Are you a former vistor of a Blockbuster store who has in the past few years converted over to the every growing Netflix company? If so, you are among the majority. It is no secret that since Netflix has come into the scene Blockbuster's losses have just kept coming. Since 2001, Blockbuster has lost nearly $4.5 billion due to the convience and popularity of their rival, Netflix. Over the past few years, Blockbuster has had to shut down hundreds of their stores. It is clear that if Blockbuster wishes to remain in business, they need to think of a way to reinvent their company to make it more appealing to customers than using Netflix. Blockbuster has recently released their intention to use a new gadget that should help them get back their customer base. The device is a small box which connects to television sets. The device downloads movies and television shows over high speed internet which are then stored after. The idea branches off other devices made my Apple and other companies whose goal is to make connections between television and the internet. While Blockbuster has used other programs to rent out to customers, this device will appeal to a wider range of people who prefer to watch their T.V. on large screens. Although the amount of movies this service is starting at a much lower number than Netflix currently offers, their main focus is "quality over quantity." They are aiming to offer more recent, popular films. It is also believed that this service will provide a better quality film because "all the video will be stored on the 2Wire box."
I think that this sounds like a very innovative device. While Blockbuster believes their stores will still be used, it is obvious that everything is moving into the direction of more convient, faster, and better qualtiy products. I think that this sounds like a device with a very high potential. It is unfortunate that Blockbuster has been hit so hard by the popularity of Netflix, but with this new technology, I think they have great potential in taking back the majority of movie renting customers. I would definitely consider getting this device and hope that all of their plans for it work out. I think that Netflix offered something cheaper and more convient for movie watchers and I think that this device should do the same, with better quality. I am interested to see how successful this new technology becomes and am definitely rooting for Blockbuster.
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2 comments:
It really is amazing the storm that Netflix entered the movie world with. The concept in and of itself is so simple but perfect for our world today. Netflix made it so much easier to rent movies. Despite the convenience of Netflix I still take trips to Blockbuster. The upside of going to a store is you have a chance to find a movie you didnt know was even out just from browsing around the store. I was very happy when I read this article that Blockbuster is coming up with this new technology. It sounds similar to Apple TV, but a digital movie library is something that I would absolutely be interested in purchasing. Blockbuster tried to compete with Netflix by offering a movie delivery service as well but I think that with the introduction of their new product Blockbuster is taking a big technologically smart step.
I agree with the author of this blog that this new gadget will help Blockbuster earn back their losses, however, will customers still be renting movies from the actual video store? Do customers rent this black box from blockbuster, or can they buy it and then copy over as many video's as they'd like to watch on their TV screen? I am also wondering how many television shows and movies can be saved to this device. Although this seems to be a great idea, and will definitely attract customers, I cannot see how it would profit blockbuster in the long run. It also seems as if this is some sort of illegalling downloading because customers are only borrowing the films and the small black box.
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