Your on-demand movie selection may be about to get a lot more interesting. According to some industry rumors, Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner have agreed to consider releasing movies to video on-demand services provided by cable companies early. This may mean getting access to films a mere 30 days after wide release, but at a high cost. The figure being floated is $20-30. It could happen as early as Fall 2011.

Movie theaters are likely to feel threatened by this move. Much of the revenue from a film is generated after the initial release. Another potential victim is the plethora of digital video services like Netflix and iTunes. These services often find themselves dealing with long delays before they have access to movies as it is, this new VOD policy could hurt them further.

We also suspect this will be a time the studios will employ Selectable Output Control, as the FCC recently approved. Is this a service you'd be interested in? How much would you pay to see a film while it was still in theaters?

Intel hasn't had much to say about their Light Peak technology since it was first shown off at last year's Intel Developer's Forum. But now they've produced a demo laptop with the new data interconnect standard built in. In the demo, Intel fitted a standard USB cable with the Light Peak optical cables, and ran 2 HD video streams through it. The technology uses a 12mm chip at each end of the connection that converts light into computer bits.

Intel hopes that Light Peak will eventually replace USB, DisplayPort, DVI, eSATA,  and HDMI. The first generation of the technology should be capable of 10Gb/sec bidirectional data transfers. The current USB 3.0 standard is capable of only 4.8Gb/sec. "We expect to increase that speed dramatically. You'll see multiple displays being served by a single Light Peak connection." said Intel's Justin Rattner.

Intel has delayed the integration of USB 3.0 technology in their chipsets until sometime next year, and many feel this is a ploy to weaken USB, making Light Peak a stronger competitor. According to Intel, Light Peak will be available to manufacturers by the end of the year. Would you be ready to jump to Light Peak for your devices?

Image via PC Pro