In a move that challenges the principles of movie distribution, the NY Post reports that the movie Noel will be released in theaters on the same day a disposable DVD is made available on Amazon for purchase, with a one time airing of the feature to follow on TNT two weeks later. The company behind this 48 hour DVD is the Atlanta-based Flexplay (bought by the Convex Group).
I am all for new modes (or at least models) of distribution, but for someone who now sees a Blockbuster rental at a little less than $4 with tax (when coupons are unavailable) as a little pricey, $5 (what about shipping without adding items to your cart?) seems like an interesting price point for a rental one will be receiving a few days after ordering. I'd much rather see VOD for a reasonable price ($1 or $2 per movie). Additionally, though I have no idea what percentage of the population is savvy enough to do this, what prevents one from just copying this DVD (besides ethical standards)? Recordable DVD media can be had a quarter each in bulk (yes, I do not believe dual-layered) so how much sense does it even make to produce disposable DVD's? I doubt the disc has any decent circumvention-prevention mechanisms since that usually means breaking the standard and making the disc unplayable on a large number of DVD players.
Posted by boo at October 23, 2004 11:04 PM | TrackBack