Has the Internet killed the DVD?

[Rev. Powell]

This article from today's Los Angeles Times thinks so: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cover-dvd-future-20110925-1,0,6516807.story

A couple of highlights:

*They predict rental outlets like Netflix and Redbox are going to have to wait longer to get copies of major studio releases: 2 months out instead of one month.  Titles may have to wait years before showing up on Netflix streaming.

*The "cloud" is coming: in future digital distribution models you'll buy rights to access a copy of a movie stored on a server somewhere, and you'll be able to access it from any Internet-ready device.

For what it's worth, DVDs won't be going away entirely, at least not immediately.  But, they may be on the way to becoming to movies what LPs are to music. 

I see pluses and minuses to the new business model.  What do you think?

[Flick James]

Perhaps it's just my paranoid libertarian lack of government trust talking (that's absurd, I KNOW it is), but the down side to this is that it just gives another opportunity for entities outside of my house monitoring what I do. At the present time, it's give and take between the government and private companies that hold this information on their customers. However, should a situation arise where the government chooses to enact martial law, they take full authority to cease EVERYTHING. I'm not doing anything nefarious, but I still want a reasonable expectation of privacy and all that.

I know I'm probably taking this somewhere it's not intended to go (sorry about that, Rev), but a downside I see is that it's just another thing for others to track about my actions and behaviors. Aside from that rather large issue for me personally, there are plenty of convenience and access aspects of it that are good.

[Olivia Bauer]

Perhaps it's just my paranoid libertarian lack of government trust talking (that's absurd, I KNOW it is), but the down side to this is that it just gives another opportunity for entities outside of my house monitoring what I do. At the present time, it's give and take between the government and private companies that hold this information on their customers. However, should a situation arise where the government chooses to enact martial law, they take full authority to cease EVERYTHING. I'm not doing anything nefarious, but I still want a reasonable expectation of privacy and all that.

I know I'm probably taking this somewhere it's not intended to go (sorry about that, Rev), but a downside I see is that it's just another thing for others to track about my actions and behaviors. Aside from that rather large issue for me personally, there are plenty of convenience and access aspects of it that are good.

I understand your fears. You make a good point, but hopefully your prediction will not come to pass.

As for my opinion, I find it's getting harder for me to walk into a store and buy a DVD. I keep thinking "I can order it on Netflix". I'm such a cheapskate, though $10 /mo. For movies will save me a lot of money as opposed to buying $15-30 DVDs ever few weeks.

[Jack]

Netflix charges $8 a month for all the movies you can stream, and people still cry bloody murder about the price increase.  I just don't see these guys getting whatever they think they can charge for a single movie.  Ninety-nine cents maybe.   

[Criswell]

I'll be a psychical media person to the end, so it won't kill the DVD as long as there is stubborn people like me.

[Rev. Powell]

I'll be a psychical media person to the end, so it won't kill the DVD as long as there is stubborn people like me.

I'm with you man, and so are a lot of others.  Nothing can replace that physical object that you can hold in your hand and put on a shelf.  DVDs/Blu-rays won't be going away altogether, but, they will probably become more and more of a niche thing, meaning fewer releases.

[Jack]

And shouldn't they be telling us about how streaming will make Blu rays obsolete?  Because I'm pretty sure these are the same guys that told us that Blu ray would 100% replace DVD's by now.

[claws]

Since I hardly buy DVDs anymore I couldn't care less. Regarding HD streaming:

HD on the World Wide Web/HD Streaming: Due to heavy compression, the image detail produced by these formats are far below that of broadcast HD, and often even inferior to DVD-Video (3-9 Mbit/s MP2) upscaled to the same image size.

If people rather settle for something with less quality its their own fault.

I'll stick with Blu-ray.

[FatFreddysCat]

I doubt that DVD/Blu-Ray discs (i.e. physical media) will ever totally go away, as there will always be collectors/addicts who like to own a tangible product.

If and when DVDs do go out of style, though, I'd be in my glory because I'm a bargain bin addict anyway and I eagerly await the day when everything winds up in the cut-out section!! 

[JPickettIII]

What is the "Cloud"?

[Rev. Powell]

What is the "Cloud"?

[zombie no.one]

DVD is fine for me. I've never downloaded a film, I'm not into the idea of 'streaming' a film. I don't really know what Netflix is tbh

none of this concerns me, I'm happy with my DVDs

yours,
StuckInThe2000s

[diamondwaspvenom]

For the most part, I can easily see the internet replacing our beloved discs in the near future. People these days don't want to get off their lazy asses and go on an adventure to the video store any more. No, that would require too much energy. Why get some fresh air when they can just stay in their homes and get a movie just by clicking the mouse?

I understand that I sound a little negative, but that's because my favourite store to buy movies, Metro Video, closed down because everyone these days is more into downloading. That, my friends, really p!sses me off.

When I'm discussing this situation with my peers, I always mention this: So what if you can store hundreds of films on your computer? What happens if it crashes, gets a virus, gets hacked or if the hard drive fails? What'll you do then?

[bob]

nope, but the argument can be made that it hurt it as well as helped it

I'll have the helps arugment: if someone loves something they saw streaming on Netflix like I did with Clockwork Orange they will buy it like I did with said film

[JaseSF]

I doubt it because collectors indeed will want something to hold in their hands, to know they have an hard copy of it. I hope it doesn't at least because what happens when the day comes something happens to put an end to communications technology...as a civilization, we shouldn't put so much trust into such things lasting forever.