HDX Movies?!

[JohnA]

Re: HDX Movies?!

What I'd want to see now is an option to pre-RENT titles so they get downloaded to the box by the "rent on..." date.

As for HDX, I don't know if any other provider will be able to match it because of bandwidth costs (well, maybe cable companies).

The problem with that is, we can't digitally distribute the title to you before the release date on the license. It can't go on your box (whether you can actually watch it or not) until the street date on VUDU.

[Nded]

Re: HDX Movies?!

The problem with that is, we can't digitally distribute the title to you before the release date on the license. It can't go on your box (whether you can actually watch it or not) until the street date on VUDU.

What about allowing pre-release sales, so at 12:01AM on the release date the movie (HDX, HD, or SD format) that I've already paid for starts downloading while I'm sleeping? There's plenty of precedent for this in the industry (taking advanced sales so you are guaranteed a copy on the release date). This would also make the day 1 P2P traffic much more efficient/productive.

[JohnA]

Re: HDX Movies?!

It's already available to you at 12:01AM (your time zone of course) on the date of release. If you see a movie coming soon a day before release, you'll notice how it says "rent it now/buy it now in x hours".

Edit: I totally misread your post, Ed. I'll pass that info along to see if it can be done. Digital distribution is still very young so you can imagine there are still little details to work out.

[Rusdude]

Re: HDX Movies?!

Yeah, I see how it could be a problem. I guess, Ed's proposal is a good compromise since the movie will download while most people are asleep.

[jclem]

Re: HDX Movies?!

So far I'm really liking HDX. The only apples to apples I was able to do was "Tokyo Drift" which I have on HD-DVD played on my xa2. The PQ was comparable, but it was hard to compare the sound 'cuz my wife kept telling me to turn it down The online scanning and ordering works nicely, too.
Is there a possiblility in the future of speeding up VUDU so that even HDX movies can be instant? I know my Fios is fast enough. I'm assuming the 4mbs limitation is on Vudu's side.

[NA9D]

Re: HDX Movies?!

The problem with that is, we can't digitally distribute the title to you before the release date on the license. It can't go on your box (whether you can actually watch it or not) until the street date on VUDU.

Wait - I thought I read somewhere log ago that Vudu could actually pre-load contents of "hot" movies to people's boxes so that they could have them more readily available..Or was that more blogger fluff that wasn't backed up in fact?

[Rusdude]

Re: HDX Movies?!

..
Is there a possiblility in the future of speeding up VUDU so that even HDX movies can be instant? I know my Fios is fast enough. I'm assuming the 4mbs limitation is on Vudu's side.

Hopefully, in the future VUDU adds another tier above Instant HD. But at the moment, that's as fast as it will go. Because of the P2P aspect, it's probably impossible to balance & spread the load without having set tiers.

On the other hand, P2P is what allows VUDU to provide HDX at same price as HD (even though it's a couple of times more in size) as their bandwidth costs are theoretically lower. Unless they plan to get us all hooked on the good stuff and then raise prices, lol

[HeadHodge]

Re: HDX Movies?!

Hopefully, in the future VUDU adds another tier above Instant HD. But at the moment, that's as fast as it will go. Because of the P2P aspect, it's probably impossible to balance & spread the load without having set tiers.

On the other hand, P2P is what allows VUDU to provide HDX at same price as HD (even though it's a couple of times more in size) as their bandwidth costs are theoretically lower. Unless they plan to get us all hooked on the good stuff and then raise prices, lol

When the internet iinfrastructure is able to support instant HDX, I'll be asking for HDX+. So you might as well put that in now as a future feature request.

[aaronwt]

Re: HDX Movies?!

Hopefully, in the future VUDU adds another tier above Instant HD. But at the moment, that's as fast as it will go. Because of the P2P aspect, it's probably impossible to balance & spread the load without having set tiers.

On the other hand, P2P is what allows VUDU to provide HDX at same price as HD (even though it's a couple of times more in size) as their bandwidth costs are theoretically lower. Unless they plan to get us all hooked on the good stuff and then raise prices, lol

I hope they don't raise the HDX prices, although I would think the HD titles that are $5.99 could drop to $4.99.

[Nded]

Re: HDX Movies?!

Everything I have seen says that HDX and HD priciing will be the same across the board. This is backed up by the reality of the catalog today - everything in HDX has the same price as HD.

[HeadHodge]

Re: HDX Movies?!

Everything I have seen says that HDX and HD priciing will be the same across the board. This is backed up by the reality of the catalog today - everything in HDX has the same price as HD.

I'm willing to wager that aaronwt is right, if there are any takers.

[Nded]

Re: HDX Movies?!

I'm willing to wager that aaronwt is right, if there are any takers.

You're gonna have to be more specific before anybody can consider such a wager....

[redwein]

Re: HDX Movies?!

I'm willing to wager that aaronwt is right, if there are any takers.

I'm not so sure about that. When you look at the value of each offering it isn't clear that HDX offers more overall value right now. Of course the HDX has superior picture quality but the HD has higher convenience value and excellent quality in it's own right. Since convenience is more important to me than the difference in PQ (in most cases), I would actually pay more for HD than HDX, the same way I would pay more for any brand of milk at 7-11 than my favorite brand of milk at our normal super market if I need to get milk on the way home from work and didn't feel like wasting 20 minutes to go out of my way to get it.

Of course I understand that some prioritize things differently but I think the same pricing for both works precisely for that reason. No matter what you value, you can get it without having to pay more than the other offering. I would think that the pricing difference would only occur when they enhance HDX to be available instantly. Then, if you had a fast network you could get the best of both worlds. Of course many people wouldn't have the network capacity to take advantage of that and many people on this board have indicated price sensitivity. Perhaps they would be more likely to buy the cheaper HD to save a buck and get the added convenience.

[HeadHodge]

Re: HDX Movies?!

I'm not so sure about that. When you look at the value of each offering it isn't clear that HDX offers more overall value right now. Of course the HDX has superior picture quality but the HD has higher convenience value and excellent quality in it's own right. Since convenience is more important to me than the difference in PQ (in most cases), I would actually pay more for HD than HDX, the same way I would pay more for any brand of milk at 7-11 than my favorite brand of milk at our normal super market if I need to get milk on the way home from work and didn't feel like wasting 20 minutes to go out of my way to get it.
.

I totally understand your argument, but from a marketing standpoint having HD and HDX at the same price point dillutes the differientation of the two offerings.

Also I believe there will be enough market pressure from the rest of pack to force a price change, whether VUDU wants to or not.

[HeadHodge]

Re: HDX Movies?!

You're gonna have to be more specific before anybody can consider such a wager....

We would only be wagering in premium Euro cheese here. Since you're the expert, I leave it up to you to pick the demonination.