Blockbuster: Backwards, Again

Blockbuster (BBI) has outdone itself now. It just announced a trial of in-store kiosks that will allow consumers to download movies directly into a portable media player [PMP] to take with them. For now, only the Archos player will be supported.

Let me get this straight.

Blockbuster wants you to hop in your car and drive to one of their outlets. Using soon-to-be-five-dollar gasoline. Just so you have the privilege of downloading a movie onto a portable player.

They do seem to have this whole thing ass backwards, don’t they?

Hello! Ever hear of the Internet? Why in the world isn’t this a download to your PC and then a transfer to the PMP? (Yeah, I know, the answer is the studios and their oh-so-customer-friendly Digital Rights Management fixation.) Blockbuster’s insistence on driving consumers to their increasingly useless stores has clearly reached new heights.

Meanwhile, Netflix (NFLX)–while noting its ultimate future is in downloads–predicts that its DVD mailing business won’t PEAK for 5 to 10 years. That tells me the smart money is on DVDs (either standard or Blu-ray) to last some time. I agree.

It’s not that downloads aren’t the preferred solution–personally, I can’t wait–but that universal adoption is a long way off. Why?

1. The studios’ love affair with DRM, artificially reducing the availability of video fare and making it difficult to transfer media to other devices
2. Still no inexpensive, simple solution in sight for getting video from the PC or Internet to your TV.

Here’s an idea: If you insist on making people drive somewhere, at least let them leave with a disc. Use Qflix technology from Sonic Solutions (SNIC) to print a fully licensed DVD out of the kiosk instead. That’s portability and ease-of-use in a single package. As I’ve noted before, this would allow Blockbuster to reduce/eliminate inventory, and get more Hollywood back catalog titles into customers’ hands.

[Sonic holds the key technology patents on download-to-burn, which has been approved by the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD-CCA). This allows discs to be burned with CSS encryption, pleasing the studios and making such copies legal commercial DVDs.]

Sonic was working with MovieLink, prior to its purchase by Blockbuster, to move this tech into the end user market. While disc burners for consumers probably won’t go mainstream anytime soon, Sonic is currently in trials with kiosk makers. It’s a nice transitional solution until discs are truly dead. Why Blockbuster has made no use of this technology is a puzzle.

But then so is everything else it does these days.

Disclosure: I hold no position in any of the stocks mentioned here.

Comments

[Charbax]

The difference is that little Archos player holds 200 DVD quality movies or 60 HD quality movies. This download kiosk synchronizes your Wish List at 480mbit/s and can have hundreds of terrabytes of movies and TV shows to choose from. All of the 80-thousand films and TV shows will be free and included with this $10 or $20 Blockbuster total access subscription, which by the way provides the 160GB Archos and TV-output docking station for free to the customer.

[John Pseudonym]

Everything is going HD and you cannot download a 20gig HD movie.

My ISP kicks me out at 2gigs for excessive size...

While not practical for people living in the country, my BB is a half mile away and the thought of getting 60HD movies digitally at the store is very appealing.

When you get a disk by mail or in store, it's almost always trashed and locks up the player...very frustrating!

With a digital download of 60HD movies at a time, perfection is guaranteed. Plus I can plug the player directly into the TV or Projector or anything else without lugging around disks, etc...

This is a great idea! Good job BB.

[bb guy]

The goal is to have the deep catalog movies available for use in portable media and as a download for a portable system. BB does have downloads available at movielink but not everyone wants to download and it is not always transferable to a portable device. And most people like the personal interaction and opinions about movies from their friends that work at blockbuster.

[iPuck]

I think you should try it or do some research before commenting on something you don't really know about.

[Video guy]

Spot on.... Keys has a big learning curve to deal with. No wonder they have "Free membership” posted on their stores. Free membership has not been relevant since Regan was in the white house... I guess he has to keep throwing mud on the wall...

How are the soda/coffee bars doing???