Music to my ears

So, it seems movies may be coming to HD VoD services BEFORE they hit DVD/Blu-Ray. If the Studios can decide weather or not they can rely on HDCP as a means of copy protection then it looks as though this will be happening. Currently the law says the cable/satellite companies cannot just on a whim shut off the analog ports on their set top boxes. Well the MPAA says they should be able to do that to prevent piracy on these devices. If that all works out in the favor of the Studios/MPAA then this will happen soon. Which is yet another step in the direction of mass consumer adoption of HD VoD.

So we have several major companies (Microsoft, Amazon, Blockbuster, Apple, and Vudu) already in the HD VoD market with working business models, we have Comcast increasing their speeds to 18Mbs, and now we have HD VoD movies hitting the digital shelf before DVD/Blu-Ray. Just some things to think about...

Quote:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/16/mpaa-dangles-early-hd-vod-releases-in-exchange-for-closing-that/

spoonard... somehow in your note above, you forgot to mention "for a premium price" - mentioned in this news story.

EDIT - View this news (the complete report) on the original LINK

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-JIMI McLovin (the Voodoo Child)

[Post edited by Love Hendrix! on May 16, 2008]

It's obvious that Blu Ray was not in time. VOD, as I and many others have been saying, will take over before very long cutting short the lifespan of BD. For renting I'd rather download the movie. For buying I prefer hard copy. But most people just rent (all the people I know). I'm the only one in my group of friends that buys a lot of physical media.

[Post edited by wolvinator on May 16, 2008]

Well, I'm not going to pay a PER MOVIE PREMIUM PRICE just for immediate HD rentals from my cable or satellite provider... and then what IF I want to own the hard copy (Blu-ray disc) a short time later (with all of the bonus features and best A/V quality) - ?

So, I'm going to PAY again?? - Not interested.

Give me Blu-ray rentals from Netflix and Blockbuster, and also lower-priced BD purchases, which I prefer for viewing HD content and building a collection. But, yes, this new method may appeal to some.

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-JIMI McLovin (the Voodoo Child)

[Post edited by Love Hendrix! on May 16, 2008]

Side note: Cable manufactures have been broadcsting 17 to 20Mbs for the last couple of years, to provide customers HDTV service.

I know where I live we already have "Pay Per View" movies on demand with cable & smatellite. It's only obvious Hi-Def would soon hit that market. Yes, the article does say "for a premium price" but gives no indication of what that price will be. The on demand movies provided by my cable company are about $5 a flick already, so I can only assume the price for hi-def may be a few bucks more. I don't think it's going to be some out of this world price or hard to reach, but as it is with anything new in technology it always comes with a stiff penalty to the pocketbook.

Nevertheless, I'm with Jimi on this one -- much easier to just stick with your favorite rental place for hi-defs, and cheaper in the long run. However, on demand is a nice convienence if you're in the mood to see the film you want right away and don't mind spending the extra beans. I mean, say you don't have snail-mail renting, you're on the couch with a broken leg, then yes, VOD would be very handy.

Spoonie G, VoD has been out for ages and it had no effect on DVD rentals. The same can be said for HD VoD, it will not hurt Blu-ray. Some of these cable companies are controlled by the same studios that makes the films themselves ie. Time Warner. The one business that this does effect somewhat is the video rental business.

HD VoD suffers from:
Lack of 1080p picture
Lack of HD audio codecs
Lack of Bonus Features
A small library to choose from (no catalog releases)
Not all studios release at the same time with DVD/Blu-ray

Tim, you are right teh HD VoD movies are $4.99 at least on Comcast.

Quote:
Well, I'm not going to pay a PER MOVIE PREMIUM PRICE just for immediate HD rentals from my cable or satellite provider... and then what IF I want to own the hard copy (Blu-ray disc) a short time later (with all of the bonus features and best A/V quality)

Being a Blu-Ray customer, YOU ARE PAYING A PREMIUM PRICE FOR THE PLAYERS AND THE MOVIES!!! To buy and to rent (Thanks NetFlix!) The article also mantions nothing about RENTALS. It says they will be "movie studios may be ready to move towards regularly putting movies online ahead of the DVD release date" That to me says full releases, not rentals. Though i'm sure rentals would be available as well.

Blu folks are not the masses. They are the EXTREME minority right now. Business does not cater to the minority in most cases. The studios are aggressively exploring other distribution methods than Blu-Ray. This is evident with their growing interest in digital distribution methods. I mention this because there is already HD VoD boxes in probably a hundred times more houses than there are Blu-Ray players with the amount of Comcast boxes and Xbox 360's around these days. The players and the means to get the content to the players are already in place. All they have to do is use it.

Love, Tim, Tony...

You guys all sound like the 60 year old people I was trying to explain HD DVD and Blu-Ray to a couple of years ago.

Blockbuster has the best rental service. You can rent BDs and get a free rental when you turn 1 in to a store.