Is There Something I'm Missing Here...?

So, I guess as much as I hate to admit it, it looks like HD-DVD has lost and Blu-Ray has won. HD-DVD fought hard, but in the end Blu-Ray  had enough money to bribe "create synergies" with all but two of the major movie studios. Add to that the one-two punch from Best Buy and Netflix this week and it looks like it's all over. Frankly, I was hoping the war would just stalemate until the next big thing, probably streaming media, came in and crushed both with one blow.

So what we end up with is admittedly a technically superior format, however one that is controlled by one party: Sony.

Now that the war seems to be over, I'm seeing a lot of people posting on various on-line forums that prices of players will be coming down.

Wait.

As is my understanding Blu-Ray is controlled by Sony. Companies that want to make said hardware pay a licensing fee to Sony to use the Blu-Ray technology. No matter who you are, if you want to make a Blu-Ray disc player you have to pay Sony. This creates a situation where there is one company that controls creation and distribution of a product.

So, what incentive does Sony have to lower the prices? They are the only game in town, and could charge whatever they want. Now, I know that Sony isn't going to do something stupid like price themselves out of the market, and I don't begrudge them the right to make whatever they feel they deserve out of their creation. But seeing as they just spent a ton of money to "synergize" with all these studios, I don't see how the this is going to translate into lower prices for Blu-Ray players.

Am I wrong here? I hope I am because I can't see myself paying $300 for a Blu-Ray player. And yes, I know the Play Station 3 plays Blu-Ray movies and games. I barely have time to use the XBox I have, I don't need (or really want) another gaming console.

On the plus side, the HD-DVD fire sales have already begun. If you're a movie collector now might be the time to pick up an HD-DVD player and some movies on the cheap.

Sympathy

As an unbridled capitalist, I never thought I would be siding with a union of any kind. I've never been a member of a union and have never desired to be. Don't get me wrong, I think there was a time for unions. But we don't have children working in coal mines anymore. And from my point of view the unions have succumbed to the very greed they claim to rail against.

But as I learn more and more about the Writers Guild of America strike I become more sympathetic to their arguments, but not for the reasons they would like.

The crux of the complaint is probably best explained by this video the writers of "The Office" posted about the strike.

Some people watch that and see people complaining about their boss screwing them out of pay for extra work. What I see is ANOTHER indication that the Hollywood STILL doesn't "get" the Internet and the change it is going to make in the way media is consumed. They still view it as nothing more than a marketing media, when in reality it is a delivery medium.

I see the television changing so much in the next five or so years that the concept of a "television channel" will be completely obsolete. It all started with Tivo. I remember the day I got mine (generation one) and it's not an exaggeration to say that it completely changed the way I watched television. I never had to worry about being home in front of the TV when my favorite show started. I'm not what I would call a "TV Junkie" by any means, but there are a handful of shows I really hate to miss. I now longer had to make a choice, or be worried about missing my favorite show. I just knew that at a certain point in time the show would just be on my Tivo for me to watch whenever I wanted. It seems so simple now, DVRs are pretty much everywhere, but it was a big change at the time.

The next step was the Internet. Well, more specifically it was the widespread available of cheap high-speed access to the Internet. To be honest, I think the only people I know who still use dial-up are my parents! I'm hoping this changes before I arrive for Thanksgiving next week, but I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, this wide availability of high-speed Internet made high quality video over the Internet a practical reality. It took iTunes to demonstrate that not only was there a market for this type of media consumption, but that people were even willing to pay for it! Now all the major networks offer (or are preparing to offer) their content (meaning whole shows, albeit with commercials) for download. Products like Microsoft Windows Media Center and Slingbox, not the mention the new generation of Tivo, will continue to offer new possibilities for using the Internet as a delivery method of content.

So, it's really discouraging to hear what is behind this strike. Clearly the networks think of "web content" as a sort of second class form of entertainment. Instead of trying to keep their customers rooted in the past they should be embracing these changes and finding new models to do business in. Instead of fighting this new market they need to find a way to embrace it. Consumers want these things. It's in Hollywood's best interest to provide them.

And don't get me started on movies!

PWN3D!

This is probably old news, but I can't stand these "news" shows that do this, so to see them on the other side is a nice change. If nothing else, it's payback for "outing" Fake Steve Jobs.

Enjoy!