Firefly/Serenity coming so very very soon! Oh, and some other stuff....

May 3, 2005 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Apple is currently the exclusive host of the Serenity movie trailer. OH. MY. GOD.

As a fan of the series (Firefly series on DVD from Amazon), I have to share something: I was totally, totally, totally pissed with FOX for cancelling the show. I can only say that it was generous of them to allow all the episodes to play out, and I cannot fully express how happy I am that the entire run is available on DVD so that I can watch it any time I want. How fiendishly excellent.

While I'm on the topic: how much does it totally suck that the FCC is trying to pass off this totally cheesy broadcast flag as a good thing? It's not. It's just not.

Why? Because instead of letting Joe Consumer "time-shift" their TV shows - aka tape them and watch them later - it will put the power in the hands of the broadcaster. So if you're dying to see the season finale of, say, "24", but have to work or something, then it would be up to them to decide if they want people to tape it or not.

Granted, this will only apply to devices made after July of this year, and only to HDTV compatible DVR's (digital video recorders) - so the VCR is safe, for now, and so is any equipment you have now - but since the FCC is mandating a switch to HDTV type formats, it won't be long before your antenna's don't pick up the signal, or if they do, your TV can't handle the picture - and forget being able to use a VCR - it'll be DVD or DVR at that point.

It seems that the options the broadcasters have at their disposal are:

let you record it but force it to "expire" - watch by a certain date or it's gone forever

let you record it but not be able to transfer it to another medium (i.e. dvd)

let you record it, but at a lower resolution (i.e. so even if you did copy it, it wouldn't be that great

Now, I understand that the broadcasters seem to think that DVR's and the like are costing them money - after all, if I record a show and skip over the commercials, then the advertisers aren't getting their money's worth, right? - I don't see how them taking control of what I watch is going to do anyone any good.

I have two DVD players - one lets me skip the crap at the beginning of the movies, the other doesn't. If I have to replace the one that doesn't, my first choice when looking for a replacement is going to be one that gives me control of what I watch. Sure, the trailers help pay for the cost of the DVD or production costs or whatever, but I didn't buy the DVD to watch the trailers - I bought it to watch the content. Something which, I might add, I have in several cases already paid to see in the theater. So stop whining, you babies.