Video at Home: Time to Ditch the Discs?

[fuser]

[citation][nom]ravenware[/nom]Netflix for streaming sucks. The video quality is decent enough but the majority of the titles they have to view are bargain basement trash that no one will want to watch. This is why I canceled my membership.[/citation]
The netflix service is a free add-on to their dvd rental service. It will get better, and you don't pay anything for it now.

 

[irtehyar]

People who believe streaming can replace real media have no eye or care for quality.

You could also ditch Blu-ray by gouging our your eyes with a fork. Question is: would you want to?

 

[jaz50y]

How about software helpers? With TVersity I can put whatever I want from my pc to my PS3 with excellent quality (especially since I hardwired the ps3 to my network).

 

[hobojoe_2006]

It's not April Fool's day yet is it??

 

[typerazor]

no offense but im not really sure why someone who doesn't know much about home media decided to write an article for toms

 

[belawrence]

Here's a thought; Mr. & Mrs Joe Sixpack want to watch the latest action flick. Do they:
1- go to their local b&m store, buy or rent the title, return home and plop the disc into a DVD/BD player or,
2- call local telco/cable provider, order broadband service-even though they either don't have a PC or have one but their needs are satisfied by dialup(don't forget to opt for the expensive "premium" tier so that you don't get capped/shut off/FAPed due to all of the movie downloads), purchase a home broadband router and attempt to configure it(along the way learning acronyms as DHCP, PPPoE, NAT, WPA2-PSK TCP/IP, etc.) finally, after getting your new fangled "set top box" to "talk" to your router, you're treated to a buffering, stuttering, "please wait" message-laden experience.

 

[Tindytim]

I hate DD, I really hope it never comes to full fruition. Even if it makes it to the point where it's feasible to get High Definition 7.1 from a download, I will always prefer having a Hard Copy, with some nice artwork, and a case to put on a shelf.

 

[Rouke]

1 simple answer [without looking at posts before mine]
1 big NAS 10Gb-network with Fiber internet connection and well secured networking/shopping (let's face it, if "everything" goes digital, so does stealing)

 

[Guest]

Well, lets answer thw initial question, you failed to answer. There is no way we can ditch the BD anytime soon with anything downloadable at same quality. You know why? Even if you manage to have huge NAS with Fiber internet (what speed? 30Mbps?)then it would be not enough to stream the content realtime (to wait sux!). And even if YOU would be the lucky one to have uberinternet, imagine how lame would the net be if everyone who is using BDs would download the content. That is simply no go situation.

 

[Guest]

Wow, I'm just amazed... this has got to be the worst article I've ever read on this site! Is the author some sort of apple fanboy? Why dis the Vudu for having to pay the same price to get the device as you would to get apple tv? And why not mention that both xbox360 and PS3 can be used to stream media over a network and the PS3 will let you play the blu ray discs this author so dislikes. I could go on, but I want to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome.

 

[bjornlo]

You used the wrong ROKU box. The roku 3 is superior in every way. If you shop at Amazon you probably have their low cost Prime deal. There are also many dozen other choices including Netflix and the very popular Hulu. This package also ncludes 1000's of free videos most of the ones I want to watch are available in HD.
The Popcorn hour device is mainly for showing movies you download to disk and then it has problems with DTS audio forcing you to down-sample the audio with something like Handbrake.
The pricing on he xbox is wrong. The services on it are not very impressive at all.
The only nice thing about the Apple TV box is the snazzy remote. It is so limited and just plain lame I gave mine away.
If I wanted to play local content, the pop corn hour would be tops. For video games my xbox is a lot of fun (but not for anything else). If you want a cute remote to place on your coffee table, get the Apple.... if you want to use it for anything more get a more capable device. For streaming media I have not yet seen anything close to ROKU... although the Netgear one was close.