Blu ray is doing well even during the slow season

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

...you can't think of a good response at all?

Wooch has already spelled it out for you why I will not respond. His words were and I quote

"Provide some actual concrete data to bolster your points, otherwise it's just mindless babbling on your part."

Now that is two of us telling you exactly the same thing. When are you going to get it? When are the stupid pills going to wear off?

[klif570]

DVDs will still be there because the studios produced thousands of copies that are still sitting on retail shelves and in warehouses, but that doesn't mean that they generate much interest or sales.

But that's what I said all along, that DVDs will remain and only DVD players will be written off. What would be the point of making Blu Ray players backwards compatible then.

Sure, at one point the DVD format will eventually come to an end, but it's not going to be 5 years like someone predicted. And let's not forget I compared the UK market, another forum member compared Switzerland. That's Western Europe; and other countries to the East of Europe will take even longer to move to Blu Ray format, if they will at all

[klif570]

You are wrong again. You know, in American baseball you only get three strikes. You have enough strikes to put you out of the game forever.

And I thought peanuts were boring..

Since I do not work in the marketing department of Lovefilm, I cannot answer that question only they can.

Thanks for admitting. The answer is very simple though, they advertise what sells and what attracts people.

Let's get one thing straight here. Europe is no trend setter when it comes to video technology. They are followers, which makes them consistantly behind the curve on everything video.

Yep, we are. A bit like you follow the Japanese.

DVD was firmly entrenched here in America before it got started in Europe. Its penetration in the US was about 35% before it was 5% in Europe. Blu ray does not upset that CE history.

Let's assume the US has switched to the new format. Does that mean DVDs are written off? Even though they are popular in other countries?

Lovefilm does not show a trend in Europe, it shows a rental trend for Lovefilm as a business only. Everyone in Europe does not rent from Lovefilm do they?

And where do they rent from then? Tescos?! Haha they don't even stock Blu Ray yet.
As I said before, it shows the trend for the UK, Ireland, Germany, and, my mistake, the whole Scandinavia..so more than 4 countries. Some of the wealthiest countries in Europe. Now would you like to know how the rest of Europe is doing? The poorer countries? Eastern Europe? They will take even longer to switch to Blu Ray.

The Blu ray rental market there is far smaller than it is in America, and basically that is attributed to Blu ray catching on later than it has here. The DVD is in a faster decline here because America adopted it sooner and faster, and it is maturing as a format sooner than it is in Europe because of that same reason.

Yes, I know. That's what I've been saying myself, that while Blu Ray seems to be popular there, it's just not on the same level in Europe.

According to NDP (which just so happens to cover rental activity of Lovefilm), they are only generating big revenue from new releases, moderate revenue from the top 100-300 previously released titles(those released within two to three years), and next to nothing from everything after that.

Next to nothing? Why do they stock thousands of older films then? Films that were released ages before Lovefilm opened up? If everyone only wants the new stuff there's no point to stock anything ancient.

Now pull up your chain uneducated one, you are about to go to school on how to identify a trend.

Not long ago you were making animal sounds on here.. Worry about your chain a little more

Any person who is still looking for a DVD, and dedicated CD player in a Blu ray world where all three can be played on the same machine is obviously so behind the curve they can easily be considered technologically retarded.

ATTENTION! You just made a fool out of yourself, in public. Right in front of fellow audiophiles. Most Blu Ray players are rubbish at playing back CDs. Even DVD players are, and nothing can match a dedicated CD spinner. How about you get some style and look up names like Vincent, Naim, Arcam? And I'm talking CD players only.

I think what upsets you is that while you are stuck at DVD, the rest of the world has moved on to Blu ray.

No, what upsets you is that I am perfectly happy with DVDs and CDs. And you just can't stand it when people don't upgrade. Not long ago you were asking Smoke to get one. You really do have some sort of Blu Ray upgrade phobia.

Oh, and by the way, a Denon 1704 is not a HD player by any means. Progressive scanning DVD players are not HD players, only Blu ray players are. A HDMI 1.1 equipt DVD player does not mean it is HD.

And what's that supposed to mean? That you don't agree with how Denon class their products? It says Full-HD 1080p upscalling and I'm perfectly happy with the quality. It's DVD-1740, by the way.

One more thing, I've made my point, and you've just proved to be a stuck up fanboy of Blu Ray. Are you gonna cry that I feel no need to upgrade? Or are you gonna call me names and say I'm retarded because I'm happy with DVDs and CDs?

One thing's for sure, I'm not going to lower myself to your level and waste my time arguing with you

[Woochifer]

But that's what I said all along, that DVDs will remain and only DVD players will be written off. What would be the point of making Blu Ray players backwards compatible then.

Sure, at one point the DVD format will eventually come to an end, but it's not going to be 5 years like someone predicted. And let's not forget I compared the UK market, another forum member compared Switzerland. That's Western Europe; and other countries to the East of Europe will take even longer to move to Blu Ray format, if they will at all

The five year time window has precedent behind it. The hardware is the precursor to what happens with the software. You can pretty much count on DVD players having about two years of shelf life left. At that point, nearly every optical video player sold will be Blu-ray. The studios will not indefinitely support the DVD format once all of the new hardware supports Blu-ray, and the DVD format itself continues to lose market share.

If current growth rates continue, the Blu-ray format will surpass the DVD in two or three years. Once Blu-ray gains the market lead, then industry support for the DVD format will evaporate in a hurry. Retailers will stop carrying them, and the studios will stop releasing new releases in the DVD format, which will effectively kill the format. It doesn't matter what country you're in, that's what has happened with every other defunct consumer entertainment format, why would the DVD be any different?

[Woochifer]

And what's that supposed to mean? That you don't agree with how Denon class their products? It says Full-HD 1080p upscalling and I'm perfectly happy with the quality. It's DVD-1740, by the way.

It means that something that's true HD has to have HD resolution content in the first place. Taking a fuzzy image and rescaling it to 1080p does not make it 1080p.

I have the equivalent model to the Denon DVD-1940Ci, and even good upscaling DVD players (which the Denons are) don't come close to what Blu-ray is capable of. Upscaling is one of the biggest misnomers in all of consumer electronics because any HDTV has to rescale and upconvert a non-native video signal just to display it. The DVD format is a native 480i format, and the fanciest upscaling won't change that. They cannot manufacture image details that aren't there in the original bits.

As T pointed out, the video content on a DVD uses far more heavy handed processing to get around the format's inherent limitations. Transferring a movie onto Blu-ray requires much less processing, and preserves far more of the original image integrity.

If you already own a HDTV and care even the slightest bit about picture quality, it just makes no sense whatsoever to stay completely entrenched with the DVD format and not even consider going to Blu-ray. Especially with many Blu-ray player prices now well below $150USD.

One more thing, I've made my point, and you've just proved to be a stuck up fanboy of Blu Ray. Are you gonna cry that I feel no need to upgrade? Or are you gonna call me names and say I'm retarded because I'm happy with DVDs and CDs?

It's not being a fanboy to point out the market reality that Blu-ray is on pace to take over the market lead in less than three years, at which point the DVD format's demise will be sealed. If you want to stick with DVDs indefinitely, that's your choice. But, just be aware that the market does not sit still and your viewing options with the DVD format will definitely dwindle as studios put more of their catalog DVD titles out of print, as rental outlets begin paring down their DVD inventory, and eventually as studios stop making DVDs altogether.

[nightflier]

Let's get back to reality.

1. Just because he (and every other person who owns movies) may one day no longer be able to purchase a player that won't play BR disks, means very little because it will still play DVDs. This is a crucial difference from the comparison with VHS - DVD players could not play the old format.

2. The slower adoption rate of BR in the rest of the world could just as well mean that they never will convert completely to BR. In many other industrialized countries the problems with download speeds and infrastructure are far less serious. Downloads could very well become the dominant format there and then it will be those countries that will be pointing out to us that we're stuck with a niche technology. The argument that the rest of the world is backwards or behind because they aren't adopting the latest technology is bigoted, ignorant, and the reason we are so often labeled "ugly Americans." You two exemplify the worst stereotypical traits towards the rest of the world.

3. Whether you want to admit it or not, the fact that BR isn't conveniently cracked continues to be an impediment to it's widespread adoption.

4. Along with the technological arrogance you two exhibit, you also exhibit it's associated sibling: a most irritating and stereotypical economic arrogance. You presume that the rest of the world is going to follow the US in an expensive technology, when acceptable alternatives are less expensive.

5. And for the trifecta, you also exhibit an unabashed arrogance with your devil-may-care consumerism and waste, something else the rest of the world so resents about us. The very real possibility that the rest of the world doesn't dispose of technologies as readily as we do, for practical reasons as well as environmental ones, is so anathema to your world view, that you can't even fathom its possibility. As hard as the pill is for you to swallow, the rest of the world may very likely stay with DVD simply because it's good for others, and the sacrifice to stay with the alternative of upconversion may be a compromise they're willing to make to meet that end.

6. Finally, what you two just can't get through your arrogant heads is that most of these impediments can be addressed with downloads. They:

- will soon be true HD
- are technologically feasible
- can more easily be cracked and re-distributed
- are better for the environment
- are more economically sound to implement
- and will benefit more people in more places

Perhaps we should take a closer look at what is happening in a country that is indeed more advanced than we are: Japan.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

And I thought peanuts were boring..

And I thought peanut heads were boring. Now we have an empty head that want to compete for the title.

Thanks for admitting. The answer is very simple though, they advertise what sells and what attracts people.

That is a naive answer if I ever saw one. It is a typical answer from a person that is clueless about the AV business. To say you have 65,000 DVD only means one thing. You have a variety of DVD releases that you have purchase for rental over the last 10 years. A product that is not growing, but has matured and is dying a slow death just like VHS did when DVD came to the marketplace. It is amazing that my kids have learned to connect information dots, but you haven't.

Yep, we are. A bit like you follow the Japanese.

So you don't think you follow the Japanese? Will dimwit, that CD player you are looking for, it was based on a design patented by Sony, a Japanese company. Philips didn't introduce their design until three years after Sony introduced theirs. The current players are based on Sony's design, and the only contributions that were patented by Philips is the disc manufacturing process. Sony could have easily done this with Pioneer instead of Philips.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disc

That Denon DVD player you just purchased. That is a Japanese product designed by two Japanese company called Toshiba and Sony.(DVD is a combination of Sony's MMCD and Toshiba's SDD)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD

That VHS you probably owned in the past(or still own) It was invented by a Japanese company called JVC. Beta was created by a Japanese company called Sony

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHS

Now Philips has introduced a product themselves called DCC, but that was a miserable failure in the market place, a market place where a certain company dominated with the walkman. That company was a Japanese company called Sony.

So dingy, everyone has been following the Japanese, not just me, but you as well.

Let's assume the US has switched to the new format. Does that mean DVDs are written off? Even though they are popular in other countries?

I think you are interchanging what is in wide use for what is popular. An iphone is popular as its sales are growing like roaches breed. The same with Blu ray. The DVD is not popular, it is in wide usage because the technology has been around longer than Blu ray. Popular products do not have year to year sales losses on both players and software, it has sales growth(see Cell phones). In Europe DVD is on a downward trend on both software and hardware, so it is not popular anymore. When somebody looks at a sales chart of the DVD format as a whole, they see decline, not incline. Putting the dots together, DVD is suffering declines in Japan, the US, and Europe as well, so it is time to be written off. Now you may be white knuckling DVD, but apparently nobody else is.

And where do they rent from then? Tescos?! Haha they don't even stock Blu Ray yet. As I said before, it shows the trend for the UK, Ireland, Germany, and, my mistake, the whole Scandinavia..so more than 4 countries. Some of the wealthiest countries in Europe. Now would you like to know how the rest of Europe is doing? The poorer countries? Eastern Europe? They will take even longer to switch to Blu Ray.

Two problems with this response. Europe is not 4 countries(or regions) it is 50. Lovefilm only represents 50% of the rental business in those 4 countries(or regions), not 100%. So with only 50% of the market, you cannot use Lovefilm as the barometer for anything, you have to look at the whole pie. What you said earlier is that Lovefilm is a trend for Europe, and now you are back peddling it to four countries and a small region. Rentals are not going to save a dying format, VHS is a prime example of that.

Yes, I know. That's what I've been saying myself, that while Blu Ray seems to be popular there, it's just not on the same level in Europe.

Sorry, with Blu ray sales jumping 167% over last years, and DVD declining 9% last year, that is not a sign of popularity, but a sign of a maturing format that is bowing slowly to another format. It is predicted that Blu ray disc sales will surpass DVD in the next three years if Blu ray continues to grow and DVD continues to decline. Once Blu ray sales reach parity to DVD, say good bye to DVD. This goes for DVD players as well.

Next to nothing? Why do they stock thousands of older films then? Films that were released ages before Lovefilm opened up? If everyone only wants the new stuff there's no point to stock anything ancient.

You do not seem to know the history of your own rental company do you? Lovefilm was born out of mergers, not grown from the ground up. The older titles are likely inventory gained from those mergers. According to NDP, new releases make up a majority of rental income, while the remaining titles make up a pittance in comparison. I didn't say the older titles were NEVER rented, I said they do not generate very much income. Since you do really understand the rental business, I'll explain why the older titles are there. It is called the bread and butter of the rental industry, and its name is variety and depth. Keep in mind, they only have 65,000 titles out of 110,000 released on the DVD format. Titles that are not moving are recycled out of rotation in favor of a newer release. Netflix has 102,000 titles in comparison to Lovefilms 65,000. Netflix is so much larger than Lovefilm, they likely generate more income on older titles than Lovefilm does which is why their inventory is so much larger. Lovefilm has 1.2 million customers, and Netflix has roughly 10 million.

Not long ago you were making animal sounds on here.. Worry about your chain a little more

This is a rather stupid statement to make since this site has no way of transmitting my voice to you. Do you want to try again?


ATTENTION! You just made a fool out of yourself, in public. Right in front of fellow audiophiles. Most Blu Ray players are rubbish at playing back CDs. Even DVD players are, and nothing can match a dedicated CD spinner. How about you get some style and look up names like Vincent, Naim, Arcam? And I'm talking CD players only.[/quote]

You can't afford any of those CD players, so that point is irrelevant. You are not looking for an audiophile CD player, so to even bring that up is disingenious at best. Pioneer makes Blu ray players that have received rave reviews on their CD playback as well as their DVD and Blu ray playback. All of those CD players you mentioned costs far more than a most Blu ray players, and can only play a CD and that is it. CD players don't do multichannel audio, they are confined to two channel digital audio. I just ordered a Pioneer BDP-09FD, and I'll bet it will keep up with many high end CD players within its price range when playing back CD's.

16/44.1khz audio is yesterday. We are in the day of 24/96khz audio and 24/192khz audio on the Blu ray format. No CD player can playback at those bit and sample rates, they are confined to redbook CD audio. The best audio I have ever heard didn't come from a CD player, it came from my Oppo SE Blu ray player on the Blu ray format playing back TrondheimSolistene: Divertimenti. When you compare the 5.1 24/192khz audio to the 2.0 16/44.1khz CD layer on the SACD, it is no contest. Dedicated CD players are nearly extinct anyway. Read the review and weep.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Trondh...y-Review/1097/

I think this sentence is really telling

On the caboose, of course, was the CD layer included on the SACD. Not horrible, but I cannot understand listening to this content when 24/192 PCM is included. Maybe in the car?

No, what upsets you is that I am perfectly happy with DVDs and CDs. And you just can't stand it when people don't upgrade. Not long ago you were asking Smoke to get one. You really do have some sort of Blu Ray upgrade phobia.

The difference between you and I is I know when to hold it, I know when to support it, and I know when to abandon a dying format. It is pure arrogance to think I would be upset over what you do. I do not care what you do, you can stay behind the curve forever as far as I am concerned. But you have to face reality. Both DVD and CD are on their way out of here, and sticking with dying formats is a dead end(no pun intended). I am not upset with you, I feel sorry for you that you are so backwards that you would invest in formats that are on their way out, and not in ones that are here already and growing.

If you think I am so hung up about what you do, go drown yourself and see if I shed a tear.

And what's that supposed to mean? That you don't agree with how Denon class their products? It says Full-HD 1080p upscalling and I'm perfectly happy with the quality. It's DVD-1740, by the way.

Full HD 1080p does not need upscaling. Since Wooch has already covered this bit of ignorance, there is no need for me to ground your head into the pavement on it.

One more thing, I've made my point, and you've just proved to be a stuck up fanboy of Blu Ray. Are you gonna cry that I feel no need to upgrade? Or are you gonna call me names and say I'm retarded because I'm happy with DVDs and CDs?

And you are a fanboy of old technology, so what! I say you are technologically retarded because you don't know a DAC from a decoder, or a upscaled image from a native one.

One thing's for sure, I'm not going to lower myself to your level and waste my time arguing with you

Lower yourself, dude you just hit the education jackpot here. Instead of arguing, maybe you should be reading and learning. You don't seem to know anything about what you are arguing about anyway. Oh, let the door hit you on the way out.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Let's get back to reality.

1. Just because he (and every other person who owns movies) may one day no longer be able to purchase a player that won't play BR disks, means very little because it will still play DVDs. This is a crucial difference from the comparison with VHS - DVD players could not play the old format.

2. The slower adoption rate of BR in the rest of the world could just as well mean that they never will convert completely to BR. In many other industrialized countries the problems with download speeds and infrastructure are far less serious. Downloads could very well become the dominant format there and then it will be those countries that will be pointing out to us that we're stuck with a niche technology. The argument that the rest of the world is backwards or behind because they aren't adopting the latest technology is bigoted, ignorant, and the reason we are so often labeled "ugly Americans." You two exemplify the worst stereotypical traits towards the rest of the world.

3. Whether you want to admit it or not, the fact that BR isn't conveniently cracked continues to be an impediment to it's widespread adoption.

4. Along with the technological arrogance you two exhibit, you also exhibit it's associated sibling: a most irritating and stereotypical economic arrogance. You presume that the rest of the world is going to follow the US in an expensive technology, when acceptable alternatives are less expensive.

5. And for the trifecta, you also exhibit an unabashed arrogance with your devil-may-care consumerism and waste, something else the rest of the world so resents about us. The very real possibility that the rest of the world doesn't dispose of technologies as readily as we do, for practical reasons as well as environmental ones, is so anathema to your world view, that you can't even fathom its possibility. As hard as the pill is for you to swallow, the rest of the world may very likely stay with DVD simply because it's good for others, and the sacrifice to stay with the alternative of upconversion may be a compromise they're willing to make to meet that end.

6. Finally, what you two just can't get through your arrogant heads is that most of these impediments can be addressed with downloads. They:

- will soon be true HD
- are technologically feasible
- can more easily be cracked and re-distributed
- are better for the environment
- are more economically sound to implement
- and will benefit more people in more places

Perhaps we should take a closer look at what is happening in a country that is indeed more advanced than we are: Japan.

You need to save this $hit for somebody who is really interested.

[nightflier]

Well we know you're not interested in anything that doesn't agree with your world-view, but for the rest of the posters here and the OT, I think it's pertinent.

Hey don't feel too bad, since it talks about arrogance, selfishness, and greed, most of it does pertain to you.

[Woochifer]

Let's get back to reality.

As I've indicated before, back up your points with concrete facts and actual trend info, otherwise it's just more pointless pontificating on your part. So many of the points that you repeatedly state over and over have zero basis in reality, other than your own wishful thinking. The world doesn't revolve around the ideological rantings of techies, or is that news to you?

1. Just because he (and every other person who owns movies) may one day no longer be able to purchase a player that won't play BR disks, means very little because it will still play DVDs. This is a crucial difference from the comparison with VHS - DVD players could not play the old format.

What good does that do if the studios pull the plug on the DVD format? Once that happens, your universe of availability is limited to whatever already on store shelves -- and that inventory won't take long to absorb. All you have to do is look at the timing of when support for the audio cassette and VHS formats got discontinued, which was not long after they lost their respective market leads.

2. The slower adoption rate of BR in the rest of the world could just as well mean that they never will convert completely to BR. In many other industrialized countries the problems with download speeds and infrastructure are far less serious. Downloads could very well become the dominant format there and then it will be those countries that will be pointing out to us that we're stuck with a niche technology. The argument that the rest of the world is backwards or behind because they aren't adopting the latest technology is bigoted, ignorant, and the reason we are so often labeled "ugly Americans." You two exemplify the worst stereotypical traits towards the rest of the world.

Oh please. Using hard facts about sales and consumer behavior is a sign of being the "ugly American"? So much for reality.

3. Whether you want to admit it or not, the fact that BR isn't conveniently cracked continues to be an impediment to it's widespread adoption.

Like I've asked before, where's the evidence that software pirates are the ones purchasing DVDs and keeping that format alive? This just defies simple math and logic. All it takes is one copy to get cracked and distributed through torrent trackers for an illegal download to make it way across the internet. I mean, if everybody needed to buy their own DVD copy, what's the point of illegal downloading?

Your ideological rants about this issue don't even register with the average consumer, most of whom don't visit torrent sites. Do you really think that an average consumer is going to choose a DVD over a Blu-ray just because it's easier to copy? If that's the case, then why does Blu-ray now make up the majority of sales for a lot of new releases?

4. Along with the technological arrogance you two exhibit, you also exhibit it's associated sibling: a most irritating and stereotypical economic arrogance. You presume that the rest of the world is going to follow the US in an expensive technology, when acceptable alternatives are less expensive.

Past is prologue. Then again, trend data doesn't mean anything to you, so that reference probably went over your head.

5. And for the trifecta, you also exhibit an unabashed arrogance with your devil-may-care consumerism and waste, something else the rest of the world so resents about us. The very real possibility that the rest of the world doesn't dispose of technologies as readily as we do, for practical reasons as well as environmental ones, is so anathema to your world view, that you can't even fathom its possibility. As hard as the pill is for you to swallow, the rest of the world may very likely stay with DVD simply because it's good for others, and the sacrifice to stay with the alternative of upconversion may be a compromise they're willing to make to meet that end.

Really? Show me a part of the world that where 8-track tapes, LPs, audio cassettes, Laserdiscs, CED discs, or any number of other defunct consumer formats currently dominate. Presuming that the rest of the world doesn't "dispose of technologies" is patently absurd. The timing of when technological transitions occur might vary from region to region, but that certainly doesn't mean that they don't occur. If anything, you're making a rather arrogant ugly American presumption here that the rest of the world has no desire to embrace newer technologies and is content with staying behind.

6. Finally, what you two just can't get through your arrogant heads is that most of these impediments can be addressed with downloads. They:

- will soon be true HD
- are technologically feasible
- can more easily be cracked and re-distributed
- are better for the environment
- are more economically sound to implement
- and will benefit more people in more places

Perhaps we should take a closer look at what is happening in a country that is indeed more advanced than we are: Japan.

Show me the evidence that this is actually having an impact on how consumers consume media other than short-form clips. All of your rantings are nothing more than end-state predictions, with absolutely nothing demonstrating how we're actually going to get there and no evidence that the we're even heading in that direction in any significant way. T and I have both indicated that downloads will someday be the primary media distribution, but you fall into the typical techie trap in presuming that manifest destiny is going to happen almost overnight. Past precedent and current trends and behavior don't seem to mean squat to you. Why you think you can make prognostications about the market on this basis is always an amusing exercise to witness.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Well we know you're not interested in anything that doesn't agree with your world-view, but for the rest of the posters here and the OT, I think it's pertinent.

You cannot speak for other posters, you can only speak for yourself. That is something you really should get into your thick head.

Hey don't feel too bad, since it talks about arrogance, selfishness, and greed, most of it does pertain to you.

You know nothing about me nitwit.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

In Japan Blu ray has a wider market penetration than the US. HD DVD never found traction there, and DVD sales are falling like a rock. They purchase almost as many Blu ray discs as we do(they are in region 1 along with the US), and their population is a lot smaller. Sales of Blu ray recorders are jumping three figures year over year. They have a lot of Blu ray accessories that we do have here such as burners, 3D recorders and at least 1000 more Blu ray titles than we have. They also watch an insane amount of television as well. Blu ray is huge in Japan.

The amount of people using mobile devices for video is a lot higher as well. However much like here, it is short video's and television programming because the Japanese also spend an enormous amount of time watching television at home. They use their cell phones and mobile devices more for gaming and texting than for video. Gaming on phones is HUGE in Japan, especially among the young.

They also have a higher penetration of HDTV flat panels than we do(something in the neighborhood of 80%). They use Blu ray recorders, we use Tivo. The PS3 is huge there and so are its peripherals. They have a USB based HD television tuner, and a HD DVR kit for it, we are not likely to get either here.

As far as downloading movies, rentals are growing, but just like everywhere else, digital sell through is under the radar. Much like here, the Japanese like to own physical media for their movies more than a digital file.

Unlike the US, Japan embraces technology quicker, and has more of it. However if you were looking for a downloading and viewing movies silver bullet for mobile devices, you are barking up the wrong tree. Gaming is the rage there, and video is a distant second.

[Woochifer]

The amount of people using mobile devices for video is a lot higher as well. However much like here, it is short video's and television programming because the Japanese also spend an enormous amount of time watching television at home. They use their cell phones and mobile devices more for gaming and texting than for video. Gaming on phones is HUGE in Japan, especially among the young.

The factor to consider with mobile devices is the usage pattern and where things have been headed. Portable gaming and music migrating over to smartphones is a plausible scenario simply because consumer behavior has been trending in that direction for decades.

On the gaming side, handheld gaming devices have sold in the millions since the days of Mattel Football. Gaming on a mobile phone is a simple outgrowth of a logical progression that went from the original Gameboy to the modern PSP and Nintendo DS platforms. People are already in the habit of using handheld devices for gaming, and the devices are widely accepted in the market.

On the music side, same thing. Since the early experiments with dash-mounted record players, audio has persistently moved in the direction of mobility. Dating all the way back to the introduction of the Sony Walkman, personal audio devices have increasingly dominated the audio market, along with the rise of the car audio market. Right now, the iPod alone generates 3X more revenue than the entire home audio component industry combined. Consumers have been in the habit of listening to their music on small portable devices. Migrating over to mobile phones would be consistent with consumer behavior and existing trends.

Video is the exact opposite. Every attempt to market portable video playback devices has met with lukewarm sales. Casio and Sony might have sold thousands of portable TV devices, but those sales paled in comparison to what they were selling on the audio side. All of the viewing studies indicate high usage of mobile and online video (Nielson's 2009 study found that over 50% of households watch online video regularly), but they indicate that viewing time remains very limited. Unlike audio, where primary listening has shifted away from the living room in a huge way, the trends on the video side have only reinforced the central TV as the primary viewing choice.