An irregular column detailing some of the talk about DVD's and the technology that surrounds it from around the web.

F BLUE RAY, and HD TOO!

Don't buy Blu-Ray or HD-DVD yet, neither are realy ready for prime time and may not be for at least another year. Sony has been pre-selling a Blu-Ray player for a grand which is simply way too much for anyone to consider. Not only is the player way too much, there aren't any movies released. HD-DVD is in a similar situation but apparently the HD-DVD spec isn't even finished yet. Blue-Ray fan site If you are curious about the differences of HD-DVD & Blue-Ray, here is a CNET article detailing both technologies and which could reign the better technology. They of course like any big corporation does not suggest one over the other but Blu-Ray does have the upperhand at the moment since all major companies have pledged to offer BR (im sick of writing blu-ray) formats. CNET Review If you are upset with the conflicting specs of Blu-Ray & HD-DVD formats because the industry cannot agree on 1 format and will force the consumer to make a choice which could lead to buying multiple copies of movies - then this website could be for you. f**kblueray.com has set up a site to boycott the technology claiming you'll need new and expensive home equiptment and newer more compliant computers. The new devices and media will also contain DRM (Digital Rights Management) which will limit your playing ability on certain devices. There is also links to f**khddvd.com and a number of other memorable links. f-blu-ray Because this site got such attention on some of the major news outlets, a new article has sprung up claiming that the above site does not have it's facts together and that botcotting the technology is not the answer. Interesting read, I am learning about these new formats which both have possibilities, but the corporations head-butting over them is hurting will definitly hurt the consumer market, which all article more or less state the movie industry doesn't really care too much about. Boycotting is not the solution

Skip those damn commercials

An article about avoiding Disney's 'Fast Play' feature on thier new DVD's, Rob Griffiths discovers when choosing fast play instead of the main menu, he as to suffer through over 7 minutes of commercials ranging from new Disney products to the FBI does not trust you. Rob also gives a simple tip on avoiding this on all DVD's, not just Disney. How not to fast play a Disney DVD

Download Kong

The future of movies is quite possilby not on a CD media but downloading right to your TV or computer which is what Universal in Britain is going to do beginning with King Kong. With all this talk about CD formats, it may one day not even matter when you will have access to movies on demand.

From April 10, consumers will be able to download two digital copies of selected movies -- one for a computer and one for a portable device -- and receive a DVD in the mail.

Universal launches film downloads