Archives For DVD

ZNF ‘Round The Web

Dave Zatz —  January 23, 2009 — 5 Comments

Leaving comments across the blogosphere…

Control TiVo With Your iPhone for $3
I’m sorry, but a TiVo touchscreen remote is so much less efficient than the Glo remote. I don’t want to look down to change channels. Nor do I want to keep my iPhone on for a two hour Lost episode. I also prefer to adjust the volume on my television.

Boxee Gets ABC
Of course the challenge with services like Boxee, PlayOn, NeurosLINK is keeping up with the providers since as far as I can tell the stuff is being scraped. And should the providers make a change, these other guys will need to race to keep up. PlayOn’s had one or two Hulu outages for example when Hulu changed their site somewhat. Ideally, all the networks get on Hulu. And then Hulu gets on a box. Every episode, every season. (Of course, licensing doesn’t work that way with the various guilds and entities that all must be paid at rates that slide around depending on length of availability, release timing, etc – no one can afford it all.)

Apple TV Stays on its “Hobby” Horse
The bottom line here is that the living room is still a tough nut to crack if offering a separate box. The cable and satellite cos really have a stranglehold on the living room here in the US. (I wish we’d see a UK Freeview-esque movement which might open up the set-top box space.) Additionally, Bruce’s point is well taken. AppleTV is still too much of a closed ecosystem (without hacking) which in keeps many of the early adopters away – who often kickstart new tech adoption.

DISH Network coming to Windows Media Center
Draco? I thought it was Stargate. Too many codenames! Although, it’s possible there are two initiatives. Relaying ViP 211 content to a Media Center and some sort of Internet streaming. Then again, with the whole SlingGuide they may shift gears and this project could suffer the same fate of DirecTV’s MCE tuner.

MPAA vs RealDVD — Why You Care
No mention of the DVD Copy Control Association? They’ve licensed CSS to DVD-burning kiosks. So they, and the MPAA, may not necessarily be against sharing the tech and permitting archiving. (Before HD DVD was killed, Windows Vista archiving was demo-ed/pitched by Microsoft at CES.) But they didn’t produce, validate, or vette Real’s protection scheme. And it’s not Real’s technology to use without license. Having said that, I do agree many large companies are overzealous in claiming DMCA violations that appear to trump pre-existing fair use consumer protections. (In fact, I’m tired of YouTube takedown notices.) At the end of the day, most folks who want to archive their DVDs already know how. (Basically, I don’t believe there’s a market for Real’s software.) And I don’t see individual consumers, who don’t share their files on BitTorrent, being dragged into court for bypassing an encryption scheme or stealing.

In Apple, DVD, HTPC, Satellite TV, Software, TiVo
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Netflix & Walmart Illegally Cornering DVD Market?

Davis Freeberg —  January 16, 2009 — 7 Comments

Over the last few years, it’s been no secret that Netflix has become the dominant force for DVD by mail rentals. There may be plenty of other ways to watch films, but when it comes to renting through the mail, Netflix’s laser like focus has put them in the enviable position of being able to assert a large degree of control over the economics of their market. While there is nothing wrong with a company being so successful that they become the dominant player through skill, there are laws against abusing that power to prevent competition.

A few years ago, Wal-mart created a copycat DVD rental service in order to try and get their own piece of the DVD rental market. Their results were disastrous and despite significant financial and retail advantages, the service never caught on with consumers. Eventually, Wal-Mart realized that it was foolish to spend as much time and money focusing on such a small part of their core business, so they threw in the towel and essentially sold their membership base to Netflix. While we know that the agreement included some cross promotional advertising, the actual terms of the deal weren’t ever publicly revealed.

While some would argue that Netflix’s agreement with Wal-mart was just another example of their business acumen, nearly four years after this transaction took place, Walmart and Netflix both stand accused of engaging in anti-trust behavior over the deal. While Netflix does see its fair share of bogus lawsuits, after reading through the complaint, I think that this case may end up having more teeth to it than most of the frivolous lawsuits that are filed. (Warning: I’m not an attorney and this is merely my opinion.) Continue Reading…

In DVD, Industry, Netflix
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Where’s The Redbox Kiosk For Video Games?

Davis Freeberg —  December 19, 2008 — 11 Comments

Hot Donkey

Considering how much I’ve written about DVD kiosks, some may be surprised that I recently made my first Redbox DVD rental. I was at the grocery store last week and saw that the kiosk offered the most recent Indiana Jones movie. Indiana Jones has always been a favorite of mine, so on an impulse I rented the DVD. I probably would have rented from Redbox sooner, but between TiVo, Netflix and Internet movies and TV shows, I’ve had no shortage of content and couldn’t justify spending even a measly buck.

The entire rental process was very easy and only reinforced my belief that Redbox will be wildly successful with their business model. In fact, I’ve also noticed that 7-11 has even begun testing Redbox at their stores. I’m not sure if it was the convenience of using a machine instead of dealing with long lines and surly video store clerks or the convenience of being able to make a rental as I was finishing up my grocery shopping, but now that I’ve gotten a taste, I’m sure that I’ll be back.

While it would be hard to improve on the kiosk experience, in thinking about my own entertainment needs, I realized that there is one area of the kiosk market that is still being ignored. When it comes to DVDs, there have been a number of firms who’ve thrown their hat into the kiosk ring, but so far we haven’t seen anyone introduce a kiosk system that dispenses video games.

Continue Reading…

In DVD, Gaming
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All About Netflix

Dave Zatz —  August 14, 2008 — 10 Comments

I hereby declare August 14th, 2008 as Netflix Dysfunction Day. I woke up this morning to a notification that my Netlix account would be upgraded (yay), followed by a notification that Netflix isn’t actually shipping any discs (boo). Normally, a couple day delay wouldn’t ruffle my feathers… However, I’m knee-deep in an HBO Wire marathon and had expected my next disc to ship on Tuesday and arrive yesterday – though it hasn’t actually yet left their facilities. So I did something I haven’t done in years and purchased a DVD (box set). The question is: How’ll I recycle the Season 2 discs in a few days?

In DVD, Netflix
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Hands on with Flexplay Disposable DVD

Dave Zatz —  June 9, 2008 — 19 Comments

Yep, I’ve publicly poo-pooed the idea of disposable DVDs… But it seems to me that Flexplay has found a compelling market for the products: Airline passengers. In this era of Netflix, digital downloads, and Redbox kiosks, I doubt their target audience is large enough to keep them going. In fact, I assume this space will eventually be served by iPod and iPhone video-loading stations. But (in the interim) for $6 I had a better in-flight movie experience than most of my fellow travelers. Normally I’d bring my own video (BYOV) and at a lower cost, but I didn’t plan ahead. (Of course, I’d have picked up a Flexplay DVD for scientific purposes anyhow.) As to the technical details, some sort of air-induced chemical reaction clouds the disc which begins to limit playback after 48 hours – though, Distburbia is still going strong after 60 hours. And, yes, I did verify Handbrake will rip something usable.

In DVD
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