"Looking for someone to blame for all this? Pick your target: AACS was jointly developed by Disney, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, and Warner."

There's your answer right there.

I remember when the zoning bullshˇt was going on with DVD players, and one company in South Melbourne bought out some region free DVD players from Japan. I don't know what the deal is with HDTV, but a similar thing might happen with them.

Anyway, I'm not sure the future is discs anyway. I know one friend with a high speed internet connection that downloads everything he wants to watch via the Net and then plays it back on his TV. That means as soon as something is broadcast - no matter where it is in the world - he gets it first. No more waiting 12 months for an episode of something that screened in the US yesterday.