Vudu Charges For Opening 'HD Window'

Lee Stewart · 05-31-2008, 01:14 PM

Vudu Charges For Opening 'HD Window'

The VOD service allows customers to watch rental films for an additional 24 hours.

Quote:

By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (May 30, 2008) -- Vudu, the Broadband-enabled VOD service, is allowing customers to watch High-Definition movie downloads beyond the studio-imposed 24-hour period.

For a price, however.

The Hollywood studios are requiring home pay TV services, such as cable, satellite, Apple TV and Vudu, to include a 24-hour time limit for when a viewer can watch a PPV film. The 24-hour clock starts the minute the film is ordered, meaning that a subscriber will be unable to watch it a day later.

But according to Yahoo Tech!, Vudu has sent an e-mail to subscribers saying they can buy another 24-hour viewing period once the first one expires. The cost is an additional $3.99 for high-def movies, which initially cost $5.99 to order. That means the HD rental will come to $9 if you want to watch it in two different 24-hour periods.

Yahoo! reports that Vudu customers have a week to order the additional 24-hour window once the first one ends. After that, the subscriber must re-order the high-def film for the original rental price.

The studios are imposing the 24-hour time period because they say it will reduce the chances of illegal copying. But some viewers say it's inconvenient because it forces them to watch the movie shortly after they order it.

The Vudu set-top, which retails for $295, enables users to download movies over a high-speed Internet connection. The box, which can store 100 movies, includes both standard-def and HDTV films

http://www.tvpredictions.com/vudu053008.htm

Nded · 06-01-2008, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Stewart

Vudu Charges For Opening 'HD Window'The studios are imposing the 24-hour time period because they say it will reduce the chances of illegal copying. But some viewers say it's inconvenient because it forces them to watch the movie shortly after they order it.

There are so many things wrong with that paragraph:

1) The 24 hour period is about cash and profit - not illegal copying. If one was out to make a copy, 24 hours is enough time to make the first copy, and after that it's simply a matter of production. What I wonder is if the folks at the studios are really that stupid (i.e. they think the time constraint is the key to protecting content), or if the studios think the consumers are stupid enough to believe the lie?

2) I'm embarassed for the writer making the claim that Video On Demand is inconvenient. The author apparently doesn't understand the technology. The fact of the matter is you have 30 days to start watching after you ORDER it, the clock doesn't start ticking until you start watching it. Yeah, this still sucks, but why can't writers get the facts correct? This same confusion between ordering vs watching is repeated in the article.

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