DVDs offen offer a range of options: the original mono track of an older movie along with a stereo remix, alternative endings, etc. Can you set up a download to take advantage of these options, or is it like ordering a movie off pay-per-view?

Downloading movies will be the future, without a doubt. But there will always be a market for DVDs. Christopher 1988 is right, DVDs offer more (i.e. commentary, alternate versions, docs, correct transfers, etc). Downloading is fine for a run of the mill popcorn flick. But there will always be a demand for DVDs that offer more for cinephiles. Criterion Collection is the best at this, and they may offer the model for the continued existence of DVDs.

Since beginning my first internship that put me far from the comforts of home, I've been forced to adapt to new ways of satisfying my movie/tv cravings. First, I subscribed to Netflix, and spent a surprising amount of time watching movies on my laptop with their 'watch now' option. However, at some point, I started using bittorrent to download fansubs of foreign movies and shows I like - it's been like a revelation. All I have to do is find the right torrent and I can pick widescreen or full screen, subbed or dubbed, or any of a number of other options I would associate with DVD watching.

The only drawbacks? Even with cable download speeds it can take days (or even weeks) to download particularly large files, and I'm afraid I'll run out of space on my 500GB hard drive faster than expected.

I noticed I failed to mention that unlike the AppleTV or Vudu boxes, which let you browse and select titles from the comfort of your sofa without logging on to your computer, the Roku Player (and presumably others that will follow) requires you to log on to your Netflix account to choose and add content to your queue, which then appears on the TV connected to the Roku.

Also, I mentioned Microsoft's announcement that streaming Netflix video is coming soon for the Xbox, and it's interesting to note a comment to Farhad's Roku story about vmcNetflix - a Windows Media Center add-in that allows you to stream Watch Now Netflix titles to the Xbox 360.

-Joe Hutsko

But not for my dad. I haven't even handled physical media in years. But he has. So clearly the DVD will exist only as long a non-technical users exist. As the net becomes more ubiquitous, more downloads and fewer DVDs. DVDs and most physical media will go the way of the dodo. Can’t happen soon enough, for me.

...about what movie downloads lack: All those cool DVD extras like the Director's voiceover narrative, deleted scenes, extra materials and sound options and other goodies. Thanks for asking - and for bringing this trade-off to the conversation. -Joe Hutsko

I've easily found room for both DVDs and downloaded movies, mostly using Netflix's Watch Instantly feature on my computer. Basically, if I really want to watch it, I go for the DVD, or if I'm watching with family or friends. If I'm just passing time, I'll go the download route.

I might do more on the download side if it were easier and did not cost me any more to get them on my television with my current setup. The downloaded movies are confined to my computer at the moment. I'm not interested in getting another piece of hardware to hook up to my television when I've got a perfectly good DVD player, DVR, and still have a VCR hooked up, as well as a game console. If Netflix had worked out a deal with TiVo (one was rumored for a while) I'm sure I would've tried that. But now they're working with Amazon, I'd have to pay individually for each movie, which at my current watch rates, would cost me more than my current Netflix subscription. And if it's a movie I want to watch more than once, I have the added hassle of dealing with storage space and backups.

I have about 640 DVDs. No DVR is going to store 5.4TB. And if I ghetto rigged a gang of 1TB drives it would still cost thousands. Whereas the offline storage of 640 DVDs is essentially free.

Also, does anyone know if downloadable movies are REGION coded? How is the Great Eye in the Sky going to let me download a title from more than one region?

Having just recently received a parcel with a number of Criterion Edition DVDs, I definitely think there'll always be a market for the beautifully produced - but probably more pricey - special edition of a film. There's something to having the tin-box five-disk edition of Bladerunner and a whole number of beautifully produced Criterion sets that you lose when you go for download. However, the audience for such editions will always be smaller and will therefore have to be prepared to pay more.

I use both, but tend to favor DVDs from Netflix for now. I'm a big fan of completely random things and foreign movies which generally don't have as many legal digital copies floating around as major releases. My big reason that I haven't given up on DVDs yet is internet access. I tend to take my laptop with me on my commute and when I'm on the road and use DVDs because who knows what the internet access is and I'd rather have a couple of DVDs to watch in the hotel.

Also, often what I want to watch will be available as a rental thru amazon or Itunes but I can't actually purchase it. I'd rather keep a spindle or book of DVDs around then only have virtual media. Yes I do backup everything, but I've lost enough purchased digital media over the years to appreciate being able to re-rip a song or movie.

I use the Netflix Watch Now feature. I also use my Comcast DVR and On Demand offerings. As for downloads, I download lots of things, but almost never movies. Takes too long.

Old-school DVDs may be dying ... I have 500+, but haven't bought one in some time now ... but Blu-ray will be just fine. My Blu-ray discs look and sound better than any of my other options, and if I find standard movie files too large to warrant an endless download, then hi-def movies are surely out of the question.