Netflix Disrupts Online Movie Rental

Some things to ponder with Netflix and their upcoming set-top box.

1. Because the video library from Netflix is pretty extensive, how will this affect video-on-demand from cable/satellite companies?

2. How much would you pay for an additional set-top box AND a monthly fee for this service?

3. What happens to the already dying DVD market?

4. Because this service includes "other programming from the Net", how will this impact the video sites? (YouTube etc)

5. Will these downloads be available in HD format? (if so how long will it take to download them?)

6. Could this force a HD format standard?

7. How will this affect AppleTV?

Netflix Inc., the world's largest online movie rental service, and LG Electronics, a global consumer electronics leader, today announced they are joining forces to develop a set-top box for consumers to stream movies and other programming from the Internet to HDTVs -- bypassing the need to use a personal computer.

The collaboration is expected to deliver a compelling new online home entertainment service via technology embedded in an LG networked player planned for the second half of 2008.

On top of its rich catalog of more than 90,000 titles on DVD delivered fast through the mail, a growing selection of more than 6,000 familiar movies and TV episodes delivered instantly over the Internet to Netflix members' personal computers or TVs will even more strongly position Netflix in online movie rentals, which it pioneered in 1997.

What Does Wal-Mart Cancelling Movie Download Service Tell Us?

When video is the next big thing for the Net, why would the largest retailer cancel this e-commerce application?

Are downloads too slow? Or is the quality too poor?
Is the video on demand library big enough to compete with rental stores?

Wal-Mart Cancels Movie Download Service

Wal- Mart Stores Inc quietly canceled its online video download service less than a year after the site went live, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Wal-Mart shut down the download site after Hewlett Packard Co discontinued the technology that powered it, Walmart.com spokeswoman Amy Colella said in an e-mail. She added that it will not look for another technology partner.

Wal-Mart was the first major retailer to partner with all of the major Hollywood movie studios and TV networks to offer downloads the same day titles were released on DVD

HP spokesman Hector Marinez said the company decided to discontinue its video download-only merchant store services because the market for paid video downloads did not perform "as expected."

Why do you think Wal-Mart's DVD downloading never took off?