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[Hock]

I got a need-advice question for you all....

Flash drives.
Since DVDs are alledgedly on the slow way out, and we are becoming a download, ITouch, Pod world. Many people, and presumably many more to come are downloading whole movies on their handheld pod things and plugging them into HD TVs and watching movies, etc...

What would you say to purchasing "training films" that are on/in flash drives? I have been comtemplating getting custom-shaped, flash drives for the traditional DVD we sell.

Not right away mind you, but where will we be in one year with all this techno?

Hock

[Kelly Knight]

Neat idea! I like the smaller form factor a lot.

But in the end, it wouldn't matter to me to purchase something on a DVD or a flash drive. That's a rather vague answer, I suppose.

Everything is going vaporware, just as you mentioned. Physical storage is a thing of the past, I think.

And, unfortunately, there is no way to stop piracy unless you make it a full time job to combat it.

I recently saw an independent film that was released utilizing the torrent sites (a friend gave me a copy - don't shoot the messenger!). During the credits and in all of the articles I read about it, it implored the viewer to donate or purchase swag. I loved the movie so much, I bought the DVD, t-shirt and poster! Straight from the director/writer. No huge production house in the middle. I spent $40+ on a "deluxe" package. I did that because I valued it and wanted to support them.

That's not something you most likely want to do. But, you may not have a choice in the future...

I don't know what the solution is. It's most likely not going to be one that authors and creators are going to like. Look at what the band Metallica has done. Where did it get them in the end?

Your policy of requiring "members" purchase of level and topic specific video materials for rank is one way to do it. But, imagine being able to just provide them with a unique password protected video download URL instead of lugging around all of those DVDs. Hopefully, the pirates are inspired to come train with you, too. Unless P2P networks are somehow gotten rid of, it's a lost war. Why not embrace it and find a way to manipulate it?

Kelly Knight

[Canuk]

Hock, I have friends that do NOTHING but battle piracy, out of thier own mouths it isnt a battle that can be won for a whole wack of reasons.

Anyway that aside, I love your idea to use jump drives. Personally I use them all the time and and carry them around all the time for work purposes. I just got am 8gb for 15 bucks, great deal. I would by the jump drive over the DVD especially if i good log onto your site, use a pass word and then downlaod the movie straight to my drive

[Hock]

We are already doing the membership passsword viewership thing with our lawyer/mediation series, something unlikely to be pirated as much as other "martial arts" DVDs.

And the Nick Hughes FFL series will become our first membership viewed series as mentioned, probably done and ready by 1 March. (the 6 Hughes films have to be cut in many segments and reconstituted. Time and $$$$) As it is planned, people can only watch not get and store the films. (Like the typical download movie that so mnay are getting use to these days. Of course pirates have ways to work around that already too. Just not many. The idea is making them work harder and these louts will not work that hard to have copies. Maybe of the Iron man movie?  

its a sea change in the training film business and well, the entire DVD business. I switched over from video to DVD years back when I saw Blockbuster videos teetering over to about 40% of their new stock as DVDs. Within a year they were selling the old videos "pennies by the pound." People cursed us on the phone about the DVds only, but within a year, DVDs players were 29.95 in Walmart.

Here's the rub. The flash drive has many moving, techno parts and will always be more expensive than a single blank DVD disc. (Always? Who really knows that?) Right now, I have to balance the cost of DVD size and production (no DVD scratches!) in with postage to mail the DVDs, and plastic box containers, etc. A flash drive goes out in a single envelope with one cheap stamp!

The flash drives can be coded to be played and watched only, not downloaded, (this costs more for the coding per drive or disc, but also can be hacked but by most clever hackers.)

Hock

[Canuk]

Solid state jump drives arnt far off

[gematriot]

Nick Hughes FFL series will become our first membership viewed series

Will you then discontinue the FFL DVDs?

[Hock]

Eventually we will discontinue all of them we sell.
Put em/ on flash drives or viewed downloads. Something like that.
The DVD, lie the video tape, is gonna' die sooner or later.

Hock

[Mr. Barnett]

Hey Hock,
Ever since we discussed this topic with Christof I've kept my eyes open for solutions.  There are several out there.  Distributing things, ie DVD's or thumb drives will eventually die.  There is itunes, which is expensive, 30% of profits, but your information is protected.  Then there are the protected services that can host and upload programming in a streaming format.  I am slowly putting together a video training coarse package for semiconductor maintenance procedures, and am faced with the exact same issues.  One of my hopes was even to get your production company involved in the vids.  Anyways, the best of the best out there that can give you solid advice is http://www.rayservers.com/consulting.  These are the internet go-to guys.  There's more to it then streaming for your business, because you are international.  These guys can help with all aspects of the complex issues that you are faced with.  Including payment systems, and communication.  Streaming your videos, or offering them on the web as a download is the only way to go, with an extra fee thrown in for a hard copy disc. (encrypted of coarse, with unique password unlock issued by you).  We are considering itunes as a means of distribution, but hesitate because of costs.  Our second was to have our own hosting, and distribution hub, but initial hardware costs are high.  Rayservers is where to start.
Sincerely,

Mr. Barnett

[Hock]

Itunes has turned us down. Too violent.

We are already with a tech company that can do encypted streaming films and Nick Hughes will be the first series we premiere on that. Maybe March 1? As I said we doing a lawyer series with them too.

And the encryptions can be broken and some people just hold a video camera on the screen and get a raw usable copy that way.

But right now people still like to pick up a DVD (or drive) at a seminar.

DVDs and Blue Ray will vanish, but it will take time. Flsh drives will to but right now they are on a popularity increase. I want to ride the wave, some wave....you know, like the sufer dudes waiting and looking.

Hock

[Kelly Knight]

You know, having said previously said what I said, I'm having second thoughts. I still like to look at the swag displayed at your seminars and I like walking away holding something tangible when I purchase something (and I always do!).

I, for one, don't like reading books on readers like the Kindle. I'd much rather read actual wood pulp pages.

And I look forward to the mail every day.

So, if you were to ask me again (DVDs, Flashdrives or downloads) my choice would be just that...that I get to have a choice!

Kelly Knight

[Benjamin Liu]

I prefer DVDs for video and hard copies for books.  Ebooks are fine for traveling, but I still prefer a hard copy on the shelf.  An exception would be with spiral of comb-bound manuals since they can't be read on the spine and I have about 50 of them; I prefer Ebooks to those.

As strange as it might seem to some people these days, not everyone in the US can have high-speed internet.  There are some areas where cable companies will refuse to service.  For a couple years I was back on dial-up and since mid-2008 on broadband.  I can sometimes watch Youtube-type videos but most of the time streaming video won't play. 

Even if I had high-speed I wouldn't pay for something I can only access online, I'd rather have it physically.

[Mr. Barnett]

Cool,
Streaming works for my situation the best.  I like getting the hard copie binders too, and DVDs, But as a buyer, just the convenience of being able to download it, and put it on a key, and then take it to the gym, even a weekly series type deal would be excellent.  looking forward to the streams for sure!

[Hock]

An encrypted flash drive ($$$) means that mere mortals could never download the film onto the hard drive. They would have to plug in the hard drive and watch via the harddrive.

But people like to see DVd boxes on their shelf, like books.

I have been making spiral books because when i sold both regular bound books and spiral ones, we would sell 9 spirals for each one "perfect bound." Thats 90 sprirals versus 10 bound. 900 spirals vs 100 bound...(the binding discount begins at 500 copies) You can see how the bound copies drifted off.

I don't know, you know all this is just brainstorming.

Hock

[sarguy]

I think the flash drive idea is novel and would probably be accepted by a certain percentage of the population who have tvs that accept flash drives or are tech savvy enough to figure out how to run the computer into the tv. I don't have a tv like that, so I wouldn't mind having a DVD that I could play at home and in my laptop while I'm away from home. If I only had a flash drive w/ content, no biggie, I just have to watch on the 'puter. I don't mind, but others might.

I recall some bands trying to release albums via SD cards or flash drives, I can't recall which. I don't know that it was a huge success, probably due to the presence of things like Amazon.com and Itunes downloads. I no longer buy my wife a CD when she wants a new artist's stuff; I buy her an Itunes card. She likes the fact that it's a bit cheaper downloading versus buying and ripping, but I prefer a hard copy for backup. I can also control the bitrate of the music I put on my MP3 player if I buy a physical CD.

Some of the software I've purchased lately has been offered via download, w/ a seperate encryption key given thru a different email. I was also given the option to purchase a physical backup DVD (I did) and if one chose, they could also purchase the rights to re-download the software in the event of catastrophic loss of a hard drive. (you must still use the orginal passkey that you got, tho.) I thought that was a nice touch, as it really sucks losing software or stuff you paid for because of a bad hard drive or failed migration to another computer.


Another thing I've seen, and I don't know just how well it works, is the marketing of a "digital copy" that is included w/ the purchase of the DVD or blueray. Apparently some new encryption makes it so it cannot be ripped to an Ipod or other personal media player. The Digital copy is the movie in a different file format that's located on the disk, and it's usually a smaller file size, lacks tons of subtitles, has some sort of digital rights management, and fits on Ipods better. Sounds like a PITA, but the consumer gets to watch the movie at home and on the go, while the company retains some sort of anti-piracy control (which we all know is a losing battle. I wish the antipiracy ads were something more like "Look, F*cker! You're messing w/ my livelihood, and if I find you we'll use you as a warpost for the next knife seminar".)

Maybe until the DVD is *really* dead, the dvd w/ digital copy would be an option?

[Professor]

downloads.   no flash drives, no dvd.

It's the future.