But I'm not buying them. I buy a piece of paper which entitles me to watch this stuff (and I can keep copies of the ephemeral stuff if I wish, in the formats I choose, to watch when I choose). Which admittedly looks a little like a DRM scenario but gives me rather more choice and the option to maintain a physical artefact if I so wish. I'm saying that *I* feel comfortable having a tangible object. YMMV.
Perhaps the lack of tangibility is one reason why some people (not me) don't ascribe much value to what the BBC do and feel the need to snipe. Those who pay the rental for a sky box can at least see the Murdoch festering box squatting in the corner From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Butterworth Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 2:47 PM To: backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk Subject: Re: [backstage] HD-DVD / Blu Ray On 21/02/2008, Darren Stephens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: All of this is true enough, but (and there's always a but) you still have the physical artefact, don't you? Even if it's gaffer taped with a hundred others, you still have the physical object you shelled out your money for. The digital stuff is, by your own admission, descended from the objects. Brands may be virtual but I for one prefer to buy the disc. Why? Because there's something tangible to show for the transaction after completion, not something ephemeral that is rather difficult to pin down. There is something that is identifiable as being of worth. No, I gave away all 486 Star Trek and 150+ Dr Who videos. I no longer need a loft to keep them in. However I find it interesting that you link "something that is identifiable" with "being of worth". So the three billion Auntie spends on telly, radio and downloads has no worth, by your definition. I suspet that the linkage you state is not real, and is simply a matter of faith to people who used to make money from it. It's a bit like when CDs started and people said they would never catch on because people NEEDED gatefold and poster sleve, that CD cases were "too small" and so on. Just the Satus Quo, the status quo becomes old hat. I love seeing all the old pre-war cars doing the London to Brighton run, but people wouldn't rush out to buy them... That's not to say I don't buy the ephemeral stuff - I have purchased stuff on my iPod - but I am certainly more cautious about buying items that way. How unusual I am I can't say. From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Butterworth Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 7:08 PM To: backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk Subject: Re: [backstage] HD-DVD / Blu Ray On 20/02/2008, Ian Forrester <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I don't know guys, it may have been said multiple times but the only winner in this battle must be the online services. However I'm still left wondering when the general public will get their head around non-physical media. People seem to like the look and feel of physical media like CDs, Vinyl, DVDs. I was talking to Dave about this in Edinburgh. The thing is, the current evidence suggests that this might be a false assumption. From a physiological point of view, lots of marketing efforts does indeed go into selling "things" to people. However, the modern liberal international capitalist system puts a lot of effort into promoting "brands", which a not things, but virtual. It is quite a logical step to say that brands therefore exist in cyberspace. They have value only as something that is possessed by a company that hey can use. I've got three enormous boxes that I have all my CDs in. I gaffer taped them up when I finished MP3ing them, which was years ago now. How many times have I unpacked them? None. I've got a Vista Media Center with all my music on it, and I can copy and play this (using www.orb.com <http://www.orb.com/> ) anywhere. It's connected to the TV and has a remote control, and does my videos and all my thousands of photos. I can access all this lot from where ever with one remote control. I'm not alone. Everyone with an MP3 player (say an iPod) can carry around an amount of music you couldn't carry around in a transit van if it were on vinyl. Look, I'm such a nerd that I bought all of Star Trek (not Enterprise, obviously but with the Cartoons), Doctor Who and Blake's Seven on VHS and they took up the whole damn loft! Now I can have it all on a box smaller than half a VHS cassette. And if that's not enough. To quote from Down The Line, "What is point DVD?" The weirdest exam result (was the A) I got for an AO Level in "Science in Society", so I've known about the idea of "peak oil" and "climate change" for ages. I recon that if we are going to run out of the oil and stop killing the planet, then the easiest thing for people to give up is buying data stamped onto heavy plastic carted around by lorry. It's just so unnecessary! If you are investing, invest in fat datapipes not past-it plastic. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/feb/19/musicnews.netmusic?gusrc= rss&feed=technology Cheers zzzzzIan Forrester This e-mail is: [x] private; [] ask first; [] bloggable Senior Producer, BBC Backstage BC5 C3, Media Village, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TP email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] work: +44 (0)2080083965 mob: +44 (0)7711913293 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David Woodhouse Sent: 20 February 2008 13:31 To: backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk Subject: RE: [backstage] HD-DVD / Blu Ray On Tue, 2008-02-19 at 15:26 +0000, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > What I /heart/ about the pre-2K bit of plastic is the way it takes > control over your TV/DVD and insists that you watch the copyright > notices Sounds like you need to get yourself a better DVD player. -- dwmw2 - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk <http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/> discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk <http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/> discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] k/ -- Please email me back if you need any more help. Brian Butterworth http://www.ukfree.tv <http://www.ukfree.tv/> ************************************************************************ ***************** To view the terms under which this email is distributed, please go to http://www.hull.ac.uk/legal/email_disclaimer.html ************************************************************************ ***************** -- Please email me back if you need any more help. Brian Butterworth http://www.ukfree.tv
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