TV on DVD Buzz

Netflix announced yesterday that all subscribers on unlimited rental plans, which includes all but it’s lowest tier, will be able to stream as many movies and TV episodes as they want on their PCs, choosing from a library of over 6,000 familiar movies and TV episodes.

Previously, the number of hours per month was limited based on the subscription level. Now, subscribers on unlimited plans get unlimited DVD rentals from the 90,0000+ Netflix library plus the ability to stream as many movies and TV episodes as they want from the 6,000 title “instant watching” library.

“Unlimited has always been a very powerful selling point with our subscribers and a large part of what set us apart in the marketplace,” said Leslie Kilgore, the company’s chief marketing officer. “In talking with members about our streaming feature during the past year, it became clear that, as with DVDs, the idea of streaming unlimited movies and TV episodes on a PC resonated quite strongly. And we’re now in a good position to offer that.”

This service competes with Blockbuster’s MovieLink and it is rumored that Apple will be announcing a similar service with iTunes in the near future.

Warner Home Video announced Tuesday that they will be including two downloadable digital files on the upcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD, which will hit shelves December 11. Buyers will be able to download the film to a PC or portable device, making Warner the first to offer customers that option.

Warner offered downloads to Wal-Mart customers on last year’s Superman Returns DVD, but this is the first time it has been widely offered. This is just the first step toward providing digital format for customers. Other studios are expected to follow suit.

In addition, major studios are planning to license their film libraries for DVD on-demand kiosks, which could be placed in retailers with limited space for DVDs, such as drug stores. The recent approval of CSS copyright protection for disc manufacturing-on-demand (MOD) has paved the way for these changes.

Studios will be able to offer thousands more film and TV library titles than are currently available. Drug stores could become significant new film and TV retailers since MOD can be done through small automated machines, utilizing existing high-end photo equipment for any DVD art needs.

In addition to the retail application, MOD could be offered directly to consumers’ via PCs and eventually on Web-connected hardware such as high-definition players. The MOD service is already available through Amazon.com’s CreateSpace. The selection is expected to rapidly expand due to the new CSS approval.

The only drawback to the at-home offering, is that DVD burners would need to be replaced and/or upgraded with firmware to handle the new CSS requirements.

TV on DVD, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Downloadable Files, DVD on Demand, Warner

After a very public falling out between NBC and iTunes, NBC announced today that it has partnered with Amazon’s new video download service called “Unbox”. And on September 10, they will be offering some of the pilot episodes of their new series for free on Amazon prior to them airing on TV.

The advantages Amazon Unbox has over iTunes is that it offers viewers the option to download episodes to their computer or purchase and download directly from their TiVo to be watched on the “big screen”.  The bad news…well you can’t upload the episodes to your iPod or iPhone and watch them on the go.

The Office, Heroes and 30 Rock are currently available for $1.99 per episode on “Unbox”, and more shows are presumably on the way. They also offer an option to buy a complete season of episodes, but prices are comparable with buying a full season DVD and wouldn’t include the special features found on DVD box sets.

You can also find non-NBC shows like SpikeTV’s Kill Point, USA’s Monk and Psych , Fox’s 24, Bones and Prison Break on “Unbox”.

TV on DVD, NBC, iTunes, Amazon Unbox, Heroes, The Office, 30 Rock, Kill Point, Monk, Psych, 24, Bones, Prison Break

The studios think so.

Many of last season’s shows have been available as downloads or viewable online for months now but that doesn’t seem to be hurting DVD sales. In fact, some studio execs believe it actually helps sell DVDs. They say downloads are a great way to get a viewer hooked on a show.

Warner Home Video consumer research has found, however, that consumers don’t view downloads as a replacement to DVDs. Warner found that more than half of downloaders say they plan to buy the DVD of the show they downloaded.

“Our research tends to indicate a different purchase motivator for TV on DVD vs. downloading,” said Jeff Brown, Warner senior VP and general manager of TV, family, animation and franchise. “Downloading tends to represent a benefit of immediacy, of catching up on an episode one missed.”

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Hewlett-Packard announced today that they will partner with Major League Baseball Productions to release Barry Bonds’ record-breaking home run game on DVD via their manufactured-on-demand service.

The DVD will be available at San Francisco Giants Dugout Stores and online at http://www.shop.mlb.com/, http://www.walmart.com/, http://www.fye.com/ and http://www.suncoast.com/. (more…)