Disney To Sell Movies On MicroSD Cards
Think DVDs are old fashioned? Already looking forward to the end of the line for Blu-ray? If so, you may be interested in what Disney and Panasonic hope is the next big thing: movies on flash cards. Yep, those same diminutive memory chips that you buy for your digital camera will soon be available with major motion films loaded on, giving consumers with flash card-supporting media players the ability to watch flicks whilst on the go.
Walt Disney Company has partnered with Panasonic in order to kick-start the initiative, which will "package pre-recorded microSD cards together with DVDs holding the same movie content," giving users and easy watch to watch their favorite DVDs on portable players. The move is just the next in a long line of tries. Here recently, many DVDs and Blu-ray Discs have arrived with download codes that enabled consumers to login to iTunes (or a similar site) and download the film onto their portable device. We can only imagine that the chance for pirating is less with an actual flash card, but we're not so certain we see the appeal here.
For starters, many portable media players don't have a microSD card slot. In fact, we'd wager that most of these will be sold to mobile phone users, as cellphones and digital cameras are the primary devices out these days with microSD compatibility. At any rate, we're told that the DVD+microSD bundles will start shipping in November, with some of the first titles to include the popular "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "National Treasure" series. Disney's not placing any bets in regard to sales figures, but considering that the bundles will retail for around $53 (converted from 4,935 yen), we aren't so sure cash-strapped America will be quick to buy in.
Walt Disney Company has partnered with Panasonic in order to kick-start the initiative, which will "package pre-recorded microSD cards together with DVDs holding the same movie content," giving users and easy watch to watch their favorite DVDs on portable players. The move is just the next in a long line of tries. Here recently, many DVDs and Blu-ray Discs have arrived with download codes that enabled consumers to login to iTunes (or a similar site) and download the film onto their portable device. We can only imagine that the chance for pirating is less with an actual flash card, but we're not so certain we see the appeal here.
For starters, many portable media players don't have a microSD card slot. In fact, we'd wager that most of these will be sold to mobile phone users, as cellphones and digital cameras are the primary devices out these days with microSD compatibility. At any rate, we're told that the DVD+microSD bundles will start shipping in November, with some of the first titles to include the popular "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "National Treasure" series. Disney's not placing any bets in regard to sales figures, but considering that the bundles will retail for around $53 (converted from 4,935 yen), we aren't so sure cash-strapped America will be quick to buy in.
