Movies

Jaman Brings The Film Festival To Your Computer

May 2, 2007 by Kirk Biglione

If you’re a fan of independent or foreign films it can be surprisingly difficult to track down new and interesting movies. You’re pretty much limited to catching films at the local art-house during the first run, waiting for them to run on IFC or the Sundance channel, waiting for a copy to become available on Netflix, or splurging on a DVD of a movie you may only watch once. Any way you look at it, there’s a lot of waiting around involved and it can be difficult to figure out what movies are worth seeing. A new download service called Jaman might just change all of this.

Jaman claims to have the rights to legally distribute over 1,000 foreign and independent films for download. That’s far more than iTunes or any other legal movie download service. Through partnerships with a number of film festivals Jaman also offers films that are currently on the festival circuit. For example, several of the movies currently screening at the Tribeca film festival in New York are available right now on Jaman, and films from the upcoming San Francisco International Film Festival will be available on Jaman next week.

Steve Jobs’ DRM Double Standard

April 5, 2007 by Kirk Biglione

Now that a major record label has finally consented to sell music without DRM restrictions it would be easy to portray Steve Jobs as a hero of the anti-DRM movement. After all, it was just two months ago that Jobs published his scathing letter criticizing the music industry for its reliance on DRM.

The problem is, Steve Jobs isn’t really an anti-DRM crusader. In fact, he has a pretty obvious double standard when it comes to DRM. Jobs has made it clear that when we talk about the death of DRM we’re really only talking about the death of DRM for music. As Jobs said during Monday’s press conference:

“Video’s pretty different than music because the video industry does not distribute 90% of its content DRM-free — never have. So I think they’re in a pretty different situation.”

Spoken like the single largest shareholder of the Disney Corporation.

The Release Window is Closing, But Not Fast Enough

March 12, 2007 by Jim Connelly

According to the L.A. Times, the release window between the time a film is released in theatres and the time it is released has shrunk another 10 days in the past year.

And while that’s enough to make the National Association of Theatre Owners very nervous, that’s still not nearly fast enough. The fact that there is any time at all between the time a film is released in theatres and the time it is available for DVD, pay cable and downloading is swiftly becoming an anachronism.

What I Learned From The Oscars Last Night

February 26, 2007 by Jim Connelly

I usually watch TV for one of two reasons: to be entertained or to be educated. Last night’s telecast of the 79th Annual Academy Awards certainly couldn’t qualify as entertainment, so therefore, it must have been educational.

Therefore, I present what I learned from watching the Oscars with some of my fellow ‘Lopers last night:

Why The HD-DVD / Blu-Ray Wars Are Not Over

January 10, 2007 by Jim Connelly

After no doubt unfurling a huge banner in its offices that said “Mission Accomplished,” the Blu-ray Disc Association has declared that major combat operations in the Hi Def DVD Wars are over, and Blu-ray is the victor.

Oh yeah? Sorry, Blu-ray Disc Association, but I think that you are obviously suffering from an extreme case of “premature evictoration:” the declaration of a victory long before your opponent has actually been vanquished. As if just saying you won makes it so.

Sure, some of your backers might buy your load of B.S. — because you’re saying what they desperately need to hear — but it’s entirely possible that three-four years from now, you’ll still be bogged down in the trenches, begging for a surge in advertising dollars that will hopefully spur sales.

2007: The Year Web Video Comes To The TV

January 8, 2007 by Jim Connelly

It’s beginning to look more and more like 2007 will be the year that gap between Web Video and your TV will be closed.

Sling Media, who make the Slingbox, a device that allows you to watch your TV’s programming on pretty much any compter anywhere, will be joining the parade of manufacturers who want to help cross that last 10 feet from the laptop to the big-screen.

Why James Bond Doesn’t Own An iPod

November 29, 2006 by Kirk Biglione

There was a time when the release of a new James Bond movie meant that audiences would be treated to a fantastic collection of gadgets and inventions, each of which was devised with the sole purpose of rescuing Bond from some unlikely scenario. The recently released Casino Royale is not that kind of movie.

The new Bond is much closer to the literary character created by Ian Fleming than he is to the Hollywood Bond we’ve come to know over the last four decades. As a result, Casino Royale presents audiences with the most low-tech Bond yet.

While it’s true that Sean Connery didn’t have a laptop in Dr. No, the technology he did have was at least recognizably different from what the average viewer could buy at the local mall.

Target Blinked

November 21, 2006 by Kassia Krozser

It wasn’t really a game of chicken because, well, in chicken, both parties have an equal chance. It wasn’t really a showdown because, well, in a showdown, it’s about being quickest to draw. It wasn’t even really a standoff because, well, Disney had very little to lose.

So when a retailing giant goes up against a major motion picture distributor and demands different prices or they’re going to cut back on efforts to sell the distributor’s products…and then said giant realizes that it’s on the cusp of the year’s biggest sales season and on the cusp of the release of what will surely be the year’s biggest DVD seller…what is it called? Tucking your tail between your legs and begging for forgiveness?
[Read more…] about Target Blinked

9 Reasons Digital Media Products Are A Bad Deal For Consumers

October 18, 2006 by Kirk Biglione

The utopian dream of ubiquitous media access is on the verge of becoming a reality. Consumers can watch TV on their iPods, download sports highlights to their cell phones, and take vast libraries of music with them wherever they go. You would think that all of these new digital distribution systems would be a boon for consumers, but that isn’t necessarily the case.

There are signs that media companies are using the transition to digital distribution as an opportunity to redefine consumer expectations about the value of media products, while at the same time eliminating much of what is currently considered to be fair use.

When consumers buy digital music, movies, or television programs from iTunes, Amazon, and most other digital content sources, they are ultimately paying more, getting less, and being forced to make platform decisions with long term implications.

Here are nine reasons why most digital media products are a bad deal for consumers: