…This one is dramatic departure from my last few posts in tone but is actually relevant to them. I posted this blog, my main blog and my blog on Retro because of how important I believe it is.
The simple fact of the matter is the Global Pandemic in progress has proven that for those who do not have a strong and stable home internet connection, streaming services are not a viable option. Not just in developing countries but especially in modern countries.
Netflix was the first premium streaming service and it went on to popularize streaming services overall worldwide. It is easy to forget originally, Netflix was an online movie rental store. They still offer that now in additon to streaming actually. That was how I first started using Netflix about 10 years ago.
We didn’t realize it at the time but the introduction of the MP3 Player (iPod and other devices), SD Memory Card and Portable USB Drives eliminated the need to travel with portable CD Players and 3.5 Inch Flopp Disks. I actually used Floppy Disks until I got my first USB Drive in 2004. It was I got my first-ever Music CD in 1999 and bought my last one in 2014. The Album I got in ’99 was a mixtape with top songs from that year. The album I got in 2014 was Michael Jackson’s Xscape. I remember because the following year, Best Buy announced they would no longer sell CDs.
…Now would be a good time for the physical media to be reintroduced to consumers worldwide and mainstream once again. Why are the movie industry, TV networks and video game companies focusing so heavily on streaming and digital distribution? Because the demand is there, that’s why.
Digital Distribution and Streaming is also cost effective for both sides: Companies don’t need to mass produce physical media and consumers don’t need to pay as much for a digital copy of the same content. Even better is unlike physical media, digital media is never out of stock and is always available as long as the service provider is…online. I hope folks can now start to see where I’m going with this topic.
I’ll put it like this and this is conspiracy fact: Only a few people, companies and organizations control most of the world’s resources and technology. Satellites, Networks, mass media and so on. I think I mentioned this several years back but about 6 people own at 70% of what the world watches on TV and ALL of them live in New York City. I am mean who owns specific networks, network affiliates, studios and so on. A literal handful of people have THAT much power and influence over what what most of the world sees on TV every day.
What’s that, you say? “I only get my info or entertainment from the internet or Social Media?” LOL, you’re not safe either. Internet and cellphone service providers are owned by SOMEONE and regulated by the government. So, even if you use End to End Encryption like grassroots organizations and Slacktivists championed 8 years ago, that still doesn’t solve the problem of the phone service itself being controlled by a company to use their service.
Regardless of what our ideology, religous beliefs or thoughts for the future might be, I’m just gonna put it like this in short: The powers that be WANT you to be dependant on them for everything. When you do, they basically own you. They already control government–and they’re open about it now–so…yeah.
Just Facebook and Twitter each have literally millions of people worldwide enslaved and they don’t even know it. Why else do you think Mark Zuckerberg would publicly say on multiple occasions when asked that he would not allow his daughter anywhere near Facebook? He has said on the record quite a few times he almost never uses it himself and he created it. THAT should tell you something right there: He won’t use it himself and HE made it but he’s perfectly ok with millions of people worldwide being addicted to it. That should tell you how dangerous Facebook is as a Social Media platform. Twitter already has a reputation of being known as a haven for online bullying and isn’t all that much better.
I grew up when the digital age came about but it’s ironic. Technology has made it easier for people to connect but it’s also made it far easier for people to isolate themselves.
Everyone wants to use Technology a certain way and until the internet, that was is pretty fair expectation. I mean the expectation “I bought it and I’ll use it any way I want to use it.” certainly DID apply to electronics like it applies to everything else.
The internet changed everything. Anyone who owns a computer, tablet, MP3 Player, any video game console made after 2002 or a smartphone should already know what I’m talking about: system updates, security patches and upgrades. You get them digitally via an internet connection. Periodic updates help ensure the device stays stable, safe, secure and most importantly runs as intended. There’s no getting around that in short.
These days, enough Windows Operating Systems are in circulation for folks to basically pick their favorite one and manually downgrade it if they have the knowhow or are willing to learn how to do it. When Microsoft announced they would no longer support what many consider the best Windows OS ever–Windows XP–it basically became Freeware overnight. Freeware is software the user can legally modify and redistribute and it’s usually for free, hence the name. Programmers wasted no time stepping in to upgrade the OS to efficiently run on newer hardware while retaining everything most liked about it.
Nintendo was the last console maker to enter the world of online gaming with the Wii, which was released back in 2006. Microsoft and Sony are both very open to making digital-only consoles. By that, I mean consoles that you can’t play physial video games with and would have to download games digitally to the console. The main reason their upcoming Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles will not be digital-only is because consumers are against it. Sony tried streaming games with its recently discontinued Playstation Now early in the PS4’s lifespan but it showed gamers would rather not rely on an internet connection to play console video games.
That brings me to the other issue all these devices also have in common: Storage Capacity. The bigger the storage capacity, the more stuff you can fit on the device. Memory cards and USB Drives can give you more storage if they are supported as well. Cloud Storage has actually been around for 20 years but it didn’t become common until about 10 years ago. Cloud Storage allows you to address storage capacity and backup issues by uploading files to a server that you have an account with. Google Drive is the most popular one for example and it’s also free.
The thing is, Cloud Storage has the same caviat as Streaming: You need to be connected to the Internet in order to make use of it. No internet connection, no Cloud Storage. Anyone who’s followed half my blogs knows I have subscriptions for several streaming services including Rakuten Viki (Asian Dramas), Crunchyroll (Japanese Anime), Amazon Prime Video and WWE Network. You can only use them if you have an internet connection.
While it is true you can stream Rakuten Viki and Crunchyroll without a premium subscription or even an account, the subscription grants specific perks including removing Ads and HD Quality viewing. Amazon Prime Video is actually a perk included to those who have an Amazon Prime subscription. It grants you access to a moderately sized library of Movies and TV Shows you can stream. A WWE Network subscription grants you access to over 30 years’ worth of TV and Pay Per View programming, original programming and Live Programming as it airs.
…Without an internet connection, you lose access to these streaming services. When you own a physical DVD, CD or Blu Ray, you can freely watch or listen as long as you have a device that will run it. Most computers run both DVDs and CDs on that note.
Every Sony and Microsoft home game system can play CDs and in the case of the Xbox consoles, you can save the entire CD to the console’s hard drive like you would with a computer. The Playstation 2 was the first video game console to support DVDs though the original Xbox game system also supported DVDs. Every Sony and Microsoft home console released after the Playstation 2 and Xbox 360 supports both DVDs and Blu Ray. None of the Nintendo consoles released to date support the CDs, DVDs or Blu Ray format CDs by design. Nintendo designed them that way on purpose in short.
Getting back on topic, the reason many tech companies and content providers have started phasing out mass producing physical media isn’t just for cost-cutting and environmental reasons. It’s also because of consumer demand pushing for streaming entertainment. I do think too many people in technologically developed nations are feeling a false sense of security with streaming services in general. Without the internet connection, you lose access to the content.
Even though I like to buy movies, TV shows, music and video games digitally I always download it to a compatible device when I do. iTunes allows you to both download media and stream it. You can stream it without downloading but you can also download it so you can enjoy it without an internet connection. Outside that, there are no restrictions on your end. This is how it should be for ALL content providers whenever possible. Sony and Nintendo do not have download restrictions for content you purchase digitally. If for example you reformat the hard drive on your Playstation 3, you can redownload everything at no extra cost to you.
Microsoft only allows you to download purchased content a certain number of times. I know because I ran into this problem when I bought my Xbox 360 in 2009. Prior to this, I had a Microsoft Zune account and so I had movies, TV shows and music I had purchased prior to getting my Xbox 360. I was on the phone with tech support and they ultimately added a $200 credit to my Xbox Live Account to compensate for the lost media. A later system update allowed me to eventually download the media I lost access to though.
There IS one drawback to both streaming and digital downloads that can’t be ignored: When the service or online store itself goes offline or shuts down, you lose it forever. Nintendo eventually shut down online services for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii consoles as of 2015. What this means is you can no longer connect to the internet with either game system. They shut them down because by then, few people were using it and it was no longer cost effective to keep online services going.
…Eventually, this will be true of current online services including websites and online stores. I do think tech companies and consumers should start planning and preparing for this eventuality. Mass Digital Storage for personal use needs to be invested in. Blu Ray Players, DVD Players and CD Players should all be getting built with internal storage capabilities for digitally saving media to them. On the cheap end, they should all start with 250GB but higher end ones would offer as much as 4TB. How it would work is you put the Blu Ray or DVD in and you can save the content to media player an can then watch without the disc in it.
Video Game consoles and Computers already allow this so it’s not a new idea. In order to run a computer game, you need to install it first. When you buy physical copies of a game for one of the current-gen consoles (Playstation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch) it must be installed and often updated before you can actually play it. So no this is not a new idea or concept at all.
…Whew.
I know this was quite an overwhelming topic to get into but it’s extremely important for those who like or use mass media make themselves aware. As for what you should do now. I reccommend either buying physical media or doing digital downloads as much as possible. If you have an active subscription to a streaming service like Netflix or an online game like World of Warcraft, pay attention to what is going on in the world and try to plan accordingly. If you get notice a streaming service will be shutting down, stop your subscription if any though they will usually stop future payments on their end.
If you have a favorite movie or TV Show that you like to watch and it can be purchased, try to buy it as soon as possible instead of streaming it. Same with video games. Nintendo announced a few weeks ago they will be shutting down the eShop for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Wii U in Latin America this summer. I have two 3DS consoles so I know there will come a time in the near future when I will no longer be able to use the eShop. It’s now considered a “legacy” console and more so given no new games have been released for it in about a year’s worth of time. So, I am planning for the eventual time the eShop in North America will be shut down.
Times are changing and folks need to start planning accordingly. I’ll speak more to this in an upcoming post and it’s a topic I covered before: Doomsday Prep. Most Americans laughed at them on TV. They’re the ones laughing now.
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