Carl,
I totally disagree with your post, and find it poorly researched (have you tried any of the services you talk about?).
1. Netflix has about 6 million subscribers, not 4 million.
2. Walmart charged an additional fee for the digital file, but Netflix is adding value to the subscription service. With Walmart you pay $15 to BUY a movie, and then $3 more to get the digital file. Netflix RENTS movies at about $2 each. The Digital files are a bonus, meant to fill in when you don't have any movies. Netflix doesn't care about Wal-mart, it's Blockbuster's Total Access program they fear. The only reason to buy a DVD now that HD & Blu-ray are out is the discount bin. Otherwise you're buying coasters.
3. They do have technical issues, but most of these should be fixed by the time they roll the service out to customers. The choice of Microsoft DRM is standard in the industry, and I'm pretty sure that most of the movie download services use it. I've been using Watch Now for days, and I can't tell it's Microsoft DRM.
4. Nobody except Microsoft with the Xbox 360 has a good download service at this time. Microsoft rents DVD-quality and high-def movies. Apple, who has sold 1.3 million LESS THAN DVD quality movies at $9 - $15 each, has only 250 movies, and they had a head start. Netflix ships more than 1.3 movies EACH DAY to customers!
Note: I bought movies from Apple, and had to get a refund on one because of the poor quality (see my story and comparison). AppleTV/iTV will only play movies you BUY at less than DVD quality -- why would you play them on a high-def screen? Have you seen the quality? I was at Macworld and wasn't impressed by the demo.
The Netflix offer is not free, as you claim. You pay about $20 per month for access to DVD's by mail and now movie downloads. This is the price of one movie, with gas, from Wal-mart. Downloads are a bonus, and will save Netflix postage costs over time.
Do you subscribe to Netflix? Have you bought a movie from Apple, Movielink, Cinemanow, etc? I suggest you try them and then revise your story.
Blockbuster will also be offering movie downloads, and I wonder what they will offer. They already have a compelling product with Total Access (if you live near a store).
Netflix is one of the few places you can rent high-def movies, and you can bet that they will be offering high-def movies online as soon as they feel the bandwidth and technology are there.
Don't write them off yet.
- Mike
http://www.hackingnetflix.com
Commenting by HaloScan
