Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptions

[aaronwt]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

Yep the biggies like Netflix and Blockbuster are on the verge of collapse, VUDU would do well to learn from their missteps

with 23.8 million subscribers, how is Netflix on the verge of collapse? That's more than even Comcast has.

[SOUTHERN WOODS]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I agree and would pay a monthly subscription rate. I'd love to see Vudu offer a lot of the classics from the 1930's-1960's that is no longer in print. It's a nice option to be able to start viewing something and if you're not into it, just change to another movie without having to worry about rental fees.

[canadien37]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I agree and would pay a monthly subscription rate. I'd love to see Vudu offer a lot of the classics from the 1930's-1960's that is no longer in print. It's a nice option to be able to start viewing something and if you're not into it, just change to another movie without having to worry about rental fees.

You have the option of Amazon or Netflix to satisfy the need for a subscription service.....Why change VUDU to the same thing? Isn't it all about choice?

I like the service the way that it is......offering the highest quality movies of any internet movie provider, being innovative, offering the latest films,(I know, other VOD services have them too), having digital exclusives, getting some films before release on DVD or Blu-Ray, and many other positives....

I look at VUDU as the "Elite" service, catering to those on the low end( SD and slower internet connections) all the way to the high end(HDX and higher speed connections), and the only one with 3D streaming.....

[canadien37]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I think the best business plan for VUDU would be to have a two tier payment method.

1) Have a monthly subscription service like Netflix that would allow you to watch as many non new release movies as you want.

2) Continue with the pay per movie method for new release movies.

Members would not have to buy into the monthly subscription service to use the pay per movie service but give cheaper rates to monthly subscribers.

Seems simple to me. Why on Earth would why I want to pay to watch a 1950's film noir movie using VUDU when I can watch it using Netflix?

Please, the video/sound quality argument just doesn't wash with most of the older films as their quality is not a streaming issue but a source quality issue.

This is interesting, doesn't Amazon already do this?

[SOUTHERN WOODS]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

You have the option of Amazon or Netflix to satisfy the need for a subscription service.....Why change VUDU to the same thing? Isn't it all about choice?

I like the service the way that it is......offering the highest quality movies of any internet movie provider, being innovative, offering the latest films,(I know, other VOD services have them too), having digital exclusives, getting some films before release on DVD or Blu-Ray, and many other positives....

I look at VUDU as the "Elite" service, catering to those on the low end( SD and slower internet connections) all the way to the high end(HDX and higher speed connections), and the only one with 3D streaming.....

I wasn't aware that Amazon offered a monthly streaming service. I knew that Netflix and Hulu+ did. Still it would be a nice change to have the content that Vudu has and that be available in a monthly streaming package.

Wouldn't you think that customers' would flock to the service that has the most listings and best choices in their digital library?

[canadien37]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

IMO, if VUDU was to emulate the subscription model, they would have to charge a premium for the content..... Besides that, the studios have a lot of say about what types of services get their latest content.....The VOD and electronic sell-thru model suits VUDU well, IMO.....Amazon, has both VOD and subscription with their Prime offering, not as many titles as Netflix, but another option for those that want a subscription service.....

[sarasue59]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I agree with the poster that did not like having their cc hit every time they rented a movie. I wonder if there has been consideration given to allowing customers to buy a block of credits, and have each rental or purchase deducted from that block. I found the $5.99 worth of free credits that Vudu offered to new customers to be a great alternative to the pay per view structure. I liked being able to watch movies with worrying about another dinky charge on my card, just the cost deducted from my credits. Please, Vudu, give this some consideration, and you may find that you have made a lot of new customers very happy, and may a lot of older ones!

[aaronwt]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I agree with the poster that did not like having their cc hit every time they rented a movie. I wonder if there has been consideration given to allowing customers to buy a block of credits, and have each rental or purchase deducted from that block. I found the $5.99 worth of free credits that Vudu offered to new customers to be a great alternative to the pay per view structure. I liked being able to watch movies with worrying about another dinky charge on my card, just the cost deducted from my credits. Please, Vudu, give this some consideration, and you may find that you have made a lot of new customers very happy, and may a lot of older ones!

I still don't understand. I would rather have the charge for each movie show up than having to pay $20 or $30 in advance like to used to be. Paying per movie you rent is much better. That way you only pay for what you use. In the old days of VUDU we had to pay I think a minimum of $25. Then any rental would be deducted off of that. I see no point in paying in advance if you don't have to. The only time I prefer it is when something like points is used, like Xbox Live MS points. With those I buy them when they are on sale so I don't mind paying in advance since I can save as much as 50%.

[canadien37]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I still don't understand. I would rather have the charge for each movie show up than having to pay $20 or $30 in advance like to used to be. Paying per movie you rent is much better. That way you only pay for what you use. In the old days of VUDU we had to pay I think a minimum of $25. Then any rental would be deducted off of that. I see no point in paying in advance if you don't have to. The only time I prefer it is when something like points is used, like Xbox Live MS points. With those I buy them when they are on sale so I don't mind paying in advance since I can save as much as 50%.

Yep, that was the good ol' P2P days(Ah, yes)!!! I remember it well.....I like it the way it is now also.....+1!!!

[sarasue59]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I was only saying that in my case, and I'm sure in a lot of others, the ability to have charges for movies and shows deducted from an account would be a lot easier than having a lot of small charges on my credit card. I watch a lot of movies and shows, and I can only imagine how many pages it would take to print up my statement every month! LOL. Seriously, is there any reason that they couldn't offer both options to their customers? Whatever, I will use Vudu, as the selection of movies and shows is great, and the picture quality is the best of all the movie services.

[kg4jup]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I agree with the poster that did not like having their cc hit every time they rented a movie. I wonder if there has been consideration given to allowing customers to buy a block of credits, and have each rental or purchase deducted from that block. I found the $5.99 worth of free credits that Vudu offered to new customers to be a great alternative to the pay per view structure. I liked being able to watch movies with worrying about another dinky charge on my card, just the cost deducted from my credits. Please, Vudu, give this some consideration, and you may find that you have made a lot of new customers very happy, and may a lot of older ones!

I just started using Vudu with the free $5.99 credit. I am really impressed at the HDX quality in both video and audio.

For you folks that have streaming problems with HDX, Internet bandwith and equipment really matters. You can check your Internet DSL connection on your computer at http://www.dslreports.com/stest. Run one of their online tests to determine that your download speed is the equal to the speed promised by your DSL provider.

I have DSL Extreme from AT&T at 6.0 Mbps download speed. The Vudu test said I only could use regular HD. But I have had no problem with streaming HDX. I am using a Cisco/Linksys E3000 Dual Band wireless router.

The daily $0.99 deal is killer! I probably would not have rented "Hanna", but at 99 cents I am so glad I gave it a try. It is such a good film I watched it twice within the 24 hour rental period!

Today's deal is "Citizen Kane". I can't wait to see it again -- but this time in high definition.

I would prefer buying blocks of Vudu credit to reduce the number of hits to the credit card. For those of us on a budget, I think that makes it easier to keep track of how much I am spending.

Vudu: Why not give members an option, pay-as-you-go or blocks of credit?

[aaronwt]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I just started using Vudu with the free $5.99 credit. I am really impressed at the HDX quality in both video and audio.

For you folks that have streaming problems with HDX, Internet bandwith and equipment really matters. You can check your Internet DSL connection on your computer at http://www.dslreports.com/stest. Run one of their online tests to determine that your download speed is the equal to the speed promised by your DSL provider.

I have DSL Extreme from AT&T at 6.0 Mbps download speed. The Vudu test said I only could use regular HD. But I have had no problem with streaming HDX. I am using a Cisco/Linksys E3000 Dual Band wireless router.

...........

That's because one bar HDX is 4.5Mb/s. Three bar HDX is 9Mb/s. There is a big difference between three bar and one bar HDX.

[BigCheezie]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I understand that it makes business sense to charge on a pay-per-view basis. But, I think Vudu should explore the idea of having a premium service for people who want to get rid of their cable or sat providers. I only look at vudu if I'm in the mood for watching a movie and nothing is on DirecTV. I may rent 1 movie per week. If there was a subscription service, I would use it everyday. Liken it to using a hotel media system ..... most of us will very rarely use it and choose to watch something else thats free.

I also understand that this will probably include several upgrades to their equipment. More subscribers, the more bandwidth and faster streaming servers vudu will have to invest in. But, this can take away several customers from their direct competitors (netflix and blockbuster).

Have a tier structure, for example, charging $19.99 for access to all TV shows, 39.99 access to TV and Movie channels (HBO, Showtime), and 59.99 for access to everything (except maybe newly released movies up to 2 weeks or still in theaters). You can have it setup to where no one owns the movies, just rent. But, doing that will basically change vudu's whole business model.

Hey, if vudu offered a subscription, I'd be willing to pay up to $70/month for it. But, I doubt that it would happen.

[Sysco]

Re: Vudu get your act together before its too late - its time for Monthly Subscriptio

I agree, either a subscription like Blockbuster at a reasonable rate or lower the rental fees.
While although I am very impressed with HDX and the smoothness and convenience of streaming $5.99 for HDX is too high, when you can rent Blue-ray DVDs from Blockbuster for $1.99 and/or monthly subscription of $10 for unlimited amount.

HDX $12 for only 2 movies, are you serious? If you want me to continue renting, your prices will need to be much-more competitive!