I just read that Comcast will offer 1000 HD programs on their system with 3000 movies and television shows added each month. That will be an on-demand system. If that's the case then why are we bothering with Blu-ray, HD-DVD, Netflix, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, etc.? It doesn't make any sense to own the media if the shows will be available at a touch of a button.

Personally I'm happy with my PS3 and Blu-ray player, but I'm starting to feel that the player part will be obsolete by the end of the year if Comcast's on-demand comes to fruitation.

What do you think?

I think it's a sign of things to come. Of course, to get all the stuff they offer in HD.. I'm sure it's gonna cost you an arm and a leg each month.

Good God, this thread again?

how many of there shows will be shown in 1080P and lossless audio...

b/c broadcast HD is not as good as what you get on BD or HD DVD.

remember broadcast is usually 1080i or 720p. HDM is always 1080p (except for the pr0n). then there's the audio....

Woohoo and then the bitrate will drop to 8mbits and less... That's why i don't pay for cable.. Adds + Pay + Crappy quality..

I just read that Comcast will offer 1000 HD programs on their system with 3000 movies and television shows added each month. That will be an on-demand system. If that's the case then why are we bothering with Blu-ray, HD-DVD, Netflix, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, etc.? It doesn't make any sense to own the media if the shows will be available at a touch of a button.

Personally I'm happy with my PS3 and Blu-ray player, but I'm starting to feel that the player part will be obsolete by the end of the year if Comcast's on-demand comes to fruitation.

What do you think?

If it's the quality of everything I've seen before (and initially, I don't see how it wouldn't) I'll still wait on it. (Particularly the audio)

All the other arguements are still in play too. (Biggest one: I wanna keep it when it's done.)

Frankly, it's 7 bucks a pop for HD on demand where I'm at, and I just bought Pirates 3 today for $12.50.

I'll spend the 5.50 extra for the improvement in quality and the ability to take it with me.

But this IS a step in the right direction.

comcast should worry about getting 50 HD channels before it claims it will have a 1000 we all know it will never pass Dtv :D

My Comcast has 20 HD channels, all highly compressed low-bit-rate video and audio with no special features, high rental prices, and limited playback.

That is what Blu-Ray is for.

how many of there shows will be shown in 1080P and lossless audio...
What % cares? .0000000000001...........maybe, I think my guess is high. We may care, the avg consumer doesn't.

On the upside that's about the same chance Comcast has of delivering the goods - have they ever delivered?

um im sorry to say this to the OP but you need to read it again you will understand that its 1000 programs, AKA "orange county chopper" etc. not 1000 channels full of content. :) have a nice day.

But will Joe 6-pack care about all the specs you are mentioning, I think not...if he perceives a movie to have a fantastic picture and sound, even if we don't, he'll say it's good enough, In my experience, Hi-Def VIDEO sources, sports in particular, J6P Can see the difference....

Someone didn't read carefully (which is exactly as Comcast intended).

Comcast is claiming "1000 PROGRAMS" and hoping you'll mis-read that as "1000 CHANNELS". In my area, Comcast currently offers about 23 HD channels, counting locals and premium movie channels. In addition, they have HD RSNs and a few HD PPVs, plus their VOD.

VOD is nice, sure, but let's be real: 23 is NOT 1000. It's not even the 77 or so that DirecTV currently offers (and there's another sat going live in a couple of months).

Cable is currently restricted by bandwidth limitations. Some of that pressure will be relieved in Feb 2009 when they can turn off analog TV and re-use that bandwidth for digital channels, but even that's only going to bring them up to what DirecTV has now. Of course, they are working on newer technologies to squeeze more out of their existing infrastructure, and I'm sure they will eventually do so. That's really all this ad is saying.

1000 programs on 20 channels! Excellent. Will 500 of those programs be the music only stations? :eek:

Just a thought, I think we need to get away from the tech specs and start understanding how the average consumer looks at HD vs. SD....

Someone didn't read carefully (which is exactly as Comcast intended).

Comcast is claiming "1000 PROGRAMS" and hoping you'll mis-read that as "1000 CHANNELS". In my area, Comcast currently offers about 23 HD channels, counting locals and premium movie channels. In addition, they have HD RSNs and a few HD PPVs, plus their VOD.

VOD is nice, sure, but let's be real: 23 is NOT 1000. It's not even the 77 or so that DirecTV currently offers (and there's another sat going live in a couple of months).

Cable is currently restricted by bandwidth limitations. Some of that pressure will be relieved in Feb 2009 when they can turn off analog TV and re-use that bandwidth for digital channels, but even that's only going to bring them up to what DirecTV has now. Of course, they are working on newer technologies to squeeze more out of their existing infrastructure, and I'm sure they will eventually do so. That's really all this ad is saying.

how much bandwidth would you need to actually have 1000 hd channels? i dont think they could do that with standard def digital could they?

I could actually see DoD being pretty popular with J6P. There would be no expensive player to buy. He can just rent what he wants and buy on DVD for the car/bedroom. J6P is not going to notice lowbit rate on his 1000 dollar walmart special TV.

You're right! Who needs to own anything? Just give me your TV and refrigerator and I'll loan it to you whenever you need it for a small monthly fee.

Someone didn't read carefully (which is exactly as Comcast intended).

Comcast is claiming "1000 PROGRAMS" and hoping you'll mis-read that as "1000 CHANNELS". .

I'm pretty sure I said 1000 programs on the original post. Either way, I had no idea that the video/sound quality wasn't all that great with Comcast. I figured when they said HD that it meant that it was going to be like Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

Directv has hundreds of channels. Yet people still buy movies.

If comcast gets 1000+ channels, all people will say is "I have a thousand channels channels on comcast and nothing to watch"

Comcast currently has many more thousands of SD movies, television and specials On-Demand for less of a price than they charge for their HD content. My Comcast has had it for years. Given these facts, this thread predicts SD DVD should have died around 2004. :D

I don't see why something like this is news to anyone who posts here.

Movies on demand is hardly a big deal to the power user who wants full 1080p, lossless audio, high bitrate's, etc. etc. Plus the premium amount you're going to have to pay for those 1000 movies when you could just go to the store and buy individual movies that you actually want to re-watch.

Just another announcement for the average user to care about. Power users don't have much use for news like this.

Better picture and audio quality... plus unrated movies, art.. just the feeling you get from physically owning it.

BTW: I forgot about 'resale value'... you can't sell a on-demand movie on eBay now can ya? Plus hard drives DO die.. I guess that doesn't matter so much if they don't let you keep it or you have limited playbacks.

I'm pretty sure I said 1000 programs on the original post. Either way, I had no idea that the video/sound quality wasn't all that great with Comcast. I figured when they said HD that it meant that it was going to be like Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

True, the original post got it right, but the thread title is wrong...

I need to really own my content. I realize most are not like this, but I am and I always will be.

Hmmmmmm, notice that every snide comment and disparaging remark is by a comcast subscriber - including me.

I don't see why something like this is news to anyone who posts here.

Movies on demand is hardly a big deal to the power user who wants full 1080p, lossless audio, high bitrate's, etc. etc. Plus the premium amount you're going to have to pay for those 1000 movies when you could just go to the store and buy individual movies that you actually want to re-watch.

Just another announcement for the average user to care about. Power users don't have much use for news like this.

I don't think this really even affects the average user. If an average on demand movie is going to cost $7, most people will view this as paying for an "experience" since there is no ownership of any physical media. For a movie "experience" the average person will go to the movie theater.

b/c broadcast HD is not as good as what you get on BD or HD DVD.

remember broadcast is usually 1080i or 720p. HDM is always 1080p (except for the pr0n). then there's the audio....

the question is though , does joe 6 pack care ?

My father makes alot of money and was into vhs and dvd but now with hd dvd he is happy with what we get on verizon. As he said , it looks nice and clear on his tv and it sounds great.

All these companys are going to compete with each other and i'm sure verizon will announce something like this and then cablevision and then the dish network and direct tv.

What it will come down to really is on demand , whats avalible on it and how often. If i'm someone who just wnats to watch new stuff that premiers on hbo , stars and encore then I can get that any time free through verizon.

I want disc based software , but its still up in the air for others

the question is though , does joe 6 pack care ?

My father makes alot of money and was into vhs and dvd but now with hd dvd he is happy with what we get on verizon. As he said , it looks nice and clear on his tv and it sounds great.

All these companys are going to compete with each other and i'm sure verizon will announce something like this and then cablevision and then the dish network and direct tv.

What it will come down to really is on demand , whats avalible on it and how often. If i'm someone who just wnats to watch new stuff that premiers on hbo , stars and encore then I can get that any time free through verizon.

I want disc based software , but its still up in the air for others

On demand has been around forever. Excluding Live events how is it doing compared to SD DVDs?

In addition to broadcast not being as good as HDM, the 1000 HD channel capacity is not currently implemented. Everybody has to be switched over to fiber before this is a reality.

Comcast currently has many more thousands of SD movies, television and specials On-Demand for less of a price than they charge for their HD content. My Comcast has had it for years. Given these facts, this thread predicts SD DVD should have died around 2004. :D

:D First thing I thought of

comcast should worry about getting 50 HD channels before it claims it will have a 1000 we all know it will never pass Dtv :D

no joke about that...and please dont count the Eastern Time Zone, Central Time Zone, Mountain Time Zone and Pacific Time Zone as 4 freackin channels either...

that channel count is so bloated with duplicates, it amazes me that they haven't been called on the carpet for that...

what about PIP??? Interactivity? creating your own endings? online shopping?

Funny how that is not important any more...

True, the original post got it right, but the thread title is wrong...

Ah, how right you are. I saw the subject line and said "D'OH!"

Anyone who has spent any time with Comcast On Demand knows the answer to this.

First of all, it has a real clunky interface that discourages use.

Secondly, most of the HD programming is in crop-o-vision, and some of it is even in stretch-o-vision.

None of it is in 1080p.

If you want to see Sleeping Beauty in OAR 1080p, you won't see it on Comcast On Demand. It will only be available on Blu-Ray.

It's not 1000 channels, Comcast said 1000 HD choices. What's a choice? Comcast said they already offer 10,000 choices every month, so a may be anything from a movie to an individual episode of a series.

Check the slides here, it's clearly choices, not channels:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/08/live-from-the-comcast-keynote-at-ces/

a direct comparison of my ota hd and comcast pq and sq same channel my ota wins
hands down to those that its the other way consider yourself fortunate.

b/c broadcast HD is not as good as what you get on BD or HD DVD.

remember broadcast is usually 1080i or 720p. HDM is always 1080p (except for the pr0n). then there's the audio....

You just don't understand the difference between the masses and afficiandos, do you? A very small percent of consumers, us being this percent, understand the technical differences between broadcast HD and physical media, but the masses have no clue and most probably will never care about the differences. There are tons of HDTV users out there who buy an HDTV and don't even know they need HD programming and equipment and only watch SD movies on their HD TV's. Over time, I am sure the masses will learn some, but most will not. Do you really believe that the masses will give two squirts about the audio especially when you consider that many people have a flea-market rigged-5-speaker "surround sound" system????

I will say this about cable and satellite HD channels and On-Demand HD services- this is just the start of why an emerging format winner is very temporary and almost pointless. Yeah, the BD fans are soaking it all up right now, because let's face it, this format was about who was right and wrong and instant gratification, but I promise you, BD will be like laser disc and right now, whether you are red or blue, you won't admit to, but you know this is true. I know that even if BD does truly win, I still won't rush out and buy any BD.

This linked thread was created previsously: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=973151

(I can't say first because there could be another! :) )

larry