@ 3dpenguin

"ll seeing that no disc over 30GB has yet to be approved for usage"

Dude, what are you talking about? 50 GB BDs are available everywhere.

@ 3dpenguin

"4) Drive storage is far cheaper than all disc media and its 100% re-usable with a far lower failure rate."

Ha, that's a good one. I have multiple TBs of music & video and constantly have to replace drives where I almost never have to replace a DVD or Blu-ray. Regarding Blu-ray, since Dec. 2006 I have had ZERO defective BDs while I have had at least 6 HDDs, all 500 GB or larger, fail.

All this talk of the death of physical media is way way way premature.

Until we can get HDDs in 10 TB size or larger there will certainly be a demand for physical media. For a collector it is just to easy to fill up 1 TB of content. And I do so on a regular basis.

As far as cost goes I get blank Memorex BD-Rs for less than $2 per, that's about $80 per TB of storage @ 25 GB per BD-R. I haven't seen a Seagate 1 TB HDD in that price range and am not familiar with many other quality HDDs other than Seagate. I have had many iomega, western digital & the like HDDs fail miserably.

Until the economy rebounds expect the status quo where physical media is still KING.

Hail to the king baby......

@ $4.99 to watch one time within 24 hours downloads are MUCH more expensive than Blockbuster.

from Blockbuster you can get a blu-ray for $3.49 over night that can be watched multiple times from multiple devices and $1.00 per each additional day or you can get unlimited viewing on multiple devices for 3 days @ $4.99...

downloads need to be cheaper, not more expensive & they need to be more flexible in terms like unlimited viewing for say 3 days [72 hours from download completion] @ $4.99 on multiple devices

it is?

riveting.

what is it?

Jeff

Please understand, the DRM fiasco you mentioned & this current issue are non-issues to the average consumer.

The only controversy will be felt here among those "in the know"

Most consumers don't care.

Most likely the kiosk vendors & Netflix will agree to the "new day-and-date revenue sharing option" and life will go on.

Meaning both the kiosk vendors & Netflix will have the new release day & date titles on release day but for a higher price or not included in flat rate programs.

The average consumer will see the product they want & rent it.

Nick,

The point isn't about Watchmen being a good or bad movie, the point is that a studio put up $200 million to make it.

It's about the material investment in every movie.

Most films fail to break ever or actually turn a profit.

The studios gamble.

This is just another way to balance the risk.

Jeff

That's the point, you can't get it for a dollar.

Maybe you could [for a period of time] but soon you can't.

And just by being on this website makes you NOT the average consumer.

You are to well informed.

The average consumer is uninformed.

They will not nor will their children lose interest.

We, the consumer, think we are in control, that is nothing more than perception.

We are NOT in control.

We can agree to disagree but this move will work.

Regarding Blockbuster's business model, that's not the point. Blockbuster, Hollywood Video & any other B&M retailer will be willing to share the revenue PER rental & that is what the studios want. Not an ocean of flat rate rentals yielding very little. Even if they do less business the studios will make more money. And the fewer copies being rented makes the title that much more valuable, in demand etc....so in this instance less is more.

The studios want to get paid every time a DVD leaves the store.

Nick

Which has nothing to do with the conversation except that this may breath new life into that company.

Try to stay on topic.

I don't care where the consumer rents the DVDs.

This isn't about my personal habits as a consumer.

I am simply talking about why this makes sense for the studios.

And from a business perspective it makes really good sense.

Expect other studios to follow suit.

Nick,

You really believe that?

Call me when the shuttle lands.......................

BTW: None of what I am saying is based on my personal habits as a consumer, this is only about business.

If you honestly believe that the consumer is going to wait 30 - 45 days then prepare to be shocked as the flock [of sheep] migrate to the product, where ever the product is available.

The studios couldn't pick a better time to do this. Coming Soon; Wolverine, Star Trek, Transformers 2, Harry Potter, G-Force, Crank 2, Terminator Salvation, Monsters Vs. Aliens, Up, Year One, Land of the Lost etc.......

To me this sounds more like your "sour grapes" over your personal DVD rental habits being disrupted than anything else.

And the average consumer is impatient, the studios know this. Try waiting in line at Starbucks if you want an example of how impatient we have become...

Just watch and see.

Bill,

Just yesterday I rented Race to Witch Mountain & 17 Again on Blu-ray from Blockbuster for my kids. Thet were $2.99 per & one was free because I had already rented 5 movies this month. Took them back today & got I love you man on Blu-ray for $2.99