Netflix and the disappearing DVD
Posted by DocumentaryTech on July 19, 2011 · 3 Comments
CNETs Greg Sandoval has an interview piece with Eric Garland, CEO of media-tracking firm Big Champagne, discussing the recent price hike at Netflix and what it means – they are making the case that it’s akin to Apple’s move in 1998, when they introduced the iMac G3 without a 3.5-inch floppy port. The view of the discussion is Netflix is forcing a move away from DVD usage to streaming: “Netflix’s library of streaming movies and TV shows are often dated or obscure titles. It’s obvious Netflix is struggling to acquire more sought-after content.”
For filmmakers looking to distribute, going to streaming without the mastering, printing and shipping of DVDs may be favorable. For consumers, though, the DVD is still regarded as current technology, one they’re not necessarily eager to shed.
Garland says,
As you know there are a lot of us still watching DVDs and specifically those first-run titles on our relatively big-screen TV but that’s a lagging indicator. That’s like the person who so vociferously and so vocally objected to the introduction of that first iMac that came without a 3.5 inch floppy drive. “What am I supposed to do,” that person asked? “My whole life is on 3.5 floppy. I finally migrated off the 5-inch drive and now your marketing a computer that has no 3.5inch drive.” It was outrageous, until it wasn’t.
He notes that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings isn’t killing the DVD – “it’s already dying.” Netflix may simply be furthering DVDs to the grave.
Reed is deliberately creating dissatisfaction. He’s creating dissonance precisely because that title availability, those first-run titles, needs to be available more immediately and more widely as a (video on demand) or as a streamed offering. So this is a leverage play. This is Reed saying you can’t bifurcate. You’re going to have to make all of your content available in a way that your customer has clearly indicated that he or she wants. Netflix is wagering that if all parties are dissatisfied; if Netflix is unhappy because Netflix customers are unhappy and if Hollywood is unhappy and if everyone is unhappy then we’re going to speed the clock on new solutions.
Evolution!
The DVD cannot compete with “the cloud” even my library is transitioning to E-books. All data delivery devices are a short lived solution, no matter how “important” they are to any one person. Does anyone remember 12″ “laser disks” doubtful, unless you had to make content for one. DVD’s are about the worst delivery format for HD, they just don’t hold enough data, even Blue Ray disks will not be enough in the future. Do I really want a “disk” than only holds one movie? or do I want a “device” that holds hundreds or thousands of titles, better yet, I would rather not own anything and just rent or borrow, if you are over 12 years of age, how many times are you really going to watch any one film?
The intention may be to force people off of DVDs, but I for one am going to cancel the streaming (which I’ve been using almost exclusively) and go back to DVD. The selection just isn’t there yet, and despite my love of spontaneous decision making, I’m much more excited about the movies in my DVD queue. Plus, my Netlix bill will actually go down a tiny bit! Maybe in a year or two I will have watched everything on my DVD queue, and I can re-evaluate the situation.
I’m the opposite – we just immediately canceled the DVD portion of the account and stuck with streaming exclusively. Discs had a habit of showing up and then just sitting around at our place, and I have actually been enjoying the selection of more obscure films available on streaming – I’m watching a lot more documentaries, independent and foreign films than I would otherwise. With the discs I always stuck to films I knew I wanted to watch, but with streaming I’m willing to take more ‘risks’ with unknown films because if it doesn’t grab me in the first 10-15 minutes I can just stop and select something else.