Monday March 19, 2012
– Stewart Wolpin
So let me get this straight.
Wal-Mart expects consumers to box up their DVDs (making sure they were released by participating movie studios) and, if they have them, Blu-rays, schlep them down to a local superstore, wait for however long it takes, for someone to mark down the titles, fill out some online forms, and then charge you either $2 or $5 (for standard or high-definition) per disc they've already paid for so they can stream said movies to an Internet-connected device running the Vudu app.
And this made sense to someone? Am I missing something?
Plus, considering how paranoid Wal-Mart is about shoplifting, how exactly will consumers get out of the store carrying an armload of DVDs without being embarrassingly questioned?
But that's not even all of what seems to make no sense to me.
Not all movies have been digitized, and not all studios are represented. Many consumers will be schlepping half their discs to Wal-Mart and going through the whole process for nothing. That'll make 'em happy.
There is no Android Vudu app. Android smartphone users will have to steer to the Vudu Web site to view their movies.
The iOS Vudu app has been excoriated by downloaders who complain that it does everything as advertised except – wait for it – play movies.
Or, consumers can bypass the whole schlepping their entire DVD collection to Wal-Mart trauma and simply stream an HD movie to their portable device for the same $5 from Vudu. Or iTunes. Or CinemaNow.
Or they can pay $8 a month for Netflix and stream as many movies as they like.
Also, there are some consumers who download a DVD ripping program and create their own copy that can transfer to their portable device to be watched without that nasty Wi-Fi connection (of course we’re sure that these consumers are unaware of possible copyright violations).
But none of these even constitute the weird part.
David Bishop, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, bragged in several reports on this "game changer" Wal-Mart-Vudu disc-to-digital deal that "It's not just about portable devices. You can watch your collection now on the TV."
Huh?
If a consumer is home, they'd fire up the Vudu app on their Internet-connected/Vudu-enabled Blu-ray player or smart TV (if they own one and it's connected to the Internet)
to watch a streaming version of a movie – which they already own on DVD or Blu-ray from which that streaming version was made available from to begin with?
Either I'm missing something or my head is about to explode.
