Sony thinking about online movie downloads that you buy, not rent
posted September 30th 2004 11:31AM
A small sign that Sony might be starting to get it? It was already pretty much an open secret that Sony was planning to add movies and video game downloads to their Connect online music store sometime next year, but the Inq reports that they're thinking of making it possible to properly buy (and own) the movies you download rather than subject you to frustrating rental periods where the movies self-destruct after a certain period of time (which is how MovieLink and CinemaNow do things). No doubt there'll be plenty of DRM involved (because Sony ain't gonna stop being Sony), but at least you'll be able to create a video collection that you can transfer to other machines without worrying about expiration dates. There's even a mention that the download service will work with the PlayStation Portable, and we'd be surprised if the PlayStation 3 didn't also figure into the mix somehow.
Sony really connecting things together...finally!
>>A small sign that Sony might be starting to get it?
Oh! Now i GET IT!
I'm thinking that once Hi-Def gets established in several years, will it look that much superior to Standard Def that people won't care to watch it any more? Lots of people won't bother with VCR tapes now that they've seen DVDs. If that's the case, then now would be an ideal time to sell as many (Standard Def) movies as possible in any form; relax the anti piracy issue now, since all of the material may soon be out dated.
If it were possible to download at dvd quality and then burn to a dvd-r, i would be all over that. However if I can't have it at the top quality, then imo its not worth the money.
The editor of this blog just does not get it! Not everybody wants to own media. I strongly prefer the rental model and am happy to subscribe to services where I can get lots of content at a low fixed price. This is true for music, movies, games, everything. I can enjoy tons of content for a low price... and as long as I keep subscribing (which I am HAPPY to do) I have access to everything i want whenever I want. A much better way of doing things. I feel like the person who writes these blog commentaries cannot see past a narrow perspective of how consumers should get their content.
Not worth it to get rid of your DVD collection as most movies are still shot on film, not digitally. Therefore hi-def movies that actually utilize all that extra storage on the new media won't become popular for quite some time. When they do become popular, you will continue to be able to use your DVDs on the next gen systems.
It is most likely that the studios won't retro-fit old movies to the new hi-def standard and actually take advantage of it. God only knows how many old movies I've watched on DVD which didn't look all that much better to a good VHS tape.
Responding to Jon's comment Obviously if Sony does this they're going to do both rentals (like MovieLink) and DRM'd sales (like iTunes, just for movies). The point is that Sony (hopefully) will be giving consumers more choices, not fewer, and we applaud that. If anyone has a narrow perpspective here it's you, tell me exactly where I'm condemning this content model you're asking for? Just because I give props to a sale model doesn't mean I'm condemning anything else.
I'd say that there is and will be a market for both the sale and rental of digital movies. There are some that like to accumilate stuff even if they have it in another format.
Would well priced downloadable DVD or HD quality movies at today's connection speeds be acceptable to you/us ? Who is the current leader in offering this service as I haven't tried it yet?