Out of the Ashes .......

Being heavily involved in retail sales of entertainment DVDs, it strikes me how we humans respond in down times. There is obviously a lot less buying of goods going on in the lower cost ranges. But, if a person gets a video in their hands that strikes their fancy, well they'll just treat themselves to a little low cost, reusable, home entertainment.

We are all impulse buyers and many times we buy what we WANT on the spur of the moment vs. deliberately buying what we need after some careful shopping. Especially when it comes to a measly $20 purchase. That is especially true for Motovideos because you can't buy them just anywhere.

Another observation as these trying times evolve is the crowd of people I see every time I pass the local Harkin's theater. It seems like the parking lot is always full.

Home Depot is empty, Harkins is overflowing at the seams. Go figure.

I think it's a good thing in many ways as most of us seem to be spending a little more quality time with our friends, family, our God, and even total strangers. When the going gets tough, many times the tough decide to just say hi & strike up conversation.

As retailers begin to close like wildfire, and the "correction" of our excesses of the past many years whips us in the rear, I have to wonder what's on the other side for entertainment. If I had to make a guess, I would place my bets on the next evolutions of texting technology. Have you seen a 15 year old text? WOW. Thousands, millions, no BILLIONs, uh-no make that TRILLIONs of mindless snippets are being fired around endlessly 24/7/365, faster than the national debt clock can spin. God forbid you print a statement with all the records. You will no doubt need a new toner cartridge, a fresh ream of paper, and a service call to replace the smokin wheels on your fancy all-but-the-kitchen-sink printer.

Imagine oh-say 5 years from now when you simply speak into your cell phone, er-I mean personal communication device, and your Avatar pops up to record the message. You then speak the Godly SEND command and your Avatar zips through the Net to pop up on the receiving end in front of the currently favored member of your Social Network delivering whatever photos, videos, or even lowly text that you desire. Life in the fast lane.

The storage capacity and speed of the networks will soon allow this kind of communication. It was only 1994 that I had an IBM thinkpad with a 50mg drive with a 50mHZ processor and a black & white screen. I had only 3 customers that could e-mail me.

Compared to my 15 year-old daughter, modern communications and infotainment is simply a teen waiting to bloom.

The Future of DVD?

What is the future of DVD? It's crazy but DVD is just about 10 years old and it's been a decade of DVD mania.

So - what comes next?

Will HD-DVD be the future? I doubt it. Despite the hype, HD is just another storage format. It's really no different than the continuing evolution of DVD formats before such as DVD-5 & DVD-9.

Studios and hardware manufacturers have struggled over the future of home video and to me, it appears finished DVD production peaked in 2006, and we are now in the era of DVD-R. Future usage will be cemented for a time however, supported by the proliferation of DVD players and other devices which can play DVDs, including PC's, PS3, X-box, etc..

The online DVD rental industry, created by Netflix in 1997, has grown substantially. Both Blockbuster, a major competitor, and Netflix, have done well with the rental model. The problem with this business model is it has had to increasingly compete with online video streaming. If it weren't for the fact that streaming requires high bandwidth capabilities, and you have to view it from your computer, streaming may have overtaken DVD by now. DVDs simply offer the convenience of transporting and watching movies from any DVD player or computer.

As it stands, HD and HD-DVD in recordable formats, are the current stepping stone to the next era in the evolution of home video.

The PC has advanced as a media component in the home. The PC is still THE enabler with access to peer to peer music swapping, DVD ripping & burning, editing tools, and online streaming. Either set-top boxes will advance, or PC's will become more integrated and user friendly. Whether it's Standard DVD play/recording, HD-DVD play/recording, internet Video on Demand, Home Video Editing/Recording, Music editing/recording, etc., the PC currently has a solid edge.

The cable giants, Microsoft, and the set-top box kings are squaring off, and we will be front & center for a truly monumental shift in content delivery. Regardless of the tools and systems, at the center of this exciting revolution will be content ownership, interactivity, and digital rights management. And as cost-per-byte reductions in storage technology continue, the freedom to transport volumes of video on iPOD like devices will also overtake the need for DVD media.

I can't predict the future. The customer is king and will ultimately drive the next evolution. I for one, look forward to the increasing volumes of education, information, and home entertainment, at my fingertips!

That play's music?

Would you believe that question shocked me to the core?

One afternoon in our new home I decided to brush of one of my vintage albums and listen to an album. I can't remember for sure what I played but I think it may have been Ten Years After, with an oldie but goodie called "I'd Love to Change the World". Ever heard it?

About the time I drop the needle and a few licks start to crank out, my 10 year old daughter is walking by, stops in dumbfounded amazement, turns to me and says; that plays music?

Talk about obsolete technology! Not to mention an obsolete Dad. Wow! What a difference 10 years makes. You know it's the future now when your kids have never heard music from a record player and only know music as coming from a radio or CD.

What about 8-tracks or even cassette tapes? - ancient history! Just a mad minute in the ever progressing technology evolution.

Imagine in a year or two when the CD is an afterthought and music is entirely traded on memory stick or iPod.

Video will follow soon. Imagine access to enormous video libraries on-demand. Coming soon - video overload......