Blockbuster announced last week they were getting into the “digital-download” game and revealed details of the 2Wire MediaPoint player. Ecommercetimes.com recently sat down with Blockbuster Chairman and CEO Jim Keyes to discuss the launch of their new service and the direction in which Blockbuster is headed.
From ecommercetimes.com
E-Commerce Times: Why is Blockbuster launching OnDemand using 2Wire's Media Point Digital Player?
Jim Keyes: First of all, Blockbuster, the new Blockbuster, is very different from the perceptions of the Blockbuster of old. We were Blockbuster Video, which invokes images of VHS video tapes. Really, that was never Blockbuster. Even in the days of VHS tapes, it was about convenience -- convenient access to entertainment. And when VHS tapes went away and were replaced by DVDs, Blockbuster was transformed and modified its offering to DVDs. When DVDs became available by mail, Blockbuster transformed again and offered DVDs by mail.
Well, the customer is changing again, and technology is allowing more convenient access to entertainment in many ways. It is perfectly natural for Blockbuster to evolve again -- and we have one more time transformed ourselves and our brand into Blockbuster OnDemand to provide the highest level of convenience now -- access to thousands of movies from the comfort of your living room.
ECT: How quickly do users have access to their movie? Is it within a few minutes or is there a substantial download time?
Keyes: Of course, as with all services, it will depend on the bandwidth for your home, but in the average household, faster than it will take to pop your popcorn, your movie will be ready. ... We're using a process called "progressive download." You might have heard a lot, read a lot, talked a lot about streaming capabilities. Well, we think progressive download is a higher form of streaming for the following reason: It really comes down to quality and a quality viewing experience.
The reality is that even if a home has sufficient bandwidth, that streaming requires always-on connectivity. Download needs only a one-time connection. And the challenge with streaming is, if you don't have that pure continuity and strength of bandwidth, the viewing experience could be everything from a snowy screen to an interrupted movie. ...
Another key point of differentiation is the titles. Once again, we're going after quality versus quantity. You see other services that advertise 20,000 titles, and there are a couple of things here. One is a question of counting. If you count every episode of every television show, you could easily add to your title count. We're more interested in offering high-quality content and the newest movies, which is very similar to the way people use our stores. About 80 percent of our business is new releases in our stores. We expect the same demand to be there online, so we have the newest releases available on video and on demand. So "Dark Knight," for example, will be available through Blockbuster OnDemand. For competing subscription services, it could be two to three years before a movie like "Dark Knight" should be available on those boxes.
Click Here to continue reading the interview.
Source
From ecommercetimes.com
E-Commerce Times: Why is Blockbuster launching OnDemand using 2Wire's Media Point Digital Player?
Jim Keyes: First of all, Blockbuster, the new Blockbuster, is very different from the perceptions of the Blockbuster of old. We were Blockbuster Video, which invokes images of VHS video tapes. Really, that was never Blockbuster. Even in the days of VHS tapes, it was about convenience -- convenient access to entertainment. And when VHS tapes went away and were replaced by DVDs, Blockbuster was transformed and modified its offering to DVDs. When DVDs became available by mail, Blockbuster transformed again and offered DVDs by mail.
Well, the customer is changing again, and technology is allowing more convenient access to entertainment in many ways. It is perfectly natural for Blockbuster to evolve again -- and we have one more time transformed ourselves and our brand into Blockbuster OnDemand to provide the highest level of convenience now -- access to thousands of movies from the comfort of your living room.
ECT: How quickly do users have access to their movie? Is it within a few minutes or is there a substantial download time?
Keyes: Of course, as with all services, it will depend on the bandwidth for your home, but in the average household, faster than it will take to pop your popcorn, your movie will be ready. ... We're using a process called "progressive download." You might have heard a lot, read a lot, talked a lot about streaming capabilities. Well, we think progressive download is a higher form of streaming for the following reason: It really comes down to quality and a quality viewing experience.
The reality is that even if a home has sufficient bandwidth, that streaming requires always-on connectivity. Download needs only a one-time connection. And the challenge with streaming is, if you don't have that pure continuity and strength of bandwidth, the viewing experience could be everything from a snowy screen to an interrupted movie. ...
Another key point of differentiation is the titles. Once again, we're going after quality versus quantity. You see other services that advertise 20,000 titles, and there are a couple of things here. One is a question of counting. If you count every episode of every television show, you could easily add to your title count. We're more interested in offering high-quality content and the newest movies, which is very similar to the way people use our stores. About 80 percent of our business is new releases in our stores. We expect the same demand to be there online, so we have the newest releases available on video and on demand. So "Dark Knight," for example, will be available through Blockbuster OnDemand. For competing subscription services, it could be two to three years before a movie like "Dark Knight" should be available on those boxes.
Click Here to continue reading the interview.
Source
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