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New ideas for "The Industry"
I was recently listening to a local Los Angeles radio program that focuses on the Entertainment Industry news & such. The topic was new ideas that the industry is toying with to try to counter-act the fall in movie disc (be it dvd or BR) purchases. One was called "digital vaulting" whereby the consumer pays a premium up front to have their own share of a movie... meaning they would have access to the movie in one form or another, where ever and when ever they want, for ever. This would include an initial theatrical viewing, as well as various digital versions (e.g. hi-def disc, ipod, online streaming, etc.) later on.
I thought this sounded like a pretty extreme step by the studios, but also a very intriguing one. I'm wondering if anyone here knows anything more about it? Whether you do or not, what do you think of the idea? What would you pay for this, for a movie you really liked?
I can't begin to imagine the copy-protection schemes involved, but save that for another discussion...
I thought this sounded like a pretty extreme step by the studios, but also a very intriguing one. I'm wondering if anyone here knows anything more about it? Whether you do or not, what do you think of the idea? What would you pay for this, for a movie you really liked?
I can't begin to imagine the copy-protection schemes involved, but save that for another discussion...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris Eberle on
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This is a little off topic but...
Why is every idea Hollywood has to make more money something other than "Gee, maybe we should make better movies!" Yes there are plenty of enjoyable titles out there but when I look at my Blu-ray collection, there are many catalog titles in there. If the industry wants people to invest in their creations, they should improve their product.
What a concept!
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Permalink Reply by Kieran Coghlan on -
Chris, I agree with the general lack of quality in movies these days (see JJ's topic about CFI effects.) However, there is a serious decline in dvd or brd disc sales across the board, even for movies that are very successful in the theaters and as rentals, people just aren't as interested in buying the dvd or BRD as they were say 5-10 years ago.
It seems the novelty of owning a DVD with all it's special features and picture/sound quality has worn off.
There's also a lot of piracy... it's become very easy to copy DVD's that you rent these days. 10 years ago it was virtually impossible. 5 years ago it was possible but very difficult. Now, not only is it a cinch to copy a DVD, but the hard drive storage space required to store those copies is also very cheap.
These problems won't go away with better quality movies. If anything they will get worse. So, the industry has to think of ways to get people to pay again, for the movies they want.
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I have very little hope of this happening but what about releasing the disc on the same day as the theatrical? I know it would kill ticket sales but since people would have a choice they might be more likely to buy a disc that costs the same or less than two tickets. Maybe disc sales are down because people just aren't interested in seeing most movies more than once or twice after they've gone to the theater. And I imagine most would rather go to the theater than wait for the disc.
I am in the minority of those who wait for the disc. I haven't been to a theater in two-and-a-half years. Yes, that means I haven't seen Star Trek yet! My wait ends next week!
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