Contentless HD discs?

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 5:04 pm

So, i recently heard from someone that needed to know the official specs for HD-DVD and Blueray for a job that the plan for both systems (and the requirement for 3rd party affiliates that want to use the logos of said brands) is to start releasing discs that don't actually have content on them, but, rather, download that video from a network like an on-demand video service - further cementing the idea that the disc's content is not owned by the buyer.

Anyone not under contractual obligations to not divulge this information that is privy to it want to confirm/deny and elaborate?

Kalium · Post by **Kalium** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 5:09 pm

I don't know anything, but it sounds very plausible, and is very much the sort of thing the MPAA and their component studios would pull.

trythil · Post by **trythil** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 9:32 pm

Contentless HD discs

That's redundant.

post-it · Post by **post-it** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 9:44 pm

.. unless the disc only has the URL on it and the URL is encrypted with a password, authentication and AND the purchasers Verification Code giving someone a Tracking Number to verify that only one person was able to download it to just one location -- I fail to see what good it would do to have such a system!
1) what if your download was corrupted? then your screwed!

Kariudo · Post by **Kariudo** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 9:58 pm

sounds like a pain, wonder how they're gonna cater to the people who don't have high-speed internet if this happens.

Somehow I don't think waiting 24+ hours to download a movie is gonna fly with that crowd

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:42 pm

Kariudo wrote:sounds like a pain, wonder how they're gonna cater to the people who don't have high-speed internet if this happens.

Somehow I don't think waiting 24+ hours to download a movie is gonna fly with that crowd

Well, the spec is a ways off from being reality... and according to somewhere, as of the year 2000 or so, the majority of all internet connections were faster than dialup - so marketing solely to what will soon be an overwhelming majority shouldn't hurt business too much. I'm sure they're going to try to slowly integrate this - they've already gotten people used to the video on demand services with cable/satellite - it would essentially be the same thing. It does create another bar that will effectively brand those not willing to go along with it as backwards, lower-class members of society though - social dynamics will fix things up there quite quickly.

YouTube · Post by **Kionon** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:07 pm

They tried this with DVD didn't they? The non-codec DivX? It failed miserably.

And even then, I personally have never agreed with the claim that a data file is not content. My understanding of language says otherwise. A file is a thing, and therefore exists outside of a license agreement. The MPAA and the RIAA want you to believe their orwellen doublethink that just because the content copy is digital that it is somehow "not real" and only exists because they "allow" it to.

The funny thing is, didn't they make the same argument with magnetic tapes? I recall there being a big fuss about cassettes being the end of the music/movie industry as we know it because they could so easily be copied by the average person with fairly minimal quality loss. And Sousa once said the phonograph would destroy the musical character of America.

Same shit, different technology, and the argument makes no more sense now than it did then. The hackers, especially in Europe, seem to already be working on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD cracks, so I'm not to worried at the point.

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:21 pm

Kionon - I think you're talking about something totally different. This involves not actually having content on the disc. As in you buy a movie and the movie isn't on the disc - all the disc has is a validation code and unique product ID that will download it to your player when you insert the disc to play it.

Kariudo · Post by **Kariudo** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:31 pm

BasharOfTheAges wrote:
Kariudo wrote:sounds like a pain, wonder how they're gonna cater to the people who don't have high-speed internet if this happens.

Somehow I don't think waiting 24+ hours to download a movie is gonna fly with that crowd
Well, the spec is a ways off from being reality... and according to somewhere, as of the year 2000 or so, the majority of all internet connections were faster than dialup - so marketing solely to what will soon be an overwhelming majority shouldn't hurt business too much. I'm sure they're going to try to slowly integrate this - they've already gotten people used to the video on demand services with cable/satellite - it would essentially be the same thing. It does create another bar that will effectively brand those not willing to go along with it as backwards, lower-class members of society though - social dynamics will fix things up there quite quickly.

It may not hurt business too much, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was taken to court as discrimination against those without access to a high speed connection (be it the price or the location)

BasharOfTheAges · Post by **BasharOfTheAges** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:34 pm

Kariudo wrote:It may not hurt business too much, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was taken to court as discrimination against those without access to a high speed connection (be it the price or the location)

It's not a commodity - entertainment is a luxury item. You can go without it just fine - the Amish have been doing it for centuries.