HD DVD is dead.

[Jim Carlile]

Optical disks aren't going anywhere tomorrow. But in five years they will be gone.

Good Luck

Disagree. There's always going to be the need for some kind of portable media. Continually downloading the same thing over and over again -- which is what always ends up happening--- makes no sense when you can permanently store it in an economical package like a DVD.

Same thing with books. They'll always be around.

[S8 Booster]

no, i think Nigel is perfectly right. there is just as or even more convenient to bring an external LaCie of up to 1 TB or even in the future big USB flash memory plugz of:
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/ ... s-terabyte

other alternatives: (micro drives)
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellane ... ion_memory

it is only a matter of time.... and i believe Nigel´s 5 year perspective is even slightly pessimistic......

shoot.....

[jpolzfuss]

In the meantime:
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Convert_You ... to_Blu-Ray

[S8 Booster]

i think that that solution is just another expensive detour - disks are just costly and slow mezzes every which way.
the more you can omit them (flopped disks) the further and faster you go.

in one of the linx i posted above it is expected to put fast micro hard drives of TB capacity into i/Phones/Pods/Cellulars within short and if they provide them with suitable ports it will be possible to run HD directly on any AV projection system by just plugging it in. (fibre ports?)

what the (i)s does on audio today - (You wont believe what my iPone does/sounds connnected to my 1974 Sansui HiFi) they will do on your HD TV/surround tomorrow.

logical stretch - it will be soon and quick.....

shoot....

[jpolzfuss]

in one of the linx i posted above it is expected to put fast micro hard drives of TB capacity into i/Phones/Pods/Cellulars within short and if they provide them with suitable ports it will be possible to run HD directly on any AV projection system by just plugging it in. (fibre ports?)

You can already buy external USB-harddisks that can be used as a stand-alone playback-device for HDTV-videos as they do have
# Video out: Composite, S-Video, Component (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i)
# Audio out: 2channels Analog, 5.1channels Optical (AC3, DTS)
http://www.rapsody.de/produkte/rsh300-1.htm
http://www.rapsody.de/produkte/rsh100-1.htm
http://www.rapsody.de/produkte/rsh250-1.htm
(These are just the empty "boxes" that can be equiped with any 3.5" or 2.5" harddisk, but you can buy these and other devices already equiped with a 750GB or 1000GB harddisk. BTW: The rsh 250 is only 114 x 114 x 26 mm and weights only 125g (without disk).)

[Jim Carlile]

Dynamic storage just makes everything ephemeral. A compact little package like a DVD gives it life. There's room for both, but anti-plastic advocates sound like the same people who have been claiming that books are dead-- the same ones 20 years ago who talked about the "paperless office." Remember that myth?

Humans need artifacts. Also, there's nothing dumber than downloading all the time, when you can have it in your hand. Who wants to have to be constantly connected to a network?

Plus, downloads = cash for the provider at every pop, which of course is the idea. That's where it's all going to lead-- these are the good old days for free stuff- it's not always going to be this way. They'll rope you into depending upon downloads, and then-- voila, you'll be stuck.

[super8man]

Ultimately, tivo will be banned since you are avoiding commercials and enabling multiple viewings. Music will come down to a pay-per-listen mode and "sharing" of music by listening with your friends in a common room will be banned as well - laws will be passed to rat out your neighbours and friends just like "spare the air anti-fireplace burning laws." We already have laws and program to rat out your neighbours for air drying their laundry on a clothesline (and this is in California). Establishments will no longer be allowed to have ambient background music for fear of being fined by the blue meanies. Oh, and watching a pay-per-view boxing match on a tv viewed by anyone other than the paying subscriber will also become a misdemeanor.

Enjoy.

[Uppsala BildTeknik]

We already have laws and program to rat out your neighbours for air drying their laundry on a clothesline (and this is in California).

Ummm, say what? 8O

[S8 Booster]

reglulations are so heavy that they are closing in on Sweden.....;)


shoot.......

[Jim Carlile]

Super 8 Man, why can't you dry your laundry outside? That hasn't reached us down here yet....

[Clapton Pond]

We already have laws and program to rat out your neighbours for air drying their laundry on a clothesline (and this is in California).

That can't be right, can it? It's a joke, right? You've got perfect weather for drying clothes, and think of all the energy it saves!

[Clapton Pond]

Oh, and don't forget that vinyl is dead, ever since the advent of CDs. Apart from the fact that it's not, of course, and that people still release records, and people still buy them, because they like the big sleeves with the cool artwork.

People like to own an object, if they find it precious enough, and will continue to buy CDs, DVDs and vinyl as long as they feel they are getting something desirable. They also feel secure, in that the object they buy won't be the subject of hard disk crash, computer malfunction or formats being rendered obsolete (the above are already established and there are only so many times you can replace your record collection...)

But for generations to come it'll be interesting to see what happens, and how they value their consumable art. Since downloading took off, the attitude of "we can have it for free" has been growing, and this is a problem for artists of all types.

Here in the UK they're talking of bringing in laws to prevent illegal P2P filesharing - not sure how that's going to work...

ian

[Andreas Wideroe]

You can already buy external USB-harddisks that can be used as a stand-alone playback-device for HDTV-videos as they do have
# Video out: Composite, S-Video, Component (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i)
# Audio out: 2channels Analog, 5.1channels Optical (AC3, DTS)

I have one (Samstore 750GB with Composite, S-VHS and Component) and it's great! I'm currently making digital copies of all my old PAL and NTSC VHS tapes so I can watch them all from an external harddrive with the size of ONE VHS tape. Great stuff with easy to navigate menus and a small and nice little remote.

The only thing I miss is the ability to add codecs myself. I wish mine would play back DV avi files.

Anyway - I think DVDs (SD, HD, Blu Ray) is something that will be replaced by mediacenter machines, harddrives or SSD in the near future.

/Andreas

[Will2]

Funny how Super 8 users are actually ahead of the curve technology wise.

DVDs, Blu-Ray or some form of non-downloadable media will remain for at least 7-10 years.

The industry is just too geared towards this delivery method. Studios still give a 30 days window for DVD/Blu-Ray rentals/sales before downloads are legally available. They don't want to kill their golden goose. They do the same thing for theaters.

We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars.

Yes, it will evolve and change. But truck drivers love to stop at Stuckies or some other truck stop and pick up their DVD... Mom's still get pecked to death by kids wanting a Scooby-Doo DVD at the grocery store.

For that matter, CD sales are still big business even if they are in decline. There's just something easy about picking up a CD and playing it in a car vs. downloading it, copying it to an iPod and remembering to bring it with you wherever you go.

[reflex]

Dynamic storage just makes everything ephemeral. A compact little package like a DVD gives it life.

Plus, downloads = cash for the provider at every pop, which of course is the idea.

I agree with Jim.

Nigel: You mentioned in an earlier post that you've got your movies available for viewing "in the cloud" - that means you've stripped the DRM and are on the wrong side of the law, right? THAT'S why I want nothing to do with downloaded movies - onerous digital copy prevention and massive compression.