In spite of the slick demo we got from Steve Jobs last week, this is why neither I nor anyone else should rent movies from Apple or Microsoft right now:
First, it's too restrictive. Having only 24 hours to watch a movie once you hit play is going to kill it right there. People have lives. Sometimes that means that you cannot sit down and watch a movie straight through. It also gets you on the 'oops' factor. Hit "Play Now" even just to verify the download is okay and ready to go, and you've just started your 24 hour clock. Better budget some time or kiss the money goodbye, pal!
Second, it's not portable. Oh yes, I heard what Jobs said. I can move movies from iTunes or Apple TV to my iPod Touch. Great. Unfortunately, I cannot have my cake and eat it too. If I rent an HD version of the video, then I cannot copy it to my iPod. However, if I rent the DVD version, I cannot watch it in High Definition. This stinks. A license to rent a movie should cover that movie in whatever resolution/device I want to see it. I should not have to rent a movie twice in order to see it at its best on both devices.
Third, how is this in any way superior to NetFlix? I've seen Netflix's demise written of many times by supposedly respectable reporters. But how could this be when you drop from 1080p HD quality movies to 720p movies, you lose things like lossless audio, all the extras, and of course the fact that you can keep the movie AS LONG AS YOU DARN WELL LIKE with NetFlix for no extra charge, and go through movies as quickly or as slowly as you like?
All this, for the convenience of immediate downloads. Now don't get me wrong, I love instant gratification, but knowing that my purchase is not portable in its best formats, only is good for 24 hours once someone even STARTS it, and loses many of the best features of high definition video just doesn't do it for me.
Even if you're not a High Definition lover and you're fine with DVD quality movies, what about that stupid 24 hour limit? It's just not happening. Apple TV and XBox Marketplace video rentals do not compete properly with NetFlix until they find a way to extend the rental period past 24 hours. Heck, even the 'old' days of Blockbuster you could rent for 3 days and watch as many times as you liked during that period. Is it me, or are we going BACKWARDS?
Clearly the Movie Industry is behind these limits, and they are still trying to accomplish their financial goals by clubbing us over the heads with their property rights. And then they wonder why they aren't making any money and why piracy is so rampant.
Clue to the Movie Studios: Stop treating us so poorly, and you will get more of our money. It really IS that simple. And as far as Apple's shiny new Apple TV, in my opinion, it's just sugar coated pill that masks the continued ugliness of the behavior of movie studios, trying to manipulate us all.
Randy
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Friday, January 04, 2008
So, Warner goes Blu...
So the Blu-ray fanboys are screaming and throwing confetti, and thumbing their noses childishly at the HD DVD fanboys.
I don't care particularly. I have an XBox 360 and an HD DVD drive. Not too big of an investment. I can buy a Blu-Ray player.
The only thing that frosts me is the degree of BS being spewed about the reasons for the outcome. For anyone to say with a straight face that "the consumers have decided" just makes me roll my eyes. The "consumers" didn't really have a choice? Did I have a choice to buy Disney HD DVD or Blu-Ray movies? No. Did I have a choice to buy HD DVD or Blu-Ray Universal movies? NO! It came down to studios. The STUDIOS decided which format would win, and not the consumer. No? Well, if you reverse the studios, is the outcome different? You bet. Sony, Disney and Fox are a huge block, and with Warner being neutral that is a huge gap to overcome, even for Paramount and Universal. Disney alone is scary huge. So yeah, the fact that the Blu-Ray fanboys are crying victory immediately on the heels of the Warner announcement is just more evidence that the Studios Decide, not the customer.
It can be truly said that the Blu-Ray sales were outpacing the HD DVD sales, however, again, this is a function of answering the question: "Which format has the movies I want?" Content IS King, and the Sony/Disney/Fox (and now Warner) block is just an insurmountable obstacle.
Then the Blu-Ray fanboys will say "the best technical format won". Again: BS. Not because you are wrong, but because technical merit had NOTHING to do with this. VHS beat Beta without winning on technical merit. Microsoft pounds Apple without technical merit. Only high-end videophiles who like to show off their systems and keep leapfrogging their buddies with 'the next big thing' are the people that care about this. The average consumer doesn't see any difference between the formats, because for all intents and purposes, there isn't any.
Now, why the blu-bots are so fanatic for Sony, I just don't understand. We're dealing here with a company that put rootkits on our CD's to copy protect them. We're dealing with a company that still requires DRM on their music. Warner just announced they are selling their music library on amazon at TWICE the bitrate with NO DRM. Where's Sony on this issue? NOWHERE. Same for Disney music. I can buy the latest Disney Enchanted soundtrack from iTunes, with DRM at 128K, or I can go jump in a lake. Sony is very protectionist with their content. They support region coding, they support harsh measures for DRM, proprietary formats, and high prices. Sony has NEVER been interested in what's best for the consumer. So while other content owners dump DRM and bump up their bit rates, Sony sits there and looks arrogantly down on us. "Let them eat 128k DRM cake". And yet these blu-ray obsessed fans act like Sony loves them. It's beyond unreal.
Sony owning motion picture studios and music labels is Sony's way of fixing the Betamax debacle. Get some content, sit on it and make it clear that hell will freeze over before it gets released on the other format, and wait it out. It's part of a process called "tying", that got Microsoft in so much trouble. Oddly, the people who hate Microsoft for such practices see nothing wrong with Sony using its software (music/movies) content to push a hard format (Blu-Ray/PS3).
So, Blu-Ray is victorious. Whoopee. BD player manufacturers can now stop worrying about dropping the prices of their players and movie companies can set disc prices at whatever they want. When Blu-Ray players put out a solid version of their BD software and a reasonably priced player, I'll buy one and follow along with all the other sheep who really have no choice in the matter. After all, what can I do? The Studios have decided what's good for me, and if I want to enjoy their content at home, it's this or a long download.
After all of the above, some might say I'm a bitter HD DVD owner. Not really. I'm more annoyed at the BS being delivered as as the REASON for the win. Just admit these facts, and we can move on with our lives:
1. Blu-Ray won because it had the better Studio Support
2. The customer picked Studios, and not 'technical formats'
3. Sony's acquisition of music and movie content has given them a stronger hand than they otherwise would have as a format backer.
4. Sony will give us portable DRM-free content when hell freezes over.
Just admit the above facts, blu-fans, and we'll move with our lives as blu-ray disc owners with one format (which is not a terrible thing, in the end).
Randy
I don't care particularly. I have an XBox 360 and an HD DVD drive. Not too big of an investment. I can buy a Blu-Ray player.
The only thing that frosts me is the degree of BS being spewed about the reasons for the outcome. For anyone to say with a straight face that "the consumers have decided" just makes me roll my eyes. The "consumers" didn't really have a choice? Did I have a choice to buy Disney HD DVD or Blu-Ray movies? No. Did I have a choice to buy HD DVD or Blu-Ray Universal movies? NO! It came down to studios. The STUDIOS decided which format would win, and not the consumer. No? Well, if you reverse the studios, is the outcome different? You bet. Sony, Disney and Fox are a huge block, and with Warner being neutral that is a huge gap to overcome, even for Paramount and Universal. Disney alone is scary huge. So yeah, the fact that the Blu-Ray fanboys are crying victory immediately on the heels of the Warner announcement is just more evidence that the Studios Decide, not the customer.
It can be truly said that the Blu-Ray sales were outpacing the HD DVD sales, however, again, this is a function of answering the question: "Which format has the movies I want?" Content IS King, and the Sony/Disney/Fox (and now Warner) block is just an insurmountable obstacle.
Then the Blu-Ray fanboys will say "the best technical format won". Again: BS. Not because you are wrong, but because technical merit had NOTHING to do with this. VHS beat Beta without winning on technical merit. Microsoft pounds Apple without technical merit. Only high-end videophiles who like to show off their systems and keep leapfrogging their buddies with 'the next big thing' are the people that care about this. The average consumer doesn't see any difference between the formats, because for all intents and purposes, there isn't any.
Now, why the blu-bots are so fanatic for Sony, I just don't understand. We're dealing here with a company that put rootkits on our CD's to copy protect them. We're dealing with a company that still requires DRM on their music. Warner just announced they are selling their music library on amazon at TWICE the bitrate with NO DRM. Where's Sony on this issue? NOWHERE. Same for Disney music. I can buy the latest Disney Enchanted soundtrack from iTunes, with DRM at 128K, or I can go jump in a lake. Sony is very protectionist with their content. They support region coding, they support harsh measures for DRM, proprietary formats, and high prices. Sony has NEVER been interested in what's best for the consumer. So while other content owners dump DRM and bump up their bit rates, Sony sits there and looks arrogantly down on us. "Let them eat 128k DRM cake". And yet these blu-ray obsessed fans act like Sony loves them. It's beyond unreal.
Sony owning motion picture studios and music labels is Sony's way of fixing the Betamax debacle. Get some content, sit on it and make it clear that hell will freeze over before it gets released on the other format, and wait it out. It's part of a process called "tying", that got Microsoft in so much trouble. Oddly, the people who hate Microsoft for such practices see nothing wrong with Sony using its software (music/movies) content to push a hard format (Blu-Ray/PS3).
So, Blu-Ray is victorious. Whoopee. BD player manufacturers can now stop worrying about dropping the prices of their players and movie companies can set disc prices at whatever they want. When Blu-Ray players put out a solid version of their BD software and a reasonably priced player, I'll buy one and follow along with all the other sheep who really have no choice in the matter. After all, what can I do? The Studios have decided what's good for me, and if I want to enjoy their content at home, it's this or a long download.
After all of the above, some might say I'm a bitter HD DVD owner. Not really. I'm more annoyed at the BS being delivered as as the REASON for the win. Just admit these facts, and we can move on with our lives:
1. Blu-Ray won because it had the better Studio Support
2. The customer picked Studios, and not 'technical formats'
3. Sony's acquisition of music and movie content has given them a stronger hand than they otherwise would have as a format backer.
4. Sony will give us portable DRM-free content when hell freezes over.
Just admit the above facts, blu-fans, and we'll move with our lives as blu-ray disc owners with one format (which is not a terrible thing, in the end).
Randy
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