EzyDVDs Online Movie Store Put On Hold, Potential Customers Destined To Become Pirates
So it hasn’t been a good week for Australian online entertainment seekers. First of all you’ve got movie studios suing iiNet because they didn’t stop their customers from pirating movies and TV shows (well, they’re not ninjas). And now Andew Colley over at Australian IT is reporting that EzyDVD’s online movie download store, which was to rise from the ashes of ReelTime TV, has been put on hold thanks to the struggling economy.
The plans for an online store haven’t been canned completely (fortunately), but this is a real blow for online entertainment in this country, even though the service was probably going to be restricted to PC-based viewing through proprietary software. As I’ve stated before, the only options we have to legitimately download movies and TV shows in Australia are through iTunes and BigPond, which each have their own restrictions.
So, here’s a crazy idea I’d like to put forward to all the movie studios who think suing ISPs is the answer. Take the money you’re spending on lawyers and invest it in EzyDVD’s EzyDownload service. Let’s get this thing running sooner rather than later. Because no matter how many people or ISPs you sue, you’re not going to make the slightest dent in piracy until we have a few attractive, legal options on the table.
[Australian IT via Lifehacker]
- Next Post: Use Your Mobile Phone To Control Your Box With TiVo Mobile Website »
- « Previous Post: Blockbuster Will Release Its Own Set-Top Box Before 2009
Comments
HERE HERE!
Now, who wants to try and convince the studios that this is a good idea?
“you’re not going to make the slightest dent in piracy until we have a few attractive, legal options on the table.”
Unfortunately the most “attractive” aspect will be the price. If they want to charge more than $0 then there will still be rampant piracy.
The convenience argument is largely a smokescreen for greed – people would rather get something for nothing than pay for it.
I disagree. Look at iTunes in the US – it’s now the biggest seller of music, beating all the retail stores easily.
Granted, there’s still piracy – you’ll never get rid of it completely – but piracy has always been around. Before the internet it was cheap cds in backalley streets or dvds from china. They’re not going to go away.
But if there is an attractive model for legally purchasing content that isn’t overpriced and doesn’t have too many restrictions, then legal options will take off.
This would be the same itunes that built its sucess using highly restrictive DRM, allowing its content to be played on devices which only Apple sold?
Doesn’t that go against the “build it non-proprietary and they will come” argument being made in the Giz post?
Attila, I think you’re missing the point: iTunes is easy. Really easy. That’s why it is such a success.
Just a small correction to Nick .. iTunes is nowhere near the biggest seller of music. It is the biggest *single* seller of music, but online sales in the states still only accounts for 30% of total consumer spend. The remaining 70% is still channeled through traditional retail. Those percentages will no doubt flip in the next 2-3 years, but that’s where they stand today. The stats are here: http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_resources/dmr2008.html
Counting the paid movie download as part of your monthly bandwidth quota is the thing that’s stopping me from using iTunes Store for movie rentals / purchases. I don’t think it will take off until ADSL2 in regional areas and more generous bandwidth allowances take off, with incentives for paid downloads (eg iiNet’s latest announcement).
if iinet teamed up with ezydvd and made the online dvds a decent 2-4 gig stream or download on iinets free usage at the same price as retail rental stores I would use it. I dont pirate movies now because I hate the quality. When you think about it pirated copies are a 6th of the quality and that isnt accetable for film buffs.
@Attilla – it’s different. the original iTunes store, which sold only music, worked only with the iPod. But 80% of MP3 player owners had an iPod, so the whole restrictive nature of the service was irrelevant.
With movies and TV shows, you don’t necessarily want to be stuck at your PC watching them, and you don’t necessarily want to watch them on your iPod. I know the only way I’ll buy movies or TV shows online is if/when I can watch them on my TV easily, and unless I own an Apple TV (which I don’t), that’s an impossible proposition.
And as soon as things become difficult, people will look for an easier way, which at the moment is piracy – it’s much easier to download a movie and burn it to DVD illegally than buying legitimate content online in this country (if you don’t own an Apple TV, that is).