Can’t hardly wait? Try Disc+ On Demand
Want to own a Blu-ray but don’t have the patience to see it show up on the doorstep? Amazon understands.
The online retail giant decided to link online video and packaged media with its new Disc+ On Demand service.
It works like this: You buy a DVD or Blu-ray that’s listed as a Disc+ On Demand 
From there, the movie can be streamed or downloaded. The catch? The online version must be watched within a month — and once the digital copy’s been seen, it goes up in smoke “Mission: Impossible”-like. (Read the Disc+ On Demand FAQ
The online bonus version streams and downloads in standard definition, even if you buy the HD. If the disc is returned to Amazon, the Video on Demand fee applies retroactively.
Among the newer titles hooked up with D+D are “State of Play,” “Drag Me to Hell,” “Away We Go” and Coraline.” There are 300-some titles, many of them the usual catalog suspects.
Most of us buying a DVD or BR probably won’t have much use for this — why preview the movie on a home computer before watching the disc on the big screen?
One answer may be gift giving. Wrap the Blu-ray, see the movie yourself. A harmless bit of rebate greed. And of course young kids are all into repetition and immediate gratification, so that’s a fit. (Disney Studios Home Entertainment thinks along the same multiplatform lines these days.)
In any case, give Amazon credit for linking the online and physical worlds in a new way that sort of makes sense. They’re trying, folks.
Watery disclosure: I own Amazon stock and root for it daily.
FCC seeks magic black box for video
The FCC wants to see Internet video on your TV. And a lot more.
The commission has issued a call for comments on how to make set-top boxes of the future integrate traditional cable/TV programming and the Internet.
The FCC notes that myriad devices exist for accessing Internet video, yet almost none of them also allow for access of offerings from multichannel video programming distributors (cablers, satellite TV, etc.). The goal, apparently, is to encourage development of network-agnostic television/broadband set-top boxes that are consumer friendly.
Put simply, the FCC seeks info on how to develop “plug and play” hardware capable of bringing in all forms of video from all types of providers. Sick of your local cable monopoly? Buy your programming from another state. Take that, cable guys.
“The consumer will be king,” said the senior counselor to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. “You’ll be able to get your own set-top box that does all the whiz-bang things you want it to do, and you’ll be in control,” Colin Crowell told the Los Angeles Times.
The FCC’s Dec. 3 document said: “As the popularity of (Internet) delivery of video continues to increase, we believe that new applications will emerge, Internet use will increase, consumers will have more viewing options, and more viewers will want to access Internet content on their televisions.”
“The convergence of the television and content delivered by (the Internet) makes this a critical time to promote innovation in set-top devices that could support the Commission’s effort to drive broadband adoption and utilization.”
The goal also is to achieve near-universal access to the Internet. The FCC points out that while “76 percent of U.S. households have personal computers, 99 percent have television sets.” That dovetails with the National Broadband Plan.
Have some tips for your media watchdogs? Check out the FCC video document.
Our advice? Think really, really big pipes.
