18.01.10
Ben, thanks – I tweaked the post to hopefully better illustrate the staggered release windows. What I need to do is diagram it, so all the various permutations (and delays) are clearly visible. Regarding rentals outpacing sales and the financial impact on the movie studios, they’d clearly get a larger cut, additional income via digital rentals (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, CinemaNow, whomever) rather than via disc rentals where they get to sell the physical media to a third party just once. That’s my point and where they’re leaving money on the table. Also, hopefully the way the music industry imploded will motivate them. I don’t swipe content, but amongst my peers it seems the fast, inexpensive broadband has clearly led to increased BitTorrent or Usenet downloads.
RandomRage, for me it’s about convenience. If I plan well enough ahead, physical media is fine – and of course comes with higher quality video. But a good percent of what I watch is spontaneous, so I want that digital access. And the HD rental quality has been perfectly acceptable.
Ok, but you still say “And, not only don’t I deal in physical media,” then you go and rent a physical disc. And of course I know you realize that the studios would’ve preferred it if Redbox didn’t offer the movie for rent yet either.
So let me ask you this. Do you have a problem with Hollywoods intended windows, or just the reality of the situation? So in other words Hollywood wants you to go to the theater to see it in the first 90 days, buy in the next 30 days, rent it for the next 90 days and watch it on a premium channel for the next 90 days. Digital or physical, Hollywood doesn’t care, as long as they get paid.
Personally I don’t think the windows work the way Hollywood thinks they do. I believe that people have a preferred way of consuming content and it isn’t the money that is keeping them from using other avenues. But I understand if Hollywood wants to experiment to optimize the bottom line. And at the same time I don’t mind waiting another 30 days to watch a movie on Blu-ray (my preferred way).
Yep, that’s my goal and this is the first movie I’ve seen on disc in quite some time (as opposed to television show seasons). My Toshiba HD DVD unit is lone gone, our DVD player has been decommissioned (in the closet), and the only optical drive currently in our place resides within my Xbox 360. Redbox or Netflix rental discs is an issue for them, the studios, and perhaps the legal system to work out. I’d rather skip that particular drama and just pay more to get content the way I want it.
So let’s simplify the release windows given your thought, which I obviously agree with, that folks have their own preferred methods of consuming movie content and my skepticism that the current multiple release windows notably improves movie studios revenue. I guess what irked me most this weekend is the artificial delineation between digital purchase and digital rental. I’m not going to buy it, so at least give me the opportunity to rent it – I get it the way I want, they make a little more money. What’s not to like?
Dave, While it was a little difficult to follow all of the back and forth with Ben, I think I agree with your overall assessment; the window system for the release of physical and digital media is silly.
At the end of the day, I can break movies into four categories. For those I plan to watch in my media room at the highest possible quality and I will probably watch more than once, I will buy the blu-ray disc and I don’t mind paying a premium. For those that I have an interest in, but probably will not watch more than once, I would like the option of streaming the HD version and would pay up to $4.99 for the privilege. For those that I am only interested in watching if nothing else is on, the SD version will do, and I don’t mind paying $2.99 to stream it. And finally, the last group are the movies that I really have no interest in paying anything for, but might watch if it is on television for free.
After the theater run, studios should just make the movie available in every format imaginable. At the end of the day, most people already know which format they prefer (digital or physical) and how much they are willing to pay for it. The artificial windows probably have very little influence on how people choose.
My theory is that Netflix will implement an add on cost for early access. I think a per-rental fee for early access (stream or physical media) would be of more interest to the studios, as it’d be very easy to just take a cut of each rental.
On the other hand, that would require you to opt-in to an upcharge, either in an aggregate form (you pre agree to pay any fee for a first 30 day release rental of any disc that comes up in your queue or any stream viewing), or on a per-rental basis before any disc ships.
Easy to implement would be a monthly fee, as they do for Blu-ray. One problem I have with that is payment during periods of non-use. A consumer friendly version would be a monthly fee for a maximum number of early rentals, but you don’t pay if you don’t utilize it at all. E.G. a $3-$5 fee for 2 to 3 “first 30 day rentals” but no charge if you don’t rent/watch any “first 30 day rentals” during your monthly subscription period.
There’s a lot of backend stuff to consider too, especially on the streaming side. Right now, it’s an ‘all you can eat’ setup, which simplfies UI issues for viewing devices. Adding functionality to authorize an surcharge for a streamed viewing is a complication.
Look how long it took the music industry to embrace digital and remove arduous DRM issues. But they did. The movie industry is certainly not the same, but I sense some of the same group-think with these physical/digital/rent/own issues. They’re focusing too much on trying to prevent people from certain means of consuming their product instead of encouraging more consumption.
I also suspect there’s some jealousy involved especially with Netflix being a middle-man in the streaming arena.
I pre-ordered the Blu-Ray DVD Moon from Amazon for $24. I received it the same day it was released to retail sales (and presumably Amazon Unbox Purchase). I will watch it in it’s full Blu-Ray glory (with little worry of the scratches, glitches with Netflix – not that it’s available there.) Later, if I choose to, I will sell it used on Amazon marketplace for a 20-30% discount. I received a free digital copy with the DVD as well, so I can watch it on my computer/Ipod for all eternity. So, I guess I am the anti-Dave when it comes to this whole release cycle thing. I semi-happily pay a premium for watching the latest hot film. If I am not amped about a film, I’ll wait the 30-days or so for it to show up as a Unbox/On-Demand rental. Selling on Amazon when I chose not to keep the film, I end up with a net $6-8 payment for a film. No contracts, no worries.
While it may be kind of a pain for people who want to instantly have the latest film rental delivered digitally, I think they are managing demand, and maximizing the profit. If there weren’t money in it, they wouldn’t do it. They aren’t totally stupid.
Charlie, I’m not sure I have it in me to produce it. Especially now that the studios are not moving in lock step, working independent deals like the Netflix/Warners 28 day DVD rental delay and some of the more progressive studios moving up their digital offerings. Maybe Ben D could put together a feature for EngadgetHD diagramming these various permutations. And he’d probably make more than I would for his time.
Ben, I agree that there are very few movies compelling enough to deviate from what we generally do. And those ‘event’ movies we usually see in the theater like District 9 and Avatar. However, my point is that the system is artificial and probably doesn’t accomplish what the studio intends. Normally, I’d have skipped Moon if the digital rental weren’t available. And by the time it was, it probably wouldn’t have the same Twitter buzz that motivated me off the couch and I’d forget about it. Internet content and Xbox 360 have replaced a significant percentage of my television and movie viewing in recent years, so the studios should be reducing barriers to separate me from my money (and Call of Duty).
As an aside, if the theater experience were better people might spend more money going out. Put a Starbucks in the theater. And maybe let’s try assigned seating like I’ve seen in downtown London. Also, let’s do theme nights. Maybe two sci-fi flicks back to back with an intermission between. (The Best Picture Emmy thing AMC hosts is pretty cool, though grueling.) Let’s also modernize the theater+pub experience (which was historically second run films) with newer content and I don’t know Microsoft Surface tables with IMDB info or MST2k.
I refuse to pay the premium for new release blu-rays. Some aren’t that bad, but the recent release of Braveheart, Gladiator and Forrest Gump would run you $100 at BB. That’s a ridiculous price to pay for three movies (especially considering how the Gladiator transfer has been trashed in reviews.)
I have to admit that, when I first built my Windows Home Server, the Rent/Rip/Return model was a little bit tempting because I dislike the studios so much. But, being in law enforcement myself, that was just a brief temptation. What I do is rent via netflix, decide if it’s a movie that I would want on my WHS and wait several months until I can get a used copy for $5 to $10.
Source:
New York TimesInstant Movie Delivery More Possible Than Ever One by one, the announcements came: Netflix instant movies became a TiVo feature. An Xbox 360 feature. A Blu-ray DVD player feature (LG and Samsung).
CNET NewsGet an Xbox HD DVD player for $49.99 Here's the skinny: Frys.com has the Microsoft Xbox 360 HD DVD Player for $49.99, plus around 8 bucks for shipping. Why on earth would you want this thing? Fry's sells discounted Xbox 360 HD DVD bundle
Christian Science MonitorBuyer’s guide: How to pick the right HDTV HDMI cables provide the best connection between a TV set and a signal source like a set-top box, DVD player, or game console. They’re also simple to connect
CNET NewsMore Than Meets the Eye How Consoles Became Mission Control Then the PlayStation 2 became the best-selling console in history by doubling as a DVD player. Now consoles have gone beyond mere multitasking, Console Wars
