I love companies like Disney. They seem to think that just because they want something some way, it’ll happen. Take for instance their latest scheme. Instead of allowing you to “buy” their movies on DVD, Blu-ray, or even VHS, they are going to allow you to buy access to their content.
Disney doesn’t want you to pass your treasured copies of their movies on to your children, or sell them at garage sales. Oh no… they own that property, and expect to be paid for it without it being loaned, traded, or sold on the secondary market.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Disney’s new technology is called Keychest, and is expected to be rolled out next month. They’ve quietly been talking to electronics manufacturers about including the ability to access the content into their systems, however no information has been revealed about who exactly has bought into Disney’s new plan. The Keychest technology allows an end user to purchase a lifetime license to view a movie across multiple platforms. The movies wouldn’t be something that you can download, instead you would be able to stream the films to your devices over the internet or cable television system. Seems like an attempt to recover from the recent collapse of DVD sales, which has resulted in some companies reporting losses for the first time since 2005.
Well i’ll give them the benefit of it being smarter than what other companies have come up with over the years; but consumers wont give a f**k about this unless the price is well below dvd.
And what is a lifetime license is that the lifetime of Disney, the consumer, or when they offer the movie for sale.
That’s stupid. Guess what happens when you try and screw over your customers? They start pirating.
You think its messed up that we pirate your stuff? Well we think its far more messed up to do this to your customers. Guess whose opinion matters more at the end of the day?
AHAHAHAHAHAHA! i must laugh at corporate greed, especially when implementation of said greed manifests itself as a variation of a previously failed scheme known as DivX (not to be confused with the video codec of the same name) that definitely cost it’s champion Circuit City a lot of money and respect. Can’t Disney look past the dollar signs in their eyes long enough to maybe hire a peon to research past similar failures? Guess not. Die, greedy bastards.
Personally, I like the idea of subscription services (e.g. Spotify (music), onLive/oToy (games), …). Then, it’s no longer necessary to manage:
1. Physical media (CDs, DVDs, …):
– packing & carrying boxes full of it, when moving.
– trying to locate a CD/DVD, out of a huge stack or binder.
– ripping CDs to MP3s.
– worrying about dirt & damage.
– …
2. Soft media (MP3s, MP4s, …):
– having to back it up, in case of a HDD crash.
– having to organize it in a library.
– wishing the MP3s were purchased or ripped at a better bit rate.
– having media stuck in one format, if/when an improved format emerges.
– having to copy it everywhere, in order to use it on different devices (smartphone, PMP, PC, eReader, …).
– …
As long as subscription services carry the content I like, I don’t mind paying a few dollars each month for the convenience & freedom. Plus, if the artists involved are compensated, it will help to ensure that future content is produced.
To each their own…
HereandNow you may be on to something, I must say that I agree with your post.
If there is just some sort of way to get a couple of companies to merge that would offer you a subscription based service for all of your music, movies, photos, and games available to you at anytime, anywhere there is internet.
There is a business opportunity for someone there.
Kids tend to watch movies over and over – no parent can afford to pay-per-view every time. And no matter what device or form or media, there will always be a way to make fair use copies until the industry delivers a reasonable solution that does not make people overpay for content.
I’m sorry, this is a hopelessly naive, knee-jerk analysis. Disney is offering this as an *alternative* to downloads for people who would like to have (and are able to get) streaming access. DVDs and other forms of ownership models will not disappear any more than the iTunes model will disappear among music models like Rhapsody or Spotify. The whole idea is choice. Disney couldn’t stop ownership models if it wanted to. Whether or not the streaming model will succeed given the US’s level of broadband penetration is another story.
Owning physical media is overrated. If my dad offered me his 8track collection, I’d laugh at him. I’m certain that any DVDs I own will be unplayable for my kids.
I would love the ability to license content regardless of the format. That would allow my licensed content to upgrade with technology.
Now, of course Industry would never actually allow this to happen. They want us upgrading our collections every time a new technology or format comes out. That’s how they’ll continue to make money throughout the ages.