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dcraigdc
7th March 2006, 12:25
OK so below I have written a couple of predictions as to the state of the film industry and the web industry and where it is headed. Lets hear all your thoughts on the topic!!

We have already seen several firms offering high speed broadband and the second half of 2006 will see NTL roll out 10 meg to its customers.

With the dawning of highspeed broadband, people will start exploiting the film industry the way they did with music industry and start downloading full feature films that have been ripped from DVD's on a national scale.

The film industry (probably worried about this already) realise something needs to be done. They realise that Apple have released their video ipod and that people will want to start watching films on the move.

Large firms like Napster then sign deals with Sony etc to get their film catalogue completely online. At this point the phenomenon begins. People can legally download films and this will effect several thousand industries.

Put off by the high price of DVD's in shops, people pay £8.99 online instead for a full feature length film. Small businesses that rely on media sales begin to collapse. Stores like Blockbusters close down the majority of their highstreet presence and do online rental systems instead.

Several hardware manufacturers create 'drives' that you can download films on to. As a direct result, Virgin, HMV and other outlets announce the arrival of 'film kiosks'. Plug in your ipod, choose your film, download on the move.

The prices of hardware for PC's (and in particular music/film servers) take a massive crash due to high demand. At the same time having a station in your home for TV, PC, and music becomes commonplace.

The film industry suddenly becomes more accesible to Joe Bloggs and film versions of 'MySpace' start to crop up, letting indiciduals showcase their talents. HD technology takes a MASSIVE leap forwards in price and demand as more and more people want cameras.

I reckon this will happen over the period of about 5-6 years, probably a bit extreme but it will be interesting to see if any of this happens.

DuaneJackson
7th March 2006, 12:28
Funny you should mention this. I'm working on a film download site now for a client that is parnered with Warner.

There are big changes afoot. Films will be available to download from the site for a couple of quid before they're available to buy in the shops. These are DRM protected.

Never mind 5-6 years. This will be ready in 5-6 weeks if I finish it on schedule!

Coding Monkey
7th March 2006, 12:29
NTL already actually offer 10Mb to its customers. By the end of the year, they are throwing out 100Mb. That means you're downloading a film in minutes. With 8Mb now becoming the low-end option, it is quite an achievement seeing that I was on a 28k modem only 2 years ago.

Many rumours already exist about the Video iPod coming out in a few weeks/months, and seeing that Steve Jobs is one of the board members of Disney (the biggest shareholder) that now owns Pixar, it won't be too far off. It will be the price that determines its success.

dcraigdc
7th March 2006, 12:32
Funny you should mention this. I'm working on a film download site now for a client that is parnered with Warner.

There are big changes afoot. Films will be available to download from the site for a couple of quid before they're available to buy in the shops. These are DRM protected.

Never mind 5-6 years. This will be ready in 5-6 weeks if I finish it on schedule!

Excellent news! I actually realised this was going to happen as soon as Apple released the Ipod. If I had financial backing its an industry I would go straight into as I personally believe its going to be one of the biggest revolutions since DVD nay probably television itself.

This is going to affect so many industries and have such a massive effect on the market place it will be unreal.

Mind you...they said the same about minidisc's. I remember watching ITV news and hearing there would be minidisc vending machines in every trainstation in the country... oh dear.

Richard Conyard
7th March 2006, 13:27
It's not just films, TV will follow this same route. Greater convergence will happen, our developers already have an IPTV system in place integrated with door entry, telephone, browsing and games. The services are through a subscription model with items such as movies on demand so with the latest updates in infrastructure the world is your digital oyster.