The previous post about Consumer Reports’ latest survey explained that price, convenience, selection, and flexibility are all important factors in satisfying video renters.  While Netflix scored highest in every category, they only serve a small percentage of the 92 million US DVD player households.  We think there is a better way to serve the majority of movie renters.

MovieBurn is a patented system that allows digital media to be written onto limited-play DVDs, on-demand.  MovieBurn offers the technology allowing consumers to purchase content from a virtually limitless media library for a price comparable to or less than the cost of standard DVD rentals.  In order to serve renters everywhere, the system can be utilized in online DVD rental services, standalone DVD rental kiosks, and manned DVD rental kiosks.

As an online DVD rental service, content can be duplicated through an on-demand manufacturing system such as Amazon’s CreateSpace; however, instead of using standard DVDs, the content would be written onto recyclable limited-play DVDs.  Customers could order DVDs one at a time, through a subscription service, and/or as promotional items. The DVDs would be created and then mailed to customers.

The same process can be scaled down and added to on-demand DVD burning kiosks similar to MOD Systems and Polar Frog Digital.  Customers would be able to browse and select content from a website and at the kiosks.  The DVDs would be created then delivered to customers at kiosk locations.

Unlike other rental services, the DVDs rented with MovieBurn’s system are not limited by stock availability and never need to be returned.  We believe that MovieBurn is an ideal transitional product, filling the gap between physical media rentals and pure digital media delivery; but more importantly, the technology provides a service that exceeds in all of the factors important in satisfying video renters.

Consumer Reports’ latest (March Issue) survey finds that video stores rank lowest in satisfying its readers.  “If in-person service is a priority, Consumer Reports recommends local independent, non-chain stores and Family Video, a walk-in chain with 550 locations in 18 states.”

Among respondents, Netflix was the top subscription service choice, rating it highest for price, selection and service.  In the video rental kiosk category, Redbox scored highest for price and convenience.  However, readers rated it worse than average for selection.  Video on Demand services were less satisfactory than other options for price and selection.  The survey suggests that VOD tends to be merely a supplement to other movie rental options.

Most Consumer Reports’ online subscribers were highly satisfied with the experience of renting videos from all of the rated providers, which included subscription services, in-store kiosks, and walk-in-stores and chains. Price was the biggest driver of overall satisfaction, although convenience, variety, and flexibility are all factors in what makes a video rental subscription service appealing.

Read the entire article here.

According to a new press release, Blockbuster and Sonic Solutions have partnered to offer digital movies on multiple devices.

The two companies are collaborating with a host of consumer electronic (CE) manufacturers, including Sonic’s existing CinemaNow providers, to expand the ecosystem of interoperable devices offering the Blockbuster service. These devices include PCs, portable media players, Blu-ray Disc players, personal video recorders (PVRs), set-top boxes, mobile phones and Web-connected television sets. Additionally, the two companies will make their digital libraries of mainstream content available under the Blockbuster brand resulting in one of the most expansive VOD (video on demand) and EST (electronic sell-through) offerings in the marketplace.

The future of movie distribution has become a hot debate.  To believe DVDs are going to be the top delivery method forever would be foolish; however, DVD players are now used in over 80% of U.S. households, so DVDs still have some life to live.  Most likely, the future will provide us numerous options…not just one.

Here are some clips from an article on this topic:

Earlier this month, when Warner Brothers and Paramount Digital Entertainment signed agreements with software startup MOD Systems, history was made, albeit quietly. For the first time, MOD Systems could legally distribute motion pictures from the two studios via digital download to SD cards.

 

But more importantly, the agreements marked the first serious acknowledgement by any major studio that digital download via a self-service kiosk is a viable retail delivery channel.

 

“It’s a very big deal,” said Adrienne Lenhart, director of marketing for MOD Systems. “The studios are very, very, very selective about who they go with, especially when choosing something that’s a new format.”

 

Not everyone in the self-service industry shares Lenhart’s enthusiasm for digital download. Gary Lancina, vice president of marketing for redbox, says the real money – at least for the time being – is still in DVDs, citing the growth of redbox DVD dispensing kiosks from 6,000 locations at the end of 2007 to more than 12,000 locations by the end of 2008.

 

That said, both Lancina and Lenhart deny any competition between DVDs and SD cards, calling them “complementary technologies.”

Home Media Magazine reports the DVD Forum is working toward finding an industry standard for digital copies of movies and working to make sure discs burned on-demand will play in almost every DVD player.

In the download-to-burn and manufacture-on-demand arena, the Forum is halfway there: You can already order a newly burned DVD via Amazon.com, and do-it-yourself computer drives from Dell and Pioneer are available, with CinemaNow as their online partner. Retail kiosks — where consumers can order ahead of time or while they shop — and fully independent standalone at-home manufacturing on demand DVD burners are coming soon.

Video Business reported several studios expanding their revenue-sharing offerings which involves measures to limit previously-viewed disc sales. Read the entire article.

As is common, Warner is prohibiting stores from selling rev-share copies until 29 days after street. However, through the entire six-month rev-share agreement term, stores are forbidden from selling any more than 20% of their units on films with box-office greater than $10 million.

Warner is requiring stores to destroy 80% of all units shipped with a box office equal to or greater than $50 million. Stores must destroy 70% on box office between $10 million and $50 million. There is no destruction necessary on rev-share titles with box office less than $10 million.

Stores must hold onto to this useless product for an additional 90 days after the six-month terms ends, in case Rentrak chooses to audit rentailers for compliance. After those 90 days, stores can discard the destroyed discs, though neither Warner nor Rentrak have specified how.

The newly formed NACS Media Solutions is launching a pilot program that will test digital vending kiosks at a number of major college campuses.  The kiosks will be provided through a partnership with Polar Frog Digital.  The Chronicle of Higher Education explains:

Starting this month, students will be given the choice of buying or renting DVD’s from the kiosks. Rental DVD’s will be encoded so that the quality of the images degrade after a set period of time — meaning that essentially they self-destruct after use. “It’s not exactly like Mission: Impossible where a little puff of smoke comes out,” jokes Mr. Schmidt.

Read the entire article here: College Bookstores to Begin Selling eTextbooks on Demand

An article from Ars Technica comments on the technology which makes renting burned DVDs possible:

The Chronicle of Higher Education quotes a spokesman as suggesting that the DRM technology for rentals won’t be software-based, but rather rely on the self-destructing DVD technology that’s already used for other rental schemes.

Read the entire article here: College bookstores turn to kiosks to stem e-textbook tide

The BBC’s Click investigates Hollywood’s new embrace for digital delivery of movies.  Here are a few clips from the article:

The studios are in an experimental mood.

Online, they are busy forging alliances with established players in the retail and entertainment world.

There are downloads-to-own, or downloads-to-rent, tie-ins with subscription services – for those prepared to pay the high wholesale prices the studios are demanding, you will find sites offering hundreds of recent movies – in reasonable quality.

The studios are beginning to tap into our desire to watch stuff whenever, wherever, on whatever we want. Some websites allow you to download and then sideload the content onto your mobile. Even handset makers are getting in on the act.

If you want the physical object as well then you are also catered for. Most of the studios are flirting with the idea of giving us a digital copy of the movie in a portable format on the physical DVD.

And if your DVD store is closed you can burn a disc in just a few minutes at a kiosk in the high street.

Read the entire article here: Hollywood’s digital graduation

The Digital Media Wire reports:

Japanese electronics firm Toshiba announced that it has made a $20 million investment in MOD Systems, the developer of a digital media delivery system for retailers that lets consumers download digital content for burning to an optical format.

Seattle-based MOD said that early next year it plans to expand its media delivery system, which lets consumers download content from store kiosks to SD memory cards, to include downloads of movies and TV shows, in addition to music.

Read the entire article here: Toshiba Invests $20M in Download Kiosk Firm MOD Systems

Video Business reports Polar Frog Digital kiosks will offer burn on-demand to college campuses.

Polar Frog Digital will begin rolling out digital download kiosks to seven college campuses next month through a deal with the National Assn. of College Stores, the two announced today.

NACS, a collegiate retail trade organization with 3,100 member stores, will add kiosks to campus bookstores at NYU, UCLA, San Diego State University, University of Colorado—Boulder, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Bowling Green State University.

Students at those schools will be able to use the touch-screen kiosks to download movies and TV shows and burn them to DVD or transfer them to a Flash or USB drive. They also will be able to buy downloads online or via mobile phone with the ability to download to a PC or burn it to DVD for pickup at the bookstore.

Read the entire article here: Download and burn kiosks roll out to colleges