On his Blog Maverick site, Mark Cuban addresses the illogic behind opposition of the DVR by big media companies like Viacom and Disney.

For some reason they want to kill off the DVR… Do you not realize that the DVR is the one device that can save all things traditional and holy to your business and stock price?… Let me ask a simple question, if everyone had a DVR that could record any and every series they liked, enabling them to watch the shows they missed immediately, why would they go to Hulu ever again?

When new technologies come along and change the marketplace, the gut reaction of most established companies seems to be, “How can we block this new idea?” As I heard at a panel last night, “water is wet.”

For indie film companies with few resources, the challenge is to see the DVRs, the customer-friendly opportunities that are already emerging. A few companiesare innovating with VOD but have any really taken advantage of the new ways people are watching things from a marketing perspective? What about the technology that is already emerging is worth embracing rather than trying to send takedown after takedown to rapidshare sites? Will there be a technology, like satellite distribution, that makes theatrical super cheap? Or will there be a way to find out about and schedule the films, like theatrical TiVO?

I’ve decided to set up an “all-infinicine-related” twitter account for your bite-sized enjoyment. Please follow me @infinicine.

Think Outside The Box (Office): The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution and Marketing in the Digital Era is the new book from filmmaker/author Jon Reiss (not yet available at Amazon.com). For readers of this site, the book is probably both utterly essential and potentially old news. It provides a step-by-step guide to creating a strategy for your film in the digital age, and how to exploit different platforms and techniques to reach an audience.

I haven’t yet read the book but overall, if you care considering a DIY strategy for your film release, this looks like a fantastic resource.

Jon is touring about with the book, including stops at CPH:DOX; DIY Days: Los Angeles; and the IFC Center in NYC. He’s also the inaugural “Weekly Player” at Filmmaker Magazine, answering questions until November 16.

News from Washington- the MPAA filed with the FCC to encourage the approval of technology that would allow Hollywood studios to transmit theatrical films directly to consumers hi-def before their video or broadcast windows begins. Called Selective Output Control (SOC), this would compete with piracy but would supplement or undercut theatrical runs depending on your viewpoint. A take on this seems to be that this will destroy the theatrical system and put exhibitors out of business.

I’m not one to defend the MPAA, but this seems a little silly in a number of ways. For one thing, theatrical viewing of films has proved time and again to be an unmatched way of reaching an audience who will pay for the experience. You may reach far more actual eyeballs on TV screens, but the value proposition is different- and it’s not because one thing is generally 90-120 minutes long and the other is shorter (films play on TV too, I hear). Theatrical may need to become more robust and interactive, but people actually do want to go out and be with other people, even with amazing flat screen 3D HD TVs in their house and lots of bittorrents to choose from. The already-declining DVD business is more in danger here, it seems.

Also, it seems to me that trying to stop a new technology, via regulation or approbation, is doomed to failure. If something comes along that people want, it’s a lot more likely you’ll have success giving it to them than trying to figure out how to withhold it.