HD-Downloads?
February 25, 2008
So HD-DVD is dead, and very worryingly has caused reactions that regular DVD is on it’s arse*. Downloading movies could be the next big thing after blu-ray dies, but can it really? First up, it takes way too long with our inferior broadband speeds. Secondly, where do you plan to store it once you’ve downloaded it? On the hard drive, at least until it fills up, particularly quickly when dealing with HD file sizes.
I think it makes more sense for movie rentals. At least for a storage perspective. Then there’s still the issue of how long it took to download, but at least you don’t have to consider storing it too. It has to be viable to create your own hard copies if downloads (of any media) are the future. Even when the cost of HD blank media reduces, you’ll still have to have permission to do so, something DRM will likely affect.
Virgin Media are rolling out their fibre optic network, that theoretically should speed up the speed of broadband services. But, downloading movies via your broadband connection is just a view of a dystopian future in my opinion. You can already rent movies via cable TV services, and begin watching them right away without the need to wait to download them.
* – Someone told me the news they’d heard recently about DVD being axed from product shelves. Likely mistaking the mainstream media’s news coverage of HD-DVD’s demise.
