I have downloaded gazillions of Simpsons and Family Guy episodes, yet I *still* buy the DVDs.

Do I give a shit about The Hot Chick DVD? No. Maybe (at most) I'll download a rip at work, skip through the funny parts, and then delete it when I'm done.

The one thing that I'll give studios is that it is a heck of a lot more expensive to make a movie than an album. Pirated MP3s could still make the artist money if the listener decides to go to a concert. Whereas if someone pirates a DVD, there's really no other way for the company, artist, actor, etc. to make money.

I personally think that Mr. Robert's idea is stupid. Once you strip out the extra content, a DVD is essentially the same as the pirated DVD rips floating around in P2Pland. Why even pay $7 for it?

$7 gets you 3 packs of 50 cdrs at Best Buy (after rebate, of course).

There are many things that are wrong with this article. Interestingly, while critisizing the movie industry, the article cannot decide whether to place the blame on the consumer or the industry, but it rehashes a number of false arguments everyone has heard before.

I think the core problem with the movie industry's arguments comes down one thing: box office sales. Here are two contradictory quotes from the article demonstrating what I am saying:

The campaign is unlikely to have much effect, industry-watchers say, as everyone knows how many millions the latest blockbuster grossed and how much the star got.

If the movie industry does not work out its position quickly, says Mr Wolzien, it could go the same way as music. This might even mean that actors would be paid a lot less.

What is better about movie theaters? Well, I think a giant screen is worth paying to watch a movie on. Most people must agree with me as movie attendance always goes up regardless of Hollywood's tendancy to cry wolf about "piracy". Even if I have the DVD, a movie still looks better on a 15 to 20 foot screen. Even if I am fairly wealthy, I doubt I will be able to build that into my house. 15 foot screens are certainly not going to be added to the average house in the near future.

Therefore, the movie industry just needs to realize that the free ride is over. The "Boston Strangler" is not going to profit the movie industry as it did in the late 80's and 90's (despite their protests that it was killing them). They are going to have to survive in an environment with more sophisticated movie goers who might have seen the movie before they pay to see it on a bigger screen. Who here would not go to see Matrix: Revolutions on the big screen even if they had seen it on DVD?

Hollywood's bellyaching is all BS, as usual. They will still profit. They will only suffer the loss of their monopoly rents on secondary sales of already paid for movies.