I agree with you in general, but I think Blu-Ray will have a much shorter and much less popular run. Personally, I'd give it 1-3 years before something else comes along.

Back on topic ...

Personally I think the WDMP2 is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I agree the device is still too geeky to make a dent in the consumer movie/video market. But it does fill a much neglected niche. It's a godsend to be able to easily share HD video and photos easily from a USB device. And it's nearly perfect for all types of business needs.

The addition of the Ethernet port, opens up a lot of possibilities. I'm excited to see how well the WDMP2 works over a wireless network. It would be an interesting way to push video/media to several monitors scattered around a conference hall, hotel, or reception hall.

The next cool step would be to make the basic features of the WDMP2 standard on all TV and computer monitors. And then after that, add a DRM chip, so that it can be made to work with a content delivery system like iTunes.

It's already been 3 years. I meant a run of 8-10 years total. BluRay started shipping June '06.

Exactly! For us corporate (etc.) videographers this device offers a lot of possibilities for our customer base. Content is king for sure....but choice (in HD delivery) is also good!

Not sure if we have them already here in the States, but in Europe you can already buy TV sets with built-in digital video players. Not as fancy as the WD is, not as many formats supported, but they are coming. Connect your USB drive and enjoy!

It's just a matter of time and the now "geeky" thing will become everyday reality. DVRs are geeky things too, far more complex than the WD player... and still, more and more people abandon live TV and choose to record the stuff they want and only the stuff they want, skip commercials, and watch when they have the time.

So yes, Hollywood is dictating Bluray, and they may only deliver content on discs, but no one can stop the advancement of technology. Be it 5 years, maybe they can drag it out 10 years at the most, but discs are condemned to death. All discs, including hard drives. The day you can have ALL the digital content available out there, on a square inch chip is maybe as close as 10-15 years from now.

Solid state delivery was already available when HD-DVD and Bluray was developed; Hollywood went for the disc because they can better enforce copyright with read-only media. Till 2020 they thave the time to figure out how to do it on solid state chips...