Posted by Derek Janssen on 04/18/07 21:49

Doug Jacobs wrote:

>>And X-Box Live is already pushing HD-movie downloads to become a
>>second-place runner-up to Apple Movie Store's standard-def AppleTV MP4
>>movies...
>>Not that they're going to topple iPod overnight, but the *last* thing
>>we need is to have a Download War which is in even LESS demand than the
>>Hi-Def war.
>
> For the realm of video downloads, right now, the main services are locked
> to a specific content provider and hardware platform. For instance, you
> cannot use the Xbox 360 to access Sony's Marketplace and download content
> from there. Personally, I think for this model to really succeed, the
> content providers will have to lock in deals with existing hardware
> vendors, like Tivo, who can provide the hardware for free (or almost free)
> and then charge consumers for their use of the products.
>
> As for downloads entirely replacing physical media....I don't know.
>
> Certainly for rentals, I wouldn't mind a streaming 'on demand' or download
> type service so long as the quality was good enough. But if it's a title I
> like enough, I would like to own a physical copy of it in some manner. I
> would LOVE the ability to rent PC games. Why even pay $20 for a title
> I'll probably fiddle with for a few dozen hours and then never play
> again? One of the problems facing people nowadys is clutter. It's too
> easy to accumulate too much stuff.

Apple Movie Store pretty much cemented the Download issue:
Since the AppleTV wasn't invented yet (although it's getting good
reviews), and nothing connected it to the TV, nobody really caught on to
WHY the heck we were now all supposed to download our movies, like the
magazine articles all said we would--
What Apple Movie got by on was exactly what we *were* using it for: You
bought a nice, permanent legal clean-ripped copy of the movie, at
hard-DVD prices, that you could keep on your iPod or desktop. Period.

Amazon was sucker enough to jump into "everybody's doing it"
download-mania, didn't provide any technical interface, let studios
charge self-indulgent prices all over the map, offered movies that only
played on their own software or Brand X's, and went straight down the
toilet...
And now Apple Movie Store has a few MORE selections to choose from,
after Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate all jumped ship for the service that
was still going to be around a year later.

Basically, the "living room" factor seems to be the one stumbling block
for every other company--It's nice to play HD download movies in your
living room on X-Box Live, but that's IF you happen to own an X-Box.
Which puts their half of the tech-war right back in the Gamerz' hands
again, which is part of how all the Blu/HD fighting started in the first
place.

Derek Janssen
ejanss@comcast.net

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