digital downloads
We’re still in this strange situation where digital inventory - which should be BIGGER than hard inventory - pales in comparison to any hard-media inventory out there. The only practical solution to being able to watch what I want, when I want it, is NetFlix or Blockbuster.
Technorati Tags: drm, emerging technology, home theatre, movies
Digital Downloads seem to be heating up - Walmart and TiVo/Amazon are coming to market with their own tiny collection of digital movie downloads, to compete with the modest selection of movies available on iTunes.
The irony is, I already have a pitifully small selection of movies on my Time Warner DVR - at higher quality on-demand.
We’re still in this strange situation where digital inventory - which should be BIGGER than hard inventory - pales in comparison to any hard-media inventory out there. The only practical solution to being able to watch what I want, when I want it, is NetFlix or Blockbuster.
Over the last year, there have been a number of times I wanted to watch a movie with my wife. We both agreed, yes, this evening, let’s watch this movie. Kids were asleep; we weren’t going to go out. I have digital cable; I have a Mac Mini attached to my TV. I have all three options - Mac, Windows XP, and Time Warner DVR at my disposal.
Could we find our movie through digital downloads?
Of course not. Due to release windows, strategy, partnerships, and other reasons best known to rights holders and media conglomerates, the hit movies we had seen previews for all year… weren’t there.
Sure, the last *month* of movies. But not the one from two months ago. “How about that cool chickflick with what’shisname?” Nope, not on any of the systems.
I could watch all sorts of movie trailers on FrontRow on the Mac Mini- to stoke want for products that I can’t have. I could even watch them on the DVR - “coming soon on Time Warner On Demand”. But the movies they ran the trailers for weren’t in the VOD inventory!!!!
Fed up, I’m thinking “fine, I’ll buy the movie online if I can’t rent it”.
Nope. Not available.
Maybe someday.
update: here’s another post on the subject. http://www.techiediva.com/weblog/2007/02/geek_tips_movie.html
