Changing Lanes for a day

[Koliedrus]

The Dumbo thread is doing well without this as a distraction. It's relevant but different.

I learned about MovieLink (http://www.movielink.com/commerce/about/About.jhtml) only yesterday so I can't give you an opinion just yet. It's also an "I told you so" in relation to a previous discussion regarding movies and the internet. (I think it's "I bought the Lord...")

Basically, the site allows you to rent (aka download) a movie. They claim full-screen, VHS qualitiy reproduction. The movie is stored on your hard-drive. You have 30 days to watch it before it self-erases. Once you play the movie for the first time, it will self-erase after 24 hours.

Needless to say, downloads can't be dialup friendly.

I've yet to even check pricing but if they're charging a monthly fee, it's won't be worth it.

Here's a bonus: if your computer and television/home-entertainment-system are S-Video capable, one cable pipes the movie from computer to larger screen.

I'll look further into it before I give it a shot but fire away with your own research.

I liked Netflix while I had it but ended up paying a monthly fee to hang on to movies I couldn't find time to watch. This may cater to the occasional Blockbuster renter. I'll have to judge for myself. Your reviews will be part of that process.

[Escape Artist]

Few issues I've considered while thinking this through:

Backdoors: Are there any? Will this be another Kazaa scandal, except with them deleting stuff off your HDD's over time? Kind of paranoid of me, but it's a distinct possibility when you take current laws into account and the lobbying they've been doing.

This "MovieLink Manager" software...does it run in the background constantly? If so, performance drain. Does it connect with their servers every so often? If so, what's shared? Privacy rights = concern of mine.

If those movies are legit files, I could go to a dos prompt and copy them manually, even using linux if necessary. Stick them on a cd, even. Encryption can be broken.

I don't know that their servers are to be trusted with any credit card information, given the rancor they've caused with hackers everywhere...I'm sure there's a lot of groups, if bored enough, that would love to rip them to shreds.

In addition, is the quality comparable to pirated dvd rips? If not, why bother?

[Koliedrus]

Yet more reasons I enjoy group discussions. Invariably, someone comes up with questions I hadn't considered asking.

When the difficult ones begin to roll, sometimes it's better to get the answers from the horse's mouth. It's worked in the past.

Given that, this thread might come to the attention of Movielink execs. In fact, the more I think about it the more I like the idea.

Discuss first. State your concerns and/or praises.

Addendum:

As the Chief Technology Officer for Movielink, John Godwin is responsible for all company infrastructure and operations including Movielink's web site, content distribution network, content security, e-commerce operations and business systems. John will direct Movielink's technical evolution into new services, platforms and distribution methods.

John brings to Movielink over ten years of experience in media delivery. Those years included a key role as the principal architect on the DIRECTV launch team. Most recently, he was DIRECTV's Chief Technologist and Senior Vice President for Advanced Products. John also brings to Movielink over a decade of experience in telecommunications systems development for voice, data and television.

John holds an M.S.E. in Computer, Information & Control Eng. and another in Aerospace Eng, both from the University of Michigan. He also has a B.A. in Physics from De Pauw University.

[Koliedrus]

I'll give you a general review in a bit over an hour from this timestamp if all goes well.

If I get caught up in details or distracted with settings it'll take longer, of course.

[Koliedrus]

Ha! First flaw! I fell asleep.

Apparently, I lost 'net connection three minutes before the download was complete. Once reestablished, it resumed.

The thirty-day period begins from the time you initiate a download, not when it's completed. In essence, if for some reason it takes me several days to complete the download, that's my own tough luck.

The choices of movies are lacking but the service is still new. I came close to selecting some stuff I haven't seen in years for $1.99 a pop but it would be like waiting in line at least an hour for every movie I picked.

On the plus side, I didn't have to road-trip.

On the negative, reviews say Queen of the Damned sucks. Now I have to find out first-hand.

[Koliedrus]

I dunno, guys. There was a shitload of activity on my system when I selected to play a movie.

Lemme put a few thoughts down before I decide to reformat...

Legal virus. Isn't that pretty much what spyware is? Judging by the grinding of my harddrive, I'm guessing that I've just been added to a database somewhere. My system is fast. The activity was akin to a system scan.

Your voluntary lab-rat/boyscout,

Me

[Escape Artist]

Originally posted by Koliedrus
I dunno, guys. There was a shitload of activity on my system when I selected to play a movie.

Lemme put a few thoughts down before I decide to reformat...

Legal virus. Isn't that pretty much what spyware is? Judging by the grinding of my harddrive, I'm guessing that I've just been added to a database somewhere. My system is fast. The activity was akin to a system scan.

Your voluntary lab-rat/boyscout,

Me

Definitely format, y0.

Weighing the above against my experience, I don't like the implications.

No thankee, Meester Filmdudes.

[Billyman]

I haven't partaken in this discussion up until now simply because I'm on dial-up and have a better chance of getting hit by a bus sitting right here in this chair than to download an entire movie.

Kudos to Kol for being the lab rat and taking the risk to give us the heads up. I hope the reformating goes well. Come back soon. :)

[Koliedrus]

I decided NOT to reformat. Here's why.

As Mudflap said, this boat rocks both ways. I'm looking into a service. A great deal of it involves legal wording that protects the providers from copyright infringement perpetrated by subscribers. That's understandable.

I'm of the opinion that a middle ground needs to be found. The Industry rapes paychecks and Grassroots retaliate by sucking the money out from under them.

I'm willing to pay a reasonable price for entertainment. I won't sympathize with those who roll in riches because of the works of art I see or hear.

If something has been placed on my system that goes beyond the services described, it's now stored. I have no intention of duplicating the material provided by the service but I reserve the right to gain a better understanding of the information transmitted between my system and the service.

There. That should be clear enough.

For the record, it seems to be legit so far. The legal wording supplied during registration primarily protects the service. Reading it was akin to taking a parent's scolding with pleas mixed in.

Like it or not, there is a thing known as "Middle Ground". It's time to find it.

[Billyman]

I understand where you're coming from Kol but at the same time, as long as whatever it was the software put on your system doesn't effect anything else, I wouldn't care either.

But it also goes back to the same reason I will not own a computer that has a Pentium 4 processor. They already have file sharing blocking in the processor itself. Fuck that.