Maybe Blu-ray and HD DVD wasted too much time fighting it out for the consumer high-def disc market. “I think it’s too late for Blu-ray,” says Laurie Fincham, Chief Scientist at George Lucas’s THX, the standard bearer for only the best in sound and picture quality on all kinds of media. The respected engineer told Home Cinema Choice magazine he thinks the time for the old-fashioned disks has passed. “I think consumers will only become interested in replacing DVD when HD movies becomes available on flash memory. Do we really need another spinning format?"
No, Laurie, we don’t need another spinning format. With broadband numbers steadily rising (albeit too slowly in the U.S.), the anachronistic act of moving physical media around to watch video is about to end. It’s not only inconvenient, but it’s wasteful. Fincham places his bets on flash memory, guessing that by the time it'll take for Blu-ray to finally lure in a mass market, 128GB flash cards (big enough for 28 HD movies) will be the norm. Until then, Blu-ray will just be spinning its wheels.
Home Cinema Choice, via DVD Town
editor@dvice.com
By Anonymous at 9:13 PM ON 03/26/08
Pretty strange quote coming from THX considering none of the downloadable formats have sound better than standard Dolby 5.1. 28HD movies in 128GB? That's less than 5GB/movie. A typical TrueHD (lossless) sound track for a 2 hour movie requires nearly 4GB; are you going to fit the rest of the video into the remaining 750MB? I don't think so.
By Flogger at 12:04 AM ON 03/27/08
Movies on flash memory. Awesome idea. Put a FireWire or USB port on your TV and go to town. Play it on your PC. The portable DVD player becomes just a screen.
By Kevin at 2:16 AM ON 03/27/08
28HD movies on 128GB flash cards? jet packs, flying cars, homes on the moon, solar power in my lifetime? just more yadda yadda.. IMHO. I'll believe it when i see it.
By Anonymous at 9:45 AM ON 03/27/08
What about long term storage? Would this flash card hold the movies for a few years like my DVDs if not used?