said by tcope :

Problem for people with Netflix is that most people don't have a computer connected to their TV. So Netflix online movies cannot be watched on their TVs.

said by Titus Pullo :

The problem with BB is that they're stuck to the left of the net curve catering to their storefronts. Netflix tries to look forward, but the economy in the coming year will dictate what survives and what doesn't. Inet access costs, I think, will be the make or break variable in streaming TV.

I'm confident netflix has a market as long as (a) the technology doesn't continually degrade (there are already problems with stream quality) and (b) the delivery system (ISPs) doesn't end with severely metered bandwidth in response to demand and fear of competition. Netflix subs are buying up TV devices at a good clip, and cablecos aren't going to sit idly by and watch their PPV model wither.

I have the NF box, and it's so-so at this point. Without tricking it into giving me full stream quality, I get less than decent quality streams. I watch, maybe ... three streamed movies a week along with my DVD subscription. I find cable TV horrid, and one movie or premium TV show a night delivered by either of the two alternatives suits my needs. The DVDs choices are plentiful, and you can find something in the limited instant selections.

I considered Apple TV and others, but since I have Netflix it's a no-brainer. Plus, why on earth would I DL a movie at $3 or $4 bucks (like Apple TV) when I can order DVDs by mail supplemented with free streaming? Makes no sense other than the gadgety cool factor of box fever.

EDIT: typo
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said by tcope :

I agree with the CEO... why would I want to download an "HD" (it's not really HD) movie when I can drive 2 minutes away and pick up a _real_ HD movie on BR.

...

So I agree with the CEO... most people will find it easier to simply stop by the local BB and pick up a true HD version of the movie.

said by badtrip :

The problem with going down to BB to get a movie is that you have to go down to BB to get a movie. You have to:

Put on your shoes and coat, get in the car/bike/walk, look at thier wall and hope they have the movie you want, stand in line, get treated like crap by a pissy teenaged clerk.

Then you have to watch the movie and bring it back.

said by tcope :

I agree with the CEO... why would I want to download an "HD" (it's not really HD) movie when I can drive 2 minutes away and pick up a _real_ HD movie on BR. Also, it was as they said, it took forever to cache to where it could be watched with interuption. It was easier to just download the entire movie and then watch it (again, I could have been to the store and back 50 times by the time it was done).

Also, most cable/Fios/Sat provides already provide on demand HD movies. That is the kicker to what BB is offering!

Problem for people with Netflix is that most people don't have a computer connected to their TV. So Netflix online movies cannot be watched on their TVs.

So I agree with the CEO... most people will find it easier to simply stop by the local BB and pick up a true HD version of the movie. Perhaps BB is putting this "box" out just so they can look like they offer the same service as Netflix??? Seems like a waste of money though.

said by Frank :

Going to blockbuster is fine and dandy where you live in the middle of west bumblefark utah, but where I live I have to battle horrible traffic and weather to get to blockbuster (which is only a few miles away and can be a 30 minute trip sometimes).

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Time for you to break out your Atlas. SLC is not in the middle of Utah. Yup, lived in FL for 25 years and never realized what great places were left in the US.

"Will"... I can and was only speaking of the present... as this is "when" the BB box is being put out and when the CEO's comments were relevent. I also mentioned that streaming video was probably going to pick up and give BM rentals a run for their money. You can read all about that in my post.

Can the BB box keep up with streaming video, Divx movies, on-demand? No... clearly as indicated in these posts. So perhaps this is why the CEO of BB has a hard time standing up for the BB box. What would we say if he said it was going to take over America.

said by ctceo :

I would have to say that I'd enjoy these types of gizmos if my ISP wasn't gonna punish me for doing so or even further limit my ability to enjoy it.

Imagine your wanting to watch a DVD quality movie in one room but your son is in the other room playing Runes of Magic, your wife is in the office uploading her latest book to be published and downloading the latest version of OpenOffice. You begin to select your feature film of choice, and press play. The movie begins to studder, and loose sync or pause and buffer. You think to yourself what could be going wrong. Upon further inspection you find out that if you have Cable you've reached your throttle point and are being FAP'ed for 10 or 20 minutes. Then a month later (if you have what the DSL companies are trying) an overage charge in the amount of $3 for the movie you watched, and maybe many others.

Sound Far fetched, well it isn't. Were on the verge of a whole new way for companies to get a little more money (if you choose to go along and/or pay).

There's nothing like paying $15 for your 768DN DSL, only to find out that you have to upgrade the next month to increase your cap to get the extra data needed to save the overages for which you choose the 768 pack 2 months back.

said by ctceo :

I would have to say that I'd enjoy these types of gizmos if my ISP wasn't gonna punish me for doing so or even further limit my ability to enjoy it.

Imagine your wanting to watch a DVD quality movie in one room but your son is in the other room playing Runes of Magic, your wife is in the office uploading her latest book to be published and downloading the latest version of OpenOffice. You begin to select your feature film of choice, and press play. The movie begins to studder, and loose sync or pause and buffer. You think to yourself what could be going wrong. Upon further inspection you find out that if you have Cable you've reached your throttle point and are being FAP'ed for 10 or 20 minutes. Then a month later (if you have what the DSL companies are trying) an overage charge in the amount of $3 for the movie you watched, and maybe many others.

Sound Far fetched, well it isn't. Were on the verge of a whole new way for companies to get a little more money (if you choose to go along and/or pay).

There's nothing like paying $15 for your 768DN DSL, only to find out that you have to upgrade the next month to increase your cap to get the extra data needed to save the overages for which you choose the 768 pack 2 months back.

said by CrzyCrakr :

They are really doing some bonehead stuff lately. First there is the new stores with the big HDTVs and all the current gen consoles for people to play on and now this. They are really blowing money for nothing.
Really they have a good thing with their online service and free trade ins at the store. If they are trying to expand it would be better for them to add games to the online rentals. They could kill two birds(Netflix and GameFly) with one stone. The the dumbass CEO says the same thing about the set top box as he does about renting games. He cries about not wanting to hurt his stores. Give me a break. I have checked out all four blockbusters near me and their in store game collection stinks. I think that if they did the same in store trade ins like they do with the movies it would be a total hit. I like being able to get a free in store rental when I drop them off at the store and as so have it release the next items in my Q.

said by aaronwt :

I'm done with disc rentals of any kind. I have almost 700 HD DVD/BD titles now. From now on I'll either be purchasing the title or watching it from VOD on VUDU, 360, FIOS VOD, or the PS3. Or watching it streaming from Netflix from my TiVos or 360.
I dropped Blockbuster and I came back to Netflix strictly for the video streaming, I will not be renting any discs.

And my future purchases will be very low while my future VOD watchings will be very high.

said by CrzyCrakr :

Yeah but you have to pay like $8.99 for unlimited streaming or a little less for a limited streaming plan. You are still paying for the DVD rental. Seems a waste of money to not rent them if you are paying for it anyway. If they had a streaming only plan that would be cool but they would have to get a much better streaming selection for that.