Very interesting. And again with the cables. When in the world is the tech-world going to go wholly wireless? I'm setting up a computer for my daughter in her bedroom -- I have a DSL line which I use on the family room computer. To connect my daughter's computer to the DSL line I either have to do in-wall wiring, have cords traipsing for yards through the house, or figure out how to buy and use a router, hub, etc. Sounds like a headache to me.
Julie Krueger
========Original Message========
----- Original Message -----
From: <JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx>
> 1) What percentage of the population is well-healed enough to have a large
> enough computer monitor to make it an enjoyable experience (can the whole
> family gather around the monitor??)
On a computer monitor? I've tried this. I've watched a few movies on my computer. The
experience is not as good as TV. Small screen, small speakers, etc., and you're sitting in
an office chair.
But...
A year ago, I bought a digital projector. These are the projectors that companies have in
their conference rooms. We were doing quite a few business presentations, so we needed a
projector.
One day, I realized it could be hooked up to a DVD player. I bought a DVD player (since they
all use laser, they're all the same) for $50. I then bought a pull-down movie screen (around
$100). (Look into these; there are different types, depending on what you project at them.
You can't use just any ol' movie screen.)
I hung up the screen in the living room, jacked the projector into the DVD player, and
connected that into the living room stereo. Lower the lights and whoa!
The diagonal is 96". Eight feet. It's huge. All for just under $1,000.
In comparison, a 71" flat-screen TV is $15,000 and a 103" screen is $70,000.
Size matters. The screen is large enough to give you the feel of being in a movie house. The
quality is the same as HDTV (I have friends with $15,000 HDTVs and I've seen movies on
those). With the remote controls, you can pause the movie, back up to see something you
missed, adjust the volume, etc. The sound is extremely good on the stereo. When I'm not
watching a movie, the screen rolls up. I signed up for Netflix, bought a popcorn machine,
friends come over, and it's movie night.
You can find digital projectors for $470. So, it's under $600 for a setup. Fairly
affordable.
> 2) What does it promise to cost per month?
Apparently it'll be part of the regular Netflix service. You'll have a number of hours per
month, depending on your membership level.
Eventually, Netflix will turn into purely VOD (video-on-demand, i.e., video via web).
Next, I'll have to run a cable from my computer to the living room into the projector. Or
just buy a cheap computer and use it for the digital projector.
This means, of course, Blockbuster and Hollywood Video will shut down. Tower Records already
shut down: Amazon beat their books and MP3 music destroyed their record sales.
yrs,
andreas
www.andreas.com
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