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VaBeachGuy

A new way to watch TV and Movies

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I still say it's a rip-off.  I'd much rather pay once and OWN the episode and movie, not pay a monthly fee. :clap:

 

Any chance you could "opt" to burn the movies and TV episodes to DVD?

Do you (or does someone in your household) pay for internet access? Is that a rip-off? You don't have an internet "DVD" after you log off do you?

 

How about the Telephone, do you pay for that? You don't have a CD recording of that once you hang up do you? And Broadcast TV, how many DVD's of that do you have?

 

It'd be great if we could get DVD's of our favorite shows and movies for free but in life very little is free. The faster that lesson is learned the better.

 

I am 100% convinced that this is the future of televised entertainment. I am 100% convinced that it is the right direction for the to go in and I am 100% convinced that no matter what point is brought up and no matter how good this kind of service would be you will find some reason to set it aside as a rip off.

 

Eventually at some point in the future, near or distant DVD's and CD's will be a waste of time money and space. Why have a physical piece of plastic on a shelf that will only collect dust when the exact same content is available using your remote control? We can sit here from now until the system is 100% operational and argue about monthly fees or can you burn DVD's or not but we can't answer those questions right now. For me to say "there will be a $4.95 monthly fee" or a $29.95 monthly fee is only speculation. It might be free it might cost $5000 a month. Who knows. Knowing how business is I envision this replacing the current cable TV and internet systems. Merging the 2 into 1.

 

Those people that think it is a rip off will just be left out in the cold, just like those people that think Cable TV is a rip off or unneeded. You don't have cable so do you get the Sci-Fi channel on your broadcast TV? No, you don't so you are left out in the cold. Do you get TNN? No, you don't so you are left out in the cold. Those with cable can watch the Trek-A-Thons they put on but you don't have access.

 

That's how it will be in the future with whatever system is used to put TV shows and Movies out. If you don't get it then you will be shivering out there in the cold.

 

Bill Gates and other distributors of software and the like are already trying to figure out how they can distribute their products without the expense of the physical media the product is recorded on. It will mean greater profits for them. Look for it to happen in other forms of digital media as well.

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Well, the whole reason why I think it's a rip-off is because I mostly watch movies. If not for Star Trek & Stargate, I probably wouldn't even bother with TV.

 

This is the reason why I'm so frustrated. I like movies, thus I've got about 20 favorites, mostly on DVD, got a few still on VHS. Then I have my 2 favorite shows, not including spin-offs. Right now, I can watch "ALL" of this without paying a monthly fee. I buy the movies and season sets and that's it. I'll never have to "pay" to view them again. In my opinion, paying a monthly fee to watch the same stuff... well, I think it's ridiculas.

 

I agree with VBG, this'll be the future of how we will access TV/movies/music in the future. However, I would prefer an alternative. I just don't watch enough movies and TV to shell out $50 a month.

 

Here's an idea though...

 

Why don't they have a seperate cable network or whatever for those who don't watch much TV? It could be a small-company were you "order" your few TV shows and favorite movies instead of paying for a mainstream entertainment service. VBG, what do you think of that? This, I could work with.

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CJLP, checkout WinMx http://www.winmx.com/

They are filing lawsuits against people who use file sharing. Right now it is music but that doesn't mean the rest won't follow.

 

CJLP, I'm sure they'll have bargain TV like they have bargain internet service. I still say all these DVD's you're investing in will be obsolete in 10-20 years so get your money's worth out of them now.

 

VaBeachGuy Posted on Jul 20 2003, 07:53 PM

and I am 100% convinced that no matter what point is brought up and no matter how good this kind of service would be you will find some reason to set it aside as a rip off.

lol

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Why don't they have a seperate cable network or whatever for those who don't watch much TV?  It could be a small-company were you "order" your few TV shows and favorite movies instead of paying for a mainstream entertainment service.  VBG, what do you think of that?  This, I could work with.

Something like that would be great for people that don't watch much, but how many people would that be? Would it be worth the money it would cost to run the network for it to be profitable? If not then I don't see any company doing it. It's all about making money.

 

Like I've said several times before, I envision this being a combined service of Cable TV/High Speed Internet. Think about it, they already send the internet through the same cable that the TV signal goes through, it's not that far of a jump to combine the signals so that your TV picks up the internet signal and plays the desired show/movie.

 

Price? Well it likely wouldn't much higher then we pay for Cable Modem access as it is now. And Cable Modem internet access isn't much more then what people pay for AOL. If you have AOL right now you are paying $21.95 a month or something like that, right? SOmething like this, with Internet and TV combined could cause the internet bill to double possibly. So you would get Internet and TV for $40 or $45. That's one possibility I could see.

 

By the time this would all happen though I'm betting that the cost won't be as big a deal to you as it is now, and I'm betting that the fact that you won't have a physical DVD won't be that big a deal to you either.

 

I believe the benefits far outweigh any drawbacks. Besides, no matter what TPTB say, they will NEVER stop illegal downloading. People will come up with new ways to do it each time TPTB stop the current method.

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Well, since my last visit in the local cinema and even before, I was thinking about this kind of "view on demand"

In Germany we HAVE to pay for the public TV, that is available for everyone, but in the minute you buy a TV, you are forced to pay, even if you don´t like their program!

So a lot of people don´t like this system, but you can´t do anything against it!

Sometime I watch special shows, like science or educational shows. For them, I am willing to pay.

The rest of the programm is still made for old people, no one knows why....

Thanks to one of these stations, we have Star Trek, they began with TOS in the early 70s. Maybe, if it would be a commercial station by that time (there where none in the 70s in Germany), we never would have been able to watch Kirk and Co. So thanks to our public TV, even if they are stupid!

Even TNG was shown in the public TV, without advertise!

Later, a commercial station bought the show and so we have to view it with advertise, but can view it a bit ealier. (Besides: Star Trek fans had a great influence on that TV policy (regarding Star Trek) Germany has one of the leading fandoms all over the world, after the US, for shure)

 

 

But on my visit in the cinema, there was a huge advertise poster that says: The Future of cinema!

 

It says that in the future there will be digital Movies! That means you can watch a movie instantly after it is finished, it hasn´t to be copied for the film projector. And another advantage is the quality: Each show is of the same quality, no scratches on the celluloid!

That leads to digital TV.....

 

The second aspect that leads to view on demand is that I haven´t seen a single episode of my new favourite series ENT on TV, I downloaded it Why? No, I don´t intend to harm the commercial background of Star Trek, I only can´t wait untill I can see it on TV, in Germany you would have to wait YEARS!!!!!! Our commercial TV station that shows ENT is in the middle of the first season- HELP!

 

So I looked for the latest episodes in some filesharing programs and thanks to them, I can see all episodes that are stored on a computer in a shared folder! I am so happy about that opportunity, maybe I have downloaded an episode from one of you.... thanks for that!

 

BUT: If everyone would do this...it would be the end of the show, I know that.

 

So I would be willing to PAY for each episode IF I can view it at the same time than you guys can! AND I would BUY the DVDs too, for better Quality! The german merchandise is selling ENT episodes on Video since a while, so you could view them a few weeks earlier than in TV, but I will never buy Video cassettes since I own a DVD player.....

 

All these arguments lead to my favourite TV schedule, so PLEASE can anyone tell this Paramont?

 

My TV schedule:

 

First - digital Movie in cinema (if we are talking about a movie)

First - digital TV view on demand (if we are talking about an episode)

Then - DVD (Movie/TV show)

after that - Free TV (commercial)

 

I hope that I am talking about the same thing when I say "view on demand". I am thinking of a downloadable episode without any advertise, that I pay for each time I view the show.

 

I think that this will give the best possible profit to the studio, and will bring SO MUCH NEW customers for them, like ME!!!!! And all over the world! Imagine the possibilities!

 

 

OK, that leads to a totally commercial selection and new, interesting, but unknown shows will have no chance, but they still can be in the commercial TV and later be put into the View on demand.

 

Sorry, english is NOT my favourite language, but I try!

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YOu do great with English I won't make you laugh with my German, I only know one phrase and that was what President Kennedy said when he was in Berlin. Ich Bin Ein Berliner I'm sure I didn't spell it right but that's the extent of my German knowledge :rolleyes:

 

Anyway, You have everything exactly right in what you are saying. View On Demand is called "On Demand" here in Virginia, I'm not sure if it is the same across the US and Canada.

 

I think this kind of system would be so much better for everyone.

 

I am curious, when Star Trek airs in Germany is it dubbed in German or is it in English with subtitles?

 

Also there is a way you can get Enterprise episodes even before they are on the air in the United States. Many times last season I was watching the new episode the day before it came on TV.

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Thanks for the compliment! And you german is perfect too...lol!

 

Yes, in Germany we have a synchronized version, in the beginning the synchronisation was very bad, they didn´t translated correctly, but better that nothing.

 

After the massive complaining from thousands of fans they do a better job now. But it is still german, and I can not listen to Scott Bakulas sweet voice, sigh. (Thanks again for the "Imagine" song)

 

So I prefer viewing the original version, in english.

 

Believe it or not: When I detected the TNG episodes in english (on sky one from the UK) years ago, I began beeing a Trekkie AND learned much more english than during years of school lessons!

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Thanks for the compliment! And you german is perfect too...lol!

 

Yes, in Germany we have a synchronized version, in the beginning the synchronisation was very bad, they didn´t translated correctly, but better that nothing.

 

After the massive complaining from thousands of fans they do a better job now. But it is still german, and I can not listen to Scott Bakulas sweet voice, sigh. (Thanks again for the "Imagine" song)

 

So I prefer viewing the original version, in english.

 

Believe it or not: When I detected the TNG episodes in english (on sky one from the UK) years ago, I began beeing a Trekkie AND learned much more english than during years of school lessons!

Have you been able to see Quantum Leap as well?

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Yes, we had the synchronized version of Quantum Leap, but I never made it to view all episodes, the time for the broadcast changed often and they didn´t showed it in the correct order!!!

 

I have never looked for DVDs... but if there would be a download that I can keep permanent on my harddisc I would even pay for THAT!

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Yes, we had the synchronized version of Quantum Leap, but I never made it to view all episodes, the time for the broadcast changed often and they didn´t showed it in the correct order!!!

 

I have never looked for DVDs... but if there would be a download that I can keep permanent on my harddisc I would even pay for THAT!

I haven't seen them all either but I have seen most of them. I was in the Army when it forst came on so I missed the first few weeks. That was in 1989 I think. I just saw the first episode for the first time about 2 weeks ago, I download them from KaZaa.

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I watch tv cause its easy.  It's something I do to relax.  The minute I have to download TV is the day I stop watching it.

The way I see it happening, downloading TV will be as easy as changing channels. A couple of clicks of your remote and pow, you've downloaded the show.

 

Also, what do you do if you work at the times your favorite show is on? You never get to watch it because of work. What I do is download.

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THis is bad news to me. In my opinion, the reason why music CD sales are going down is becuase today's music is absolutely crappy and most of the music on a CD isn't worth buying, not to mention people are too lazy to turn off the computer and go outside and buy a CD, DVD, or something.

 

If they want to phase out the CD and introduce a "new format" in the way that we went from VHS to DVD, I'm all for it. However, if I have to download my music... Well, I just don't have the time for that, and a lot of people I know don't have the time either. Heck, I know people who still don't have the internet, and some without a computer. If they want to do pay-downloads, I'm all for it as it's a great idea. However, not allowing one to go to the store and buy a "physical product" would be a grave mistake in my opinion.

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I really think the day is coming that this will be a reality. You will still be able to buy the CD's/DVD's at a store but I think it will be like many other things in the past. People used to have to go out to a Pizza shop to pick up their pizza now they can order it on the phone or internet and have it delivered to them. Many still go to the Pizza shop to get it but how many more have it delivered to them?

 

It's just the logical way to go, I believe. If there is such a growing following of downloading now when it's all still in it's infancy imagine how it will be in 10 years, 20 years.

 

You can still go out to places and buy LPs, but who wants an LP when you can have a CD? The same would be true with CD's, who wants a CD with 12 songs when you can get 100 digital songs of better quality in a matter of a couple minutes? If you are on highspeed try it and you will see. Go download a song (one that you already on on CD and thereby have a right to own a back-up copy of of course) and see how long it takes to download it. In fact get out your favorite CD out and do a search for that CD, download all of the songs from that CD (again only to back up what you already own). If you are on a highspeed connection you will have all of those songs downloaded and ready to listen to in probably a 10th of the time it would take you to go to the store to buy the CD.

 

Now think about that, think about how it would affect the earth if you and millions of other people don't have to start your car to drive to the mall to buy that CD. What would it do?

  • You wouldn't be burning as much gas.
  • There wouldn't be as much pollution.
  • Not as many trees would be used for the paper inserts of the CD's
  • Not as many cars out on the roads means less car accidents.

So really downloading would mean saving lives. Both in the short run because not as many people would be killed in car accidents and in the long run because now we can breathe better because there isn't as much pollution in the air and there's more trees generating oxygen.

 

Downloading = Safer Earth

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There is one bad thing I see happening here.

 

People would be leaving their homes less and less.

 

Ya know, I saw this episode of the new "The Outer Limits" where everything was run by technology, you talked to people via computers, the people at work desks were holographic projections, and so on. It was very rare for people to leave their apartment buildings, and even more rare to run into a flesh'n blood person. By the end of the episode, a computer program with artificial intelligence sabotaged an apartment building to get the people to come down and destroy it, so the people would have to unite in person... and then no longer be dependant on technology. Scary thought, huh?

 

Anywho, back on topic. Me, I actually prefer going to my local Media Play or Wal-Mart and buying a DVD, season set, or CD, rather than downloading. Heck, the only thing I download is ENT, SG-1, and EW, and that's only becuase I can record the shows on VHS, so I download and put on CD. Same thing, only CD's take up less space. :lol:

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Today, I saw a news article on CNN, (sorry, couldn't find a link for this one) the Universal Music Group is giving consideration to lowering their CD M.S.R.P. to between 10 and 12 dollars in an attempt at drawing consumers back from downloading.

 

ALSO...

 

The B.B.C. just announced they will begin digitizing Hugh portions of their video archives with the intent of allowing them to be downloaded ... FREE!

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CJLP, checkout WinMx http://www.winmx.com/

Awesome. In my opinion, pay-downloads makes far better sence. The companies could even offer inserts for you to print for your CD/DVD cases.

 

Anywho, about the WinMX thing. Is this a legal program?

As far as I know it is legal.

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My prediction will come to pass, technology is creeping forward.

 

This is from Yahoo News:

 

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...umn_livewire_dc

 

LONDON (Reuters) - For Rainer Kinnunen, life has been a bit of a blur since he signed up for a superhigh-speed Internet service three years ago.

 

The 31-year-old Swedish student's computer has supplanted the television as the most vital link between his home and the outside world. He watches television shows and movies, makes phone calls, surfs the Web and plays multiplayer shoot-'em-up games through his high-speed connection -- often doing one or more activities at once.

 

His 10-megabit-per-second service from telecommunications company Bredbandsbolaget is up to 20 times faster than conventional cable modems, enabling a user to download a two-hour movie in a matter of minutes rather than hours.

 

For Kinnunen, the result has been a lifestyle change that, though not revolutionary, is certainly noticeable. "If my child wants a movie, I can download it instantly," he said. "And I haven't been to the neighborhood music store in years."

 

Since going superhigh-speed, Kinnunen has set up two computer servers in his apartment in the Stockholm suburb of Eskilstuna. One supplies his digital photos to friends and family. On the other, he duels it out for hours a day with other players of the "Half-Life: Day of Defeat" online war game.

 

And he has enough bandwidth and server space left over to broadcast his DVDs from his apartment to his friends' computers in case they want to watch along from across town.

 

UNITED STATES LAGGING

 

Bredbandsbolaget (http://www.bredband.com/se/index.jsp) also offers 100-megabit-per-second service for 595 Swedish crowns ($79.49) a month in select neighborhoods where the telecom wiring is state-of-the-art. More than 1,500 households have signed up for the service, the company said.

 

Also in Sweden, Nordic telecommunications giant TeliaSonera (TLSN.ST) (http://www.teliasonera.com) offers an 8-megabit service that analysts refer to as multimegabit broadband. Elsewhere in Europe, Italy's e.Biscom (BISC.MI) (http://www.fastweb.it) provides a similarly speedy connection.

 

For now, North America has missed the high-speed revolution occurring in homes across Europe, Japan and South Korea (news - web sites). U.S. companies like Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE:Q - news) (http://pcat.qwest.com/pcat/residential.do) are just beginning to break through the 1 megabit threshold in certain markets.

 

But within the next two years, multimegabit broadband will be a reality in most countries, analysts said, as telecommunications companies invest vast sums to upgrade their phone networks with high-speed chip sets and new fiber lines.

 

"The move to higher speeds is upon us," said analyst Graham Finnie of consultancy Yankee Group. "There's a very strong incentive for providers to offer this. As traditional broadband prices fall, the higher-speed offerings are necessary to keep margins from falling with them."

 

MULTIFUNCTIONALITY

 

For the consumer, it means one company can offer television, movies-on-demand, phone service and Web surfing, pitting smaller upstart Internet service providers against local cable companies.

 

"We see ourselves as an alternative to the local cable operators," said Peder Ramel, chief executive of Bredbandsbolaget. "That's our pitch."

 

Like its slower predecessors, multimegabit broadband services have limitations. Most notably, customers must live near -- between a quarter- and half-mile -- of the telecoms exchange point.

 

"Initially, this will be a service only for city dwellers," said Yankee Group's Finnie.

 

And, the speeds advertised refer only to downloading, the transfer of data from the Internet to a personal computer. Sending large files to others is considerably slower, but still much faster than through conventional modems.

 

Finally, multimegabit broadband can be twice as expensive as conventional broadband.

 

But prices are dropping rapidly, and demand is strong. "There are no longer any compelling technical reasons that service providers cannot push up to higher broadband speeds," Finnie said.

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Good on TV but not movies though. I'm a movie buff and I love getting ot of the house and into a theater. My home away from home. :)

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Good on TV but not movies though. I'm a movie buff and I love getting ot of the house and into a theater. My home away from home. :)

256438[/snapback]

 

I generally don't have time to go to a theater so I'd want the movies in my home.

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A way the ratings could be brought into the 21st century would be by having the shows downloadable. The studios could track how many downloads there were of a specific show and guage how popular it is that way. It would seem to me that it would be more accurate then the current way.

54944[/snapback]

 

Good idea, only problem with that is that there is already so much stuff with copyright infringment and that stuff. Just imagine how bigger that issue would be.

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A way the ratings could be brought into the 21st century would be by having the shows downloadable. The studios could track how many downloads there were of a specific show and guage how popular it is that way. It would seem to me that it would be more accurate then the current way.

54944[/snapback]

 

Good idea, only problem with that is that there is already so much stuff with copyright infringment and that stuff. Just imagine how bigger that issue would be.

256457[/snapback]

 

The copyright holders can't violate their own copyrights though.

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^True, but the people who download them can.

256463[/snapback]

 

That's never going to change, ever. This system isn't just an idea anymore, it's in practice. It's a reality. It's up to the networks and producers to come up with a way to protect their product from unauthorized downloads, of course anything they come up with will be defeated. Not might be, will be defeated.

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A way the ratings could be brought into the 21st century would be by having the shows downloadable. The studios could track how many downloads there were of a specific show and guage how popular it is that way. It would seem to me that it would be more accurate then the current way.

 

We're getting closer to reality on this.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051125/tc_nm/...ideoondemand_dc

 

PARIS (Reuters) - Everyone agrees video on demand over the Internet should be a goldmine for telecoms and media firms, but the two converging industries have yet to figure out how both can make money, a conference in France heard this week.

 

Video on demand -- the ability to download a movie or TV program via high-speed Internet -- is expected to take off in Europe as broadband, already piped to 10.5 percent of households, attracts enough users to merit investing in the service.

 

But how quickly video-on-demand becomes available is uncertain, as telecoms operators and media companies haggle over how to slice up the revenue pie.

 

They did not seem close to an agreement at a conference in Montpellier, southern France, this week.

 

"We want to launch video on demand (in France) before the spring but it is difficult to agree on the business model," said Carlo D'Asaro Biondo, head of AOL France, which has about a 9 percent share of the French broadband market and is part of the Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX - news) media group.

 

Some small deals have been signed in the past six months between U.S. TV and film-right owners, such as Warner, and European telecoms operators such as Fastweb (FWB.MI), Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGn.DE) and recently with France Telecom (FTE.PA).

 

But the choice of films and programs is limited, sometimes giving access only to 100 movies, and profits from such agreements could be difficult to make, partly because of the rivalry between the two camps.

 

"It is clear that there is a field in which telecoms operators and media companies are in competition and that is video on demand," Jean-Bernard Levy, chief executive of French telecoms and media group Vivendi Universal (EAUG.PA).

 

CASE IN POINT

 

France was one of the first countries in Europe to introduce TV on the Internet in 2002 and with half a million IP TV customers shared between operators such as France Telecom, Free (ILD.PA) and Neuf Cegetel, it is a market leader.

 

Also, with 14 percent of households in France having broadband access, the country has one of Europe's highest takeup rates. However, online video on demand has not yet arrived.

 

Part of the reason is that market conditions are so competitive that telecoms operators, especially small players such as and Neuf Cegetel which have made losses for years, say they cannot afford to acquire large film catalogues.

 

Yet they are keen to introduce a service which allows them to compete with pay-TV groups as broadband connections become cheaper and faster.

 

For their part, media companies say they are concerned online video on demand could increase their exposure to piracy.

 

Internet peer-to-peer software enables millions of web surfers every day to download films for free, even though piracy protection technology has improved. Films rented from online distributors can destroy themselves within a few hours.

 

Simon Kenny, managing director for Europe at Warner Bros. International Television, said Warner was keen to sell and rent films and TV programs online as this represented incremental revenues for the group.

 

"But the critical question is, will people pay for a market which in the past has been completely free?" Kenny asked. "We need a general agreement between access providers, film studios and broadcasters. We are in talks with a lot of people at the moment about that."

 

Drawing a parallel between the negotiations and difficulties in agreeing the split of profits from music on the Web, executives said they hoped film houses would be quicker to realize the potential of the online market than music companies.

 

Had music companies reacted faster they would not have let Apple Computer Inc.'s (Nasdaq:APPL - news) iTunes online music store become a market leader, they said.

 

"People in the music industry woke up a bit late and missed the digital boat," Alain Gerset, Vice President for Technology Services at Capgemini (CAPP.PA), told Reuters. "But they are reacting to it now."

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Well I think this concept has arrived now. I have a NetFlix account and they just made their "instant viewing" option unlimited for members that have unlimited disc rentals.

 

I sat and watched almost the entire series "Heroes" over the course of a few days. For one reason or another I was never able to see an episode on TV but with NetFlix and online viewing I can watch it whenever I want to.

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