I watched a TED talk where the speaker was speaking about leadership, and the effect of having a powerful idea can create mass success. It's a great talk, absolutely worth spending 18 minutes to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6kbcERdmCw
After seeing this, I thought about the problem that Vudu has.
I would say first, that it's important to have a distinction between Ultraviolet, Vudu and the movie studios. I understand that Vudu has to live within the ecosystem that the business agreements between it and the studios create. The question however isn't so much about outcome, rather than the idea.
I would say this "idea" draws me to the system of online video stores.
1. I "own" the media that I purchase. I do not license it. I own it. It is mine.
>Problem: There is a limited amount of downloads. I don't like that. I should be able to download whenever I want and as many times as I want. If I own the movie, I own the data, I should not have a limit to what I can do with that data.
Studios do not want you to just download version after version and share it everywhere, yes? The problem here is that says basically... if I purchase a movie through Vudu, I have a limited use of that data. However, if I download it illegally, I have more options.
>Problem: I can't transfer ownership from one account to the other. If I own the movie. I own the "right" to
the movie, I can sell that, or really... more importantly, I can load it to a friend. Yet again, less ownership rights. Obviously the studio position is that they don't want people sharing movies. Yet again, illegal download has more abilities... for free. Discs have more rights, often for cheaper! (Compare Blu ray prices vs Vudu HDX, often cheaper!
>I want to "own" the movie. I don't want to own a version of the movie. A version of the movie comes and goes. That's the problem with media ownership. You own a VHS, then you have to get a DVD, then you have to get a blu ray, now you have to get a vudu. I want this to be a solution to the problem. I own the movie. If the technology changes, I should still own the movie. Ultraviolet understands this on one level. If one storefront should go out of business, I still own the ultraviolet movies for other storefronts. Apple understands this in a similar way. If I buy it on itunes, I can watch it on my ipod, iphone, ipad, macbook, apple tv, etc. As long as Apple exists, you will never have to rebuy the same content!
I want Vudu to look at this from the same perspective. If I buy a standard def version, I want it to be able to upgrade to HD. If I buy a 2d movie, I want it to upgrade it to 3d eventually. I want it to upgrade it to 4k, and 8k, and whatever comes out in the future. I want to "own" the movie. It is my movie, forever and ever.
This is valuable. The idea that I can play it over any open architecture. The idea that as the technology evolves, I'll continue to own the movie. The idea that I'll never have to make physical room for it, that I can stream it whenever I want without needing to download. The idea that I can download it whenever I want for when I'll be out of internet access. The idea that I can give it to someone as a gift, or loan to a friend, or sell my collection if I need money.
This is the "why." This is something that will get people to really jump on board. Without mass adoption, Vudu will be a failure. When I bought into Vudu originally, I thought this is what they were offering. It's what's being hinted at but not being said, because it's not ultimately true.
What is Vudu ultimately selling us? We are buying the space on the server, so we don't need to worry about managing our own home servers, or hold onto discs, bother ripping them, etc. We buy the space. What makes it so brilliant is that it's highly efficient at it. It's not holding the same movie twice. It holds a set amount of space for a movie, no matter how many people own that movie. There is the cost associated with streaming the content, but it's not related to how many movies are owned. If I own 1000 movies or 10 movies, I'm streaming the same amount of data at any set point in time. By owning the 1000 movies I don't take up more space, since those movies are on the server regardless.
So what we are paying for is simply that... the data space, and then the offering of having it go to our iphones or tablets or rokus.
This is such a great idea that it could easily be mass adopted... without restrictions.
As I've been saying before it's about the why. "Why" Vudu. They are lacking this message and this lack of a voice is what will likely prevent Vudu from ever leaving the 'early adopter' phase.
How about something simple like... the ability to organize our movies? I want to be able to create branches... like "Sci Fi" movies. Add my sci fi movies to it. I can't even open up a bundle and have them displayed like other movies. On the browser I can't even sort the movies alphabetically.
Yet again, antithetical to the concept of ownership. Think about the Ipod and the Zune. Why did the ipod outsell the Zune no matter how much storage space was on the zune, or the quality of the hardware, or the pricing structure? Apple had a "why". It had a message. Microsoft did not.
Vudu doesn't either. It needs it, and it needs it yesterday.
Thank you for reading,
Andrew
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6kbcERdmCw
After seeing this, I thought about the problem that Vudu has.
I would say first, that it's important to have a distinction between Ultraviolet, Vudu and the movie studios. I understand that Vudu has to live within the ecosystem that the business agreements between it and the studios create. The question however isn't so much about outcome, rather than the idea.
I would say this "idea" draws me to the system of online video stores.
1. I "own" the media that I purchase. I do not license it. I own it. It is mine.
>Problem: There is a limited amount of downloads. I don't like that. I should be able to download whenever I want and as many times as I want. If I own the movie, I own the data, I should not have a limit to what I can do with that data.
Studios do not want you to just download version after version and share it everywhere, yes? The problem here is that says basically... if I purchase a movie through Vudu, I have a limited use of that data. However, if I download it illegally, I have more options.
>Problem: I can't transfer ownership from one account to the other. If I own the movie. I own the "right" to
the movie, I can sell that, or really... more importantly, I can load it to a friend. Yet again, less ownership rights. Obviously the studio position is that they don't want people sharing movies. Yet again, illegal download has more abilities... for free. Discs have more rights, often for cheaper! (Compare Blu ray prices vs Vudu HDX, often cheaper!
>I want to "own" the movie. I don't want to own a version of the movie. A version of the movie comes and goes. That's the problem with media ownership. You own a VHS, then you have to get a DVD, then you have to get a blu ray, now you have to get a vudu. I want this to be a solution to the problem. I own the movie. If the technology changes, I should still own the movie. Ultraviolet understands this on one level. If one storefront should go out of business, I still own the ultraviolet movies for other storefronts. Apple understands this in a similar way. If I buy it on itunes, I can watch it on my ipod, iphone, ipad, macbook, apple tv, etc. As long as Apple exists, you will never have to rebuy the same content!
I want Vudu to look at this from the same perspective. If I buy a standard def version, I want it to be able to upgrade to HD. If I buy a 2d movie, I want it to upgrade it to 3d eventually. I want it to upgrade it to 4k, and 8k, and whatever comes out in the future. I want to "own" the movie. It is my movie, forever and ever.
This is valuable. The idea that I can play it over any open architecture. The idea that as the technology evolves, I'll continue to own the movie. The idea that I'll never have to make physical room for it, that I can stream it whenever I want without needing to download. The idea that I can download it whenever I want for when I'll be out of internet access. The idea that I can give it to someone as a gift, or loan to a friend, or sell my collection if I need money.
This is the "why." This is something that will get people to really jump on board. Without mass adoption, Vudu will be a failure. When I bought into Vudu originally, I thought this is what they were offering. It's what's being hinted at but not being said, because it's not ultimately true.
What is Vudu ultimately selling us? We are buying the space on the server, so we don't need to worry about managing our own home servers, or hold onto discs, bother ripping them, etc. We buy the space. What makes it so brilliant is that it's highly efficient at it. It's not holding the same movie twice. It holds a set amount of space for a movie, no matter how many people own that movie. There is the cost associated with streaming the content, but it's not related to how many movies are owned. If I own 1000 movies or 10 movies, I'm streaming the same amount of data at any set point in time. By owning the 1000 movies I don't take up more space, since those movies are on the server regardless.
So what we are paying for is simply that... the data space, and then the offering of having it go to our iphones or tablets or rokus.
This is such a great idea that it could easily be mass adopted... without restrictions.
As I've been saying before it's about the why. "Why" Vudu. They are lacking this message and this lack of a voice is what will likely prevent Vudu from ever leaving the 'early adopter' phase.
How about something simple like... the ability to organize our movies? I want to be able to create branches... like "Sci Fi" movies. Add my sci fi movies to it. I can't even open up a bundle and have them displayed like other movies. On the browser I can't even sort the movies alphabetically.
Yet again, antithetical to the concept of ownership. Think about the Ipod and the Zune. Why did the ipod outsell the Zune no matter how much storage space was on the zune, or the quality of the hardware, or the pricing structure? Apple had a "why". It had a message. Microsoft did not.
Vudu doesn't either. It needs it, and it needs it yesterday.
Thank you for reading,
Andrew
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