We can only hope that the travesty that is
slotMusic isn't coming over to the film side, but just days after Disney
announced its intentions to offer up major motion pictures on microSD cards, Sonic Solutions has stepped in to bring
CinemaNow flicks to USB flash drives. Unlike you'd probably think this would work, Sonic has actually developed these to function in more than one place. Each stick contains a movie along with an integrated media player and the necessary video codecs, but aside from enabling users to play back content locally, there's also the option of catching it remotely. Once connected to the 'net, owners can add the title to their Roxio CinemaNow Digital Locker to access it on network-connected Blu-ray players and HDTVs. If all goes well, the first drives will start showing up in Q4 of this year, just in time to puzzle your young ones when they unwrap their favorite film on something other than a round disc.
[Via
HotHardware]
posted July 24th 2009 10:54AM
Roxio Ftl......
After a series of failed video games, Sonic the Hedgehog is branching out his career opportunities.
Sounds good to me. Discs take up too much room and can't be played on all devices.
Face it. Your blu-ray player is headed for the same dustbin the VCR is in.
Let me guess, that 'codec' includes an always running service and a rootkit.
Are you going to "catch" a movie? Perhaps you meant "cache".
extra long coney please
Why is this such a "travesty"? Spinning media and moving parts are going to the landfill along with your high school mixed tape and your BETAMAX player. Flash media is the future. Blu-Ray is too expensive and, as pretty as it is, is still just a basically an upgraded DVD format. It's still the same old disc that is highly susceptible to scratching and skipping and takes up a lot room in its bulky plastic case with its worthless booklet with pretty pictures that no one every really reads... yada... yada... yada. Then along comes flash media. No moving parts. No scratching. Faster transfer rate. You can fit it on a dime-sized mini-SDHC card. What's not to like?
... Blu-Rays literally cannot be scratched unless a butcher knife is used. Plenty of youtube videos can show you that.
maybe the #4 video dl service, #1-3 are reserved for torrent, rapidshare and usenet.
"Unlike you'd probably think this would work"
What?
And still, piracy provides the easiest, highest-quality, and most expansive (most titles) solution.
But yes, feel bad about picking the best solution, when the media industry has so many inferior options available for you!
Cluster F in the making.
Hey cluster - why not at least use a couple more brain cells to explain why you think its a cluster? or what exactly you are referring to?
I agree with several previuos posters: spinning hardware and discs are so 1990 and doomed to the scrap heap. At least some companies are trying to move forward content using a leading edge technology.
Given the number of companies putting out $99 media player boxes with usb and hdmi, I think its pretty clear what the near term future holds. Nothing better than a 500GB external drive full of movies, music and pictures that all play nicely through a usb connection to my media player outputting to my lcd.
I really do not understand Engadget's mockery of flash based content. I would much rather have a collection of little SD cards with music and/or video content than a collection of discs. They are easier to carry and take up far less room. Plus, and more importantly, can store more than your average CD or DVD. Slot Music was a great idea that was a bit too late.
This is all going to be irrelevant if the court overseeing the RealNetworks case (against the Studios) rules in Real's favor -- which as I understand it would essentially be equivalent to a ruling that there is a fair-use right to space shift video content. If that comes to pass, as it should, a torrent of new technology will be unleashed -- it will be a glorious meeting of years of pent up supply (ideas) and demand for new technologies. Whether they'll win the ruling is another question...but it sure will be a shame if they lose. All of these compromised, crippled technologies that you see people coming out with are compromised and crippled because the Studios are such controlling, fearful Luddites. That is the only reason that physical media (like DVDs and Blu-ray) have lasted as long as they have.