I wish someone would bring a film download service in the UK to compete with Apple.
I can buy the 2 Disc Dark Knight DVD for £5.99 or £10.99 just for the main feature from Apple.
I wish I knew how.
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Blockbuster Seeking to Bring Movie Downloads to Apple Devices?
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I wish I knew how.
Well there are a hell of a lot of us who would rather pay one low monthly fee of ~$20/month for unlimited access to a catalogue than to pay $1.99-$3.99 to rent individual flicks or shows on a PPV model. Unless micropayment rentals are in the equation, I for one prefer to stick with a subscription model.
Wow, from reading this thread I've learned that:
(1) A lot of MR members hate Blockbuster
(2) A lot of MR members love David Lynch
Personally, I'm ambivalent to both. But so what? That's all irrelevant:
If Blockbuster can put together a good VOD service, then it's a good thing.
IMHO, by far the #1 thing holding back immediate VOD services is a lack of enough content. If BB can *really* deliver more desired content than others, then that's great and this is a good thing.
(1) A lot of MR members hate Blockbuster
(2) A lot of MR members love David Lynch
Personally, I'm ambivalent to both. But so what? That's all irrelevant:
If Blockbuster can put together a good VOD service, then it's a good thing.
IMHO, by far the #1 thing holding back immediate VOD services is a lack of enough content. If BB can *really* deliver more desired content than others, then that's great and this is a good thing.
Exactly the same for me. I also live about a 2 minute walk from Blockbuster so It's really easy to always have a movie to watch for only $18 a month. I just went in yesterday and got 6 free movies (3 online trade-ins, my 2 monthly free rentals, and my 1 monthly free rental for being a rewards member) and there are 3 online movies on the way! It will be a movie marathon if I say so myself!
That is your opinion and I have no issue with it. I wasn't attacking anyone on this site, I simply stated MY OWN opinion. You don't like Lucas, I don't like Lynch. OK next topic.
Yes 99% is probably the case but no matter I would have guessed it would have been wrong
That's the nature of forums and stating a statistic based on opinion. The context of the video provided, he came off looking like an idiot. That's all, it's my opinion, no one has to agree with me. I don't need to conform to social pressure that because someone has money or makes a movie I should agree with anything they say. No need for people to get so defensive of someone they don't personally know just because my idea's and opinion don't fit into some little preformed box of what THEY believe is right or socially acceptable.
@ Lethal (to save yet another post
)I know what I like, I think for myself and I'm not afraid to state my opinion, I hope everyone that finds joy in bashing that kind of thinking feels better, really doesn't matter to me. If I see a turd I call it a turd. Simple as that.
I can list all sorts of "famous" people that I think are idiots. That's the beauty of living in America. I can have my own opinions. I'm done beating this pointless topic to death. Have a nice day.
You should show your parents how clever you are, they would be proud
And if your daddy would have used a condom, we wouldn't be having this dumb conversation.
^ Some of these comments are very embarrassing for the entire MacRumors Community.
Let's leave the S&*t-talking on the playground, shall we?
Let's leave the S&*t-talking on the playground, shall we?
I hate blockbuster and hope they close down. I use to work for them and I know of their business practice of intentionally opening up a store near a mom and pop video store to close them down, even if their own store is in the red.
And how much did that help them when Netflix came along?
Blockbuster selling rentals on iTunes/AppleTV makes about as much sense as Apple renting DVD's at the local Blockbuster.
I'd agree about BB selling on ITUNES, but that's not what is proposed. BB selling online and having it available on aTV would help aTV sales as well as helping blockbuster.
I think a better comparison is iPods playing mp3s and AAC from many sources instead of just content from the iTunes store.
I agree...
as much as I love digital downloads and tech stuff in general, movies take too long to download and chew thru too much band width.
it's just so much easier to go down to the local video shop, browse, rent and go home and watch them. AND IT'S CHEAPER!
never underestimate the power of price.
digital music downloads work. i would be very worried if i owned a music shop. it's fast AND CHEAP to download music. that's not the same for movies.
and HD downloads are NOT as HD as they should be. Blu ray is still the benchmark and blows everything else away. i will upgrade the movies i really love to blu ray when they come out. renting blu ray is better (and cheaper) than going to the movies. and seems to be getting much closer to cinema release dates as movie companies try hard to ride on their original publicity.
as much as I love digital downloads and tech stuff in general, movies take too long to download and chew thru too much band width.
it's just so much easier to go down to the local video shop, browse, rent and go home and watch them. AND IT'S CHEAPER!
never underestimate the power of price.
digital music downloads work. i would be very worried if i owned a music shop. it's fast AND CHEAP to download music. that's not the same for movies.
and HD downloads are NOT as HD as they should be. Blu ray is still the benchmark and blows everything else away. i will upgrade the movies i really love to blu ray when they come out. renting blu ray is better (and cheaper) than going to the movies. and seems to be getting much closer to cinema release dates as movie companies try hard to ride on their original publicity.
Blockbuster is pretty dead. Netflix is killing them daily - and unless they can strike a great deal with Apple (which why wouldn't Apple go with the video renting company who has higher stock+is doing better in today's economy?) they will be out for sure.
iTunes HD download (IMHO) can have the momentum to not only keep blueray expensive+unpopular, but if they joined with Netflix could overthrow the entire movie industry.
iTunes HD download (IMHO) can have the momentum to not only keep blueray expensive+unpopular, but if they joined with Netflix could overthrow the entire movie industry.
isn't it crazy how this tiny little thing called the internet has changed our lives? blockbuster served its purpose when dialup was the only thing available, now all our media will be instant access thanks to fiber optics and soon 4G. kids will be saying, "what's a disk?" sooner than you think.
Apple and Blockbuster
I did not have that experience. I had the exact same plan and loved it, then they raised the price 1 dollar a month, then they raised it again and I said enough. Blockbuster is over.
In addition, why the hell would Apple allow competition into the rental market? I don't have much faith in this article. This is, unless they take an 80% cut of blockbuster's fees-which could be possible for a failing company to agree to...
I did not have that experience. I had the exact same plan and loved it, then they raised the price 1 dollar a month, then they raised it again and I said enough. Blockbuster is over.
In addition, why the hell would Apple allow competition into the rental market? I don't have much faith in this article. This is, unless they take an 80% cut of blockbuster's fees-which could be possible for a failing company to agree to...
I often see this comment stated as though it's an unquestionable truth. IMHO the real truth is that competition brings about a kind of 'lowest common denominator' scenario, a 'one size fits all', that stifles anything stylish or creative that may conflict with the lowest price point. That's fine for generic products like baked beans but people want a choice, including the choice to spend more than necessary if they so desire on products on which the makers have not been forced to cut corners or make compromises.
I just fancied a soapbox moment, so sue me.
No, I definitely mean counter-examples.
You claimed "IMHO the real truth is that competition brings about a kind of 'lowest common denominator' scenario, a 'one size fits all', that stifles anything stylish or creative that may conflict with the lowest price point".
There is plenty of competition in the automotive market, yet Lamborghini and Ferrari continue to set certain standards for style and creativity.
And, to the point, they're not at "the lowest price point".
An example that undermines an argument is a "counter-example".
____________
What competition helps promote is the situation that two companies producing the same product are pushed to sell at similar prices.
For example, competition will make it difficult for company "A" to sell a Xeon 3500 workstation for $2499, when company "D" sells almost identical hardware for $999. Pretty cabinets are nice, but it will be difficult to justify a 250% price increase for a huge, pretty cabinet. It makes it especially hard when company "D"'s computer supports 3 times as much RAM as company "A"'s computer.
You clearly do not understand basic economic concepts. The two luxury automakers you quote are indeed hoping to sell more than each other (and producing cars they hope will wow buyers more than the other) but are not in competition with the rest of the 'normal' car makers. If they were they would be trying to sell as many as possible as cheaply as possible at any given standard. They are in their own niche (or discrete) market, more susceptible to fuel and tax costs than what anybody else is making.
Thank you.
This is inconsistent with what you originally stated.
To take your argument to the extreme, I could say "if I increase my price by 250%, I'm no longer in competition with the companies at the natural price point", and be happy.
I think that the example of the automotive market proves that competition does not bring "about a kind of 'lowest common denominator' scenario" as you claimed.
Competition in the automotive market forces the premium marques to clearly differentiate themselves from lower tier vendors. No one will mistake a Ferrari for a Saturn, in any way. They both convey a small number of people from point A to point B - but little else is the same.
An Apple running Photoshop and a Dell running Photoshop, however, are exactly the same. Apple will have trouble charging a 250% premium for running Photoshop at the same level of performance as the Dell - especially when the Dell not only support 3 times as much RAM as the Apple, but Photoshop on the Dell is true 64-bit and can actually use the RAM. So the 150% "Apple tax" for the pretty box actually get you less performance on the primary task.
Oops, I mean "computer A" and "computer D"....
It would be nice though if these people would lower their prices. Maybe blockbuster would help lower them...
just a thought.
just a thought.
I'm no following your thought process. You don't want competition but you want choice. AidenShaw brings up a Ford vs. Ferrari example (ones size fits all vs. a product "which the makers have not been forced to cut corners or make compromises") and you say that isn't what you are talking about. Do you want a Ferrari for the price of a Ford? If Ford was the only automaker on Earth do you think they'd sell a Ferrari-type car for the price of a Focus?
Lethal
How is renting 1080P Blu-Ray too far behind? One could easily argue that it is Apple iTunes at 720P compressed that is "far behind" in at least the quality/resolution respects. If I understand correctly here, Blockbuster is talking about offering movie rentals online to download. Again, how is THAT behind the times? Compared to the crappy local rental place I have down the street (that still uses over half their floor space to rent VHS!!!), Blockbuster would be nice to have nearby, especially if it meant I could get their discs in the mail and return them to the local store so I could get the next batch in the mail that much faster AND have a local browsing option if I'm out shopping.
If Blockbuster could offer a partnership and/or alternative to Apple's iTunes store for my AppleTV with Apple's blessing, I'd be all for it since Apple is missing a *LOT* of titles. They've had over a year to get 720P HD movies to rent and they're sadly still pretty low in the total number of rentals available. I also don't like how the SD rentals/purchases do not have Dolby 5.1 sound. There is no technical limitation there (all my own rips/encodes have 5.1 where available and most have commentary and stereo tracks to boot!) and therefore there is no excuse for Apple in that area.
Sadly, I'd have to say it is Apple that is the dinosaur in many media areas still. While they are riding the forefront of phone technology, their Quicktime "standard" won't passthrough Dolby Digital 5.1 and that's just SAD in 2009! The format has been WIDELY available since the mid 1990's! Why is it that the version on AppleTV will do it and their laptops and "desktops" won't? Could it be to push buying AppleTV units or are they that incompetent? I'm not really sure at this point given the whole copy/paste thing on the iPhone. Will Quicktime X finally add the option in Snow Leopard? I doubt it....
I didn't say what I want in all cases. In some cases competition is a good thing. In others, something less than perfect competition is better. Ideally I want a choice between mass-produced cheap 'n' cheerful and 'better' stuff at a premium. I'm arguing that having only the former (per the original quote, 'competition is good for the market') is not ideal. If a manufacturer does not have to worry about making the most for the least they are able to add unnecessary refinements and 'waste' more in R&D, etc. I am prepared to pay more for say, off the top of my head, Apples iLife suite because it's convenient, fits together nicely, etc. There are freeware/shareware alternatives out there, but I am happy that Apple isn't directly competing with an iLife alternative. Apple can concentrate on making it a good product for people prepared to pay for quality instead of trying to flog it to a mass (undiscerning?) market.
I said competition tends to bring about a LCD scenario. AidenShaw's suggestion that Ferrari and Ford are examples of companies that survive in a competition without bowing to pressures of low cost/high demand is misleading because they are not in the same market. Their customer bases do not overlap. There is no competition. OK, maybe that doesn't support my argument, but it certainly doesn't contradict the LCD scenario.
Competition doesn't mean lowest common denominator. For example, there are many luxury car makers (Lexus, MB, BMW, Infiniti, etc.,) that are all competitors but obviously don't cater to the lowest common denominator. There are also different tiers of software, video cameras, home theater systems, etc.,. The buying power of a company's target demographic for a specific product plays a big part in the features and the price tag of said product. You are also making a big assumption that a company w/a monopoly or near monopoly in a specific market will be more altruistic than greedy. If iLife had more direct competition would the apps be more feature filled than they are now? If Dell was the only computer maker in town would they sell better PCs at 'today's prices' or would they sell 'today's computers' for twice as much?
Lethal
Lethal