Previous
Windows 7 media center review
Logitech Harmony Adapter for Playstation 3 review
HD 101: What is ATSC, PSIP, QAM, and 8-VSB?
How to install a CableCARD tuner in your DIY Media Center
DISH Network launches remote DVR control
Engadget HD Podcast 157 - 09.29.2009
Paradigm SUB 25 subwoofer review
Engadget goes behind the Dolby logo
Breaking news Feed
- Boxee inks deal with first hardware partner: a 'Boxee Box' is coming
- Best Buy partnering with CinemaNow to stream first-run DVDs to 'all web-connected devices sold'
- Netflix coming next month to PlayStation 3
- Toshiba details CELL REGZA LCD TV, coming December to Japan (update: video!)
- Intel announces Atom CE4100 for insanely powerful cable boxes and Blu-ray players
- Media Center CableCARDs freed from OEM requirement
- Samsung's LED TV Couple packs a 7-inch tablet remote for streaming TV and so much more
- Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-ray player coming November for $250, gives HD-DVD the final cold shoulder
- PS3 Slim bitstreams Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA audio, at last
- Xbox 360 officially the only console to stream Netflix -- sorry, PS3 and Wii
Featured stories Feed
- Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray mini-review
- Ask Engadget HD: Is it (still) a good time to buy a TiVo?
- Pace and Rovi work together to make a standard set-top a true multi-room DVR
- Ready or not, the latest 3D technology is coming home
- How to automatically skip commercials in Windows 7 Media Center
- Ask Engadget HD: How do you evaluate HDTVs in-store?
- Sharp AQUOS LC-52LE700UN impressions
- Ask Engadget HD: Best home theater setup for gaming?
- TDK's heavily stacked 320GB disc shows its nearly-clear face at CEATEC
- Panasonic's 1080p twin-lens P2 camcorder seen behind three-dee glass at CEATEC
- Facebook finally comes to webOS, not with a bang but a whimper
- Samsung unveils Android-equipped Galaxy Spica i5700
- Menq's $80 EasyPC E790 netbook runs Windows CE now, should run Android later (video)
- The next Engadget Show tapes November 22nd with HTC's Drew Bamford and Chris Grant of Joystiq
- Entelligence: Got game?
- Facebook finally comes to webOS, not with a bang but a whimper
- Samsung unveils Android-equipped Galaxy Spica i5700
- Sprint prepping update for Hero, still 1.5-based
- Creative to show off 'Zii Android mobile phone' next month at Chinese summit
- Xperia X10 launching February 2010 in UK, says Sony Ericsson site
- Best of the Week: Web Stupidity With a Twist, News Corp. Says Google Isn't Fair
- Undercover Wife Busts Husband By Posing as a Chatroom Teen
- After the Hype: Technologies That Never Lived Up to Their Promise
- Nerdy Guy Electrifies Aboriginal Didgeridoo
- Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak Might Actually Happen, Thanks to Physics
Resources
Sections
- Announcements
- Ask Engadget HD
- DIY
- Features
- Industry
- Misc
- Podcasts
- Polls
- Regulatory
- Reviews
- Blu-ray
- Cables
- Camcorders
- Displays
- DVRs
- HD DVD
- Media PCs
- Media streamers
- Other formats
- Other hardware
- Players
- Ports
- Receivers
- Recorders
- Remotes
- Set-top boxes
- Speakers
- Switches
- Tuners
Hardware
Manufacturers
WIN Network
- Autos
- Technology
- Lifestyle
- Gaming
- Finance
- Entertainment on AOL
- Lifestyle on AOL
- Sports on AOL
- Travel on AOL
- Also on AOL
Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gamedude420 @ Nov 1st 2008 12:49PM
if im renting, im for streaming/downloads
if im buying, then it must be disc only, no other real option for buying, because what happens if i wanna sell my movie ( for a lower cost, or for aprofit (think out of print releases, i once sold dawn of the dead for nearly $200 on amazon)
i think both can co exist. i just wish services like vudu and apple would be able to do something like netflix is doing instead of a per movie rental. unlimited rentals with newer movies would be awesome for renting.
minimalist @ Nov 1st 2008 3:02PM
Blu-ray, DVD, digital downloads all have their place but downloads still have way too many issues to completely eclipse physical media. I buy the releases that really matter to me on Blu-ray yet I still rent lots of stuff via Netflix. I will also rent the occasional Apple TV or Xbox movie. Since I don't pay for cable I rent a lot and buy a movie or so each month.
These digital services are great augmentations to the purchasing or renting discs but they are nowhere near ready to completely take their place. Not only are there no HD movies available yet for purchase but there are just too many nagging issues that must be worked out. All these current systems are walled gardens, have intrusive DRM and time limitations, and complex licensing deals mean that movies are there one day and gone the next. ATV, Xbox, Amazon, Vudu and Cable VOD are very much works in progress.
ATV and Xbox are nice indulgences but I'm not willing to use them more than once a month because the per rental charges quickly add up. Netflix still has the best deal for renting and physical purchases still give me the peace of mind that once I have bought something it is mine... not mine until company x turns off their DRM servers.
Happyhappyjoyjoy @ Nov 1st 2008 3:14PM
HD DVR & HD TV via satellite/cable makes watching HD movies & TV shows so convenient, cheap & easy
Bozster @ Nov 1st 2008 4:41PM
And what happens when 4k movies come out.. and this is not too far into the future as it was with SD to HD?
How much will your optical disc be worth then and what will you do when you want to get new movies? Buy them all over again?
Just seems impractical not to mention over the top costly.
I think your assumption come from the strong belief that new optical format will be here for another decade or more and that's where I think you are wrong.
I think that most people who are negative about digital downloads will come to see the fact how much money it really costs them using optical media and how much less it will cost them to just stop buying and go with the all you can it digital downloads model.
minimalist @ Nov 1st 2008 5:26PM
"And what happens when 4k movies come out.. and this is not too far into the future as it was with SD to HD? How much will your optical disc be worth then and what will you do when you want to get new movies? Buy them all over again?"
Since 42" in the most common HDTV size these days 1080 is about the maximum resolution anybody can realistically see with a TV that fits in a typical middle class home or apartment. I think its pretty safe to say that until the average consumer starts buying 200" TV's we are safe from the danger of 4K becoming any kind of home standard. Just because that is the resolution studios are scanning their old movies at for archival purposes does not mean they will be released that way.
"I think that most people who are negative about digital downloads will come to see the fact how much money it really costs them using optical media and how much less it will cost them to just stop buying and go with the all you can it digital downloads model."
First of all, where are these high quality all you can eat models that actually have significant content for a cheap price?
Secondly, I spend 50 dollars or so on a 4-at a time Netflix plan, about one blu-ray a month and the stray rental or two from Apple TV or Xbox. I don't have cable at all and I watch all the TV shows and movies I want that way with the bonus of having a physical copy of my favorite discs to watch again whenever I want. If there ever is a magical HD cloud where all movies and all TV's shows are immediate available 24/7/365 I can guarantee you it won't be offered for less than that. There is no way its economically feasible. It will be more expensive than a premium cable package with everything added.