VideoHelp Forum
+ Reply to Thread
Page 5 of 5
FirstFirst ... 3 4 5
Results 121 to 140 of 140
Thread
  1. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Fairfax County, VA, USA
    Search Comp PM
    seriously..."land of the free"? hahaha....not here....i thought betamax solved this already...
    Quote Quote  
  2. Member painkiller's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Planet? What Planet?
    Search Comp PM
    Ve ist da master Cngrace..........

    Whatever doesn't kill me, merely ticks me off. (Never again a Sony consumer.)
    Quote Quote  
  3. I read this passed today unanimisly.....
    "Terminated!" :firing:
    Quote Quote  
  4. Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Going in Circles
    Search Comp PM
    It still has to go through the house
    Quote Quote  
  5. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The bottom of the planet
    Search Comp PM
    They make movies...and all the means to copy them (VCRs, DVD/CD writers, etc). Wonder which one they're gonna give up?
    This is why the act is going to be difficult to pass. While all the other distributors don't make money from the means to copy, they barely have two dollars to rub together most of the year. As has been stated before, every studio counts on a few blockbusters a year to make enough profit to make up for all the break-evens or write-offs they produce the rest of the year.

    Sony makes thousands of times what it makes through its film studio (Columbia) in recordable media and players. They will never give that up, not in a million years. If they had to give up one or the other, they'd stop making films. They only do it in the first place so they have enough write-offs to minimise their already astronomical tax bill.
    "It's getting to the point now when I'm with you, I no longer want to have something stuck in my eye..."
    Quote Quote  
  6. Banned
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Americas
    Search Comp PM
    The deal has been struck already and don't count on Sony here. They probably have been given some guarantees and considering their unique position as a victim and offender at the same time they feel quite comfortable backing this mindless piece of oppression.
    They will be selling to the public most obvious and least controversial aspects of it until it firmly becomes part of the landscape. And then... as may be expected hell will brake loose.
    Keep in mind that with that vague legislative tool the choice whom and when to sue rests with JD. It may be compared to the cop stopping just a few cars and handing out speeding tickets knowing full well that median traffic speed is always way above the limit (everyone is breaking the law but few get punished for... keeping up with the traffic!). This is an ultra convenient situation. There will be equal and more equal among equal. Under these circumstances out of 2 possible candidates for a lawsuit like Sony and 321 Studios guess which one will be sued first?
    Quote Quote  
  7. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The bottom of the planet
    Search Comp PM
    The barrier against companies like Sony supporting this kind of crap is more practical than financial or legal. They've tried three times to relaunch MiniDisc to the consumer, and it has only been in recent years that it has even vaguely caught on. The vast majority of MiniDiscs played back on home equipment are either copies of a compact disc that the user owns, or something downloaded from the Internet, legitimately or no.

    Now, imagine if everyone who owns a MiniDisc player was stopped on the street just for owning a MiniDisc player. Pretty soon, people would decide the hassle is just not worth it, and they'd get rid of their MiniDiscs. Sony would have yet another write-off format in place of a widely-accepted one that they have a patent on, a la compact disc. With the debacle that both of the new hi-res audio formats have turned into, they don't want this. They want to have at least some viable propietary system to back themselves up for when the exclusivity on CD runs out.

    Believe it or not, in spite of how they basically own the format that everyone uses for music, Sony have nothing to gain from a closed system. If nobody were allowed to use CD-R or DVD-R, they would suffer, it is that simple. And they are not the only ones. Companies like Philips or TDK would basically be in a cycle of write-offs for over a decade. The only business that stands to benefit from this draconian law is the MPAA, and they won't benefit nearly as much as they expect, if at all.
    "It's getting to the point now when I'm with you, I no longer want to have something stuck in my eye..."
    Quote Quote  
  8. Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Going in Circles
    Search Comp PM
    It has not been approved in the senate. It has not even been voted on yet, and even if it passes in the senate, then it has to go to the hose for approval.

    Whoever said it had been approved was misinformed. Check out www.eff.org
    Quote Quote  
  9. Member painkiller's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Planet? What Planet?
    Search Comp PM
    Lest we forget, DirecTV had been doing just that - suing subscribers that were on record as having had previously purchased card reading/writing electronics. Regardless of duality in purpose/function.

    Only just recently did the court(s) tell DirecTV they couldn't do blanket suits anymore, they had to prove intent.

    So it makes me wonder just what is going to happen here.
    Whatever doesn't kill me, merely ticks me off. (Never again a Sony consumer.)
    Quote Quote  
  10. Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Going in Circles
    Search Comp PM
    Yes, but has directtv ever been convicted of price fixing twice. I think not. When cd's came out in the 80's, we were told the price would eventually go down. It never did.
    Quote Quote  
  11. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The bottom of the planet
    Search Comp PM
    we were told the price would eventually go down. It never did.
    Oh, boo hoo. Honestly, have you ever seen how much Australians used to pay for compact discs? Before parallel importing was introduced, regardless of the age of the material, one could expect to pay a minimum of $30. If you were after something that had to be imported, well... bend over.

    Australia once paid the highest price in the world for compact discs, even in comparison to countries like New Zealand or Japan. When Americans complain they are paying high prices for something, everyone in the world save maybe the Canadians is shocked into incredulity.
    "It's getting to the point now when I'm with you, I no longer want to have something stuck in my eye..."
    Quote Quote  
  12. Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Going in Circles
    Search Comp PM
    I wouldn't know because I don't live in Australia

    Please do not say things like boohoo. I have never had a problem with you. Let's not start now. I was just stating things as they are. If you want a confrontation, look somewhere else.

    Why can't we all just get along?
    Quote Quote  
  13. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The bottom of the planet
    Search Comp PM
    Pardon me, I was just taking bluntness to an extreme.

    When I look on Amazon and see what prices CDs are listed for in America, it makes my blood boil to hear Americans go on about how they are paying too much. Some of my favourite artists have new albums out that are going for about $16 on Amazon. To buy them from a bricks-and-mortar retailer here, you're looking at A$35, minimum. I've had some discs in my collection that cost A$50. While I recognise that the RIAA is holding people to ransom, they do it far less in America than is the case in Australia.

    When Australia's prime minister was a weasel who was close friends with Australia's answer to the RIAA, the ARIA-member labels basically had a legally-protected monopoly over importing. They could force small stores out of business by having a minimum-order number of 10,000 or so. In essence, all the corruption that Americans complain of in their congress is still multiplied tenfold here. So when Americans complain that they are being asked to pay too much to people living in Australia, that's the response they are most likely to get (you ought to see the price of shoes here, just for comparison).

    The only country I sympathise with in terms of how much locally-made compact discs cost would be Japan. And even then, I don't sympathise that much, because they can get around it by importing, ironically.
    "It's getting to the point now when I'm with you, I no longer want to have something stuck in my eye..."
    Quote Quote  
  14. Get mad at your government not us. It's they who are taxing you to death, not us!

    I wouldn't pay $5 for a music CD....
    "Terminated!" :firing:
    Quote Quote  
  15. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The bottom of the planet
    Search Comp PM
    Don't worry, I am very mad at this government. I have far more pressing reasons to be mad at them, too. So much so, in fact, that if I wound up with a writing career as successful as that of Stephen King (hell, even Terry Pratchett would do), I'd ask my publisher to never print another word of my work in Australia again.
    "It's getting to the point now when I'm with you, I no longer want to have something stuck in my eye..."
    Quote Quote  
  16. Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Going in Circles
    Search Comp PM
    At 35 dollars a disc, you could bet I wouldn't buy many of them. Ouch. My sympathies.
    Quote Quote  
  17. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The bottom of the planet
    Search Comp PM
    This is why the studios are trying to push out the rental outlets. They know that some people rent videos or discs and make illegal copies, so they figure that if they push out the rental outlets, especially in Australia, they can keep charging prices like that for their product. Or more. I can just see then start to demand $45 or $55.

    The local Sanity outlet here thinks the Rocky Horror Picture Show is worth $43. Given that I saw it for $17 once in Melbourne, I have to wonder who they think they are kidding. There used to be one ad in which the words "video piracy is a major problem in Australia" are used. With prices like this, I am surprised they're surprised.
    "It's getting to the point now when I'm with you, I no longer want to have something stuck in my eye..."
    Quote Quote  
  18. Member Mr anderson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Search Comp PM
    mad!
    Quote Quote  
  19. Banned
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Americas
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by Nilfennasion
    When I look on Amazon and see what prices CDs are listed for in America, it makes my blood boil to hear Americans go on about how they are paying too much. Some of my favourite artists have new albums out that are going for about $16 on Amazon. To buy them from a bricks-and-mortar retailer here, you're looking at A$35, minimum. I've had some discs in my collection that cost A$50. While I recognise that the RIAA is holding people to ransom, they do it far less in America than is the case in Australia.
    I'd say don't be mad but happy that prices are what they are in US. Otherwise you'd have no point of reference (or worse yet we'd all be in the same basket). US market is huge and that is why consumers enjoy (in many cases) low prices. Competition keeps everything in check. There is no other country that can be compared to that. Close to 300 mln people, speaking one language and paying with dollars. That is a marketer's dream (or nightmare...).

    I used to tell my kids that it's great that some ppl drive outrageous cars. That is a proof that these things are possible. I'd be worried if everyone was riding a bicycle.
    Quote Quote  
  20. Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    The bottom of the planet
    Search Comp PM
    What makes me mad is all the jingoism they give us about buying Australian made products and how it keeps Australians in jobs when it is literally getting to the point that Australian product is getting beyond the means of the Australian worker. Even the ones who make the product. Michael Moore once said that one of the great things about Henry Ford was that a man working in his company could afford one of his cars after working for him for a couple of years. In Australia, you're lucky if you can afford a scrap of plastic after a year's saving, and it is getting worse.

    The only way I see that improving is if Australians all do their shopping for luxuries online. I can buy a 256MB compact flash card for less than forty US dollars online. The retailer nearest me would charge at least $256 Australian dollars. Yay locals.
    "It's getting to the point now when I'm with you, I no longer want to have something stuck in my eye..."
    Quote Quote  



Similar Threads

Visit our sponsor! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!