Here is my alternative to Blu-Ray....

http://www.vudu.com

It costs the same as a Blu-Ray player, but all the movies work, no specs, and the HD 1080p movies are a max of $25. Sounds good to me. Also, no waiting. If I'm gonna have Comcast, may as well use it for something other than MMO's. I don't think this is as far away as people think it is.



The above result is with a bit torrent client seeding 8 torrents so the upload is a bit off.

[Post edited by spoonard on Feb 18, 2008]

I'm going to stay away from digital downloads. I can't deny HD goodness so I'll get a combo player eventually. I hope Toshiba makes a combo player with a reon chip,Divx support,and support for all HD audio.

AH yes, another Broadband Internet Customer poised to embrace HD downloads and HD VOD.

My 20Mbps/20Mbps Verizon FiOS connection is great for downloading(and uploading) huge HD movies in a short period of time.

Toshiba should release a Hybrid HD DVD/DVD/ HD Streaming player.

They already have Ethernet built into their HD DVD players, so I am sure it would only be a small design change.

Add a modestly sized Hard Disc Drive(Toshiba is the leading manufacturer of Laptop Hard Drives you know), and watch the Blu Ball FanBoys crumble to their knees in utter disgust.

Cheaper than Netflix, Cheaper than BlockBuster, and to quote Michael Bay, FiOS is "Awesome".

Queue the explosion....BOOM !!

And I don't need to pay $800 for a standalone Blu player, or buy ANY Blu discs.

[Post edited by VideoCipher on Feb 18, 2008]

Quote:
I can't deny HD goodness

This is FULL 1080p HD movies for a maximum of $25.00!! Not $30 - $40!!! So, all you would be denying is Sony's bank account of your money. Why pay for more when you can have the same for alot less?

Please guys, stop grasping at straws, I mean just get it over with and save your $$$ for a PS3 or set top BR. Stop looking at all these formats, and fly by night alternatives that are just destined to fail.

You guys ALREADY wasted your $$$ on one LOSING format, which is not your fault,why do it again and punish yourself again. This time I will have no pity for you.

Get on the bandwagon fellas, you can either ride with us, or get left behind!! Remember Sony BR "Beyond High Def" and "It's in our DNA"

Paying for a machine where the movies cost between $30 and $40 and may or may not be able to play correctly IS "punishing one's self" if you ask me. That's not a bandwagon, that's a ship of fools. And the sooner that boat sinks, the better.

[Post edited by spoonard on Feb 18, 2008]

So then all you do is buy a PS3 for $400 AND you get the benefit of playing games if you wanted, and also you can stream content with the wi fi from your PC.

Imaging having all your DivX files, photos, AND Music files available thru Sony's slick Cross Bar interface, all done thru the PS3!!! What a great piece of equipment!

You could also get a say, a 500GB external hard drive and fill that up with content and hok it up through the USB OF THE PS3 hub as well.

EITHER way, YOU WIN!!!! Case closed!

[Post edited by Blu_Bawla on Feb 18, 2008]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: digital downloads are the future, but that future is still a long way off. Firstly, studios who have been involved in this whole "format war" for HD, are not going to turn around and say, "Hey, forget all that, let's just make all of our movies available for download at a mere fraction of the cost! That would be a great business decision!". NO studio wants downloads yet. Sure, you can download PPV movies if you just want to watch it once as an alternative to rental, but if you think downloading movies in HD so that you can keep them forever is going to happen, think again. Besides, a 500GB hard drive will store what? 30 HD movies? Wow. What an impressive collection. On top of that, you get no alternative sound options, no commentaries, and no other features. And if your system crashes, you are SOL. Until massive storage devices (100 times a 500 GB) are available, with some sort of backup system, and customers can download all of the features of a disc in one shot, downloads will remain a niche market for those with no foresight, and people downloading pirated versions.

Quote:
Paying for a machine where the movies cost between $30 and $40 and may or may not be able to play correctly IS "punishing one's self" if you ask me. That's not a bandwagon, that's a ship of fools. And the sooner that boat sinks, the better.

This sounds like another ignorant comment. FYI, I have about 55 Blu-rays and the average price I paid for them is about $16-18. But yeah, I am a fool for sure.

I love how people fear HD crashes. They are a LOT more stable than they were years ago. A crash is a pretty slim chance nowadays.
Still, its pretty shocking how close we are to getting a good stream on HD movies from our broadband right now. Being able to save them permanently is just as good on a drive as a disk. People argue about having a "physical" copy...well, what makes my movie on a physical drive I can take anywhere any different than a disk I can take anywhere. No case?

As for extras..it isnt like Fox has extras on half their disks anyway, so no loss. Besides, I saw many Blu fans fighting in that argument months back that it didnt matter because it left more room for the movie's compression and it was more important WHAT mvovies you could get, not what extras it had.