them: weve finally cracked it and developed high density disc technology.
us: hurray.
them: this Will allow for amazing estorage capacity and the creation of super high-resolution movies, twice as god as DVD and four times better than televisión.
us: double hurray.
them: however, there are two competing disc formats.
us: huh?
them: yes. Bluray and Hd DVD.
us: why?
them: er, because were gredy.
us: have you ever heard of VHS and betamax?
them: Trust us, this is really diferent and wont divide the market or confuse customer.
us: really?
them: well, no.
us: pardon?
them: remember when we said that two formats wouldnt divide the market or confuse and pi** of customersí.
us: yes.
them: we lied. It divided the disc player market down the middle.
us: ah crap. Anything else?
them: er, m.
us: out with it.
them: Hollywood Studios have Split into two Camps, some supporting Bluray and the rest Hd DVD, meaning your favourite movies Will probably arrive on two diferent formats.
us: ah crap.
them: yeah lo siento. We did have numerous opportunities todo try and make both formats compatible but due todo internal pressures, technical dificulties and launch schedules we were unable todo accommodate such common sense.
us: in english por favor.
them: couldnt se past the dólar signs, lo siento. Listen, controlling the next generation format of high density disc that the whole world Will use for estorage and high-Def movies is so much more attractive than controlling half the market and potentially losing the Battle todo the other format.
us: but what about us, the customersí.
them: youll get over it.
us:.
them: lok on the bright side, high-Def movies are nearly here and some companies Will make Dual format players – albeit they Will cost more.
us: at least my high-resolution LCD panel is ready for the new movies.
them: sure it is. Probably.
us: probably?
them: Trust us.
us: you said that last time. What do you mean probably?
them: now dont get upset but there a teny wenie Little piece of technology in the copyright protection system called image constraint token (ict).
us: go on.
them: ict is a digital flag within the advanced Access content system (acs), which is the digital rights management (DRM) standard. Youve probably heard about DRM, everyone loves it.
us: in english por favor.
them: it todo estop you scumbags err, we mean valued customer – Pirating high Def movies.
us: how does it work?
them: well if you try an output the high-Def movies from your player todo your televisión vía unsecured component imputs, ict cranks up and downgrades the image quality todo that of DVD quality.
us: im not sure that very fair.
them: Trust us, you have nothing todo worry about. As long as you connect the disc player and your LCD televisión using a HDMI cable you have nothing todo worry about.
us: HDMI?
them: yeah, the high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) – it allows for high-Def pictures and sound todo be fired th rouge a single cable and, it supports the DRM technology. Most new hdtvs have one.
us: mine doesnt.
them: oh.
us: what do you mean oh?
them: well, that means youre screwed.
us: whatí.
them: obviously some people with older LCD or plasma screens Will be afected somewhat by this.
us: how Many is some?
them: well, most of you actually.
us: so, let me get this straight. The majority of people that have invested in high-definition capable screens in recent years Will be able todo watch high-Def movies, just not in high definition because their sets dont have HDMI imputs and ict Will donwgrade the image quality?
them: yes, that it.
us: that crazy. These are the people who Will most likely get the whole Hd ball rolling.
them: that is correct.
us: does alienating the majority of potential customer usually work when youre trying todo launch a new formatí.
them: it not ideal but mainstream consumers are stupid. Theyll cave in and buy another televisión.
us: whatí.
them: hold that thought, newsflash coming in. Apparently people not that stupid. Just really Angry. It sems that the millions of people out there with older hdtvs are really riled up over this ict thing. Revolt imminent.
us: so now what Will you do?
them: caving in sems like a viable option. So far Sony and a number of Hollywood Studios have decided not todo implement ict on their movies. Universal has just ditched ict to, Although Warner is toughing it out.
us: phew. Common sense at last.
them: tactical withdrawal.
us: pardon?
them: ict is not gone, just put on ice.
us: huh?
them: well, if the world consumers se that they can use their older hdtvs todo view high-Def movies, they Will start buying players and movies like hotcakes. This gives the televisión manufacturers a chance todo ensure that all their new televisiones have HDMI imputs. Within a year or two, sales of HDMI-equipped televisiones Will outnumber older hdtvs with no HDMI.
us: so?
them: once that happens and those older televisiones are outnumbered, we bring bak ict?
us: but that not fair. That means all those early adopters with older hdtvs, who helped get your new technology of the Ground Will be screwed. Again.
them: life sucks.
us: pardon?
them: we mean, Trust us. Itll all be fine. Probably. µ.
Que gran verdad.