Announced in March, Blockbuster video on demand service has just landed on Series 2 and Series 3/HD TiVo units. It’s a good move for Blockbuster as they struggle to find relevance beyond their declining brick & mortar existence. (And their prior, somewhat solo foray into this space didn’t turn out so well.)
Typical digital movie pricing and rental terms apply to Blockbuster VOD on TiVo. However their content selection is somewhat limited (see the “New Releases” above) and “quality [is] on par with DVD.” Although I’m told both the library and video quality options will see improvements “in the short-term.” Until then, there’s little reason to give up TiVo’s superior (HD-capable) Amazon VOD offering.
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Way, WAY overpriced. Why do they think they can viably charge $2.99 or more for a streaming RENTAL vs. just waiting for a DVD from Netflix (or, perhaps, streaming from Netflix for no additional charge).
I know some people will pay for the convenience, but I think for many budget-conscious folks this will just be ignored — like their brick-and-mortar stores.
Want to eat into Netflix’s/Amazon’s marketshare? Do something consumer-friendly and charge $0.99 or less for your time-limited, non-physical rental service.
@Chris
“…Why do they think they can viably charge $2.99 or more for a streaming RENTAL vs. just waiting for a DVD from Netflix.”
There are a lot of people that simply *must* have ‘Transformers 5: The Revenge of Michael Bay’ the millisecond its available, waiting for the DVD in the mail is too much of a delay!
:P
I hate to see the ever-beautiful TiVo hooking up with the skanky evil that is Blockbuster. Let Blockbuster die already.
Chris: $2.99 expensive for a movie rental? Puhlease?
Brian: I completely disagree. I want TiVo to have as many content providers as possible vying for TiVo customer’s video rental dollars. The more competition, the better it is for us, and the more likely prices will tend in the direction that Chris wants! :)
As usual, not available in Canada?
Question, is the rental period longer than 24 hours? I hope so. That would be an improvement over AppleTV in the U.S. (Canadians get 48 hour rentals on our Apple TV systems)
…Dale
Not sure the amount of content providers will matter if they’re all authorized to provide the same movies with the same terms at the same prices. Not to mention, until TiVo puts their new search onto new hardware or a redesigned platform, finding content amongst multiple providers is a pain. (Blockbuster offers the same 24 hour viewing period during a 30 day window.)
Wow — As a Blockbuster Online customer I was hoping to see a streaming option similar to the Netflix streaming option. Of course, I was also hoping I could get a taste of that streaming for no additional charge beyond the $19.00/month Blockbuster already gets.
I don’t understand the Blockbuster hate out there. Netflix is great, but the ability to swap my mailed movies in a Blockbuster store 5 minutes from my house for no additional charge has great appeal over the mail only Netflix option.
Greatest thing , according to this post, is support for Series 2 TIVO’s machines. AMAZON doesnt work on Series 2 so this opens up a huge segnebt of potential users that had no access. Although I have ROKU and NETGEAR Digital Entertainer EVA2000, Im always happy to gain some extra functionality on any defvice I have
I still remember the old 90’s commercial. “Blockbuster video, WOW what a difference!” Kinda the same era as “Pizza hut, makin’ it great!” and “Welcome to Circuit City, where service is state of the art.”
Be Kind, Rewind!
As Dale Dietrich comments, it seems best to have as many content providers as possible vying for Tivo customers’ dollars. Though as Dave points out, the advantages will only be truly meaningful when Tivo provides an excellent service for customers to explore and choose what to watch over all the providers.