i agree with your sentiments on the appletv (and xbox 360 which by all accounts should look even better than appletv since its 6.5 mbit vs 5). the quality difference is there but it compares very well to even the best of hd-dvd/bluray (from my xbox live download tests).
i think its close enough that the ease of use comes into play as an advantage over physical media. now it does have some flaws (which you mentioned). but the 360 service doesnt have the 30 day wait on many studios movies but costs $1 more. that said i dont think these restrictions will last long term and all will be fixed.
but really what i see winning out (and the first company that manages it will win) is the subscription model. where you pay 25 bucks a month (or some set fee) and can download from a library of movies in "realtime". imo its the best of both worlds where you have the cheaper access and business model of netflix and the instant gratification that downloads offer. that to me is game over in terms of physical media dominating the movie market and i would gladly deal with appletv/xbox live quality if the interface is vastly superior to physical media.
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i agree with your sentiments on the appletv (and xbox 360 which by all accounts should look even better than appletv since its 6.5 mbit vs 5). the quality difference is there but it compares very well to even the best of hd-dvd/bluray (from my xbox live download tests).
i think its close enough that the ease of use comes into play as an advantage over physical media. now it does have some flaws (which you mentioned). but the 360 service doesnt have the 30 day wait on many studios movies but costs $1 more. that said i dont think these restrictions will last long term and all will be fixed.
but really what i see winning out (and the first company that manages it will win) is the subscription model. where you pay 25 bucks a month (or some set fee) and can download from a library of movies in "realtime". imo its the best of both worlds where you have the cheaper access and business model of netflix and the instant gratification that downloads offer. that to me is game over in terms of physical media dominating the movie market and i would gladly deal with appletv/xbox live quality if the interface is vastly superior to physical media.