The download sollution is the ABSOLUTE best idea. But until we get some companies to get off their butt and provide us enough bandwidth it might be awhile. We are a bandwidth hungry society.
I still say that companies need to move away from the mechanical drive optical media. No matter what they do it will still be "just another shiny spinning disc."
Toshiba has lost the war and just doesn't want to tell it's stockholders.
Got to give Clint his props.http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/10-more-reasons-hd-dvd-failed/?searchterm=both will lose
HDDL is the future, but it most definitely isn't here yet. Any concept pushed forth that HDDL is the here and now is seriously misinformed of the current market conditions for broadband.
Only about 25% of US households have broadband... How many do you think have DVD players? What do you think the market is for Blu-ray? It isn't just 100% of the market, it's 100% of the worldwide market. So, while HDDL sounds like a good idea, it is a LONG way from becoming anything approaching a standard and only works for certain people in very specific markets.
Moreso, most of the downloads currently available are rentals - not purchases, so you don't get to enjoy the movie again and again... but if you did, you would have to consider just what this will cost consumers.
You say - quick broadband downloads - sounds great!
I reflect - terrabytes of necessary storage space to accomplish storing more than a few dozen movies at the quality, and with the extras which Blu-ray currently delivers. Configuration settings, networks going in and out... Most of all, the hard drive failure.
This isn't a joke by a long shot - if your hard drive fails, and you have 50 movies on there, are you expected to live with the expense of not just the hardware, but your movie collection as well? Last time I replaced my DVD player, the new one didn't require me to repurchase the EXACT SAME DVDs because I got a new player.
What a scam!
On the other hand, I could see HDDL becoming a true replacement for movie rentals. 100% availability of all titles, HD titles formatted for your specific display (1080p? 720p? 480i? No problem!) Movies that download weeks ahead of 'release' but software controlled to prevent viewing until release day.
An onscreen rental queue that is similar to Netflix or BB Online... yet from the TV and even less hassle than the near hassle free experience many enjoy now.
The hard part with all this remains - AppleTV is hardware. Vista requires hardware. It all requires a hard drive that consumers are required to purchase and until enough of them do, it's all just iPod fodder.
If a Netflix teams up with Comcast or Cox - then things could get really crazy with HDDL video rentals very quickly. I think a key is the fixed monthly fee and a solid user interface.
