Netflix, go net!
Published by Sushi on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 12:33 AM.
This idea comes from a random Skpecast conversation from last night...
New model for movie consumption: Just like Netflix, you can keep x number of movies in your possession at any given time, you have to return the movies in order to get more, but all of this is done online.
Internet technology isn't quite there to stream HD content to your TVs and computers, but you could easily have a set top box or a computer that downloads the content in the background or overnight. Once downloaded, you watch the movie, then "send it back" (delete it), at which point the device will download another movie from your queue. Very similar to Netflix, but minus the hassle of having to ship it.
I think this would work great with some existing service such as Netflix, TiVo, or Xbox live. The logistics might be a nightmare though, as MPAA, like RIAA, is extremely paranoid of piracy and DRM will be slapped on everywhere. However, as a customer, the subscription model might be easier to swallow with DRM than having to buy a digital movie (or music) with all sorts of restrictions on it.
Labels: movie
i've seen this discussed on mark cuban's blog (seriously, all your internet technology blog points are pretty similar to his)
an interesting idea but i don't think it will be mainstream.
first and most important, while there is a group out there that watches movies on their computer, that is a huge minority. most people's tvs are better than their monitors and more situated for viewing. so until more televisions take computer input, it won't be very popular at all.
and with high definition downloads, the download length is still prohibitive. i think the online movie download service would have a niche audience, but it would be very hard to make it big.