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Buzz Out Loud Lounge: "HD wankers"? Oh, come on Molly.
I think the statement was that Blu-ray was for wankers
by minimalist - 5/13/09 10:11 AM In reply to: To bring back the conversation back.. by Anon1980not HD.
Which is fine if the definition of "wanker" is someone with a passion for a quality niche product that others may find too expensive. In which case I'm a Blu-ray wanker and Molly Wood is a Kindle wanker and Brian Cooley is a automobile wanker and we all celebrate our wankerhood together.
Somehow I don't think that is what was meant by the initial comment.
Isn't this a false choice?
by topoftheroc - 5/15/09 9:32 AM In reply to: To bring back the conversation back.. by Anon1980My question is - why can't we have it all? Isn't a simple matter of video encoding and burn on-demand discs? Why can't the studios (or some Netflix-like entity) simply have 3 digital versions of a movie on a server somewhere. Those who want digital downloads get the lower res version. Those who want a disc simply click a "Buy Now" button and select the video quality they want (DVD or Blu-Ray). Once the order is received, the disc is burned on demand and mailed to the purchaser.
This ain't Laserdisc, people. There's no physical incompatibility here (tape vs disc). It's all bits. With today's technology and cheap storage, no one should be forced to settle.
Am I far off here?
How long did it take DVD to overtake VHS rentals?
by rosy8235 - 5/15/09 11:15 AM In reply to: "HD wankers"? Oh, come on Molly. by minimalistAccording to this articles 6 years.
http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/4197.cfm
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2003/jun/20/20030620-113258-1104r/print/
http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/telecommunications-conferencing/495287-1.html
This is why I rarely pay attention to the people who say blu-ray won't succeed. I have no doubt that blu-ray will explode when you start seeing the $99 players. That will happen within a year. Until there is a major shift in the digital world, HD video streaming/downloads will just be a niche. DRM, broadband caps and a backwards media companies are making it a joke currently.
I agree that people forget to look at the long play
by minimalist - 5/16/09 7:25 AM In reply to: How long did it take DVD to overtake VHS rentals? by rosy8235and they remember the past differently than it actually was. I was an adult spending his money during DVD's beginnings and I was keenly aware of how expensive it was. Even 3 years after its introduction players were still in the high 200's. If we had easily bored, ADD ridden tech bloggers back then I'm sure there would have been a chorus of people proclaiming DVD was a failure as well.
Now I'm not certain that Blu-ray will follow in DVD's footsteps. Its likely the market will be more fragmented this time so the adoption patterns will be different in some ways. But it already doing pretty well (certainly better than Laserdisc ever dreamed) so all the claims of Blu-ray being dead in the water are unfounded hyperbole at best or glib link bait at worst.
There is no reason to believe that consumers won;t choose the path of least resistance. Simple is always best. Renting digitally is pretty simple. Digital ownership however is not. For that reason I think the hybrid Blu-ray/Netflix streaming players have a very bright future ahead of them.
Media Downloads
by gsteinberg - 5/17/09 8:26 PM In reply to: I agree that people forget to look at the long play by minimalistI returned to Netflix just since they offer Instant view on TiVo.
Although I subscribed to the 1 DVD option, I did it for the instant view and I found that I don't care what physical DVD I have here. I only watch the instant option as it doesn't require any advance planning. If they can just get buy-in from the content owners and offer more options it is so much easier than flipping a DVD in.
I also find it much easier that I get everything in a single device and I don't need to start changing the input on the TV, changing to a different remote and flipping in a DVD/Blue-ray.
Just my 2 cents....
Gal from Newton, MA
Netflix streaming is indeed good
by minimalist - 5/18/09 12:00 AM In reply to: Media Downloads by gsteinbergbut they have got to get better content. And I'm not convinced they are going to convince studios to let people have unlimited access to their entire catalogs 24/7/365 for just 10 bucks a month.
I was thrilled to have Netflix streaming it at first but I find myself not really using it all that much anymore now that the novelty has worn off. Its like rummaging through a fire sale bin. You end up watching old stuff you were never really interested in to begin with simply because its there. And that's kind of time suck is exactly why I got rid of cable TV to begin with :-P
For now I'm mostly back to renting Blu-rays and DVD's. I may have to wait for them in the mail but at least I end up watching what I really want at a reasonable price.
Is wankers a rude word in the States?
by apaulio - 5/18/09 12:51 PM In reply to: Netflix streaming is indeed good by minimalistI only ask because I have a Captain America comic from yonks back which has the word in and the podcast I think had no explicit tag... Does it just have a less 'yowsa did she just say that?' connotation when used in Buzztown?
Also, can we have a half hour show called Rant Out Loud where Molly can just do her thing? WOuld be class. And possibly very rude.
"Wanker" is a Britishism that slides under the FCC's radar
by minimalist - 5/18/09 6:03 PM In reply to: Is wankers a rude word in the States? by apaulioyet everyone knows exactly what it means. So its rude but only in sort of a covert way in the US. Its certainly not a compliment.
~ Shag (in the Austin Powers movie title)
by DangMI - 5/19/09 5:01 AM In reply to: "Wanker" is a Britishism that slides under the FCC's radar by minimalistMy understanding is that this was very controversial/quite rude elsewhere but was not a blip here.
Means same in Australia too
by Nicholas Buenk - 5/20/09 7:43 PM In reply to: "Wanker" is a Britishism that slides under the FCC's radar by minimalistWeirdest example of this sort of thing I think is the title music for the show the nanny.
The lyrics say "she was out on het fanny". Fanny does not mean arse here. It means... a part of a woman not thar far from the arse area...
Makes Aussie kids giggle, that theme song.
Streaming still isn't reliable
by LenSp - 5/18/09 3:47 PM In reply to: "HD wankers"? Oh, come on Molly. by minimalistI've got FIOS. But streaming Hulu/Netflix to my TV (via the PS3 and Playon) often runs into errors that force me to go down two flights of stairs to my computer to restart/fix problems way more often than I would like. There are days that it can be very frustrating.
I mainly use it for anime. Traditional animation looks rather good via Hulu with FIOS speeds. But regular film just looks poor on a 61" TV, even at 480p. Cartoons don't have the same level of background detail that film does, so they tend to look good streamed. Film, however, really needs a physical disc to look good as screen sizes go up.
Is this the dirty little secret of streaming?
by minimalist - 5/18/09 6:07 PM In reply to: Streaming still isn't reliable by LenSpthat nobody wants to admit?
I was beginning to I was the only one who had hiccups stutters and stops and macro-blocking with streaming video. 10 Mbps cable broadband is nothing to scoff at here in the states and even then it just doesn't seem to be enough to stream reliably.
Love the idea. The reality kind of sucks though.
Definitely wonky
by LenSp - 5/20/09 4:04 PM In reply to: Is this the dirty little secret of streaming? by minimalistIt's not just my bandwith that's a factor. Streaming is also heavily dependent on what's going on at Hulu, NetFlix, etal. Hulu keeps on changing things to keep the networks happy and each change forces Playon to update it's software to get Hulu running again in their program. Streaming just involves too many variables and parties to be as reliable as a physical disc in your house.
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