Movies on a flash drive not apt to boom anytime soon

Earlier this month, we disagreed that HD movie downloads would trump HD DVD / Blu-ray disc purchases in the not-too-distant future, and now we've got yet another clever alternative on deck that just doesn't have the makings of a winner. While it seems that consumers still prefer something tangible when purchasing movies, we can't help but agree that flicks on flash drives just wouldn't work. Aside from the prohibitive cost to pop out a standard DVD on a flash chip versus a disc, the idea of having customers flock to some sort of movie download kiosk to refill memory cards with new releases just seems absurd. Sure, we understand how this could sound marginally appealing from the sidelines, but we just can't imagine all those DVD cases at your favorite big box retailer getting swapped out with movie-filled SDHC cards anytime soon.

[MMalecky @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:12PM]

Also, who the hell would even think about subjecting themselves to watching "Epic Movie?"

[Antexter @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:21PM]

I've been expecting something like this for some time, and I would happily accept them over any disk, its much more compact and efficient.

[austin @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:39PM]

most people with knowledge about the subject would.
the problem is with the idiots out there that think the bigger the size of the thing the better.
just like the gPC is bigger than it needs to be because people think it is better that way.
it all boils down to people not wanting to change because they dont know shit

[Brassen @ Feb 23rd 2008 8:04PM]

I also like this...

Going to the video store and refill a SD card would be great! No more problems with scratched DVDs...

[phanbouy @ Feb 24th 2008 7:05PM]

I will not buy this Tobacconist. It is scratched.

[billedluh @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:17PM]

this is "news"? engadget should start a new feed for editorials.

[Mark @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:25PM]

I personally don't like the idea of movies on the hard drive. It is such a waste of space. How often do you view the same movie? Once or twice a year? That's such a waste of hard drive space. Putting the movie on a disc and keeping it in a case on the shelf is better, in my opnion.

[m @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:16PM]

more to the point, physical media are the only secure purchase until the industry settles down to a reliable standard. amazon promises to allow unlimited downloads of your content forever, but what does that mean? unboxed is still in "beta." the demise of walmart's online video service has proven that even a big name is no guarantee of permanence. i don't know where this crazy kiosk scheme came from, but who knows what wonky DRM it would employ? even with the end of the hd format war, i'm content with my sd dvds for now.

[luckycharms711 @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:55PM]

well think of the real or physical space you are saving by having movies on the cards...it seems pointless to argue space when you say it is more practical to have one movie on a disc in a case compared to however many you can put on one card.

[Jarhead2012 @ Feb 23rd 2008 8:57PM]

A hybrid of the two ideas would be better. DVD cases are so unnecessarily large. Think if movies, instead of coming on a disc, which can get scratched and not read, were placed on a small flash drive and put in a case the length of a UMD case and the height of a DS game case, how much space and materials would be saved? Discs are so very unreliable. I think Read-Only flash memory should be the next movie storing medium. It would be so much more reliable and take up so much less space. Then, our players would only have to have a slot to insert the flash drive/card. I don't think, however, that an SD card which you can delete and add movies to would be practical, "Oh no! I lost my movie card! I spent $150 on all of those movies!!!!!" You're right, this is absolutely ridiculous. I propose a method which would work more like what we're used to, while adding reliability and versatility. IMHO, it would work much better.

Sorry for the lecture, I've just been sitting on this idea since flash drives became a big thing.

-Alpha Out

[m @ Feb 23rd 2008 10:14PM]

that's hardly progress: the atari 2600 had interchangeable read-only ROM cartridges in 1978. it will always be more expensive, and it has a greater potential for becoming a proprietary technology that limits consumer freedom. having a cheap, ubiquitous disc format that works across the entire range of consumer electronics is a good thing.

[newgalactic @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:26PM]

Since one of the first things I do with DVD's I own is rip them for backup purposes, I would be all over this. If it had the same level of audio/video quality, why not? They have those silly kiosk's at Kinkos and photo developement shops, why not at blockbuster and Walmart? They could even be the same kiosk. I already own a few SD cards, I could use them for movies and then pop them back into my camera when I'm done. I wouldn't be down with paying for a new SD card with every movie, that would be silly. But the kiosk idea is a cool one.

What kind of transfer rate is possible with SD cards? Would the wait for a HD movie be too long for this to be practical?

[Sime @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:26PM]

i scoff at physical formats

[toxicpiano @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:55PM]

I concur.

[Jamma @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:45PM]

I for one welcome or physical format overlords

[Matt @ Feb 23rd 2008 9:59PM]

digital ftw

[ethana2 @ Feb 23rd 2008 10:20PM]

they make shiny shurikens.

yes, that is all they are good for.

[VorpalK @ Feb 24th 2008 9:25AM]

I enjoy having a physical object that says "yes I own this" and doesn't take hours of time to download when I decide to watch it.

[Abuzar @ Feb 24th 2008 12:25AM]

Do you know where that digital data is stored? On a HDD in a Server somewhere. That's a Physical Format in way.

[MMalecky @ Feb 24th 2008 1:50AM]

@ Abuzar

Oh, would you look at that?! You've spilled logic all over my brand new opinion!

[Abuzar @ Feb 24th 2008 2:45PM]

Logic? I don't need logic!

[Ryan @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:27PM]

I think it is VERY possible that people could go to a kiosk or store and purchase movies on little flash cards. I would like to see movies put on credit card size flash cards myself. Having a movie I paid $20 bucks for on an easy to scratch disc, either blu-ray or DVD, can be inconvenient because of the size and the fact that they need to physically "spin" inside a box-type device called an HD or DVD player. Seems like old tech to me even if disc media holds lots of data.

All i'm saying is it would be nice if you could just insert a slim credit card into a thin device and play an entire season of the Simpsons. Awesome really.

[DrunkMonkey @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:48PM]

In my experience Blu-ray disks are VERY hard to scratch.

[Jimbo @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:05PM]

nearly impossible to scratch. Certainly a lot more durable than some flash formats. There is a youtube out there of some idiot who scuffs the hell out of his blu ray movie with one of those metal scouring loufa thingies, and the thing played fine.

Though I would also prefer the kiosks and memory sticks, I doubt it's going to be coming soon.

[Red Matt @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:28PM]

I think there's plenty of people who would take convenience over quality - watching a DVD-quality movie now on Netflix online beats waiting the 30 minutes it takes to drive to Blockbuster to fetch the 1080P copy.

The appeal of Flash memory is you can play the movie anywhere - TV, phone, computer, etc. The problem is that flash memory is waaay too expensive to make that realistic.

I'd love to be in a world where you start watching a movie on your iPod during lunch, then transfer the film to your TV when you get home and finish it there. But technology (and legal rules) aren't there yet.

[Rafer @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:52PM]

Watching a full HD quality Movie on Stage6 is even better IMO.

[Homeboy @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:43PM]

You're making some valid points, but the one and only reason why flash drives won't be replacing optical media anytime the coming 10-20 years is cost! Compare the price of a 700MB CD-R with a 512MB SD or CF memory card and you'll see the picture.

Movie production is all about money and right now it looks more likely that people will rent or buy movies online rather than buying them on memory cards.

[Bill Pytlovany @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:32PM]

You've got it. I just wrote about this last month.

Flash memory is continuing to come down in price and many TV's already come with built in card slots. While currently the slots let you view photos it would cost nothing have TV's include the functionality to watch movies on chips.

The other big advantage to flash is power consumption. If you've ever watched a DVD on a plane with your laptop you'll know what I mean.

Bill

[packetsniffer @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:37PM]

@Engadget
The idea behind movies on a flash drive would be to have the flash drive read-only. They don't sell movies on rewritable DVDs, and they wouldn't do it on solid state media either.

[Jarhead2012 @ Feb 23rd 2008 9:01PM]

exactly. Making them re-writable is just ASKING people to pirate more than ever!

[Kurtis @ Feb 23rd 2008 11:34PM]

"exactly. Making them re-writable is just ASKING people to pirate more than ever!"

So let me get this straight... You are saying that if you could write to dvd's, then they would be easier to copy? Interesting... Maybe you should take some schooling on the concept of reading data vs writing data.

As for packetsniffer, I have no quarrel with you... you are completely right, I just had to kick this other idiot.

[albi @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:38PM]

so sony studios will want to use memory stick, while others will choose SD: format war II~~or III

[Joppa @ Feb 23rd 2008 11:13PM]

Except everyone can use both flash cards and memory sticks on many devices (phones, consoles, tvs) as opposed to blu-ray which requires a special very limited player.

[SimonRichards @ Feb 24th 2008 1:19PM]

Answer: Just use a damn USB flash drive (a slim one).

Compatability = win! :D

[peshue @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:52PM]

It'd be great for rentals since besides netflix most places are to inept to keep unscratched discs in stock.

[yoyodude64 @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:54PM]

i dont think it would b each movie on a different card. you could have 1-4 movies on each card, and you swap out movies in a store, or transfer to a computer. enables cheaper movies, cuz theres no disc at all, so theres almost no cost to the studio.
at the same time, im a big fan of dvds and not ready for them to go away.

[thethirdmoose @ Feb 23rd 2008 8:12PM]

What, you think the cost of that DVD comes from the $.30 it takes to make/ship the DVD?

[andyg @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:56PM]

Basically, people want something they can buy, and they want it in a case to take home and put on their shelf.

Now currently, flash memory of capacity equalling blu-ray discs is a long way off, however if a DVD can hold 4.7GB, and has 2 layers say, then an easily available 16GB flash memory would work a treat. And Size doesnt matter that much, small yeah, but a case has to be at leat a certain size.
Flash memory the size of a UMD disc would be perfect, everyone is a winner...and wouldnt be too expensive to manufacutre...micro SDHC clearly isnt the best size card for a movie...they would get lost, and taken up by a vacuum cleaner on a regular basis.

[Jonestown @ Feb 23rd 2008 6:56PM]

Quote: "but we just can't imagine all those DVD cases at your favorite big box retailer getting swapped out with movie-filled SDHC cards anytime soon."

Maybe so, but I do remember a few years back when people said that they would NEVER swap all those countless of thousands of VHS tapes with these new-fangled 'DVDs'

Alot can change.

[cswallow01 @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:01PM]

But what would be even cooler, is everyone having 802.11n and being able to download a movie within a matter of minutes.

I'm at Starbucks with iPhone or iPod Touch (next gen). I want a movie to watch. Fire up iTunes and purchase The Dark Knight. Within a few seconds the download and playback begins, while the rest of the movie is downloaded within 5-10-20 minutes, pending server speed and bandwidth. After that, go home, sync with iTunes and stream to Apple TV. Or maybe finish the download at home?

It can and will happen!

I couldn't imagine Apple/AT&T/Starbucks not implementating 802.11n the second it becomes an official standard, since kicking T-Mobile out!

Actually, I'm not too sure we're gonna haft to wait for N.

G, just might work, as well!!!

I don't see memory sticks and micro sd cards being a movie format. It just isn't in the cards... Maybe if we weren't living in the age of Cable/FIOS and G/N hotspots, but I just don't see it with what we have now...

[peshue @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:10PM]

Wireless speeds have nothing to do with it. Not many people have enough bandwidth from their ip to max out b, let alone download a HD movie in less than 30 minutes.

[DarkLightConnection Unbanned @ Feb 24th 2008 12:47AM]

Uhh, peshue, you're fail.

I get cswallow's point, and I agree.

The movies would NOT be downloaded from the internet, but DIRECTLY of the store's/starbucks server, at the max wireless speed

[Coeus @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:10PM]

I think your right... the storage cost of flash is just too high.
The likely alternative to Blu-ray I see is HD-Video On Demand provided by your cable (or fios, uverse, etc) company. If you really want to have a movie to keep, you go buy it on Blu-ray. If you just want to watch a flick in HD some random Tuesday night, it is so easy to just use your remote.
Because of this, I believe Blu-ray movies will start coming with more trinkets. (i.e. treasure map, coin, poster, companion booklet, etc) This can help further differentiate owning the moving vs just watching it.

[joelfinkle @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:05PM]

Why take it to a store? Fat pipes, or pre-loaded servers. I don't want to wait 12 hours to download 12GB of HD movie, and I don't want a streaming movie to grind to a halt in the middle because some bozo down the street is doing the same thing on the same cable.

Scarily, somebody out there is probably looking at a flash memory device with an encryption key, that you'd take to a store to load up with your rented movie. It's that darn DRM that makes any kind of download attractive to the distribution channels, and makes it annoying to all of us. And the stupid thing is that it's still breakable -- I'd give DVDJon a day to break anything like this.

And don't give me that "Information wants to be free" crap -- information wants to be *valuable*. Unless somebody pays for it, nobody's going to spend $200M to make it.

[Blaktornado @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:08PM]

Eh, if it was Epic Movie (more like "Epic Fail") on my flash drive, I'd be the first to swap the content.

But I think the concept would work better in the same style as Game Boy and Nintendo DS Games - you would buy a different cartridge for each movie, rather than the same one that you just swap content on. Plus that way piracy is prevented.

[DefPo3t @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:27PM]

ever heard of umd same concept didnt work to well tough

[creamandchives @ Feb 23rd 2008 7:59PM]

What about the write once SD cards that are supposedly coming soon (mentioned on this very gadget blog). They would allow CHEAP, non-refillable distribution of digital content on a tiny tiny memory card (meaning going to a "kiosk" would not be necessary, they just give out the cards like discs)- a great step between Bluray and the ultimate of movie downloads. And you can still put them in a case :) (and put them in your phone, PSP, PMP, Wii, TV, etc etc.

[Lakeuk @ Feb 23rd 2008 8:00PM]

I'm already watching movies / recorded tv off SD Flash cards, my £20/$40 dvd player accepts all types of flash inc SD Flash, memory stick or usb flash (I've even had a my 320Gb external harddisk hooked up).

So much easier and quicker than waiting for the dvd to spin up, plus the price of flash memory is coming down very quickly, I think it'll be a good replacement to blu-ray if the price of blu-ray's don't fall alot quicker

[JohnTitor @ Feb 23rd 2008 8:25PM]

a TakeTV pic would have been better

[mushrooshi @ Feb 23rd 2008 8:44PM]

Speaking of epic movie, I can't believe they put advertisments of it on childrens networks like Nick.

I understand it was rated PG13, but so was spiderman.

Damn studios try to sneak sex scenes past us, even at kids!