Sure, the Xbox is obviously capable playing any HD DVD spec VC-1 content. It's really just a matter of how much bandwidth consumers have, and probably how much we want to pay for.

Are you referring to the original Xbox or the Xbox 360? Because I know it might be possible to hack the USB controller ports on the original Xbox to run the drive.

Coming soon: Movies on Flash Memory cards (http://www.news.com/Coming-soon-Movies-on-flash-memory-cards/2100-11398_3-6232651.html?part=rss&tag=2547-1_3-0-5&subj=news)
While other companies see the Internet as the answer to that question, Armstrong has another idea. PortoMedia is setting up kiosks that will let consumers download movies to a flash memory key or portable hard drive.

The kiosks will be packed with hard drives that can hold 350 to 5,000 titles. Users then plug in a memory device from the company, enter a PIN code, and buy or rent a movie. When consumers get home, they simply slide the memory device into a dock connected to a TV.

...

The company did a trial run in Dublin at the end of 2007, with plans to go live in four U.S. cities toward the beginning of the second quarter, though Armstrong declined to name the cities. Two retailers have signed on to put the company's MoviePoint kiosks in their stores.

More importantly, major studios have agreed to let the company rent standard-definition movies out of the kiosks, he said. Getting permission to build a library of high-quality content has been the bane of several would-be Blockbuster killers. Armstrong wouldn't divulge the name of the studios, but said they were major and well-known.

"We will have them (movies) the same day and date as DVD," he said. The pricing will be about the same.

...

The hardware will be sold in bundles with movies. The starter pack, which will sell for around $60, comes with a flash key, a dock, and six movies. At the high end, users can spend around $160 and get a handheld with a 1.8-inch hybrid hard drive with 240GB of storage, a fancier dock, and 12 movies.

Sixty bucks? If the dock is HD-capable, I am totally in. The only thing that would be better is if they came up with an application for PCs that would allow one to offload the movies to a PC or media server in lieu of the dock.

Blu-ray what?

Actually it might be a good idea if they did have two versions and charged a buck or so less for the 720p flavor. It would give everybody a chance to vote with their $$$'s which one they were really willing to pay for. They could even have a package deal where if you bought the 1080p version you could also get the 720p version for comparison purposes.

Some highdef movies have enough detail it would make a useful difference and some don't. Meanwhile, some displays may show that difference and others might not. So it would make a market and gather some useful statistics.

- Tom

Well put. Not only would it be great marketing but a great service all around.

Are you referring to the original Xbox or the Xbox 360? Because I know it might be possible to hack the USB controller ports on the original Xbox to run the drive.
Sorry. Yes, I meant the 360. I arrived at Microsoft around the same time as the 360, so I kind of forget there was something black called the Xbox before that :).

Home Media Magazine Report: Movie Downloads a Tough Sell

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/index.cfm

Report: Movie Downloads a Tough Sell
Author: ERIK GRUENWEDEL
egruenwedel@questex.com
Posted: March 3, 2008

Unlike short-form videos and user-generated content, the nascent market for downloading feature-length movies via Apple TV, Amazon’s Unbox, Movielink and Vudu, among others, appears to be nearly non-existent, according to a new report.

A survey of 1,975 broadband users found that fewer than 9.5% regularly downloaded movies from the Internet onto their personal computers, according to The Diffusion Group.

The Dallas-based research firm found that nearly 54% of respondents were completely unfamiliar with movie downloads and 37% were aware of movie downloads but had not downloaded them.

Delivering movies to the cell phone is not considered “sufficiently desirable” for investors looking to get into the online movie distribution, according to the report.

The report found that delivery and quality of movie content from the Internet to the TV is key to market penetration and acceptance.

In addition, just 28% of respondents considered customization and interactivity of broadband-enabled video important, compared to more than 42% who considered it unimportant.

“Online movie download services should focus first on developing a strong library of content,” said the report. “When it comes to movie rentals and purchases, the quality of content matters.”

Failure to deliver movies to the TV coupled with consumer indifference contributed to Wal-Mart shuttering its movie download service late last year. Both Google Inc. and AOL scaled back video download services as well.

Bankrupt Movie Gallery Inc. terminated its Moviebeam service less than a year after acquiring it for $10 million.

Arvind Bhatia, media analyst with Sterne Agee in Dallas, said at the time the closures underscored the reality that movie downloads didn’t make economic sense.

“People still like to browse in person,” Bhatia said. “Stores are still relevant, DVD by mail is still relevant and kiosks are becoming more relevant.”

He said it signals a “thumbs up” for packaged media at least in the near term.

“The comfort level and technology [for movie downloads] are not there yet,” Bhatia said.

I do again want to point out that Apple shipped more downloaded movies last year than Blu-Ray and HD-DVD combined. So I think there is a market. The question becomes how big of a market.

I still think VOD rental services is the best option.

Where did this stat come from? Can you provide a link?

jcg

I do again want to point out that Apple shipped more downloaded movies last year than Blu-Ray and HD-DVD combined. So I think there is a market. The question becomes how big of a market.

I still think VOD rental services is the best option.

A survey of 1,975 broadband users found that fewer than 9.5% regularly downloaded movies from the Internet onto their personal computers, according to The Diffusion Group.

“Online movie download services should focus first on developing a strong library of content,” said the report. “When it comes to movie rentals and purchases, the quality of content matters.”

Failure to deliver movies to the TV coupled with consumer indifference contributed to Wal-Mart shuttering its movie download service late last year. Both Google Inc. and AOL scaled back video download services as well.I see two main points...

1. I'm surprised 9.5% download movies to their computers. The real market is bypassing the computer and going directly to the TV such as what the Apple TV and Vudu supports.

2. Regarding content as I posted earlier short term I think it has to drive demand. Geeks are the only takers until HD goes mainstream and only having some thing they want to watch that isn't available some where else will drive a good deal of them to downloads. It certainly won't by quality at this point in time.

I have no desire to download a movie to my PC and watch it on a little 24" monitor.

I have no desire to download a movie to my PC and watch it on a little 24" monitor.

Some of us use PC's driving an HDTV in the living room, connected 24/7. That changes usage patterns quite a bit.

- Tom

Some of us use PC's driving an HDTV in the living room, connected 24/7. That changes usage patterns quite a bit.

- Tom

I used to do that between 2001 and 2004. But once I got an HDTiVo in 2004 with DirecTV and also got a stand alone scaler(I used to use a Holo3Dgraph scaler back then)I rarely used my HTPC.
Now my HTPC is relegated to mainly firmware updates for my equipment. Any HD content I can just run through my Xbox360 as a media center extender.
But I had totally forgot about the HTPC since I don't use one anymore.

Where did this stat come from? Can you provide a link?

jcg


http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2008/01/itunes_movies_o.html

iTunes Movies Outsell HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc (http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2008/01/itunes_movies_o.html)


Interesting statistical aside from the Jobs keynote on Tuesday. Apple has sold 7 million movies since (September 15, 2006), and yet that number has been more or less deemed a failure. But, thats a million more than the six million Blu-Ray Discs sold as of the end 2007 according to Home Media Research (http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006201.html), besting HD-DVD by a near 2-to-1 margin. MacDailyNews (http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/16111/) points out that iTunes Movies hit the 7 million mark after 15 months, besting the 18 months it took Blu-Ray to hit the six million mark.

http://gizmodo.com/363600/apple-tv-vs-vudu-vs-xbox-360-video-download-battlemodo

gizmodo updated their comparison shootout between vudu/appletv/xbox360. I was kinda surprised because to me the 360 looked quite a bit better than the vudu/appletv (these are screenshots though)

http://gizmodo.com/363600/apple-tv-vs-vudu-vs-xbox-360-video-download-battlemodo

gizmodo updated their comparison shootout between vudu/appletv/xbox360. I was kinda surprised because to me the 360 looked quite a bit better than the vudu/appletv (these are screenshots though)Hopefully soon they will have to add the PS3... then I might even start to use one again.

After looking over Transformers I'd say the 360 has the most detail. The Apple TV image appears far too dark (crushed blacks) and the Vudu perhaps too light. It looks like they needed to adjust contrast and brightness for all three?

Since I don't want another game console in the theater and at this point in time it doesn't appear the Vudu would be much of an upgrade I'll stick with the Apple TV.

Not too surprising to me; Xbox uses the highest bitrate of the three (6.8Mbps on Xbox, 5Mbps on Vudu and 4Mbps on AppleTV).

Once Sony releases their download service, they're going to have the market cornered. Blu ray and downloads!? Big advantage over Apply TV and Xbox, IMO.

Once Sony releases their download service, they're going to have the market cornered. Blu ray and downloads!? Big advantage over Apply TV and Xbox, IMO.


Well it sounds good in theory.


But its still comes down to: Price, Content, Quality, eas of use.


But I welcome another player in town.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2008/01/itunes_movies_o.html

Makes sense doesn't it. There are well over 100 million Ipods out there. How many BD and HD DVD players are there? Maybe 1/10 the amount of Ipods. Proportionally BD and even HD DVD sold way better than Itunes movies. Put in perspective the reality is not what the article tries to imply and it is misleading.

Apple Unable To Find Movies For Its New Rental Service

Apple has been unable to make good on its January 15 promise to have 1,000 movies available for rent at its iTunes Store by the end of February. According to MacWorld magazine, Apple is currently offering only 351 titles for rent on the site. In fact, the magazine said, if all of the films listed for either purchase or rent are added together, Apple has only 770 available for downloading. By contrast Netflix has 6,000 titles available. Meanwhile, Amazon has indicated that it is getting few takers for movies being offered on its Unbox service. It is asking customers to complete a survey asking what improvements would induce them to increase their use of Unbox.

link coming

next

http://imdb.com/news/sb/2008-03-04/

I've heard that studios don't want Apple to do with pricing for movies what they did with pricing for songs on iTunes.

I've heard that studios don't want Apple to do with pricing for movies what they did with pricing for songs on iTunes.They haven't... they charge more for "new" movie rental releases.

Makes sense doesn't it. There are well over 100 million Ipods out there. How many BD and HD DVD players are there? Maybe 1/10 the amount of Ipods. Proportionally BD and even HD DVD sold way better than Itunes movies. Put in perspective the reality is not what the article tries to imply and it is misleading.

I was just providing the requested link. The figures are what they are, and I have no interest in trying to make a point with them. I don't think the article was really misleading, but it did try to make a connection that makes no sense. Apple was selling low res copies for a portable player while Blu-ray and HD DVD were (obviously) going for HD sets.

Right now, Apple TV is going for the rental market, and it can coexist wonderfully with Blu-ray in that arena IMO.

Over 90 Million IPTV Subscribers in 2013, Says ABI Research (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080306/148590/)

ABI Research forecasts that there will be more than 90 million IPTV (Internet protocol TV) services subscribers by the end of 2013. Last year's figures, however, showed there were only 13.5 million IPTV services subscribers worldwide.

"The IPTV market as a whole is poised for strong growth," said senior analyst Cesar Bachelet. "But clearly it will be stronger in some areas than in others. ABI Research anticipates particularly substantial growth in North America and most emerging markets."

Looks like it's starting to catch some buzz...

I signed up for the beta, and am wondering if anyone has used it...Looks like all the studios are jumping in.

From today's Fortune mag:

Why YouTube should fear Hulu (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2008/03/17/104326604/)

Watch out Google. Two old-media dinosaurs, Fox and NBC Universal, have created one cool venue for their hottest shows.

(Fortune Magazine) -- When Fox and NBC Universal announced last March that they would join forces to put their TV shows online, the pundits of Silicon Valley howled with derision. Old media doesn't get the Internet, they said. Michael Arrington, the influential editor of TechCrunch, rattled off the reasons the project would never succeed and suggested that Fox and NBC quickly name their joint venture before it got stuck with the moniker insiders at Google had reportedly given it: Clown Co.

...

Whether or not that's true, the world will soon judge for itself. After one year and an estimated $15 million worth of development costs, Hulu, a video website supported by advertising, is set to debut in early March. A project that is the TV and film industries' best effort so far to carve a place for themselves in the rapidly changing world of digital media is about to have its first major screen test.

Life used to be simple for media giants like NBC (GE, Fortune 500) and Fox. They produced content, the public consumed it, and advertising and ticket sales generated gushers of profits. Today viewers have their choice of all sorts of venues - digital and analog, legal and illegal - from Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) to Netflix (NFLX) (see table). Some of the most popular videos are the ones viewers produce themselves and post for free on YouTube.

...

Fox's Chernin and NBC's Zucker had independently concluded that the TV industry needed its own website - one that would provide a convenient and legal venue for its content while capturing some of the ad dollars that were shifting online. The idea gained more urgency in the fall of '06, when Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) bought YouTube for $1.6 billion. The two began seeking industry partners; Viacom (VIA) almost joined before CEO Tom Freston was ousted in late 2006. Reluctantly, Chernin and Zucker decided to proceed alone.

Money, it turned out, was not an object for Hulu. In May, Providence Equity Partners offered a cool $100 million for a 10% stake - giving the nascent operation an astonishing valuation of $1 billion.

But the secret of Hulu's initial success - the thing that made believers out of the skeptics - is the power and simplicity of the website itself. Hulu's creators focused with almost obsessive attention to detail on the user's experience. The first thing you see when you visit Hulu is a big screen offering a TV clip with a prominent "watch now" button. You can scroll through a half-dozen of these featured offerings, browse the most popular episodes, or search shows by name - from vintage NBC series like McHale's Navy to the latest episode of Fox's The Simpsons. Hulu even lets you search for competitors' content, like ABC's Desperate Housewives. "If it's legally available anywhere on the web, we want to take you to it," says Kilar.

Much of what's right about Hulu can be traced directly to Kilar, a tech industry veteran who worked at Amazon for nine years. The first thing Kilar did when he was brought onboard as CEO last July was to declare in ways large and small his independence from his corporate parents. He promptly abandoned the palatial corner office he'd been assigned in Santa Monica for a near cubicle. "We asked ourselves, 'If we were starting this in a garage, what would we need to be successful?'"

Superb software was one answer. Kilar's first hire was friend and former Microsoft engineer Eric Feng. Together they assembled two technical teams - one in Santa Monica and the other in Beijing, where Feng had come to know some of the most talented programmers in Microsoft's Chinese research lab. It was a classic transpacific skunkworks operation. Each night the U.S. team sent specs to the team in Beijing, which had code ready for the Californians when they got back to work the next day.

The result is the elegantly transparent interface that has wowed even its biggest detractors. Greg Smith of Ogilvy & Mather says he watches more video on Hulu than TV now. "It's just simple," he says. "But TV is simple too. That's the genius of it."

Like TV, there are ads on Hulu, although the site - or any online TV service - is a long way from matching the massive revenue of broadcast television. Hulu shows only one-quarter as many ads - two minutes for every 22 minutes of content, as opposed to eight on TV. And while its ad rates are actually higher per viewer than primetime's, it has vastly fewer viewers. (On the other hand, you can't fast-forward through ads, which marketers appreciate.)

Hulu also gives viewers controls that don't appear on any TV set - controls that play into today's "mash-up" culture. For instance, Hulu lets you edit shows down to a clip as short as a few seconds - only Jay Leno's first joke, perhaps. You can e-mail a link to that clip or embed it - or the full show for that matter - directly into another website.

The drama surrounding Hulu's launch heated up last August when NBC abruptly pulled its content off the Apple iTunes store - where NBC shows like The Office and 30 Rock had accounted for 30% to 40% of iTunes' video downloads. "Apple sold millions of dollars worth of hardware off the back of our content," Zucker later complained. Zucker may yet come to terms with iTunes. Meanwhile, he's happy to showcase his hit series on Hulu and Amazon's iTunes competitor, Unbox.

Impressive as it is, Hulu will to have fight hard to stay relevant. "It will be big," says David Verklin, CEO of Carat Americas, one of the U.S.'s top five ad buyers. "But it's a transitional technology." The immediate challenge will be for Hulu to expand its offerings. In the past six months it has signed on a couple of important partners, chief among them MGM and Sony. Viacom executives hint that they may join soon, and Chernin says promising talks are underway with Time Warner.
...

From December:

High Definition Video Coming to Hulu, Samples Available (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/04/high-definition-video-coming-to-hulu-samples-available/)

Hulu, the joint online video venture between NBC and News Corp, has given private beta testers a sneak peak at the high definition video that should soon be available on the net more ubiquitously now that Flash supports the H.264 video codec.

Hulu currently provides only nine trailers in high definition as a sampler, including ones for Jumper, 27 Dresses, Hitman, American Gangster, and Definitely, Maybe. Playback requires a connection of 2,400 kbps or higher, Flash Player 9.0.115.0, and a fast computer (at least 3 GHz for PCs and 1.83 GHz for Macs).

The quality of these samples is certainly impressive. Full-screen mode looks particularly sharper with H.264 than with the current video quality offered by Hulu for the bulk of this collection. However, the video does stagger more often as it struggles to buffer in time. Of course, you can pause the video and let things preload if you have a slow connection. The screenshot below shows what high definition video on Hulu looks like for me in full-screen (unfortunately, embedding has been turned off for these samples).

No word yet on when the rest of Hulu’s collection might become available in high definition. Perhaps we should all email them demanding “I want my HD PC.”

As we’ve mentioned before, announcements like these should have competitors like Joost worried because much more high definition video will eventually find its way into the browser and not require downloadable clients or **********.

For more on Hulu, which has yet to be publicly released, check out our initial review of the service.

Edit: A rebuttal on the Fortune article...

Here Comes Hulu Mania. Again. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/08/here-comes-hulu-mania-again/)

Yeah most of these sales probably aren't HD, so you can't really compare it to BD or HD DVD. I'd like to see Apple break out the number of HD downloads they have sold for AppleTV, and that would be a fair comparison. Remember the famous quote, "There are lies, damn lies and statistics", so you always need take these articles with a grain of salt unless you truly understand how the numbers were gathered.

jcg

Makes sense doesn't it. There are well over 100 million Ipods out there. How many BD and HD DVD players are there? Maybe 1/10 the amount of Ipods. Proportionally BD and even HD DVD sold way better than Itunes movies. Put in perspective the reality is not what the article tries to imply and it is misleading.

Yeah most of these sales probably aren't HD, so you can't really compare it to BD or HD DVD. I'd like to see Apple break out the number of HD downloads they have sold for AppleTV, and that would be a fair comparison. Remember the famous quote, "There are lies, damn lies and statistics", so you always need take these articles with a grain of salt unless you truly understand how the numbers were gathered.

jcg

None of those sales were in HD because Apple does not sell HD movies and this article was before the launch of the rental service. When that article was first published, the numbers were kind of a surprise to many of us who were living the HD format war every day. They just gave a little perspective about how a "failed" product was actually selling more titles than our (pick one) beloved format.

We can debate about the validity in the comparison, but to me that's not really the point. Digital sales of low-rez titles has little to do with HD optical media sales other than possibly to give some indicators regarding the embracing of current and future technology.

Since Apple TV has brought out HD rentals and is increasing titles daily, there is a valid discussion to be had regarding how that will affect HD optical rentals and even possibly HD optical sales. Since we have NO numbers for either of these since the launch of Apple TV, there's not much to discuss.

As an HD DVD owner who is waiting for a 2.0 Blu-ray player that will support all audio codecs, I can say that my thinking is changing as I wait. As these days go by and Apple TV increases its content, I find myself feeling more and more comfortable with not only waiting for this 2.0 player, but really thinking that my entry price is going from $300-$400 down to $99-$199. After all, there's more content on Apple TV than I can watch right now, and the prospect of laying out more money for the Blu-ray experience is looking less necessary as time goes by.

Hulu: Looked it briefly but for example: Eureka (6) episodes from season 2, Futurama (4858459) clips no episodes.. you get the idea :) Quite disappointed user comments there.

From Lions Gate FISCAL 2008 THIRD QUARTER ANALYST CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT (http://investors.lionsgate.com/Presentation.asp) , Feb 12, 2008...

In addition to performing well on DVD, our January titles also performed strongly in the Blu-Ray format. Blu-Ray sales in January ’08 were approximately seven times higher than in January ’07. We have already shipped nearly as many Blu-Ray discs this calendar year, as we did in all of 2007. It is exciting to again have a true growth opportunity in home entertainment, as we expect Blu-Ray revenues to be largely incremental for the near-term.

Our library business continues to perform strongly as well. We are again on track for at least $250 million in library revenues and $90 million in free cash flow generated by our library this year, showing our margins are holding pretty well. This is the year in which we should start to see meaningful revenues from digital delivery as well. With Apple’s recent announcement of their entry into the VOD business and their introduction of a new version of the Apple TV, along with a number of other similar VOD enabled set-top boxes on the market, from Sony, XBox, TiVo, Vudu and ARCOS, broadband delivery of VOD is getting close to bridging the gap to the consumer’s living room, which is the Holy Grail in driving the broadband digital delivery business.

This is the final element that we have always needed to make digital delivery an important and financially meaningful market. It is why, as we indicated on the last call, we see our digital revenues growing from less than one percent of all home entertainment revenue in fiscal ’07 to between 10% and 15% or more by 2010.

We have always believed that digital revenue would primarily be incremental. And as we see the continued vibrancy of our traditional packaged media business going forward, it is becoming increasingly certain to us that these digital revenue streams will be accretive to our overall business and will be instrumental in adding excitement to the home entertainment market.Holy crap! :eek:

Digital delivery grows from < 1% of home entertainment revenue in 2007, to 10%-15% OR MORE in the next 2 years???

Is there some sort of paradigm shift earthquake type event that is going to happen in the next 6 months that I am unaware of? :confused:

From Lions Gate FISCAL 2008 THIRD QUARTER ANALYST CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT (http://investors.lionsgate.com/Presentation.asp) , Feb 12, 2008...

Holy crap! :eek:

Digital delivery grows from < 1% of home entertainment revenue in 2007, to 10%-15% OR MORE in the next 2 years???

Is there some sort of paradigm shift earthquake type event that is going to happen in the next 6 months that I am unaware of? :confused:

Same old song and dance, nothing new. Remember that the CEOs of all those hedge funds that thought they'd make a killing on derivatives, now they've lost billions and maybe up to $1 trillion. Its called the Hazy Crystal Ball theorem. Predicting growth 2-5 years down the road is always sketchy, even moreso with revolutionary products which might stagnate in the marketplace.

Same old song and dance, nothing new. Remember that the CEOs of all those hedge funds that thought they'd make a killing on derivatives, now they've lost billions and maybe up to $1 trillion. Its called the Hazy Crystal Ball theorem. Predicting growth 2-5 years down the road is always sketchy, even moreso with revolutionary products which might stagnate in the marketplace.Steve Beeks, President & Co-Chief Operating Officer of Lions Gate Entertainment is talking to investors, not the usual BS for the press. Steve is the same guy that announced Lions Gate's joining the BDA back in July 2005 (http://www.digitaltvdesignline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=169300284).

If anything he should be playing down digital distribution. BDA studio head says digital distribution going through the roof in the next two years. Wow.

BTW, it's not 2-5 years - it's 15% in 2 years. Which means it will have to start this year.

And it has already. VOD is being pushed by everyone. Especially providers like Comcast who has been making a big push recently with On Demand.

And it has already. VOD is being pushed by everyone. Especially providers like Comcast who has been making a big push recently with On Demand.He is differentiating here between broadband delivery of movies and traditional VOD.

Cable delivered VOD contributes far larger revenues than 1%. From elsewhere in the conference call:

As we mentioned before, in the last call, we’re seeing VOD/Pay-Per-View revenues really jump up in the last year, to the point where they’re contributing between 10% and 15% of box office, depending on the picture. We would expect that to continue and I think you’re going to see that grow even further, especially this year, since you’re really going to have true broadband delivered VOD become a reality this calendar year.

He is differentiating here between broadband delivery of movies and traditional VOD.

Cable delivered VOD contributes far larger revenues than 1%. From elsewhere in the conference call:

If by broadband delivery, they mean IPTV based delivery, FIOS has been doing this since last year. I got HD VOD at the beginning of this year (already had IPTV SD VOD), and I can say that although the quality does not equal HDM (especially on the sound), it is close enough to compete well. I see no pixelation even on difficult scenes, the sound is 5.1, so it can compete with equivalent HDM platforms (note I didn't say it equals it, just that it is in the same ballpark in my observation).

This may not be the best place for this inquiry but maybe someone can steer me in the right direction.

Last night I rented Michael Clayton from Dish's On Demand library. The movie, which was filmed in a 2.35:1 format was displayed in something that looks like 4.3:1 with large black bars on the sides of the picture. The movie was downloaded on my dish VIP622 and displayed on an Epson Home 1080 projector. I am trying to understand why the picture was displayed in the smaller aspect ratio. Is this dish (In which case I won't rent any more of their movies) or is it the receiver? During the picture the format control (which usually affects the display) did not have any effect. The format control on the projector does not work if the projector is receiving an HDMI signal so that did not work either. I did notice (which everyone here probably knows) that there are about 15 movies which can be downloaded via satillite (which is how I rented Michael Clayton) and another 400 movies which can be rented if you have an internet connection.

Thanks for any help or direction where to look.

Ray

I keep looking for movies released in 2007 or newer that are available on Apple TV (or other services) that aren't available via Blu-ray (or HD DVD). Of their current 125 HD titles on Apple TV the only ones that might fit are Captivity, Wrong Turn 2 and Comebacks?

I noticed that these are available for rent at Amazon (via SD). So it appears the HD downloads are starting to break away from what's just on Blu-ray and reflect what the studios are apparently willing to rent.

I'm curious to see how far downloads can break away from HD media and generate their own content. It should be interesting to see where both markets are at this time next year.

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of downloads. I mean it's a great way to release movies if the release isn't economically viable on DVD or Blu ray. Movies like The Pack and Blood Beach could just be put out there, the studios are bound to make money.

I saw Slaughter High on Comcast VOD a few months ago. This movie never got DVD release and maybe never will because only one or two people would actually buy it.

This may not be the best place for this inquiry but maybe someone can steer me in the right direction.

Last night I rented Michael Clayton from Dish's On Demand library. The movie, which was filmed in a 2.35:1 format was displayed in something that looks like 4.3:1 with large black bars on the sides of the picture. The movie was downloaded on my dish VIP622 and displayed on an Epson Home 1080 projector. I am trying to understand why the picture was displayed in the smaller aspect ratio. Is this dish (In which case I won't rent any more of their movies) or is it the receiver? During the picture the format control (which usually affects the display) did not have any effect. The format control on the projector does not work if the projector is receiving an HDMI signal so that did not work either. I did notice (which everyone here probably knows) that there are about 15 movies which can be downloaded via satillite (which is how I rented Michael Clayton) and another 400 movies which can be rented if you have an internet connection.

Thanks for any help or direction where to look.

Ray

Was this an HD rental? Not knowing the equipment involved, it's just a guess, but it's possible you got SD letterboxed and then your projector pillarboxed it.

This may not be the best place for this inquiry but maybe someone can steer me in the right direction.

Last night I rented Michael Clayton from Dish's On Demand library. The movie, which was filmed in a 2.35:1 format was displayed in something that looks like 4.3:1 with large black bars on the sides of the picture. The movie was downloaded on my dish VIP622 and displayed on an Epson Home 1080 projector. I am trying to understand why the picture was displayed in the smaller aspect ratio. Is this dish (In which case I won't rent any more of their movies) or is it the receiver? During the picture the format control (which usually affects the display) did not have any effect. The format control on the projector does not work if the projector is receiving an HDMI signal so that did not work either.

Thanks for any help or direction where to look.

Ray

Was this an HD rental? Not knowing the equipment involved, it's just a guess, but it's possible you got SD letterboxed and then your projector pillarboxed it.

Interesting, that the dish description does not indicate whether it is HD or SD. However, the projector shows it to be 1920X1080 interlaced. My eyes also tell me it is HD. I am thinking that I needed to change some setting on the 622 but I can't figure out what setting. HD TV programs display in 16X9 properly. HD and Bluray disks also display as expected.
Ray

Heres what I want...day and date of new releases for PPV Or VOD So, I can sit at home and watch it on my 106inch screen.....I am ok with it being low bitrate now, but I think the future is bright for these services....I would rather be able to watch any title I want at the touch of a button rather than having a library of movies where 95% of them blow and are only used to show off my equipment....


BTW, the movie "Michael Clayton" was on DI$H HD PPV the day it came out on BD and because I know that a film like that will have a less than stellar (grain, directors intent) PQ compared to "Chicken Little" there was no reason to buy it....

Interesting, that the dish description does not indicate whether it is HD or SD. However, the projector shows it to be 1920X1080 interlaced. My eyes also tell me it is HD. I am thinking that I needed to change some setting on the 622 but I can't figure out what setting. HD TV programs display in 16X9 properly. HD and Bluray disks also display as expected.
Ray

If you DL this title it was not HD but you could buy the all day HD rental and pick a time to record it and watch it anytime....my rental is still on my box after 3 weeks....:)

If you DL this title it was not HD but you could buy the all day HD rental and pick a time to record it and watch it anytime....my rental is still on my box after 3 weeks....:)

True if I wanted to watch it again. But my question is why did it display as an apparent 4:3 which was not native aspect ratio. Maybe I don't understand aspect ratio's but I don't see many (if any) movies on Dish that are not wide screen or 16:9

Thanks
Ray

True if I wanted to watch it again. But my question is why did it display as an apparent 4:3 which was not native aspect ratio. Maybe I don't understand aspect ratio's but I don't see many (if any) movies on Dish that are not wide screen or 16:9

Thanks
Ray

What is your set up?

Display type?


reciever....post your set up and connection method and then maybe we can get to the bottom of it...:)

What is your set up?

Display type?


reciever....post your set up and connection method and then maybe we can get to the bottom of it...:)

System is VIP622 connected via HDMI to Marantz 7001 which is connected via HDMI to an Epson home cinema 1080.

Movies on the premium channels display correctly, both HD and SD. For SD movies on the premium channels the format button will change the display, normal, zoom, stretch etc. For HD movies from the premium channels the format button will show grey bars on the side if you wish (don't know why anyone would do that) but all other settings (zoom, stretch etc.) all display the picture is a 16:9 format. When viewing Michael Clayton downloaded from the On Demand library the only display which was allowed was with black bars on the sides. The format button had no affect on the display. The download site does not indicate whether the movie will be HD or SD but the projector showed HD in the info screen.

Thanks again
Ray

System is VIP622 connected via HDMI to Marantz 7001 which is connected via HDMI to an Epson home cinema 1080.

Movies on the premium channels display correctly, both HD and SD. For SD movies on the premium channels the format button will change the display, normal, zoom, stretch etc. For HD movies from the premium channels the format button will show grey bars on the side if you wish (don't know why anyone would do that) but all other settings (zoom, stretch etc.) all display the picture is a 16:9 format. When viewing Michael Clayton downloaded from the On Demand library the only display which was allowed was with black bars on the sides. The format button had no affect on the display. The download site does not indicate whether the movie will be HD or SD but the projector showed HD in the info screen.

Thanks again
Ray

Your display probably reads 1920x1080 as that is what the dish 622 is out putting and to test this change your hdtv settings from 1080i to 720p and if I am right you will see 720p as your output when you watch Michael Clayton. The movie you DL was in the 4:3 format but your dish box still outputs 1080i.:)

Your display probably reads 1920x1080 as that is what the dish 622 is out putting and to test this change your hdtv settings from 1080i to 720p and if I am right you will see 720p as your output when you watch Michael Clayton. The movie you DL was in the 4:3 format but your dish box still outputs 1080i.:)

Yes the display showed a resolution of 1920X1080i. I guess if dish broadcasts widescreen movies in 4:3 format I will not be using their On Demand service. Oh well, that's disappointing. Dish's advanced technical support didn't have a clue and finally said they couldn't help me.

Thanks
Ray

How about if you buy the BD it comes with a certificate to download the movie in SD on PS3, apple tv, etc., like the Matrix came with a warrant to download animatrix off Xbox live?

Hulu goes Live...

www.hulu.com

How about if you buy the BD it comes with a certificate to download the movie in SD on PS3, apple tv, etc., like the Matrix came with a warrant to download animatrix off Xbox live?

I have a fox bd that does that now: Hitman.

This may be a great way to rent HD content.

Linkity-Link (http://tech.msn.com/news/articlecnet.aspx?cp-documentid=6416398&icid=6416398&GT1=40000)

A standard-definition movie can be loaded onto a memory device in eight to 60 seconds, depending on the length and chip speed. High-definition movies, which won't be available initially on the service, can be downloaded in 18 to 45 seconds.

Hmm, so an HD movie will possibly download 15 seconds faster than SD? Me thinks someone's math is off...

Yes, the answer is here?

Netflix and the like still seem more convenient than this method.

Netflix and the like still seem more convenient than this method.

Definitely, but in the way that sitting at home for weeks while the movie sits in a "Very Long Wait" status is more convenient than having to pry your butt off the couch and go to a kiosk where the movie would be "guaranteed in stock" (so-to-speak).

IMO, Netflix is ok for older movies or ones that have been out awhile, but for anything new, it's a pain and a crapshoot as to whether or not you'll get it.

How long do you think it would take before someone hacks that kiosk? Or breaks in and steals the hard drives to make the movies available on the internets?

How long do you think it would take before someone hacks that kiosk? Or breaks in and steals the hard drives to make the movies available on the internets?

I can't imagine it would matter. Most movies are available on the internet long before their public release anyway.

How long do you think it would take before someone hacks that kiosk? Or breaks in and steals the hard drives to make the movies available on the internets?

I can't imagine it would matter. Most movies are available on the internet long before their public release anyway.

Ya, I could see it now, Joe and Billy hold up a store in order to steal some Hard Drives and later find out they could have just downloaded the movies from the internets with a torrent...

I think the are going to put most of the kiosk inside stores like 7-11, so theft shouldn't be an issue. I like this as a supplement to Netflix when you don't want to wait for a new release.

Hulu goes Live...

www.hulu.com

Any HD content?

Hulu goes Live...

www.hulu.com
I've been on since it went public the other day.

I have tried nearly all the services, and I will say this is the first one to finally get it right!

The quality is near or at dvd quality (no hd yet, except some trailers).
The adverts are minimal and not intrusive at all.
The catalog is decent to start with, though they'll need to add more quickly if they want to take off. Several of my favorite shows are there, though not always all the episodes/seasons (yet).
No surround sound though.

I will never be able to afford all the dvd's for all the shows I like, so I am more than willing to watch a few adverts to get it free. Funny, I saw a popup add for Chili's restaurant like 10 times over several hours. It was the only advert I saw the first day. That night... I went to Chili's. I think this kind of advertising is more effective. Instead of 10 commercials I ignore on live tv, one commercial repeated every once in a while. And it worked. Networks should take notes here. This is the way it should be done. And with say, a survey every now and then they could target the adds even more effectively. I'm 26 and into tech: an advert for say, Martha Stewarts kitchenware collection is wasted on me. But an advert for a new videogame or for the latest ipod or something would be a much more effective use of advert money.

Overall, I give Hulu two thumbs up, provided more content gets added quickly.

if they but this in a supermarket, it's a no brainer. if you have kids, you practically live in a supermarket.

Is this the digital download forum?:confused:

Is this the digital download forum?:confused:

No it is the HDTV software media forum not disc forum exclusively.

When consumers get home, they simply slide the memory device into a dock connected to a TV.

How much is this device? That means getting hundreds of thousands of these devices into homes first...the main barrier. Remember the DVD's that had a chemical release that would release after 48 hours so you didn't have to return the discs? That went over well, too and didn't require any additional purchase.

No it is the HDTV software media forum not disc forum exclusively.

Thats funny. My browser must be screwy. Does FireFox have that many bugs?

Because, when I come here, it says

AVS Forum > Blu-ray & HD DVD Areas > HDTV Software Media Discussion
Should I switch to Opera or IE7?:confused::rolleyes:

Thats funny. My browser must be screwy. Does FireFox have that many bugs?

Because, when I come here, it says

AVS Forum > Blu-ray & HD DVD Areas > HDTV Software Media Discussion
Should I switch to Opera or IE7?:confused::rolleyes:

But new type of video source media or player like flash memory or network download, etc which does not fit to well to existing category like DVD, HDM, PVR, HTPC etc, has been discussed this forum. So it fits here.

Now the HD-DVD is gone, so I'd like to have separate forum for Digital download and flash memory and other non-disc based new media as broadly -termed "emerging technology" section, which will embrace all the new technology that does not fit existing categories.

Thought this might be interesting for folks wondering about where quality can go with downloads - it's a 720p movie trailer in 2 Mbps total audio/video, playing back via Silverlight.

Blog below contains a description of how I encoded it (using the public beta of the new Expression Encoder 2) and the embedded clip:

http://www.on10.net/blogs/benwagg/21587/

Now, the bitrate is a bit lower than I'd want to go for full purchased/rented VOD content today, but I think it holds up surprisingly well for HD at less than half typical DVD bitrate, and with some pretty high complexity content to boot.

Major Korean TV manufacturer, Samsung Elec. and LG Elec. already announced that their new TV model for 2008 will include "USB flash memory movie" feature.

Their old HDTV model had USB port and you can view JPEG picture on USB flash memory via the port, but it was rather slow and had no codec to play DivX movie.
New announced TV model (planned in March - June) will be equipped with fast USB 2.0 port and quotes DivX, XviD and H.264 codec features right in the HDTV itself. This USB movie uses conventional / commodity USB flash memory stick and does not require any special format or interface or DRM. I don't know information on HD support or supported resolution/bit rate.

If flash movie kiosk mentioned above supports slow conventional USB flash stick or the their special ultra-fast USB memory can be read by conventional USB 2.0 port and it is not tainted with special format or DRM, the kiosk flash movie may be viewed on new Samsung / LG HDTV.

How much is this device? That means getting hundreds of thousands of these devices into homes first...the main barrier. Remember the DVD's that had a chemical release that would release after 48 hours so you didn't have to return the discs? That went over well, too and didn't require any additional purchase.

The cost is right in the article, I know if it doesn't say PS3 is the bomb in the first sentence then most of you already hate the tech and won't read it. This is what the article says about pricing.

"The hardware will be sold in bundles with movies. The starter pack, which will sell for around $60, comes with a flash key, a dock, and six movies. At the high end, users can spend around $160 and get a handheld with a 1.8-inch hybrid hard drive with 240GB of storage, a fancier dock, and 12 movies."

Doesn't Xbox Live already show what can be done at a low bitrate? And with results like the Silverlight demo Xblox live quality should get even better. Doesn't Xbox live use around 5 to 7mbs for their downloads at 720P?
I know my VUDU box uses AVC at around 4mbs for 1080P. I wish they were using VC1 since it seems like there has been more effort behind improving VC1 since MS is behind it.

Could any HD-DVD player use the USB port to watch these flash drive films? I am guessing it would only take a simple firmware upgrade.

Thats funny. My browser must be screwy. Does FireFox have that many bugs?

Because, when I come here, it says

AVS Forum > Blu-ray & HD DVD Areas > HDTV Software Media Discussion
Should I switch to Opera or IE7?:confused::rolleyes:

Actually, now that HD DVD is dead it has become the "Blu-ray and stuff anti Sony/BDA people want to kill Blu-ray" forums...

Actually, now that HD DVD is dead it has become the "Blu-ray and stuff anti Sony/BDA people want to kill Blu-ray" forums...

Too true.

AVS Doom and Gloom Message Board :D

Actually, now that HD DVD is dead it has become the "Blu-ray and stuff anti Sony/BDA people want to kill Blu-ray" forums...

Where do you see that in my original post? I don't think this is going to "kill" anything but may be a way to supplement your Netflix account when you can't wait a month for a new release to be available. So please elaborate on your statemnet so I can see where you are coming from.

The cost is right in the article, I know if it doesn't say PS3 is the bomb in the first sentence then most of you already hate the tech and won't read it. This is what the article says about pricing.

"The hardware will be sold in bundles with movies. The starter pack, which will sell for around $60, comes with a flash key, a dock, and six movies. At the high end, users can spend around $160 and get a handheld with a 1.8-inch hybrid hard drive with 240GB of storage, a fancier dock, and 12 movies."


I saw the second page after my post. $60-$160 for a device in which I can only playback movies rented through their Kiosk? Sounds a lot like Netpliance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TippingPoint). I knew several people that worked there and still own their useless equipment....pass.

Lots of defensive bickering already in this thread.

Where does this service say it is for HD?

Where does this service say it is for HD?

"High-definition movies, which won't be available initially on the service, can be downloaded in 18 to 45 seconds."

Major Korean TV manufacturer, Samsung Elec. and LG Elec. already announced that their new TV model for 2008 will include "USB flash memory movie" feature.

Their old HDTV model had USB port and you can view JPEG picture on USB flash memory via the port, but it was rather slow and had no codec to play DivX movie.
New announced TV model (planned in March - June) will be equipped with fast USB 2.0 port and quotes DivX, XviD and H.264 codec features right in the HDTV itself. This USB movie uses conventional / commodity USB flash memory stick and does not require any special format or interface or DRM. I don't know information on HD support or supported resolution/bit rate.

If flash movie kiosk mentioned above supports slow conventional USB flash stick or the their special ultra-fast USB memory can be read by conventional USB 2.0 port and it is not tainted with special format or DRM, the kiosk flash movie may be viewed on new Samsung / LG HDTV.

I could be wrong but my Sony A3000 has a USB port. You have to buy this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RFURG0?ie=UTF8&tag=smartebizsolu-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000RFURG0

and then you can view video over your broadband connection.

I wonder if it could do HD?

Doesn't Xbox Live already show what can be done at a low bitrate? And with results like the Silverlight demo Xblox live quality should get even better. Doesn't Xbox live use around 5 to 7mbs for their downloads at 720P?
It's 6 Mbps video for all the 720p content last I checked. So this is a little less than a third of that (mine is 2 Mbps total, of which about 1870 is video).

Let's talk some practical applications.

The article says the demonstration included a transfer of Spiderman onto an iPod Touch in six seconds.

They're claiming 95Mb per second transfer rate, so if we do the math, the maximum file sizes involved here are:

SD movie: 8-60 seconds
95MB to 712.5MB

HD movie: 18-45 seconds
214MB to 534MB

By comparison, DVD stores 4700 MB for single layer and 8500 MB for dual layer.

Single layer Blu-ray disc stores 25000 MB for single layer and 50000 MB for dual layer.

Somehow, I don't think the PQ on these digital copies is going to impress, when a Blu-ray disc can potentially hold 100 times the amount of data.

Talking of Practical applications -

High defination MKV files are on average 1.1gb for 40mins of footage in High Def translate to a film at approx 3 hours = 4.5gb

For copy times using USB 2.0 try this calculator:

http://web.forret.com/tools/filesize.asp?speed=95&unit=Mbps&dur=60

7 minutes will give you 5gb (not allowing for the initial burst speed when the transfer begins)

Now a few disclaimers:
1. MKV decoding requires a decent processor
2. Quality (in my own opinion) is compareable to both HD DVD's and Blu-Rays I have seen
3. Yes I was a HD DVDer however I am not trying to say Blu-Ray will die because of this etc

As an addendum to the above, an iPod Touch has a native resolution of 480x320; half the pixels of a 480p signal, so I can totally see transferring such a file in 6 seconds across USB 2.0.

MKV is not a compression codec. It is a container format, much the same way that .AVI is. The internals of an MKV stream are typically MPEG4 or Xvid or something similar, and as such are not superior in any way to the compression obtainable on Blu-ray or HD DVD.

A 720p MKV container will look pretty good as long as the compression is handled correctly. Certainly better than a DVD, and nearly as good as an equally well-authored Blu-ray.

The real issue here is that it requires people to buy additional hardware; true, said hardware isn't terribly expensive, but the product is quite likely to be DRM'd into the ground, and getting people aware of the product, let alone any sort of buy-in, is going to be tough with any form of rental model.

I think what has hampered almost all downloadable content rental models (regardless of method of delivery) is the impermanence of supply. With Netflix or Blockbuster, you know that, no matter when you decide to rent something, as long as the physical disc survives in their inventory, you will continue to have access. Not that, as a renter, you would necessarily want or need that title to be there, but it is a warm fuzzy security blanket that overarches the purchasing decision.

Even better yet.Why not just set up a net site where people can download the movies directly onto the USB devices via their pc.You wouldn't need to worry about the time it takes to transfer to the USB device because people could do so in their own homes in their own time instead of standing at a kiosk couting backwards the time it takes to load up their selection(s).

It IS a good idea but definitely needs a little fleshing out.

Even better yet.Why not just set up a net site where people can download the movies directly onto the USB devices via their pc.You wouldn't need to worry about the time it takes to transfer to the USB device because people could do so in their own homes in their own time instead of standing at a kiosk couting backwards the time it takes to load up their selection(s).

It IS a good idea but definitely needs a little fleshing out.

They addressed the problem with internet distribution in the article. The other problem with internet distribution is exposure, with an in-store system people will see the kiosks and the hardware will be available right there on the shelf near the kiosks, for something like this to become popular it needs mass exposure. I'm guessing that if the docks aren't selling well at $60 with the included movie bundle, that they will start giving the docks away to create a user base.

I'm guessing that if the docks aren't selling well at $60 with the included movie bundle, that they will start giving the docks away to create a user base.
Are people really going to buy another piece of specialized hardware just so they can rent a movie, though? Sure, I guess you could buy, but I see absolutely no advantage to buying a copy of a movie in this way as opposed to a relatively permanent physical disc (either DVD or Blu-ray).

Just encase anyone is wondering Apple TV now (as of today) offers 151 titles in HD. Most of the new releases appear to be a mixture of old and new movies such as...

2 Days in Paris
August Rush
Martian Child
Nancy Drew (2007)
Stardust

A Streetcar Named Desire
Shattered Glass
The Shootist
The Singing Detective
Who's That Girl

With 25 new titles this week does anyone have a guess when the number of Apple TVs titles will out number Blu-ray titles? At the current rate by Fall or perhaps even earlier?

That puts them past VUDU. VUDU had 111 HD titles the last time I checked.

That puts them past VUDU. VUDU had 111 HD titles the last time I checked.Vudu had a nice write-up in our local paper today. However they did fail to mention they offer HD rentals which they clearly covered with the Apple TV.

Just encase anyone is wondering Apple TV now (as of today) offers 151 titles in HD. Most of the new releases appear to be a mixture of old and new movies such as...

2 Days in Paris
August Rush
Martian Child
Nancy Drew (2007)
Stardust

A Streetcar Named Desire
Shattered Glass
The Shootist
The Singing Detective
Who's That Girl

With 25 new titles this week does anyone have a guess when the number of Apple TVs titles will out number Blu-ray titles? At the current rate by Fall or perhaps even earlier?

Is this content full HD?

Are people really going to buy another piece of specialized hardware just so they can rent a movie, though? Sure, I guess you could buy, but I see absolutely no advantage to buying a copy of a movie in this way as opposed to a relatively permanent physical disc (either DVD or Blu-ray).

That's why i'm saying they'll probably start giving the docks away as a pathway for people to use the service. If the quality of the content is good enough, then this solution would alleviate a big problem associated with traditional disc rentals services, long queue wait times and b&m rental stores being all out of discs.

Is this content full HD?

I'll play. What is full HD?

I'll play. What is full HD?

Actually I won't play. Please keep this conversation out of this thread. If it goes down that path, it might end up getting closed. Can't imagine anyone would want that.

Thought this might be interesting for folks wondering about where quality can go with downloads - it's a 720p movie trailer in 2 Mbps total audio/video, playing back via Silverlight.

Blog below contains a description of how I encoded it (using the public beta of the new Expression Encoder 2) and the embedded clip:

http://www.on10.net/blogs/benwagg/21587/

Now, the bitrate is a bit lower than I'd want to go for full purchased/rented VOD content today, but I think it holds up surprisingly well for HD at less than half typical DVD bitrate, and with some pretty high complexity content to boot.
just wondering but ive been playing some with the beta some and im kinda sad to see 5.1 audio still isnt an option with the encoder. is there some recommended way to use the new encoder with 5.1 audio? ive read you can use other programs to get 5.1 audio to work but id rather not have to use multiple programs just to get multichannel audio.

im trying to convert some hd clips ive recorded over the years to conserve space but there isnt a whole lot of usefulness w/o 5.1 audio.

Actually I won't play. Please keep this conversation out of this thread. If it goes down that path, it might end up getting closed. Can't imagine anyone would want that.

Is it full HD compared to VUDU? If I remember correctly Appletv1.0 was not full 1080p HD, so I'm asking is Appletv2.0 full HD? If not I'll probably just bypass altogether and look at VUDU. Or, fingers crossed, Netflix will start streaming HD through PS3 or 360 sooner rather than later.

Is this content full HD?It's some form of 720p scaled to your display setting (up to 1080p). The point is for me whether or not there begins to be a lot of HD content that is only available via downloads. At that point it doesn't matter if it looks as good as Blu-ray or you are willing to wait a month for Netflix to send you the movie.

It will be the only game in town if you want to see their exclusive content. Regarding its fullness at both 55 and 110 inch the six or so movies I have watched don't jump out at you as ugly.

Tonight I watched 2 Days in Paris and it was kind of funny. Most of the movie had the typically movie look (versus film) and during two parts they showed a ton of digital photos one of the characters shot full screen and the image of each shot was much sharper than the movie itself... it looked like they had switched to video. I guess my point is the transfer itself might well come into play more so then how it was encoded.

Is this really any different than what Redbox is doing? Wife and I got two rentals lastnight for 2 bucks. The difference of course is the medium it is delivered on.

This belongs in the "Video Download Services Master Thread"

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=874782

Is this really any different than what Redbox is doing? Wife and I got two rentals lastnight for 2 bucks. The difference of course is the medium it is delivered on.

Redbox can run out of discs just like the video store.

Actually I won't play. Please keep this conversation out of this thread. If it goes down that path, it might end up getting closed. Can't imagine anyone would want that.
I don't see what that would have to be a contentious issue, as long as people discuss politely.

I'd say that 720p24 is certainly HD, but one could define "full HD" as any of:

720p50
720p60
1080i25
1080i30
1080p24
1080p25

For today's content, displays, and bandwidth, 720p24 is a perfectly reasonable compromise. Most consumers wouldn't be willing to wait, or pay for enough bits to deliver full 1080p24. But improving bandwidth and codecs means we'll be there in a very small number of years.

Is it full HD compared to VUDU? If I remember correctly Appletv1.0 was not full 1080p HD, so I'm asking is Appletv2.0 full HD? If not I'll probably just bypass altogether and look at VUDU. Or, fingers crossed, Netflix will start streaming HD through PS3 or 360 sooner rather than later.

Can we really throw around terms like "full HD" for Vudu when it is delivering just 5 Mbps of data?

Which is the best "compromise HD": Vudu's 1080p @ 5 Mbps, or Xbox's 720p VC-1 @ 6.8 Mbps?

I'm assuming the AppleTV loses to both since it uses only 4 Mbps.

Can we really throw around terms like "full HD" for Vudu when it is delivering just 5 Mbps of data?

Which is the best "compromise HD": Vudu's 1080p @ 5 Mbps, or Xbox's 720p VC-1 @ 6.8 Mbps?

...

For any mildly difficult material my money would bet on the 720p @ 6.8 Mbps quality to win most always.

- Tom

For any mildly difficult material my money would bet on the 720p @ 6.8 Mbps quality to win most always.

- Tom

Of course one would expect the higher bitrate to win. The problem with all of the conversation around bitrates and total movie size is that it makes it difficult to objectively judge anything.

Within the realm of all things HD, there are varying levels of quality at all bitrates and capacities. That's why the term full HD makes little sense to me. There is great 1080P and there is less than great 1080P. There is great 720p and there is less than great 720p. My experience with Apple TV is that the quality is certainly, dare I say, good enough to enjoy a movie beyond the SD DVD experience.

If these services continue to increase selection at the rate Apple TV has over the last few weeks, there will be a tremendous opportunity for on demand viewing of a wide variety of HD movies, a selection that will surpass any HD rental or purchase option. With that being the case, this service will continue to be one of my avenues for home entertainment for quite some time.

Of course one would expect the higher bitrate to win. The problem with all of the conversation around bitrates and total movie size is that it makes it difficult to objectively judge anything.

Within the realm of all things HD, there are varying levels of quality at all bitrates and capacities. That's why the term full HD makes little sense to me. There is great 1080P and there is less than great 1080P. There is great 720p and there is less than great 720p. My experience with Apple TV is that the quality is certainly, dare I say, good enough to enjoy a movie beyond the SD DVD experience.

If these services continue to increase selection at the rate Apple TV has over the last few weeks, there will be a tremendous opportunity for on demand viewing of a wide variety of HD movies, a selection that will surpass any HD rental or purchase option. With that being the case, this service will continue to be one of my avenues for home entertainment for quite some time.

Out of curiosity would you rather have master-quality 480p or lossy (say, BD) 1080p?

Of course one would expect the higher bitrate to win. The problem with all of the conversation around bitrates and total movie size is that it makes it difficult to objectively judge anything.

Within the realm of all things HD, there are varying levels of quality at all bitrates and capacities. That's why the term full HD makes little sense to me. There is great 1080P and there is less than great 1080P. There is great 720p and there is less than great 720p. My experience with Apple TV is that the quality is certainly, dare I say, good enough to enjoy a movie beyond the SD DVD experience.
This is good wisdom.

Really, the only decent way to compare the services is to take the same show from all three, and watch it on the same good 1080p display.

Also calibrated for each VOD device.

Say, there's been quite a lot of interest in the details of compression around here.

If anyone's interested, I'm teaching a couple of compression seminars open to the public over the next few months:

http://on10.net/blogs/benwagg/21622/

Out of curiosity would you rather have master-quality 480p or lossy (say, BD) 1080p?

How can you have master quality of a film source at 480p?

How can you have master quality of a film source at 480p?
I think his point is that a mildly compressed 1080p can exceed a lossless 480p, which is quite true.

There's an optimal frame size range for any given combination of bitrate, content, and codec implementation where greater frame size starts losing more in increased artifacts for what it gains in resolution, and below which you lose more in reduced resolution than you gain in reduced artifacts.

I think his point is that a mildly compressed 1080p can exceed a lossless 480p, which is quite true.

There's an optimal frame size range for any given combination of bitrate, content, and codec implementation where greater frame size starts losing more in increased artifacts for what it gains in resolution, and below which you lose more in reduced resolution than you gain in reduced artifacts.

If that's his point, I'd prefer he just come out and say it. Of course that is true. My point was that the experience is in the viewing and not in the specs. Downloads are not at Blu-ray quality right now. If we can just let that go, then we can discuss the value of downloads as an option.

As for the question of compression vs. resolution, I certainly prefer 480p DVD over much of the 1080i I have seen on cable and DirectTV over the years. Since Apple TV's quality at 720p to my eyes clearly exceeds much of what is on cable due to little to no visible artifacts, this is a case were less resolution delivers greater quality.

As I stated earlier, once quality reaches an acceptable level, it becomes only part of the equation as I consider entertainment choices. Variety of content, availability, and value also come in to play. Just because the download is not the best available quality does not mean it's not a viable option. It'll be interesting to see where we are in a year from now regarding quality and variety of downloads. As for me, I'm pleased with what Apple TV has added to my entertainment options.

If that's his point, I'd prefer he just come out and say it. Of course that is true. My point was that the experience is in the viewing and not in the specs. Downloads are not at Blu-ray quality right now. If we can just let that go, then we can discuss the value of downloads as an option.

As for the question of compression vs. resolution, I certainly prefer 480p DVD over much of the 1080i I have seen on cable and DirectTV over the years. Since Apple TV's quality at 720p to my eyes clearly exceeds much of what is on cable due to little to no visible artifacts, this is a case were less resolution delivers greater quality.

As I stated earlier, once quality reaches an acceptable level, it becomes only part of the equation as I consider entertainment choices. Variety of content, availability, and value also come in to play. Just because the download is not the best available quality does not mean it's not a viable option. It'll be interesting to see where we are in a year from now regarding quality and variety of downloads. As for me, I'm pleased with what Apple TV has added to my entertainment options.

I would much rather have fantastic 720p than mediocre 1080i or p. I think VOD quality 1080i/p is pretty much ok by my standards for rentals, but certainly not something I'd pay more than $5 to own.

I would much rather have fantastic 720p than mediocre 1080i or p. I think VOD quality 1080i/p is pretty much ok by my standards for rentals, but certainly not something I'd pay more than $5 to own.

For my purposes, storage and networking are not where they need to be for storing digital purchases long term. I look at downloading as a rental model, and it meets my needs quite well for that.

As for the future, having been through VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, and HD DVD purchasing, I'm realizing that I will be better served by having a large variety of movies available on a PPV basis. That way, I can watch what I want when I want but will not have to lay out money to own a disc that I'll likely not watch more than twice if lucky. Also, if (when) formats change, all I'll need is updated hardware to access the updated content.

My only real issue with the current situation is the 24 hour window. I really don't understand why studios want this when we can rent from Netflix an unlimited amount of time and other rental services are at least 3 days. Who's hurt if we have access for 36-72 hours after first viewing?

I believe 24-hour is inherited frm the old cable PPV model.

I agree even 30 hours would be a nice improvement

Is there any place that we can download HD music videos? Even SD music videos?

I believe 24-hour is inherited frm the old cable PPV model.

I agree even 30 hours would be a nice improvement

It's more than nice Ben, It's absolutely necessary for those of us who get interupted and have to finish a movie the following evening.;)
I won't be renting any downloads limited to 24 hours and I would be happy with the service otherwise.

Is there any place that we can download HD music videos? Even SD music videos?

TivoHD has Music Choice video Downloads (SD Only)

These are available for free

Is there any place that we can download HD music videos? Even SD music videos?
Xbox Live Marketplace has music videos, some in HD.

I don't think either is HD compatible. Do you have a tutorial guide of XBML?

XBLM is absolutely "HD compatible"; if you had read anything in this forum you'd know that.

Another DRM issue.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080422-drm-sucks-redux-microsoft-to-nuke-msn-music-drm-keys.html

Related to this is what happens when a company decides to upgrade its DRM algorithm and abandons the old one. There doesn't seem to be any commitment to ensure that the customer can access their media by allowing the customer to re-download their content with the new DRM.

Another DRM issue.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080422-drm-sucks-redux-microsoft-to-nuke-msn-music-drm-keys.html

Related to this is what happens when a company decides to upgrade its DRM algorithm and abandons the old one. There doesn't seem to be any commitment to ensure that the customer can access their media by allowing the customer to re-download their content with the new DRM.

I am increasingly of the opinion that ALL download-to-own media based upon any ongoing DRM-renewal requirement will eventually be lost media, and unplayable.

This includes WVM-HD like T2 and probably also software HD DVD or BD players with proactive renewal (all of them?).

That is, if you have to ask permission on an ongoing basis then eventually the answer will be 'no'.

- Tom

I am increasingly of the opinion that ALL download-to-own media based upon any ongoing DRM-renewal requirement will eventually be lost media, and unplayable.

This includes WVM-HD like T2 and probably also software HD DVD or BD players with proactive renewal (all of them?).

That is, if you have to ask permission on an ongoing basis then eventually the answer will be 'no'.
Yeah, it's hard to argue with that. One way to address that would be a formal commitment to hand over licenses to some kind of independently funded escrow service.

But, psychologically, I much prefer rentals or subscriptions. Or thinking of download-to-own as more of a "lease" that'll I have for a while. Kind of like on often-remastered content like London Calling or Blade Runner. Sure, my original vinyl/VHS copies of both probably still work, but it's not like I haven't bought them again many times.

Here is an interesting article comparing download services.

http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/articles/2008/04/a_comparison_of_movie_download_services.php

That's a comprehensive and even-handed article. Good find.

Nice article, however, XBox 360 > Apple TV IMHO. The complaint he makes about downloading HD movies is his problem(6Mbps DSL?) and not an issue with XBLM. I'm often able to start watching movies 5-10 mins once the download begins. He also neglects to mention that the XBox 360 is a Media Center Extender and can stream video from your PC and works with online services like Vongo, Movielink and CinemaNow.

Nice article, however, XBox 360 > Apple TV IMHO. The complaint he makes about downloading HD movies is his problem(6Mbps DSL?) and not an issue with XBLM. I'm often able to start watching movies 5-10 mins once the download begins. He also neglects to mention that the XBox 360 is a Media Center Extender and can stream video from your PC and works with online services like Vongo, Movielink and CinemaNow.

20 to 30 seconds for me from XBL. But still not as fast as VUDU which is instantly.

So the question is begged....how can VUDU have almost instaneous HD viewing on the same subpar connection vs all the other services? It must be more than connectivity speed.

Besides HD content which will improve, how do they do it?

Paul

Question:

How long has the current version of the VUDU been out?

Since its first gen, are there any anticipated hardware revisions or is this unit going to be a software omg "whore"?

Tell me I do not need a Bluray device as I plan on acquiring a new Kuro 9g plasma that I believe will have a Wlan media box and would like to integrate one of these services.

Paul

So the question is begged....how can VUDU have almost instaneous HD viewing on the same subpar connection vs all the other services? It must be more than connectivity speed.

Besides HD content which will improve, how do they do it?

Paul
If the author is right and they pre-cache (download) the first 30 seconds, that gives them an advantage. I also suspect the other download services attempt to trickle load as to not incur higher bandwidth costs whereas the P2P subsystem in Vudu is not subject to this restriction.

Or, it could just be chance that it worked better when he tested it :). Server/Internet load is bound to vary for such background transfers.

Question:

How long has the current version of the VUDU been out?

Since its first gen, are there any anticipated hardware revisions or is this unit going to be a software omg "whore"?
I think it is about 6 months old.

using that 30 second stub and peer to peer distribution is pretty ingenious.

Question:
Since its first gen, are there any anticipated hardware revisions or is this unit going to be a software omg "whore"?
Paul

The Vudu team continues to refine and update the UI. In addition, the database is frequently refreshed. Both of these have gone fairly flawlessly since December 2007 - always in the background, no rollbacks, clear improvements in categories and content.

For HW, Vudu has announced a 1TB model for high-end users who wish to own/store more movies on their Vudu box.

My wife and I rent many movies over Vudu, especially high-definition films. We project to a 110" image. With the Vudu HD, the quality is so high we feel we can walk right into the scene (YMMV of course). We rarely see any delays in downloading and viewing - and none in the past three months.

We are actually considering canceling our cable premium channels since we are interested in movies and when we want to see them... We have TimeWarner; their VOD is pathetic - loaded with stutter and pixelization. In our area they have very little HD content. Only HBO and Showtime are in HD, not Max, not StarZ, not TMC, etc.

LT

The 1TB VUDU model is not commercially available like the 250GB version is. It is only available from custom installers.
They are supposed to enable external storage using the eSATA port witha future software upgrade. I already have my eSATA box(ANTEC with a 750GB WD green drive) ready for when it is enabled.

Just read Home theatre Mags, (I think) latest issue. They have an article describing pros cons of Apple TV, Xbox 360, Vudu.

They claimed that Vudus faster downloads were a result of the fact that each movie is pre-buffered in the unit itself.

Whats unbelievable, is that the reviewer used a 1.5mbps DSL connection and was logging 30+ hour loadtimes, even though Vudu recommends a 3 mbps minimum connection on hi-def sources.

The whole review is simply spoiled by this poor connection. You would think they would have contemplated that before a review of downloadable service.

Paul

aahh nice.. threadd... got many useful infoo..

this thread give me some info on video download services.. but i'm looking for free video download services for movies .. :)

So the new VUDU HDX titles are a huge improvement.

So the new VUDU HDX titles are a huge improvement.

So, was that a statement or a question? If you have tried it, what sound modes does it support?

Ray

So, was that a statement or a question? If you have tried it, what sound modes does it support?

Ray

VUDU outputs DD.
With the HDX titles it's 640kbs DD.
If they had HDMI 1.3 I guess they would be able to bitstream the DD+.
The audio is encoded in DD+ and transcoded to DD for output. At least that is how it's done on the HD and SD titles. So I would think it's done the same way on the HDX titles.
I've checked out three HDX titles now and they are easily the best HD VOD I have seen over the last couple of years.

<snip>
I've checked out three HDX titles now and they are easily the best HD VOD I have seen over the last couple of years.

Because I have the RadianceXD scaler, I have been slow to purchase HD-VOD - I've seen too little improvement IMHO.

The HDX is a game changer however. I have watched several HDX now and the PQ is far superior to "just HD" with the scaler. Stunning images and beautiful color. Riddick is just great, for example.

Admittedly not BR and not immediately playable - there is a lot to download - but patience has its reward.

Even though there is a clear quality difference, so far Vudu had kept the price the same as the HD equivalent.

(there goes my paycheck)

LT

Vudu looks really attractive on paper, especially now that BB is offering the $200 movie credit. Does anyone know if this can be used for purchases as well as rentals? Four months is a fairly short time to watch $200 worth of rentals at ~$5 each.

My main concern is the company itself, though. As a start-up, they probably don't have a lot of capital, and many older and more established companies are dropping like flies right now (mostly in the financial sector for now, but this meltdown is just getting going).

What happens if the company goes under? I expect I will still be able to watch movies I've purchased off the HDD, but once I've seen them all umpty-ump times, what then? Can I hook up an external source (DVD or Blu-Ray player, PC with crossover cable, external HDD, etc.) to load more content? Or do I now have a $300 doorstop?

From the comparison article, it appears they are using P2P technology similar to something that rhymes with abhorrent, so could it be possible to, uh, "update the firmware" to enable it to tie into that? If there was at least a possibility of future-proofing it in such a manner, I'd definitely be interested.

-Chris

Chris,

I can try and address your comments:

Vudu looks really attractive on paper, especially now that BB is offering the $200 movie credit. Does anyone know if this can be used for purchases as well as rentals? Four months is a fairly short time to watch $200 worth of rentals at ~$5 each.

Yes, the credit can be used for any non-adult content on our box, including both purchase-to-own and rental transactions.


My main concern is the company itself, though. As a start-up, they probably don't have a lot of capital, and many older and more established companies are dropping like flies right now (mostly in the financial sector for now, but this meltdown is just getting going).

I can't speak much to this, but we're well capitalized the market is growing nicely.

What happens if the company goes under? I expect I will still be able to watch movies I've purchased off the HDD, but once I've seen them all umpty-ump times, what then? Can I hook up an external source (DVD or Blu-Ray player, PC with crossover cable, external HDD, etc.) to load more content? Or do I now have a $300 doorstop?

Once movies are purchased and downloaded, they can be watched as much as you want, regardless of the status to the connection to our servers (so either online or off, even if our servers are offline)


From the comparison article, it appears they are using P2P technology similar to something that rhymes with abhorrent, so could it be possible to, uh, "update the firmware" to enable it to tie into that? If there was at least a possibility of future-proofing it in such a manner, I'd definitely be interested.

-Chris

Our distribution technology, while sharing some traits with the alluded-to protocol, is totally proprietary and designed specifically for efficiently and securely delivering our content.

Patrick
Sr Product Manager, VUDU

Our distribution technology, while sharing some traits with the alluded-to protocol, is totally proprietary and designed specifically for efficiently and securely delivering our content.

Patrick
Sr Product Manager, VUDU
First, thanks for participating here Patrick.

Without having to explain your proprietary know-how, can you confirm if you are using P2P sharing from other clients? Reason this is important to know is whether there is any chance it could get blocked by ISP filters.

Thanks.

Amir,
It's no secret that we do make use of a proprietary and secure peer-based network to distribute content. That said, we haven't received any reports of ISP-issues like you refer to nor do we expect it as all I've heard indicates they are dealing with bandwidth management in more rational methods than protocol-specific enforcement.

Patrick

You can pull up the VUDU patents online from the US patent site(at least I think that is where I looked at them). I remember looking at them earlier this year when I got my VUDU boxes. The Patent shows what they are doing.

Any blocking from ISPs will probably occur when the user reaches their download cap. I have over 3 dozen devices accessing the Internet and I use between 800GB and 1.3TB per month. Luckily I have FIOS, because with the new HDX offerings I will be renting more HD VUDU titles for content I don't want to buy the BD for.
I also plan on picking up a third VUDU box form Best Buy because of that $200 promotion.

I have over 3 dozen devices accessing the Internet and I use between 800GB and 1.3TB per month. Luckily I have FIOS, because with the new HDX offerings I will be renting more HD VUDU titles for content I don't want to buy the BD for.


aaronwt, How do measure the usage. With the new Comcast limits I am not sure how I stand with the new HDX movies especially since Comcast does't give us any way of knowing what our actual usage is.

Ray

aaronwt, How do measure the usage. With the new Comcast limits I am not sure how I stand with the new HDX movies especially since Comcast does't give us any way of knowing what our actual usage is.

Ray

My routers keeps track of how many bytes are used through the WAN and through the LAN.

My routers keeps track of how many bytes are used through the WAN and through the LAN.

Thanks. I checked my router and the information in the statistics screen is what I need. I didn't know that was there.

Best
Ray

As long as my routers don't reboot, they will keep track. But onc ethey reboot, I know my Dlink resets the info. I'm not sure about my FIOS Actiontec router.

So the next question is do we get any control over bandwidth usage? If we reach the download limit we can just stop renting or buying any movies for the rest of the month, but if it's P2P there are uploads going on too. Can we throttle them when we get near our limit or is the only recourse to unplug the box? Ideally, we should be able to set a maximum throughput the box will never exceed.

-Chris

I know I could control bandwidth usage for my VUDU boxes with my router if I wanted to. But I'm on FIOS and I don't have to worry about caps.
Just yesterday one of my PCs used over 250GB in 24 hours between downloading and uploading online.(that is the full monthly cap of Comcast in one day for me) Way more than normal for me, but it's nice not to have to worry about caps with a 50mbs down and 20mbs up connection.
The bandwidth the VUDU uses is very minimal in comparison.

How large is the average vudu movie? Also, any chance of them removing the 4mbit maximum download speed in the near future?

I know I could control bandwidth usage for my VUDU boxes with my router if I wanted to. But I'm on FIOS and I don't have to worry about caps.
Just yesterday one of my PCs used over 250GB in 24 hours between downloading and uploading online.(that is the full monthly cap of Comcast in one day for me) Way more than normal for me, but it's nice not to have to worry about caps with a 50mbs down and 20mbs up connection.
The bandwidth the VUDU uses is very minimal in comparison.

It used to be that many ISP's charged by the minute too, and liiked it. But at least whereever there was competition buyers flocked to the all-you-can-eat plans until the metered plans became non-competitive.

I suspect cable companies will also have to be very liberal with their caps in areas that also have Verizon or other meaningful competition. However because of federal anti-trust oversight the larger cable companies will also have to be careful not to only have stringent bandwidth caps in areas lacking competition.

We will all of course share such information publically to help the cable companies make good decisions in this area. ;)

- Tom

How large is the average vudu movie? Also, any chance of them removing the 4mbit maximum download speed in the near future?

SD movies stream and play live at 2mbit, HD movies stream and play live at 4mbit - do the math for the movie length/quality of your choice.

HDX movies average 10mbs(with 20mbs peaks). But you have to wait for it to download completely before watching. Usually about 4 hours since the download speed is capped at aroound 4mbs.

Hopefully they will have an option to increase the download(and I hope upload too) speed in the future.
I have 50mbs down and 20mbs up so I would have no problem uploading at a faster speed than the normal 300kbs upload speed since I have bandwidth to spare.

Digital distribution is expected to top $3.5 billion and represent 15% of the home entertainment pie by 2013.


http://homemediamagazine.com/high-def/blu-ray-surpasses-digital-dollars-14428

http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/articles/2008/04/a_comparison_of_movie_download_services.php

A good summary all in one place. Bottom of article is a simple table.

http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/articles/2008/04/a_comparison_of_movie_download_services.php

A good summary all in one place. Bottom of article is a simple table.


The article is almost a year old now(April 2008) and is in dire need of an update.

Amir,
It's no secret that we do make use of a proprietary and secure peer-based network to distribute content. That said, we haven't received any reports of ISP-issues like you refer to nor do we expect it as all I've heard indicates they are dealing with bandwidth management in more rational methods than protocol-specific enforcement.

Patrick

Dealing with bandwidth management issues rationally? Can you elaborate? Because the way CC explained it to me I get one warning and after that its nighty night. Hell I still cant get them to get me a bandwidth meter, I have to go find my own. I hate how the counties dictate service providers it just gives them a stranglehold on the customer base and the only alternative is DSL. I wish they were greasing my pockets:D Man Cmon Verizon Bring FiOS to FL!!!

My Tivo seems to be going tits-up. I can't delete anything, and when I play a program it hesitates and pixilates. I'm guessing the hard drive is going bad. I already replaced the original HD, so replacing this one isn't beyond my capabilities.

The problem is that I have four episodes of The Shield on it that I want to watch. They are the last four episodes of the 7-season series, and I definitely want to watch them.

I need advice on how and where to download TV episodes, specifically these four episodes. I looked at hulu and amazon, and neither seems to have them.

Where can I download them?
Can I do it for free?
If not, how much does it cost?
What is the picture quality like?
If I download them onto my laptop, can I simply connect the laptop to my TV with an S-video cable (the laptop and my TV both have s-video jacks)?
What about the audio?

As you can tell, I know next to nothing about downloading video, but would appreciate any advice.

My Tivo seems to be going tits-up. I can't delete anything, and when I play a program it hesitates and pixilates. I'm guessing the hard drive is going bad. I already replaced the original HD, so replacing this one isn't beyond my capabilities.

The problem is that I have four episodes of The Shield on it that I want to watch. They are the last four episodes of the 7-season series, and I definitely want to watch them.

I need advice on how and where to download TV episodes, specifically these four episodes. I looked at hulu and amazon, and neither seems to have them.

Where can I download them?
Can I do it for free?
If not, how much does it cost?
What is the picture quality like?
If I download them onto my laptop, can I simply connect the laptop to my TV with an S-video cable (the laptop and my TV both have s-video jacks)?
What about the audio?

As you can tell, I know next to nothing about downloading video, but would appreciate any advice.

Here is a good place to start looking:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1125250

Dealing with bandwidth management issues rationally? Can you elaborate? Because the way CC explained it to me I get one warning and after that its nighty night. Hell I still cant get them to get me a bandwidth meter, I have to go find my own. I hate how the counties dictate service providers it just gives them a stranglehold on the customer base and the only alternative is DSL. I wish they were greasing my pockets:D Man Cmon Verizon Bring FiOS to FL!!!

That was my experience with Comcast as well. Told me I exceeded their limit and if it happened again, I would be cut off for six months without any further notice. Asked how I might know how much bandwidth I use. They said they don't have any metering available for customers yet. But no problem, if I exceed their limit I will know it. I guess I should be more upset, but last week the folks from FIOS were stringing lines in our street. So if I hold off for a couple of more months without using much bandwidth (and that includes unplugging VUDU) I guess we will be OK.

Ray

I'm certainly glad I have FIOS. I'm over 40 networked devices now and averaging between 1TB and 2TB every month now.

I'm just hoping FIOS increases their highest speed tier this year. Rumor is the 50/20 tier might get bumped up to 75/25. I would certainly use the speed increase from my current 50mbs I'm using now. And if my $90 a month price stays the same, it would even be sweeter.

I'm certainly glad I have FIOS. I'm over 40 networked devices now and averaging between 1TB and 2TB every month now.

I'm just hoping FIOS increases their highest speed tier this year. Rumor is the 50/20 tier might get bumped up to 75/25. I would certainly use the speed increase from my current 50mbs I'm using now. And if my $90 a month price stays the same, it would even be sweeter.

The max on fios is 72mbs due to the current pons being used. However in the next five years if docis is implemented then a gig each way is easily within reach.

Why is connectivty in Stockholm so much faster and cheaper than in US cities?
http://cis471.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-is-connectivty-in-stockholm-so-much.html

The max on fios is 72mbs due to the current pons being used. However in the next five years if docis is implemented then a gig each way is easily within reach.

They've been testing 100mbs for a while now accoring to their official verizon Blog. Rumor is they will offer upgrades from 20/20 to 25/25 and from 50/20 to 75/25 in early Summer.
That is also the same time period as last year when they upgraded the speed tiers.

They've been testing 100mbs for a while now accoring to their official verizon Blog. Rumor is they will offer upgrades from 20/20 to 25/25 and from 50/20 to 75/25 in early Summer.
That is also the same time period as last year when they upgraded the speed tiers.

Can you link to the page. As I am interested in what type of equipment they are using. Using the current alcatel pons we have 72mg is the max speed until the next generation comes out.

Can you link to the page. As I am interested in what type of equipment they are using. Using the current alcatel pons we have 72mg is the max speed until the next generation comes out.

http://policyblog.verizon.com/PolicyBlog/Blogs/policyblog/CZBlogger1/412/Welcome-the-100mbs-Club.aspx

http://policyblog.verizon.com/policyblog/blogs/policyblog/czblogger1/359/meet-rich-the-100mbs-man.aspx

http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2008/verizon-extends-industry-lead-1.html

unstuck

I have a slow broadband connection ( .75 / .125 ) so streaming video for my HD TV is not possible. So I wondered if any of the set top box services / hardware support caching so I could start a download when I hit the rack at nite and have the complete show or movie available to watch the next day?