Hi Christian,
I apologize if my previous post insulted VSL. I did not mean to make your 1 package a month subscription service seem like an unusable option. I love all my VSL purchases and recommend them to all who ask me about sampling products! I completely agree with your comment on the VI interface. It is so well designed, easy to use, and geared for composers who want beautiful playback without having to fool around with less intuitive 3rd party samplers that I can easily see how VI has a longevity to it.
I'm foremost a composer rather than an engineer, and to me the SOUND is CRITICAL. By today's standards VSL has some of the most sonicly compelling samples available (of course, only if you have a decent convolution reverb). However, I do not for a moment think that VSL will still be releasing 44.1kHz/24-bit samples 5 years from now, regardless of the interface. I can't image what computer technology is going to be like in 5 years, but the current restrictions in ram, processing, and disk streaming that limits your sample library resolution to 44.1kHz/24-bit I'm sure will not be a problem in the future. If VSL hasn't upgraded the resolution of their library by then they will probably be well behind their competitors. Furthermore, any person with ears that decides to purchase a 1 package a month subscription this year of 44.1kHz/24-bit samples will no doubt notice a dramatic difference in sound quality when compared to the newer libraries of 2012. I'm just trying to imagine what it would be like to still be excited about getting 44.1kHz/24-bit "Tuba Performance-Repetition" samples in 2012.
Brian
P.S. VSL IS STILL THE BEST!