The death knell has tolled for HD-DVD. Toshiba has announced it's abandoning the format. Some compared the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray format battle to the 1980s rivalry between VHS and Beta videotape formats where VHS prevailed. However, consider where VHS is today. DEAD as well. While Blu-Ray came out on top (sorry all you folks who got the HD-DVD for Christmas), I say the the Blu-Ray format is just like the 8-track-- it's a dinosaur waiting to die. The format is still wrapped up in the use and ownership of a tangible, clunky, moving object in a digital world where data files are uploaded, download, stored, archived and transferred on multiple platforms.
Who needs to waste shelf space with DVDs when you have PCs, cell phones and other devices that makes information and entertainment data so portable. Now that storage space is sold to consumers in terabytes on portable hard drives, why bother mucking about with some disc that can scratch, melt or get lost behind a desk. I'd much rather download a movie from Amazon to my TiVo (I just wish Amazon had more choices) than wait for a DVD from Netflix, let alone drive to the video rental store. Netflix does offer you movies downloadable to a PC-- but I want my TiVo and PC and TV as it's the closest thing I can afford right now to an intergrated device. Perhaps it's an American consumer thing as we have this need/desire to own tangible things that clutter out drawers, closets, attics and garages. The ironic thing is I have at least four portable hard drives and a couple of flash drives now and I can't seem to keep track of them. OMG- will i have portable hard drives piled up around my office one day like all the videotapes and DVDs I have now?
When will I be able to download my TV shows, movies and music directly to my brain? WHEN???!??
2 comments:
I think the nature of portable hard drives is still too fragile for long term storage. The idea of having a tangible medium to store video on is more appealing to me than having to keep track of which hard drive a movie is on, with umpteen other movies and files, and then keep from dropping or otherwise destroying the drive.
The fragile hard drive problem will eventually be worked out. The flash drive tech is probably temporary like the DVD. The future is data that's transferable--but what to do with all those files?
If you saw my computer desktop you'd realize how much it resembles the clutter and chaos of my real desktop, so I completely understand your point on keeping track of the files.
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