to be able to do with my stuff as i see fit not locked down on one platform etc...
minimalist @ Mar 14th 2008 6:07PM
@Nfinity
Once you buy the right to a movie in digital form you can always redownload if you data gets corrupted, a huge benefit over actaully having the media.
You assume that the movies available now will forever be available (and that the service you download it from will always be in business). Neither is guaranteed and this is what is so problematic about DRM'd downloads. Until you have absolute control ovger where and when the file is stored and played you don't really "own it".
It happens all the time in the music world. eMusic for example lets you re-download as well but if an album gets pulled by the label off the site for any reason whatsoever, it is no longer there. Because all this stuff is licensed it can just as easily be pulled.
The only way digital sales will work is if storage gets cheaper and the DRM goes away. DRM can be deactivated making the movie you bought useless (a la Google Video). Until high quality (not HD-lite please) downloads are available without DRM and storage and backup process is simplified I am not interested in downloads as anything other than an occasional diversion.
Nfinity @ Mar 15th 2008 3:09AM
@Deeznuts
Yes XBL is a good example because i own TV Shows in HD. So it works that way.
@Minimalist
Now you are just pushing your own way of thinking that has little with reality. iTunes is an example of successful digital service that offers all content.
The whole point is that studios give the content. The same way you can't rebuy a disc with the movie you want, it's the same with digital, there's no difference only there's less change that you won't have your movie, simply because they don't have to REINVEST in making physical copies. In this case, AGAIN, digital downloads win.
Convenience, the price and the in-home availability of movies and TV shows is huge. Even today we see a huge benefit of digital downloads. I own all new CSI Miami HD shows and much much more shows in HD from XBL that I simply can't buy on DVD or Blu-Ray. They show up for downloads like a day after it was on TV. This is huge!
It's obvious that the digital downloads is the way to go. Redownloadable content is the way to go. So you can either own a copy on your hard drive, but if you don't want to, you can buy and redownload. This is clearly a great way of owning movies.
CB17 @ Mar 15th 2008 4:56AM
@Jon
Actually for someone who wants to OWN their media, you're pretty resistant of the best way to own your own media: Having an electronic receipt.
Say you're on a road trip and you bring your favorite movie with you, then all the sudden without you realizing it, the disc falls on the floor and the for the next few hours it's getting completely destroyed as it gets scraped across the floor.
Now unless you've illegally copied your DVD you're completely screwed, but with a digital purchase, all you'd have to do is go to whoever you bought your movie from and ask for a new one and your old one to get de-authorized.
Also, with a digital copy of your stuff it's much easier to back your stuff up (to HDDs), versus having to rip ISOs or copy from DVD to DVD.
As was mentioned in the article, the real reason DD has not taken hold is because of ARTIFICIAL limitations in the distribution. Someone just needs to come up with something like MS' Plays For Sure but for Video and problem solved. Also, tell the movie studios to get their collective heads out of their ass and quit restricting digital movie release dates.
Oh and btw, as is evidenced by the downfall of HD-DVD, I don't really think anybody cares about "interactive features". They just want to rent the movie, watch it once, and be done with it. If they want interactive, they'll whip out their laptop or phone and pull up IMDB.
CB17 @ Mar 15th 2008 5:02AM
Oh and I agree with Nfinity, optical media is beyond dead.
USB flash drives, HDDs, online media sharing (Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, etc), online movie rentals, is where we're going (already mostly there?). I really hope Jobs can kick the movie studios' ass like he kicked the recording studios' ass to get rid of DRM. Start with Disney, Jobs...start with Disney!!
GhostDoggy @ Mar 15th 2008 9:05AM
No one is questioning your position on the ownership matter, but the current stance is 180 backwards in direction of their previous stance that people are downloading them without payment (a la piracy).
So, on one hand they claim people are illegally downloading them and the other hand they do not want to download them. These studios need to make up their minds, adopting ONE position on the matter, and stick with it.
BTW, I routinely download movies over the Internet at a rate of 2-3 per day and I am on my ISP's slowest plan (4Meg).
Sam Winter @ Mar 15th 2008 6:40PM
@Nfinity..
You and everyone else supporting this crap needs to take a hard look at the terms of service of these service. Rentals are one thing, and I think streaming media is a good idea for this.
But for purchasing movies, downloads are a complete and utter nightmare.
In systems such as Amazon Unbox, when you "purchase" a movie YOU DO NOT OWN IT!!!! You are ONLY "purchasing the right" to watching the movie unlimited times. You CANNOT sell your copy, give it to a friend, and your ability to watch the movie can be revoked at any time at the will of the IP holder or Amazon. If you uninstall the Unbox software you will lose any ability to watch purchased media. If you attempt to keep Unbox from constantly calling home to verify security, you will be unable to view any media.
YOU HAVE TO AGREE TO ANY SOFTWARE UPDATES no matter what kind of draconian spyware the software update introduces onto your system, or once again you lose access to all "purchased" media.
There are so many OUTRAGEOUS conditions that this is truly a DISASTER for consumer rights.
*WARNING* BEFORE YOU CONSIDER USING A DOWNLOAD-TO-OWN MOVIE SERVICE, read the following from the popular BoingBoing.NET blog, entitled "Amazon Unbox to customers - Eat shit and die"
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/09/15/amazon-unbox-to-cust.html
CB17 @ Mar 16th 2008 4:07AM
@Sam Winter
First of all you're splitting hairs (aka. irrelevant)
Second of all, it's not any different with DVDs. When you buy a DVD you don't actually OWN the rights to the DVD, you're just owning a license. That's why the MPAA currently forbids any software that "rips" DVDs and why they're actually ALLOWED to do that.
Anyways, you're entire argument will be irrelevant once the MPAA matures to the place the RIAA has gotten to with allowing DRM free movies and they'll have absolutely NO control over your movies, PERIOD.
CB17 @ Mar 16th 2008 4:10AM
Oh and as a follow up to the above:
http://www.dontquotemeonthat.com/Video_files.htm
My favorite part is where it says:
"This DVD is for private home viewing only, it is not LICENSED for any other use"
See that word up there ^^^ ?? That's right LICENSED, you don't technically OWN that DVD you just own the LICENSE to be able to use it in any DVD player for a single person home use.