In the current state of the law there is nothing illegal about streaming something, even if downloading it were illegal. Of course they are trying to pass a bill making it illegal, but right now you can stream anything you want and no charges can be brought against you. The site that is hosting the stream is a different story.

 

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More than anything this has me questioning the long term, wide market viability of physical mediums - along with cable television. It has literally gotten to the point where you can purchase a HD movie (1080p) on the cloud, kept there forever, for less than it costs for a disc. And stream it up instantly, even with a mediocre Internet connection, to your computer or tablet or phone or TV. In the coming years it will be ubiquitous. It's already damned close. DVR and Hulu rates are approaching zero day viewership for the most popular TV shows.

I figure by 2015 theaters will all follow the alcohol selling boutique model (Google "Cinema Cafe" if your area doesn't already have these types of cinemas), and movies will only have theatrical runs of a month or less. Shortly thereafter they will hit the stream for a premium for a few weeks, then go full fledged streaming.

The only hold outs are cell carriers, who want to pretend like 2.5GB plans rather than unlimited is something reasonable. When it costs them nothing more to provide unlimited data. And I guess this goes for European ISPs that also limit their customers knowing full well it's a straight money grab. Once they get steam rolled by competition willing to embrace the future we will all benefit.

 

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NetFlix is going to drop their DVD by mail program. But had they just dropped it and said they were charging you about the same, everyone would have jumped ship.


Get ready, cause they announced earlier this year they were going to discontinue this server.


As for Movies on the Cloud...I can never understand people. They do a bundle of their Cable / Phone / Internet.....JoeSmoe digs in his yard and the cable gets cut, all those people are without those services.


So, people start doing Clouds. I know my internet goes down on occassion, same with the business I work with. But if their OS, their DATA are on the CLOUD, they are absolutely F'D when the internet is disrupted.


Then you have all these services wanting to limit the GB access, thats going to play well when you have all that stuff in the CLOUDS cause thats where your profits are going to be going, into the clouds.

my story has nothing to do with the thread's topic, but this quote made me chuckle a bit. last summer someone down the block was removing their in-ground pool in their back yard. the company they hired to do this brought in a small backhoe and proceeded to dig away at the concrete and dirt. well... all the utilities, telephone/electric/cable, are all buried in this neighborhood. of course they cut the cable (how they missed the telephone & electric is a miracle). took down an entire block of comcast subscribers, telephone/internet/television.

comcast's fix? you'd assume they'd come in, run a new, heavy duty cable suitable for burial, and bury it. nope. the "tech" on the truck "had some cable with him" that he strung up, along every fence, from the access box before the break, into the next access box after the break. lmfao it looks so bad, and the cable is of cheaper quality than what i buy for inside the house use.

 

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I'll probably just pay the higher cost to have both DVDs and streaming. I like watching TV series on streaming much better than dealing with gaps of several days while I wait for DVDs to go back and forth or paying extra to have 2-3 DVDs out at a time. But the selection of streaming recent movies is pretty poor, so I need the DVD plan too (and it's cheaper and more convenient for me to pay Netflix $8 a month than to rent movies on Amazon or from a kiosk). I hope they use the extra money to add more movies and TV shows to instant streaming.

 

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http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-07-14-netflix-why-the-price-hike_n.htm


"Netflix has been trying to lure subscribers away from its DVDs by offering cheaper plans that include movies and TV episodes delivered over its Internet streaming service. In November, it began offering a streaming-only plan for $8, its cheapest option at the time. Yet Netflix customers aren't flocking to Internet video as quickly as some analysts said the company expected.

Many consumers are unwilling to give up the trademark red envelopes. DVDs feature newer titles and the latest theatrical releases that aren't available through the company's streaming service."


Well Duh...

 

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It shouldn't be a big shock to them. Until new releases, and for that matter a much bigger catalog in general, are available for streaming then most people will stay with physical media.

 

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Well that and if I want to watch a new blockbuster action flick; I require the full 5.1 DTS and would like as good video quality as can get (bluray). I do not mind streaming something I watched a million times for background noise or comedies, tv shows, and such.

But damn-it I want to annoy my neighbors on movie night lol.

 

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^ exactly

 

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