As we set patiently by soon entering a new year, waiting for the next generation of DVD to materialize, alternative solutions are taking hold. One of the best things to come down the pipe in many years is: Movies on Demand. With this concept, you can order a movie from the convenience of your home via your cable company and then happily stream it all over your home. There are even methods of capturing the film in glorious high definition already. According to experts, high definition movies and the screens to play them on are going to be the must have items for the future. Who needs to shell out for troublesome 1000 dollar players with draconian DRM that use pesky discs? Cable and satellite are subsidizing the hardware to get subscribers. Maybe Gates is right, streaming is rapidly coming of age.
There are signs that rising on-demand viewing is denting DVD sales and rentals, a worrying sign for Hollywood executives who increasingly rely on disc sales to offset the cost of producing movies. Since consumer electronics makers and Hollywood studios earn much of their profits on sales margins, they will feel the pinch if these new viewing options grab even 5 or 10 percent of the video market. A poll by Starz Entertainment Group this month showed that 60 percent of those who watch on-demand video buy fewer DVDs, while 72 percent of those surveyed are renting fewer movies. Starz has also broadened the definition of on-demand with Starz Ticket, letting users download movies to laptops or other devices for $12.95 a month. "You can change technology all you want, but you can't change people," said Andy Parsons, a spokesman for Blu-ray, who noted that the vast majority of music fans still buy CDs, even with Internet downloading as an alternative. "Average folks still want to watch the movie and buy it." But even average folks may learn fast when they have cheaper and more convenient options. |
Well Andy Parsons had better be right for the sake of Blu-ray, however, maybe he does not realize that CD sales are in decline. While many people do collect films on DVD, this is cheap and so are the players. Plus, if you can't change people, then what are so many doing at Blockbuster, Netflix, Hollywood Video and these type stores renting films that they have to take back? Dude, you better wake up and smell the coffee. People are beginning to get used to the idea of only "keeping" content for a while then dumping it for new content. Also, arguably, most films are not like music, people don't afix memories to films like 50 First Dates, like they do with music. We don't set and listen to a movie to reminisce or relax like a favorite music track or album. Can you really compare buying habits for CDs to a Blu-ray disc and recorder/player?
I frankly had not given this aspect of the streaming market much thought until I read this article, but it should make these disc peddling giants take note. The longer they spend trying to secure a stranglehold on the market with their proprietary formats and crippling DRM solutions, the more Joe Public learns of other ways to get what he wants. New tech is exciting and it can be desirable if done properly, but there is something to be said for these heavily subsidized and inexpensive hard disc recorders and the streaming technologies. Putting content on a PC or a laptop is a great idea.
Take the average person out there and offer them a high
def DVR recorder that is a good price through a cable promotion. Heck, they can
even have someone come out and set the darn thing up and show you how to use it!
Then on the other hand, look at the optical disc alternative for high def (if it
ever materializes). Then add the confusing array of formats, the presumably high cost of ownership and we have to wonder how they intend to compete in this ever changing world.
Source: International Herald Tribune
