Engadget HD Podcast 078 - 03.26.2008
By Trent Wolbe 
posted March 26th 2008 12:05PM
posted March 26th 2008 12:05PM
Because we covered more than a week's worth during the last podcast, this one is shorter. But to make it up to you guys, we've brought in a special guest -- Jason Unger from CE Pro -- to lend his expertise to the conversation, especially regarding digital downloads versus physical media. We kick off with news from DirecTV -- the new bird is flying, but won't be speaking for a while. Meanwhile, non-"big four" networks are starting to show up in the DirecTV lineup (at least in Ben's neck of the woods). We got our hands on PS3's new BD-Live functionality, and it was a total "meh," but we can all hope for more interesting functionality from the technology in the future. At long last, Joe Kane's Digital Video Essentials has shown up, and it gives the HD DVD fans one last stick in the Blu-ray's eye. We wrap up with a long discussion on the aforementioned topic of download versus physical media, sparked by remarks from THX's Chief Scientist. A special thanks to Jason for coming on the show -- we couldn't have done it without you, Jason!Get the podcast
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Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh and Steve Kim
Producer: Trent Wolbe
01:17 - Comments from Engadget HD Podcast 077 - 03.21.2008
09:02 - Hands-on with the PS3 2.20 update -- and now, we wait
18:09 - DirecTV 11 expected to begin serving up HD in September
21:13 - South Florida's CW affiliate (WSFL-TV) shows up on DirecTV
24:06 - Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics gets reviewed
29:13 - THX Chief Scientist: "It's too late for Blu-ray"
32:42 - 10 reasons why HD DVD or Blu-ray is here to stay
LISTEN (MP3)
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I am commenting on the idea that it would only hurt the studios for movies to move to flash drives or something like it. Wouldn't be in the best interest for the retailers to keep movies on hard disc as long as possible? With the digital downloads, netflix, and pirating eating away at the once ridiculous sales of DVDs, I can only imagine that retailers see the end coming in the way that content is traditionally distributed. I can’t tell you when it will happen, but I can tell you that one day that the middle man (retail stores) will be cut out.
re: media center vs TiVo. I found I had to spend close to half the cost of a TiVo HD for a video card that would display HD without glitches (with a Dell XPS 420 quadcore). If TiVo would upgrade their nic cards to gigabit, there wouldn't be a question at all. I know everyone says it doesn't need the additional speed, until your moving .tivo files back and forth betwen your computer and additional TiVos. A gigabit connection would almost make this transparent.
The reason it doesn't matter is because the TiVo doesn't even have the power to take advantage of the 100Mbps nic it has now.
As for playing HD on a PC, I used to do it with a P3 700 and a Radeon 9500, so any video card sold today will work fine.
But even if you do want the latest, you can buy a Radeon 2600XT for less than $100, which is less than 1/3 the price of a TiVo HD.
Hey, its cool that you listened and brought someone on. I think it'll help bring some meat to slow weeks.
One thing I noticed that I don't remember hearing before, was voice echoing. Its very subtle, and you won't hear it when listening at lower volumes. I thought I almost heard you guys hearing your own voice and making you pause for a second.
I suppose the guests would have to use headphones/headset instead of listening to you go through the open speakers. Not sure if thats the case, but did you notice?
Thought you guys would like to know that myself and a co-worker listen to the podcast at least 2 times sometimes 3 because we'll be moving around the 2k sqft building and sometimes don't hear everything.
Good show. I wish you guys had skipped some normal pre-show stuff and just gone to guest. As you said nothing was really going on, and the first half was kind of a drag.
I don't see adding Itunes movie downloads as an incentive to pick up the blu-ray disk. People can already buy a cheaper DVD, rip it and move it to their Ipod.
I see there will be a three parallel paths going forward. DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital downloads. With all that competition I just don't see Blu-Ray ever gaining as big a market share as DVD.
I know Ben likes to bring up Voodoo, but it really is the Tivo of the digital download enterprise. Yes, it may have some success, but it will never be as big as the eventual winner. The AppleTv and the Xbox360 are really the two front runners in that market space. Microsoft probably has six million potential customers right now who, if convinced, can download movies right now.
Ben, I am just coming off another EngadgetHD induced-hangover caused by multiple shots of Goldschlager.
"...ironic that Warner was the first to switch sides and the last to release a notable HD-DVD title".
Ben, the word you are looking for is "coincidental". Irony usually indicates when you do something and it backfires or goes against you in a humorous way [or tragically in tragic irony].
He knows, he's just trying to get you wasted.
Your welcome.
Damn it now my other uncle just got a 5080. Every one's getting one...
Got it for a pretty good deal too. 1000 bucks. Always good to have family or friends that work in a pawn shop. :)
Just to clarify ... I listen to the podcast a couple times because I'm listening at work. My focus changes depending on what I'm working on at the moment and I miss things here and there. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you don't have my undivided attention. ;)
I mentioned Netflix VS Blockbuster because in podcast 076 Ben was raving about getting "No Country for Old Men" on Blu-ray from Netflix on the day of release. I used to get new HD-DVD releases on the day of release from Blockbuster on a regular basis. I haven't gone Blu-ray yet (hoping for a Xbox360 Blu-ray add-on), so I can't comment on the delivery of Blu-ray new releases from Blockbuster. I did notice we have a couple local Blockbuster stores starting to carry Blu-ray, so now you can get free Blu-ray exchanges in the store
Concerning your comments about the 360 being noisy, I believe the 360's are getting progressively quieter as they make changes to address the temperature issues. I usually play movies in the external HD-DVD player and I usually don't notice any fan noise.
Since I can’t buy an HD cable card tuner for my media center PC, I have decided to give Charter the boot and try the DishHD-only package w/ HD-DVR. I was surprised to see that AT&T has partnered with Dish Network, so I was able to bundle AT&T wireless/AT&T DSL and Dish Network ($5 discount for each additional service). The Dish Network rep said they have a new “free” movie download service that lets you download movies to the DVR. I’ll believe it when I see it.