Blockbuster Still Not Getting This Whole Broadband Thing [Broadband Reports]
With Sony's announcement earlier this week that it planned to distribute a feature-length movie via broadband before the DVD release, Broadband Reports has posted an article about how Blockbuster is failing to adapt to the Internet age. Apparently, the movie rental company has announced plans to provide a new movie rental option for computers and mobile devices. But instead of opting for online distribution, Blockbuster plans to rent the digital movies on an SD card from their stores and rental kiosks.
Karl Bode's analysis of Blockbuster's new product is correct - most consumers are going to bypass an option that uses a proprietary, physical format in favor of a standardized physical format or an easier digital download - either via an Internet-connected television or via cable video on-demand. An SD card might be a useful format for some computers, but not all have built-in SD card slots. So it's hard to see how the format would be widely accepted by viewers over DVDs.
On the other hand, just last month, I turned on my Samsung Blu-Ray DVD player and found a Blockbuster app sitting right next to Netflix for streaming movies. I'm not sure how deep into their library the online availability goes, but they definitely are testing the waters. I guess they're hedging their bets.
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