Android Army
Are you in the Android clan?
1 postsThe Verge
- 4 posts
- 486 comments
Forum Memberships
-
-
Betamaxed
Home theater and beyond
0 posts -
Gaming
Achievement unlocked?
0 posts -
Meta
Let's talk about The Verge
1 posts -
Microsoft Tribe
Let your Microsoft flag fly
0 posts -
Mobile
Phoneville, USA
0 posts -
Off-topic / chit-chat
The opposite of on-topic
1 posts -
The Lens
Calling all photo junkies
0 posts
Squarewave
On The Verge since Nov 01, 2011
-
Comment
I’m not saying that people watch the same movie just as often as they listen to the same album or that people spend the same amount of money on a movie as an album. There certainly are differences in each form of entertainment.
What I mean to say is that with most music subscription services, if someone named a relatively well known artist you could look them up and 9 times out of 10 they would be available to stream. If I were to do the same with Netflix 9 times out of 10 they wouldn’t have what I want.
If there was a movie subscription service like the music subscription services where I could think of any movie off the top of my head and watch it right now, and the licenses for the movie deals didn’t expire, and constantly expanding, I would pay up to $40 a month or more for that. Maybe I watch too many movies and I might not be the norm, but to me that’s about the same I would spend buying a movie every weekend.
To me Netflix is like a glorified cable movie channel for the internet. They get to tell you what you want to watch, not the other way around. I use it and it is an alright service for what you pay, but I’m just disappointed there is less interest in making movie deals for subscriptions than there is in the music industry.
-
Comment
The difference is most of Netflix’s catalog is temporary and no where near as comprehensive as most music subscription services.
-
Comment
Can someone explain to me why I was recently charged tax on an MS points code from Amazon? I’ve bought PSN points on Amazon and never been charged tax, and in the past I’ve bought 1600 and 4000 MSP on Amazon and wasn’t charged tax, and this is all with the option to get the code immediately in the browser not having to physically mail a plastic card. If I remember correctly walking in to a local Walmart/Game Stop etc. you don’t get charged tax for points codes or any other type of gift card so what gives?
-
Comment
I hope that when it does happen we will finally get free VoIP on mobile to any phone number using a GVoice number (they’re already doing it in the browser on desktop).
-
Comment
HDR… HDR everywhere.
-
Comment
Bought CS5.5 for $40 with student discount + 80% off just before CS6 came out. I’m okay with sticking with this version for while. Glad I don’t have to fiddle with a monthly subscription.
-
Comment
Not exactly a $7000 loss when you factor in that this promotion is going to get a ton more people downloading new apps as they approach 50 billion downloads. Only one person wins but they are making money off of all the losers.
-
Comment
It sounds stupid, but I really think adding scent to theaters would be awesome. Not for the gimmicky stuff like fart smells in teen comedies, etc. but like atmospheric stuff. Imagine scenes in jungles or waterfalls, or anything really, adding a distinct scent to that would definitely add to the immersion, making it really feel like you’re looking through a window to a real place. People don’t realize how great our sense of smell is, but I’m sure you’ve experienced nostalgia with a particular scent.
For example, anyone who has been to Disneyland and been on a ride like Pirates of the Caribbean, you might notice it has a very distinct smell (from the water I’d guess), and every time I go back it’s very nostalgic, not just the sights of it but the smell as well. It would be awesome to have that sort of feeling with movies.
-
Comment
It’s the same reason that Hollywood is making sequel after sequel, and remakes, or adapting characters people already know from comic books, 80s/90s cartoons etc. They don’t want to risk a lot of money on a franchise that people aren’t already familiar with. Infinity Ward actually wanted to call MW2 just Modern Warfare 2, but Activision made them keep the Call of Duty name in the title.
As for the games being relatively similar every year, there are way too many Call of Duty players for them to mess with the formula too much. Every little change they make splits the fanbase on whether it was a good change or a bad change, and they don’t want to piss off fans and lose sales.
-
Comment
This isn’t really what I was talking about but yeah the shadows could be a problem if you aren’t directly behind this projector.
Look at this screenshot from the video…
Notice how the lines follow the perspective of the viewer in first person. Move a few feet to the left or the right and those lines won’t appear to be straight anymore. As the image moves from the floor to the TV stand or shelves the lines will bend, you can already see this in some parts of the shelves where it wasn’t perfectly calibrated to this camera’s view.. -
Comment
A singular experience is what you want in a device that is reliant on your perspective. I just explained how this IllumiRoom will only really work well for one person, other people who are playing/watching from another angle will see a distorted image. At least with the Rift you have the option of using more than one of them for multiplayer.
Honestly, I don’t even know why everyone is comparing them, they’re totally different concepts. The Rift is head mounted VR, that tracks your head’s movement/orientation to simulate your perspective. The IllumiRoom just expands your TV, which is fixed, to fill more of your peripheral vision.
-
Comment
Yeah I agree, the Rift is definitely more exciting and from what I’ve seen it looks more immersive.
I just realized something though, this IllumiRoom appears to be dependent on your perspective, what happens if you aren’t sitting perfectly center on the couch? I’m sure they are already doing headtracking with Kinect, but what about when there are multiple people in the room? It would only really work well for one person, right?
-
Comment
This might give you some idea…
