Disqus - Latest Comments for devindra

Re: Aliens, Another Reason to Get Excited for Battleship

devindra — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:52:14 -0000

Are you being sarcastic? :P If not, have a seat... http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/11/12/worst-idea-...

Re: TV News: J.J. Abrams Wants to Direct NBC Pilot Undercovers, Cartoon Network Adds Live Action Shows, Comedy Central & The Onion Team Up for Pilot, HBO Developing Transgender Series

devindra — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:12:14 -0000

He helped write the pilot, but it was actually directed by Alex Graves: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_%28Fringe%29

Re: Bradley Cooper Replaces Shia LaBeouf in Dark Fields

devindra — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0000

Haha, I think season 4 was the complete worst for me. Towards the second half of season five, they really got back into the swing of things, and I honestly really dug the finale.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

JLTucker — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:46:16 -0000

Why send them to Netflix to see a film that I own where they will have to pay, when they can just borrow it from me for free? I would not recommend Netflix streaming to my friends because we have slower connections, approximately 6.0mpbs. I have streamed videos from Netflix and the quality is quite horrible with my connection.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

Steve Davis — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:05:19 -0000

The were implemented because the infrastructure isn't there with some of these ISP's. But yes eventually the caps will disappear, but streaming media is still new tech... and it's going to take at least 2-3 more years for those caps to disappear due to public demand... because unless the demand is there ISP's will continue to milk the few who do download a lot.

That's 2-3 more years where streaming isn't viable for those that watch a lot of media & want a Blu-Ray type experience. That's still plenty of time for Blu-Ray to carve out a market... the media is far from dead.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

Woochifer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:50:19 -0000

On the other hand, that 40% nonadoption rate has been holding steady for the past couple of years. And consider that a large chunk of broadband subscribers don't have enough bandwidth to stream DVD-quality video. I don't disagree that a new media paradigm is emerging, I just think it will take a lot more time and need to overcome more market barriers than most techies think.

The fragmentation in the market is a huge deal if each service requires a separate subscription fee or account, and if different content providers are tied to different services. The studios are already seeing the revenue returns from their online efforts, and they don't like what they see. That's the reason why the studios that own Hulu are looking into subscription options and walling off certain content exclusively for cable and satellite subscribers.

BTW, I never said that the DVD was "a direct outgrowth of VHS." My point is simply that the DVD transformed the home video market from a rental-driven market into one driven by sell-through. With VHS, consumers had to rent most new releases because nearly all of them were "rental priced" with a list price of $80 to $100 per tape during the first few months of release. The DVD changed this equation by going with sell-through pricing on the date of release. Even though the VHS rental pricing model had a wholesale cost 4X or 5X higher, the volume of DVD sales more than made up for it.

The issue with downloads is how will they make up for the revenue that physical media currently generates? The transactional volume needed to replace the revenues from disc sales is substantial, and would require a mindset change on the part of consumers where they are used to "owning" movies and now have to go back to renting them with time-restricted downloads or "owning" them in a restricted manner where the downloads can only be viewed on a limited number of devices. I don't see this happening soon, and that doesn't even account for the technical hurdles in most typical homes.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

devindra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:46:51 -0000

You can write in or leave us a message, for a start :)

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

jackieboi — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:30:36 -0000

Hey Devindra, whats a guy gotta do for a guest spot on the /FC?

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

Woochifer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:18:39 -0000

But, the majority of revenue in home entertainment does come from sell-through. And even if a consumer does not have a large DVD collection, people still buy them. Each sale generates far more revenue for the studios than income from rentals. Raising the revenue generated per transaction, that's how the DVD transformed the home video market.

The streaming rental options are no different than any other rental or PPV option, except that it's more convenient (provided that you have the network connection going to where your TV is, or you're fine with watching it on a computer, which most consumers are not). If you buy a downloaded movie, the cost is not that much lower than a DVD purchase and that download comes DRM restrictions that limit which devices can play it back.

The Netflix service is primarily limited to older movies and TV shows, and does not include new releases. With my friends, it's certainly a lot easier to simply hand them a Blu-ray disc that I've finished watching, than to convince them that they should shell out a monthly fee for a Netflix subscription -- one that does not include new releases and has very limited HD options.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

devindra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:54:18 -0000

That 40% number of people without broadband isn't going to be increasing, it's going to get steadily smaller. This is the beginning of a new paradigm of media consumption, so I'm not surprised it's all fragmented, and that may not actually be a bad thing. Who cares if you get the content via iTunes, Amazon, Netflix, or whatever, as long as you get a high quality version of what you want to see?

Consumers are indeed creatures of habit, but let's not pretend that the DVD revolution was a direct outgrowth of VHS. With VHS, consumers were used to renting most of their films, with DVD costs dropped and they bought like crazy. It was unprecedented, and there's no reason to think we won't be seeing similar shifts in consumption down the line.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

Woochifer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:44:55 -0000

I disagree. Streaming options would need to demonstrate that they can generate greater revenue returns than physical media before the studios jump ship. And even if consumers begin to network their TV watching in a big way (which to date they have not), it will still take a huge shift in demand to replace the revenues that physical media currently generates. Most of the studios only half-heartedly embraced the DVD format until it became clear that the sell-through model was far more lucrative than the rental-pricing window model that had previously developed around VHS.

"Cheaper and more convenient" is in the eyes of the beholder. For the 40% of U.S. households without broadband, that certainly does not work. For the majority of households that do not attach network connections or computers to their TV, that doesn't work either. The streaming and downloading market is fragmented right now, with multiple formats, multiple pricing structures, multiple devices, and different content offerings thru different services. That's a barrier to adoption that doesn't get mentioned very often.

Like it or not, consumers are creatures of habit and embrace the familiar. Blu-ray is an easy transition because the hardware can play DVDs and it uses the same 5.25" form factor. For all the hype that streaming and downloading have received, the vast majority of video viewing still occurs on TVs. The Ball State video consumer mapping study that was done earlier this year found that 43% of consumers watch streaming video, but streaming video accounted for less than 1% of the total viewing time.

Transitioning to a new media paradigm takes time, and the tech press continually overestimates consumer tolerance for short-term change. Remember that it took more than six years before the DVD displaced VHS, and the DVD is the most rapidly adopted media format ever. Even now, physical media accounts for the vast majority of home entertainment revenues. And the CD format has had its obituary written many times over, yet it still controls 65% of the music market.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

devindra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:14:16 -0000

You have to understand that people like us who have big DVD collections aren't among the majority of consumers. Also, if movies are readily available online for cheap (or with a small subscription a la Netflix), isn't it easier to send someone there than handing them a copy of a film? Think of how often we recommend Netflix streaming options on the Filmcast.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

devindra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:06:49 -0000

If you're talking about this article (http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/03/28/execed.w...), then I don't think you have anything to worry about. That article was about the limitations of IPv4 addresses, and ultimately that's not something we have to worry about because we've seen this coming for a long time, it's why IPv6 exists. Not to mention the fact that much addressing occurs via NAT--basically routers give local IP addresses to people within networks, thus avoiding IPv4 overflow. This has nothing to do with the U.S.'s infrastructure or bandwidth (which is admittedly not great), it's an issue with how the Internet was developed.

That article was a great example of how the mainstream news often fails to understand technical concepts. It might as well have been called "The internet is falling!"

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

JLTucker — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:04:00 -0000

I care about the physical product. I like having a physical DVD collection; I like to be able to have people see my collection and ask if they can borrow a DVD.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

Goro — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:47:26 -0000

You make an interesting point here with the XBox Streaming and it caused me to think of something.

There are 2 separate markets to consider: The rental market and the sell-thru market. They are overlapping but distinct. If i KNOW i like a movie then i am more likely to buy it, knowing that i can then watch as i want and consume the media as i want. But for movies i haven't seen or don't want to own, rental is fine. And rental is how the streaming market is being used (well and "net-casting" like Hulu).

But there's no real ownership involved here.

I very much would expect that the entire physical media rental service could shift to streaming. (Or at least a sizable portion of it).

But i continue to think that people will pay to OWN the item physically (even if i have to circumvent all sorts of copyprotection).

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

devindra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:33:40 -0000

Agreed. Apple is currently working on a potential "all you can eat" monthly subscription plan for iTunes, which is a good start to rethinking these costs.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

facebook-666692165 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:32:11 -0000

I think they've already got the more convenient part down it's the price that seems to have these studios puzzled. $19.99 for an HD movie on iTunes and $6 for a one time HD rental that I have to watch in 24 hours from Xbox Live is kind of outrageous. If they cut these prices in half they would kill off Blu-Ray for everybody expect hardcore HD fanatics. I suspect the reason they don't is because they see a higher profit margin from Blu-Ray.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

devindra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:03:56 -0000

Those bandwidth caps are malleable. Right now they've been implemented because they think only hardcore users will download hundreds of gigs a month. As streaming options become more widespread, and more of their customers end up nearing those limits, they'll be forced to increase their caps.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

devindra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:02:40 -0000

I don't see why that's a problem. He's praising Blu-ray as the best home format for films right now, and I'm saying that won't be true for very long. There's a reason I put that bit in the title as a parenthetical ;)

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

devindra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:06:57 -0000

The studios aren't in direct control of these things. Sony is the driving force behind Blu-ray, and they had to work extra hard to woo the studios away from Toshiba's HD-DVD format. All it will take is for streaming options to be cheaper and more convenient than Blu-ray (which is NOT hard at all), and the studios will jump ship in the blink of an eye.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

devindra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:05:11 -0000

Brendon, do you guys have any legitimate streaming options to your television over there? Netflix streaming, for example, has completely changed the way I look for stuff to watch. Now instead of going to my DVD shelf, I browse Netflix's shelves virtually.

I also love the extremely high quality of Blu-ray (I've also invested in MANY HD-DVDs), but ultimately when the content looks exactly the same coming down the pipe, and you'll never have to get off your couch to access it, who cares about the physical product? It's not like Blu-ray packaging has been all that great either. I personally would rather have less stuff cluttering up my apartment.

Re: Michael Mann Wants to Do 3D, Martin Scorsese Praises Blu-ray (And Why That Praise is Short-Lived)

devindra — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:02:09 -0000

Goro pretty much said it. The evolution of streaming tech will mean disk space isn't even an issue for us. For example, in the next Xbox Live update users will be able to play 1080p videos with 5.1 sound completely via streaming. This is to include users with the smaller Xbox hard drives. Local storage will increasingly become a thing of the past as well.

As for holographic media, that stuff has been talked about for *years*, but they're far from being a reality on the consumer level. By the time they're actually real products, streaming will have been around for years and people won't want to invest in another disc-based platform.

Re: Joss Whedon Pens An Open Letter to the Terminator Owners

existenz — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:48:09 -0000

Is it just me, or is slotting a show on Friday night the best way to kill it? This show would work great Mon-Thurs when people are actually at home watching TV.

I know, DVR makes time slots less important. But still, Friday night is a dumping ground.

Re: Joss Whedon Pens An Open Letter to the Terminator Owners

devindra — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:24:36 -0000

Given the current ratings slump, Dollhouse probably won't be renewed next season. Even if it is, that would probably be the last season we see.

Re: 1080p Xbox Movie Streaming Works as Advertised

devindra — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:11:13 -0000

Sorry for the late reply, thought I responded to you already :P I'm sure 1080p will happen eventually for Netflix, though I'd rather they focus on getting surround sound working first--