[opendtv] Re: News: New Cable Fight at Hand
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2011 18:04:32 -0500
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
>> I don't understand the logic. Presumably, laptop PCs are okay, but tablets
>> are
>> not?
>
> It all boils down to greed.
Ironically, Apple may well be helping them at their game, with their stand on
Flash Player in portable devices. My take on this is the same as it is in so
many other situations. Consumers, don't allow yourselves to get stuck in
proprietary solutions. Yes, you can argue that Flash is not an open standard.
But it is definitely a de-facto standard. Just about everything I watch
streaming online these days, including US-sourced and foreign-sourced material,
movies, TV shows, and newscasts, all use Flash.
If the cable companies, not to mention Hulu and the networks' own sites, are
providing TV shows on the Internet, using Flash, then there should be no way
for the content owner to be able to discriminate against certain display types.
As long as the display maker sticks to standards and doesn't try to get too
greedy himself.
> Blu Ray is a niche product.
I doubt that's it any longer, Craig. As your other article points out, you
would be hard pressed to find any reason to NOT buy a BD player these days.
They play your old DVDs and BDs, they cost no more that DVD players cost just
months ago, and the disks are starting to cost what DVDs cost too. In fact, you
can't find too many DVD players in stores anymore. Just some very cheap ones.
I think that just about anyone interested in packaged movie media will pick BD
these days, and therefore penetration will go up gradually. HOWEVER, people are
not so interested in packaged media anymore. Why should they be? That's the
problem for BD, is my bet.
> As for 3DTV here;s an interesting take on the issue (and other issues).
>
http://displaydaily.com/2011/01/03/trends-to-watch-in-2011/
Excellent article!
Let me point out a couple of items:
1. Indifference to Google TV. Duh. By the way, I made a discovery some time ago
that probably most people already knew. When using Flash Player, the little
icon you push to go to full screen you can use again, to toggle back to a
windowed display. The result being, once you have set up your "bookmarks" (or
"favorites"), no need to touch the keyboard. I used to reach for the esc key to
go to windowed display, but no need. You use only the mouse, while watching, to
go to a different site and watch there, and even to turn off the PC! Hardly
different from using a typical IR remote. So the keyboard excuse is gone, even
for those who do NOT fall for the limited Internet access devices.
2. They also mention "epitaph to DVD," with people switching to BD. However, my
take is, the whole optical disk movie thing is in jeopardy, for the same reason
as CDs are.
3. He makes the point I also made: Avatar would have been just as good a movie
in 2D. I think a point he doesn't make is that people may just not be
interested enough in 3D to bother with glasses and the like, AT HOME. Even if
they will do this occasionally, for a couple of hours, at the movies. As to a
3D standards war, if that isn't happening, it damn well should be.
4. On cord cutting, he predicts the trend will continue. As you know, my only
surprise is that everyone hasn't done it already.
Bert
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