Ray Bradbury's haunting novel, Fahrenheit 451, described a book burning future where a parlor wall provided a high quality interactive entertainment system complete with a built-in orchestra and little ear bud radios that look like seashells transported a character out of reality.

In 1953, when the book was published, Bradbury wrote about the most outrageous and impossible pieces of gadgets ever put in print. It was fiction. Today, it can be in your hands... literally. And it's very real.

Bradbury cleverly predicted the Flat-Panel High Definition TV and the Apple iPod.

It's really amazing, and somewhat scary, when you think about it. I remember a time when I use to enjoy visiting a video rental store across the street. By the way, I'm talking about videotapes, not DVDs. A Quentin Tarantino-looking clerk would usually hold a copy of the newest movie because I devoured everything on the shelf except the porn section with the see-thru curtain. Then Blockbuster and soon Hollywood Video opened a couple blocks away with its family friendly atmosphere. Everybody went there because they had a lot of DVDs and suddenly the small video rental store became a pizza joint. By the time I received a DVD player for Christmas, previously viewed videotapes were selling 2 for $5.

Life was good. I saw all the movies I ever wanted until Netflix appeared out of nowhere. The idea of never having to drive a couple blocks to return movie rentals or paying enormous late fees I am always guilty of was an enticing offer. I signed up and 500+ movies in my queue later, I wanted more. The faster I can get it the better. I may be dreaming of electric sheep...

But wait... what's this about all the major movie studios getting aboard to allow people to download movie rentals on iTunes? I'm talking about Disney, Fox, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, and Sony Pictures wanting to digitally get it on with the iPod. Just like they chose Blu-ray over HD, the "Big Six" media conglomerates created something not even Bradbury thought about. They gave us a future where we can watch all the movies in the palm of our hands. It's just a click away on the Internet. And it's also very real.

Wow. Now if only someone will invent one membership card where you can collect movie watcher points for every movie you watched in a theatre, rented from a store, or downloaded from a computer or cable... and then allowing the points to transfer over into frequent flyer miles for any airline of choice. I wonder if you can also get points for watching a movie on a plane.

Oh yeah... that pizza joint that use to be a video rental store... you can now download coupons on its website and order online. It learned its lesson.

Check out these other articles on LA2DAY about:
Web Media and the Apple TV.

By Victor Ho