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Introducing Vdio

blog.rdio.com

21–30 of 107 posts

Re: Introducing Vdio

#22
Honestly, why would I choose this over iTunes? I love Rdio (I'm a former Zune pass subscriber, and Rdio far better replacement than Spotify), but in what way is this better or different than the competition? The price and catalog appear to be pretty much identical.

Re: Introducing Vdio

#23
post #17

The problem that no one is solving is ownership. If I pay $15 for movie from vdio, what happens if that company goes away? Why can't I switch my collection from iTunes to amazon, etc... Ultimetly that is the top reason I avoid buying digital content. It's a frustrating issue, and legislation should be passed to guarantee consumer protection on their digital goods.

This gets brought up every time anyone talks about any media streaming services, but has it ever been shown that consumers care ?

The real problem lies in the fact that most consumers don't realize that it's an issue. It only hits them when it actually happens. Those of us in the tech community are more forward thinking when it comes to this sort of stuff. Would you care if you paid $15 for a movie, then a few months later the service shut down and you couldn't watch it anymore? I bet you would. Would your mom/dad/grandparents/etc care? Most likely.

Re: Introducing Vdio

#24
post #17

The problem that no one is solving is ownership. If I pay $15 for movie from vdio, what happens if that company goes away? Why can't I switch my collection from iTunes to amazon, etc... Ultimetly that is the top reason I avoid buying digital content. It's a frustrating issue, and legislation should be passed to guarantee consumer protection on their digital goods.

This gets brought up every time anyone talks about any media streaming services, but has it ever been shown that consumers care ?

They don't care pre-emptively, but it only takes getting burned once after sinking hundreds or thousands into a dead platform that they start to get skeptical.

Re: Introducing Vdio

#25
If this were a Netflix of Hulu price model they could really be a threat but I don't really know what to say about this. I'm an Rdio subscriber, I bought subscriptions for my family for Christmas but I'll never use this.

Re: Introducing Vdio

#26
Rant ahead...

Am I the only one dissatisfied with the way media delivery has played out the past couple of years? We started with a rapidly developing delivery system (the internet) and content makers who couldn't see the value in capitalizing on this sales channel by making movies, TV shows, and songs available to consumers at reasonable prices (read: less than physical media costs), which led to piracy, global dissatisfaction, and decreased industry revenue.

Fast forward to 2013, where we have...

Ecosystems: iTunes, Amazon Video, Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Blockbuster Ondemand, Android, Cinema Now, and Vdio

Which can be accessed on TVs, web browsers, smartphones, tablets, dvd players, bluray players, gaming consoles, media streaming devices (Roku, Apple TV, etc.), and HTPCs.

... all with different user experiences (most are poor), varying media coverage / depth, and a pricing system that only satisfies bulk consumers that want to watch a bunch of legacy content.

Larger companies that were first to build relationships with content makers have been the most successful, but the entire process still wreaks of bureaucracy, middle-men, and band aids. Netflix seems to be the only one that realizes this, and has started producing their own content (e.g. House of Cards and Arrested Development), and I think this is the only true catalyst that will change the industry for the better.

Re: Introducing Vdio

#27

The problem that no one is solving is ownership. If I pay $15 for movie from vdio, what happens if that company goes away? Why can't I switch my collection from iTunes to amazon, etc... Ultimetly that is the top reason I avoid buying digital content. It's a frustrating issue, and legislation should be passed to guarantee consumer protection on their digital goods.

Nobody is solving the problem because for many many people it isn't a problem. I subscribe to RDIO and it doesn't concern me in the slightest that i don't own any of the music i listen to. I subscribe to netflix and it doesn't concern me that i don't own the TV shows that i watch. Content exists to be enjoyed, not to be owned. For a long time, owning a copy of the content was the best way to be able to enjoy it, that isn't necessarily the case any more.

If ownership is important to you, buy DVDs. Paying $15 to "own" a movie on VDIO (or iTunes, or amazon) seems pretty stupid to me. we don't need legislation to protect consumers from this sort of business, consumers are generally smart enough not to pay the equivalent of 2 months of netflix in order to watch a single movie.

Re: Introducing Vdio

#28

The problem that no one is solving is ownership. If I pay $15 for movie from vdio, what happens if that company goes away? Why can't I switch my collection from iTunes to amazon, etc... Ultimetly that is the top reason I avoid buying digital content. It's a frustrating issue, and legislation should be passed to guarantee consumer protection on their digital goods.

Nobody is solving the problem because for many many people it isn't a problem. I subscribe to RDIO and it doesn't concern me in the slightest that i don't own any of the music i listen to. I subscribe to netflix and it doesn't concern me that i don't own the TV shows that i watch. Content exists to be enjoyed, not to be owned. For a long time, owning a copy of the content was the best way to be able to enjoy it, that…

The keyword you used is "subscribe". I also enjoy subscription music like Rdio (I previously used Zune) and movies with Netflix.

But the problem is that Vdio, like iTunes or Amazon, is not subscription based. Rather you pay one-time for a lifetime (of the service) license to the content (with an exception being rentals) and access to the stream and/or DRM-laden content.

Re: Introducing Vdio

#29

Honestly, why would I choose this over iTunes? I love Rdio (I'm a former Zune pass subscriber, and Rdio far better replacement than Spotify), but in what way is this better or different than the competition? The price and catalog appear to be pretty much identical.

Vdio is web-based. iTunes is app-based.

Re: Introducing Vdio

#30

Honestly, why would I choose this over iTunes? I love Rdio (I'm a former Zune pass subscriber, and Rdio far better replacement than Spotify), but in what way is this better or different than the competition? The price and catalog appear to be pretty much identical.

And why would I choose that over Amazon Prime's pay-per-view services?

It'd be great if they had a subscription plan like Rdio or Spotify (similarly to Netflix), but it seems there are too many copyright and profitability issues involved.

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