A good use for Blu-Ray

[jasong]

I've been thinking about the difference between Blu-Ray , HD-DVD, and regular DVD disks. There is the potential to make Blu-Ray disks that can contain 200GB of movies on a DVD-sized platter.

Now, let's say they can figure out a way to make 200 GB Blu-Ray disks wholesale, say $10-$15 a disk, and fill them with data. Now, let's also say the average DVD movie is 7 GB(I pulled that out of my butt, by the way) and an HD movie is, um, 15 GB(my butt is very productive, apparently, ;) )

That's about 28 regular DVD movies on one disk or 13 HD movies.

Lastly, let's say they invent some really insidious DRM. Maybe every batch of Blu-Disks made gets some somewhat different code, and they keep the codes on a central computer with some super-badass security. What I'm thinking is, you'd get online(maybe the device that handles the DRM has the ability to surf exactly one website) you'd enter your credit card info, put in the disc with the movie you wanted. It would read the serial number of the disc after it processed your credit card. It would either then, give you a code to enter on the special player(possibly your computer) or alter a small RW type portion of the disk(maybe comprising 1-2MB worth of disk) to make it work for that one movie.

I know it sounds complicated, but consider the fact that you do something more complicated than that simply finding a new website. I once taught my grandmother how to use Google. I thought it was funny, at the time, that she wanted to write everything down, but to her it was a very complex, involved problem. Now she uses it like a pro.

So, what do you guys think? With the way US patents are, I'm sure someone has already come up with a similar idea and patented it, so it's simply a matter of whether or not it will ever be implemented.

Oh, yeah, I forgot, the disks are given away for free in the hopes the person will be interested in seeing one or more of the movies. They'd have themes, like "Horror," or "Arnold Schwarzenegger," or "2006."

[gopher_yarrowzoo]

Wow Jason I think that is actually a possibly workable idea just about you know but you do realise that any DRM system is a Pain in the Hiney and people will get around it somehow, you'd need to encode the movie so that only on playback with the correct code could they watch it but then they could give it to thier mate and they could use the same code and well you see where Im going, unless you gave them a player with it that created a one-time-code on that PC much like a MAC address.

[CaptainMooseInc]

Sony is still considering making it so if you buy a video game for the PS3 that once it is played on a PS3 it can ONLY be played on that PS3 from then on (registered via the interet automatically and permanently linked to the console).

Of course not everyone will hook their PS3's up to the internet but I'd say over 90% of people will. I hope that they don't do this.

And jasong, I'm sure it won't be TOO long before someone like Elaborate Bytes comes out with some Blu-Ray software (once Blu-Ray burners get a LOT cheaper) that will let you convert your old DVDs into Blu-Ray format and put a bunch of DVDs onto 1 Blu-Ray to "condense" your old collection. Then you'll get a menu screen much like the current DVD one and you just "pick" your DVD off the list and start playing it. :)