Companies just don't get it

Last week I got an email from moneysavingexpert, within which one of the offers it mentioned was a £10 voucher for a film and tv streaming site: blinkbox.com

So I used it to give it a go, buying Iron Man (£2.99)
I could stream it only, but you can also download it - 1.3 gigs. On the downloaded version, when you try to watch it, you need to verify your details over the internet.

Now that might seem fair enough on the face of it, but there is something very wrong with this.

Think about exactly why you want to download a film. Convenience, right? The ability to watch it whenever you wanted, without the need for hardware. Instead it is data on your hard drive.

Except, this way, if you want to stream it, you need a net connection. If you have downloaded it and want to watch it, you neet a net connection.
That doesn't seem that convenient to me.
In fact, it would be more convenient (in the long term) to buy the DVD and rip it to your hard drive, or to pirate it.

Ok, so it's not quite as convenient as actually having the DVD is, but does the price reflect that?
Hell no.

As a better example, they have Avatar for £8.99
The DVD is available for £8 in Asda.
Or even, they have the entire original series of V for £1.79 an episode, or £17.99 for the series. In HMV it is £15

Not only that, but the prices on blinkbox are for the video only. No other languages, no subtitles, no directors commentary. No extras whatsoever.

So, you are paying more for an inferior product that is far less convenient to use.

Is it any wonder why some digital distribution methods fail and piracy is rife?!

Still, at least they have some decent free stuff, but only to stream. What if I want to download Night of the Living Dead (which is public domain)? Guess I have to fileshare.

Comments

Jon Dowland said…
Night of the Living Dead is available via archive.org.
17 May 2010 at 16:06
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