Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

[Stratus78]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

I second that Bald_.

illuscon go tear down someone else's house.

[bald_]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

...
With all due respect, what do I expect is VUDU to give users a state of the business report with at least some supporting financial documentation to prove that they are still worthy of investing anymore of their hard earned money on. I also expect VUDU to do this graciously and not have to dragged to a podium to do it. VUDU should do this because it is the right thing to do in a business climate that demands customer loyalty be rewarded with reasonable transparency, not dismissive moderator sarcasm.
....

As much as I would like to know the health of Vudu, this is the craziest, most unreasonable thing I've heard in a long, long time. This is America. No one is forcing you to rent movies (good thing we're discussing something with serious implications here) or further "invest" in Vudu. If you don't like it, then please, move on. Please.

bald

[NA9D]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

Looks like my very second computer (an Osborne). It was fantastic in it's day.

The very first one was a circuit board with a keyboard soldered on it. I had to build my own power supply and interface it to a monitor and 300 baud acoustic modem. It had DOS v1.0 on it. I used it to hack into the Portland Universities computer and got all straight A's after that.

Thanks for the memories, those were the good 'ole days.

Hey Hodge,

How about a bet for some cheese as to who could throw that thing the farthest!

[HeadHodge]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

This is clunky:



The Vudu is not!

Looks like my very second computer (an Osborne). It was fantastic in it's day.

The very first one was a circuit board with a keyboard soldered on it. I had to build my own power supply and interface it to a monitor and 300 baud acoustic modem. It had DOS v1.0 on it. I used it to hack into the Portland Universities computer and got all straight A's after that.

Thanks for the memories, those were the good 'ole days.

[NA9D]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

I think that any approved external device for personal archival or playback is a long way off, if ever. Patrick Cosson told me once that VUDU made some bad initial contracts with studios that tie them to the

You joined these forums at the end of January 2009. Patrick Cosson was long gone. How could you have ever communicated with him and if that communication was recent, how would Patrick know anything now about Vudu some 6 months since he left?

[NA9D]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

I cited but one source from a nationally known and reputable firm that manages hundreds of accounts that happily provide financial information on their privately owned businesses. It is ridiculous of you to declare that a privately owned business would shy away from publicly announcing positive financial information if that information would help attract new investment capital and customers.

One of my customers is a company called Shure Incorporated (www.shure.com). You've probably heard of them and you've almost certainly been affected by their products. They are number one in the professional audio business. They sell their microphones to top artists such as Buddy Guy, Christina Aguillera (spelling?), and many, many others. They are the top of the line in the audio industry.

A couple of the companies I represent are key suppliers to Shure. In a meeting one day with their purchasing manager, we asked if we could have a snapshot of the company's financials. We were told, "Absolutely Not." It is a VERY closely guarded secret and they don't tell ANYONE the sales of the company nor will they even tell you how many employees they have. The company is still owned and run by the wife of the founder. It's privately held. They have no reason to tell anyone their financials and they are one of the top brand names in the entertainment industry.

There's many, many, many other private companies that are the same way. My company, although small, has sales numbers that would astound just about anyone. We don't release that information though to customers because it is NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS. I don't know a single private company that I represent who does disclose financials. On the whole, it is just not done. There may be a few companies who do it but they are probably considering going public at some point or are in the process of wanting to attract new investors.

Illuscon, can you please tell us what you do for a living since you seem to know so much about private companies and what they do or should do? Do you work in the VC or financial world? You seem to pretty vehemently stick by what you believe and I'm curious where you get this firm conviction from.

[redwein]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

However, if doctor office and service department parables give you comfort when you make a personal financial decisions, then turn your head and cough. I would be concerned that the films I purchased that are sitting on the "cloud" are in serious jeopardy.

Then don't buy them! And let others do what they feel comfortable with. I honestly don't feel that buying a movie is a personal financial decision. It is a purchase, not an investment. I will get some value out of it. There are many things that I buy that I end up throwing away or otherwise have their value diminish to zero. That's what purchases (as opposed to investments) typically do. The fact that you can hold on to the content and watch it multiple times can make you come out ahead of the game (when compared to renting), even if they do go away at some point. It really seems like you are making a mountain out of a molehill.

[redwein]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

With all due respect, what do I expect is VUDU to give users a state of the business report with at least some supporting financial documentation to prove that they are still worthy of investing anymore of their hard earned money on.

We must agree to disagree then. I feel I am a consumer, not an investor. I utilize them in a way that I feel that I have received value for what I have already spent with them. I am hopeful that they remain alive, but their financials will in no way reduce the amount of movies that I rent or purchase from them. Like I said, it seems to bother you more than most. If you feel you are being mistreated by Vudu, because they have failed to prove their economic viability, then just don't buy any movies from them. I honestly don't know how much more simple of a solution their could possibly be. After all, it's your money.

Bottom line, you had your say. I feel that going further and aggressively implying anything about the financial health or future of Vudu based on their very common practice as a private company of not posting their financials is just plain wrong. I typically don't accuse others of things based on the lack of evidence that they didn't do something.

[redwein]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

Sorry, that doesn't wash. You wrote that no private companies provided financial information.

You have me mistaken with someone else. I said that "many" and "most" do not. I never said that none do.

[illuscon]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

I'm going with the fact that you only found hundreds that do and I know there are many more than that. Extrapolating from that that most do is in no way valid. I'm going from the fact that I have worked for several private companies and have friends that work at many others. We have noted over the years, and been told by the CEOs and CFOs of those companies, and therefore extrapolated that not reporting financials is the norm for private companies. I wouldn't expect to find a list of companies that report that they are not reporting their financials so I don't know what you would possibly expect.

Also, I wouldn't extrapolate from going into a doctors office that the majority of people are sick, or that most cars are broken by going to a car dealership service department, just because I find clusters of them. Nor, would I expect to have to provide a rigorous proof to the contrary. Sometimes common sense is the right answer.

Sorry, that doesn't wash. You wrote that no private companies provided financial information. Within a few minutes I found a nationally known resource that listed hundreds of private companies that did disclose that information and more. Do you seriously doubt there are more? Now you're telling me your friends and former employers are your standard? I'm not even going to touch your ludicrous doctor office/car service department analogy.

With all due respect, what do I expect is VUDU to give users a state of the business report with at least some supporting financial documentation to prove that they are still worthy of investing anymore of their hard earned money on. I also expect VUDU to do this graciously and not have to dragged to a podium to do it. VUDU should do this because it is the right thing to do in a business climate that demands customer loyalty be rewarded with reasonable transparency, not dismissive moderator sarcasm.

However, if doctor office and service department parables give you comfort when you make a personal financial decisions, then turn your head and cough. I would be concerned that the films I purchased that are sitting on the "cloud" are in serious jeopardy.

[redwein]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

Certainly the recent round of layoffs, executive exits and fire sale pricing should give the user some pause. So we'll just wait and see what happens.

I agree that Vudu's future is far from certain at this point. But then again, I have friends and family members that have been laid off from all different sorts of companies (small/large, public/private). We will definitely have to wait and see, regardless of whether they report financials or not. Then again, as a customer who mostly rents, I will end up just being disappointed and not feeling like I lost any owned content if they go under.

[illuscon]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

All I'm looking for is convenience and flexibility from the Vudu box. Heck, I probably won't be purchasing any titles at any resolution, but I'd like this service (Vudu feature) to be successful... Why?... Because it'll bring more users and more revenue to Vudu. If that happens then the Vudu service will grown and software will continue to improve and "all" of us will benefit from it. "Should" Vudu make every effort to allow video that users purchased to play anywhere and in multiple devices?. I think the answer is that if they don't a competitor soon will.

I think that any approved external device for personal archival or playback is a long way off, if ever. Patrick Cosson told me once that VUDU made some bad initial contracts with studios that tie them to the box for a long, long time. I'm guessing VUDU's business model did not foresee the eventually that everybody and their mom would offer VOD and the field would be so crowded, so quickly.

[redwein]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

All I'm looking for is convenience and flexibility from the Vudu box.

I agree that it would be great if things were more flexible. For a start, I'd like to watch things purchased on one of my 5 boxes on any of them, especially if I decide to purchase something. Buying 5 copies makes absolutely no sense.

[redwein]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

What exactly is your evidence that most private companies do not? Intuition? Gut feeling? Hunch? Voodoo?

I'm going with the fact that you only found hundreds that do and I know there are many more than that. Extrapolating from that that most do is in no way valid. I'm going from the fact that I have worked for several private companies and have friends that work at many others. We have noted over the years, and been told by the CEOs and CFOs of those companies, and therefore extrapolated that not reporting financials is the norm for private companies. I also have friends who are in VC firms and they have said the same thing. And lastly, I have investments in about a dozen private companies at the moment and none of them report their financials. I wouldn't expect to find a list of companies that report that they are not reporting their financials so I don't know what you would possibly expect.

Also, I wouldn't extrapolate from going into a doctors office that the majority of people are sick, or that most cars are broken by going to a car dealership service department, just because I find clusters of them. Nor, would I expect to have to provide a rigorous proof to the contrary. Sometimes common sense is the right answer.

[illuscon]

Re: Vudu makes Yahoo Headlines on HD Purchases

I don't know how you go from hundreds to most. I believe that hundreds do and "most" do not.

I cited but one source from a nationally known and reputable firm that manages hundreds of accounts that happily provide financial information on their privately owned businesses. It is ridiculous of you to declare that a privately owned business would shy away from publicly announcing positive financial information if that information would help attract new investment capital and customers.

What exactly is your evidence that most private companies do not? Intuition? Gut feeling? Hunch? Voodoo? The only companies I know who not declare at least some portion of their financial health publicly might be hiding something from their venture partners or customers. I'm not saying that is the case here but VUDU's lack of disclosure is troubling. Some in the press have picked up on VUDU's non-disclosure stand. So whether VUDU likes it or not, they are going to be held accountable should users get stuck with purchased films that cannot be accessed because VUDU no longer exists. Certainly the recent round of layoffs, executive exits and fire sale pricing should give the user some pause. So we'll just wait and see what happens.