Full length movies on You Tube

A recent article on CNET.com talked about a deal that might be fourth coming between YouTube and Sony Pictures. With the deal Sony would give YouTube the rights to full length Sony movies but still control the advertising. In all likelihood it would probably be only a limited number of titles, but it would help Sony market its own online video streaming site, crackle.com. Although YouTube would not gain substantially from this deal monetarily, it would be a great step for them in convincing other production companies to give YouTube rights as well.

I think that this is an interesting article because it shows how technology is changing. There has been a lot of talk in the past couple years about how everything is turning digital and how newspapers will soon be obsolete. However, I think that there might be a case for arguing that even movies in DVD form will become obsolete. It seems like everyday online movies and television shows are becoming better and better quality. It also seems like more people are choosing to watch their programing online because of the flexibility it offers them to watch at their convenience. I can foresee many of the major motion picture companies starting their own subscription based websites where consumers can pay a monthly subscription and watch whatever movie they want online.

Some will say that it is still nicer to watch a movie on a television than a computer for quality purposes. Well, they may be right to some degree, but not entirely. I think that in the coming year the quality of online media will rival standard DVDs (not Blu Ray). And there will most likely be a component that will allow consumers to hook their cable modem up to their TV and watch the movies there. I still think there will be a place for HD and Blu Rays, but I think that in the coming years we will start to see fewer and fewer DVDs.