6 ms·

The problem that no one is solving is ownership. If I pay $15 for movie from vdio, what happens if that company goes away? Why can't I switch my collection fr

The problem that no one is solving is ownership. If I pay $15 for movie from vdio, what happens if that company goes away? Why can't I switch my collection from iTunes to amazon, etc... Ultimetly that is the top reason I avoid buying digital content. It's a frustrating issue, and legislation should be passed to guarantee consumer protection on their digital goods.

obviouslygreen 14y ago
While this is most certainly a good point (and I'm in the same boat), considering we don't even have protections on a lot of physical goods in this space, I don't see it coming along any time soon.
- nickconfer 14y ago
  I could see protection happening on the digital landscape. With the physical merchandise it was tougher for a consumer to understand their lack of rights, but sadly I agree it will be tough. It's odd though. I bet there are huge groups of "horder collectors" that exist and are holding back only because of the clear lack of ownership rights. I know my digital collection would be 500+ strong by now, instead of the mear 4 or 5 shows I've purchased for a quick fix.
evan_ 14y ago
This gets brought up every time anyone talks about any media streaming services, but has it ever been shown that consumers care?
- bherms 14y ago
  The real problem lies in the fact that most consumers don't realize that it's an issue. It only hits them when it actually happens. Those of us in the tech community are more forward thinking when it comes to this sort of stuff. Would you care if you paid $15 for a movie, then a few months later the service shut down and you couldn't watch it anymore? I bet you would. Would your mom/dad/grandparents/etc care? Most likely.
- lukifer 14y ago
  They don't care pre-emptively, but it only takes getting burned once after sinking hundreds or thousands into a dead platform that they start to get skeptical.
  - dublinben 14y ago
    I'm sure any customers of Walmart Music are reluctant to fall for this again. http://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2008/09/wal-mart-latest-to-shut-down-drm-key-servers/ http://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2008/09/wal-mart-latest...
    - lukifer 14y ago
      Sad to say, but I think it's a simple matter of enough people getting burned for the scales to tip on non-DRM content.
notatoad 14y ago
Nobody is solving the problem because for many many people it isn't a problem. I subscribe to RDIO and it doesn't concern me in the slightest that i don't own any of the music i listen to. I subscribe to netflix and it doesn't concern me that i don't own the TV shows that i watch. Content exists to be enjoyed, not to be owned. For a long time, owning a copy of the content was the best way to be able to enjoy it, that isn't necessarily the case any more. If ownership is important to you, buy DVDs. Paying $15 to "own" a movie on VDIO (or iTunes, or amazon) seems pretty stupid to me. we don't need legislation to protect consumers from this sort of business, consumers are generally smart enough not to pay the equivalent of 2 months of netflix in order to watch a single movie.
- daigoba66 14y ago
  The keyword you used is "subscribe". I also enjoy subscription music like Rdio (I previously used Zune) and movies with Netflix. But the problem is that Vdio, like iTunes or Amazon, is not subscription based. Rather you pay one-time for a lifetime (of the service) license to the content (with an exception being rentals) and access to the stream and/or DRM-laden content.
  - notatoad 14y ago
    Yes, i understand that subscription services are different to "ownership" type services. But i'm saying that subscription services are the solution to the "ownership problem". you never really own digital content, so rather than demanding laws to pretend we own digital content, let's all just stop pretending. if you want to consume digital content, a subscription service is the solution.
    - MatthewPhillips 14y ago
      I don't listen to very much music, do Rdio and Spotify get the new albums as soon as they are released? With movies and TV there is usually a very long waiting period before they appear on Netflix and Amazon Prime. I'm not sure what a subscription service would cost that had all of the newly released movies but I'm pretty sure it's more than any person would be willing to spend.
wmf 14y ago
UltraViolet solves this problem, but it's only being embraced by marginal services. (Vudu and Flixster? Sorry, never heard of them.)
- dublinben 14y ago
  UltraViolet is only a solution as long as the studios behind it consider it viable. When they move onto the next platform, your 'ownership' of a digital copy will be worthless.
  - wmf 14y ago
    AFAIK the central UltraViolet registry has a business model that will let it survive for years without any help from Hollywood.

obviouslygreen 14y ago

While this is most certainly a good point (and I'm in the same boat), considering we don't even have protections on a lot of physical goods in this space, I don't see it coming along any time soon.

nickconfer 14y ago
I could see protection happening on the digital landscape. With the physical merchandise it was tougher for a consumer to understand their lack of rights, but sadly I agree it will be tough. It's odd though. I bet there are huge groups of "horder collectors" that exist and are holding back only because of the clear lack of ownership rights. I know my digital collection would be 500+ strong by now, instead of the mear 4 or 5 shows I've purchased for a quick fix.

evan_ 14y ago

This gets brought up every time anyone talks about any media streaming services, but has it ever been shown that consumers care?

bherms 14y ago
The real problem lies in the fact that most consumers don't realize that it's an issue. It only hits them when it actually happens. Those of us in the tech community are more forward thinking when it comes to this sort of stuff. Would you care if you paid $15 for a movie, then a few months later the service shut down and you couldn't watch it anymore? I bet you would. Would your mom/dad/grandparents/etc care? Most likely.
lukifer 14y ago
They don't care pre-emptively, but it only takes getting burned once after sinking hundreds or thousands into a dead platform that they start to get skeptical.
- dublinben 14y ago
  I'm sure any customers of Walmart Music are reluctant to fall for this again. http://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2008/09/wal-mart-latest-to-shut-down-drm-key-servers/ http://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2008/09/wal-mart-latest...
  - lukifer 14y ago
    Sad to say, but I think it's a simple matter of enough people getting burned for the scales to tip on non-DRM content.

notatoad 14y ago

Nobody is solving the problem because for many many people it isn't a problem. I subscribe to RDIO and it doesn't concern me in the slightest that i don't own any of the music i listen to. I subscribe to netflix and it doesn't concern me that i don't own the TV shows that i watch. Content exists to be enjoyed, not to be owned. For a long time, owning a copy of the content was the best way to be able to enjoy it, that isn't necessarily the case any more. If ownership is important to you, buy DVDs. Paying $15 to "own" a movie on VDIO (or iTunes, or amazon) seems pretty stupid to me. we don't need legislation to protect consumers from this sort of business, consumers are generally smart enough not to pay the equivalent of 2 months of netflix in order to watch a single movie.

daigoba66 14y ago
The keyword you used is "subscribe". I also enjoy subscription music like Rdio (I previously used Zune) and movies with Netflix. But the problem is that Vdio, like iTunes or Amazon, is not subscription based. Rather you pay one-time for a lifetime (of the service) license to the content (with an exception being rentals) and access to the stream and/or DRM-laden content.
- notatoad 14y ago
  Yes, i understand that subscription services are different to "ownership" type services. But i'm saying that subscription services are the solution to the "ownership problem". you never really own digital content, so rather than demanding laws to pretend we own digital content, let's all just stop pretending. if you want to consume digital content, a subscription service is the solution.
  - MatthewPhillips 14y ago
    I don't listen to very much music, do Rdio and Spotify get the new albums as soon as they are released? With movies and TV there is usually a very long waiting period before they appear on Netflix and Amazon Prime. I'm not sure what a subscription service would cost that had all of the newly released movies but I'm pretty sure it's more than any person would be willing to spend.

wmf 14y ago

UltraViolet solves this problem, but it's only being embraced by marginal services. (Vudu and Flixster? Sorry, never heard of them.)

dublinben 14y ago
UltraViolet is only a solution as long as the studios behind it consider it viable. When they move onto the next platform, your 'ownership' of a digital copy will be worthless.
- wmf 14y ago
  AFAIK the central UltraViolet registry has a business model that will let it survive for years without any help from Hollywood.