So I'm trying out the UK Virgin's pay-per-view Movie service. It's pretty good, apart from trying to find a movie again if you have paused it to watch TV for a bit. You'd think they'd make it easy to find, but the only way I've found so far is navigating the whole buying system again until you find it.
Anyway, just a thought here: if it were me, I would not put a 24-hour time limit on the pretty expensive movie "rental" service (5 pounds sterling for premium movies!). I would not even put a 48-hour limit on it, or a week. I would not put a time limit on it at all, merely specify one viewing (maybe two for a small extra fee).
I think people would buy more films. Since there's no pressure to finish a movie, they can rent a second one before having finished the first one if they feel like a different type of movie at the moment. But when you have a time limit, you'll want to finish the movie you have bought, otherwise it'll expire and you've wasted money.
I don't see any upside to the time limits, either for the audience or the providers.
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It seems I can record two HD programs, while watching a third, and at the same time keep my very fast broadband connection going. I think that's pretty impressive bandwidth there.
Most businesses aren't run by people with common sense, but rather by people who have never even used the products they're promoting. What worse though, is that often they don't even have the foresight to ask those that do use their product how it could be improved.
ReplyDeleteKodak recently started asking their users for input and actually listened and implemented it. I hear they're slowly climbing out of a huge financial hole. Do you think these two are unrelated? :-)
So Netflix has a great model for renting and on-line content delivery. Since I've never had an on-demand system I wouldn't know how it compares.
ReplyDeleteYou pay a monthly fee which equates to a certain number of discs in a rotation, watch them as fast as you like or as slow as you like.
Add to that, unlimited internet access for watching films.
Over here cable now have on-demand which you can start on one STB (cable box), pause, and pick up later using a different receiver in a different room. They make it sound easy. What I find easy is the old system of BBC1, BBC2 and ITV, watch as much as you like between 10 am and 11:30pm for 30gbp per annum.
Yeah... I think the number of sports channels alone that I have now is like ten times that. Not that I'd watch any of them.
ReplyDeleteNetFlix. Wow, just wow! Luv the rate what you've seen and we'll find more that you like. Downside: I watch more of the boob tube and practice sax less. There are only so many hours in the day.
ReplyDeleteWord Verification: Prest as in, she prest her lips to mine. I like it. :O)
Funny, Alex; I was wondering about Netfix, myself. My local Hollywood store put me on a plan (without talking w/me about it, first; quite pissed me off; it's an automatic charge that I didn't even realize that they had put me on!!) for $14.99/month (I think it was a $7.99/mo rental program that I had paid for, a couple of times before that)...'cuz I did't get ONE movie back in time and they, now, wanted me to pay $28 in late fees...which, BTW, they also advertise, on the side of their building, that they DON'T have!!! I was thinking that I might be able to save w/Netflix and NOT have to put up w/that late fee nonsense, locally!!
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