Yes, I'll admit I was an HDDVD fan-boy. I wasn't exactly thrilled when Blu-Ray won. Who wants a movie studio exlcusively distributing content anyway? But, I was glad that war was over, and that consumers everywhere had decided on the successor to the middle-aged DVD format. But this was before Hulu was big, and before I-Tunes Video and Netflix gained any sort of footing. And now with success of the 'watch instantly' Xbox 360 exclusive Netflix service, I'm forced to ask the question is an optical drive really all that necessary?
Let's look at the numbers.
1.5 billion minutes of video have been watched in three months time, essentially making the XBOX 360 Netfilx's most important set-top box for it's digital distribution. Obviously, this pales in comparison to DVD, but it's a start. And I doubt digital distribution will disappear anytime soon.
And then there's HULU. Since it's creation in 2007 (btw, it was considered a big joke by youtube back then) it's gained considerable momentum (22 million unique viewers in November 2008). And let's not forget Youtube. The king of on-line video, though it's expected to loose some viewership to website produced content, youtube is still on top. Of the 14.3 billion online videos watched in December, 41 percent were on youtube.
The internet and the computer monitor are increasingly becoming more of a destination for viewing video content. Think about it: How many times a day do you watch videos online? And though internet content might not pacify those with big screen televisions or audiophiles, just remember, they are in the minority. And the extraordinary video quality on Hulu and youtube HD, is just a glimpse of the possible future. It's important to remember that digital distribution is in its infancy, and of course there are hiccups, but it seems like its immediate future is looking mighty bright.