Kiosk.net

…and Terry L. Mitchell of the American Chronicle feels fine. Read!

“Fortunately, led by the apparent impending TiVo-Netflix undertaking, the landscape is about to change and a new era of genuine VOD is about to be ushered in. PC-based broadband VOD services like Cinemanow (www.cinemanow.com) and Movielink (www.movielink.com) have been up and running for several years and are about to broaden their offerings…All of these companies plan to offer almost unlimited amounts of movies, TV shows, sports, specialty programming, and international programs via a set-top box interface between a broadband connection and a TV set. This programming will be culled from the vast internet universe and made available for TV viewing. For a more detailed description of these services, see my related article entitled, “The Coming Television Revolution.”

Yes, this does seem promising. This is what the world has been waiting for for decades!

“Several market tests of VOD were conducted during the 1980’s and the early 1990’s but, because the technology was rather primitive, it did not catch on with consumers. By the late 1990’s, it finally seemed ready and lots of promises were made about the brave new world of VOD. The cable companies were talking about veritable online video stores, which were going to put Blockbuster, et al, out of business. Unfortunately, the reality of VOD has never lived up to its hype. The stuff the cable companies are currently passing off as VOD is nothing more than a glorified version of pay-per-view or a DVR. For the most part, their VOD offerings aren’t any different from the stuff currently playing on the premium channels and/or on pay-per-view. This is what I call “faux VOD.” How lame!”

I see your point, Terry, but I quite enjoy the current on demand technology from Comcast. Although the only offerings are whatever is on the cable channels, that is quite a lot when you get right down to it.

“The only thing really going for the premiums right now is their award-winning original programming; including series’ like “The Sopranos”, “Dead Like Me”, and “Six Feet Under.” Perhaps the premium services could morph into original-programming-only services in order to survive. However, they’d have to seriously increase the number of series’ (and the number of episodes of each) they produce. Perhaps they could also carry longer and/or alternative versions of programs already aired on broadcast television and basic cable. “

Yes, I agree. Many HBO and Showtime subscribers value the original programming very highly. I would say that the strength of shows like “The Sopranos” alone will be enough to keep HBO afloat. However, if the premium channels step up their original programming to combat VOD I see this as only a good thing. Either way, the current On Demand paradigm coupled with premium channels and original programming is probably enough to keep the premium channels up and running, in my opinions, so don’t count Skinemax out just yet.

Hey everybody– just wanted to let all of you know that Alien Planet is now available on Comcast’s On Demand service. Just go to Cable Favorites and then to Discovery Channel and it is the very first choice.

I haven’t seen it yet, but it looks very cool. The show postulates about life on an alien planet with twin suns and 60% gravity. Discovery Channel has had some big hits like this in the past such as “The Future is Wild” on Animal Planet (future Earth evolution) and Dragons: something or other made real, although that one was a bit dissapointing.

Anyway, I know a lot of you have Comcast Digital Cable, so check it out if you like that kind of thing.

Take2DVD.com is a new service pitted vs. Netflix. It’s advantage: Family videos along side XXX selections. Take2 is blazing a new trail, with slogans like “Grown-ups are part of the family too.” Much like in Take2’s physical stores, the adult section of their web site is safely locked away in an area called the “couples corner.” [Couple'a what? nyung nyung nyung]

The site is currently offering a 2 week free trial and membership starting at $9.95/month.

This is great for people who love Netflix but wish it was kinkier. Full press release here.

Congratulations, Mr. Hastings. You’re company is in the black.
It’s bigger news than it sounds like, and it’s all over the web. So remember, you heard it here, like, eighth.

This clever and accurate analysis from forbes.com backs up what we at Kiosk.net have been reporting for the past couple months. The competition over DVD rental market share is a 3 round heavyweight bout, and Netflix has won round 1 and, now, round 2. Competition is easing up from all fronts: Amazon is thinking maybe they won’t push their US rental service after all and Netflix has already weathered the worst of the Blockbuster Online pricing war and emerged victorious. In the next four to six quarters I wager that Netflix will issue the knockout punch to all of its competitors. You can quote me on that.

But, like I said before, nothing lasts forever, so it may be up to a young buck to challenge ‘flix for the title. Then again, maybe competition will just come from an unlikely source. Nobody knows for sure; it’s the fuuuuutuuuure!

Update: Another article from Forbes: Hastings acknolwedges Netflix superiority

Take this with a grain of salt, it’s from “flatscreens.biz…”

This is more or less a confirmation of the post I made a few weeks ago about an industry leak re: Netflix’s upcoming movie download service.

According to a news article at Mercury News “Well-placed industry sources confirmed Friday that the Los Gatos company is close to launching an on-demand rental service that is paired with a Netflix-provided television set-top box.”

The new service doesn’t seem like it will be grand in nature, and will probable not give customers access to the latest movie releases. This is hinted at by Netflix spokesman Ken Ross, “We have said we’re committed to testing a product this year and we expect the test to be of a very modest nature”. At any rate, whatever service Netflix launches, will give it the launch pad it needs to experiment and fine turn their system for the day when the major movie studios provide someday access to video on demand ( VOD ) versions of their latest releases as soon as the DVD versions are available.

More on this as it develops.

UPDATE This is all over the web at this point. Sources are a bit less hazy. Looks like this is the genuine article folks, so expect some downloading goodness in the future.

A brick and mortar Blockbuster Video store permanently closed down shop in Westwood California. Not big news in and of itself, but I think this indicates something larger, the extinction of physical video stores. On Demand and downloading will finish the job that Netflix started. Might seem sad at first, but remember, the concept of a video store is only a few decades old anyway, and like all technology, nothing lasts forever.

Swing low, sweet chariot, comin for to carry Blockbuster Video home.

Fortune online reported a relatively new DVD service called Peerflix, which is like a cross between Netflix and Ebay. People that have accumulated many old discs that they no longer want create a “have” list on the Peerflix website along with a “want” list. When you send a disc to another member (peerflix provides special envelopes, but you have to pay postage) you accumulate something called Peerbucks, which you then spend to buy DVDs from others. Peerflix charges a 99 cent transaction fee for each disc.

The model is very interesting, especially conisdering that most people only watch their DVDs a couple times before forgetting all about it. The company is considering a subscription fee service similar to Netflix.

There are tons more New Releases where these came from, but who has time to list them all? For serious. Here are a few you might be interested in. Kiosk editors choice indicated by ***.

Constantine***
John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is a private investigator who believes in things that go bump in the night — which makes him somewhat of an eccentric in a world ruled primarily by logic. So, it comes as a surprise to him when a female cop (Rachel Weisz) seeks his counsel after her twin sister dies in what first appears to be a suicide. She wants definitive proof of the cause of death … but the answers may only come with blind faith on her part.

Born Into Brothels
Exclusively at Netflix: In this Oscar-winning documentary, photographer Zana Briski and director Ross Kaufman travel to Sonagchi, Calcutta, and film the relationships they develop with kids (ages 10-14) of prostitutes who work the city’s red-light district. Amid the sadness and squalor lie faint glimmers of hope, as in the story of a 12-year-old street artist who’s invited to participate in the World Press Photo Foundation program.

Man of the House
Texas Ranger Roland Sharp (Tommy Lee Jones) finds himself college bound when he’s tapped to protect a boisterous group of University of Texas cheerleaders — who happen to be the only witnesses to a federal snitch’s murder. To keep an eye on them, Sharp goes undercover as their assistant coach, a job that requires him to live with them and master the art of choreography … with hilarious results. Anne Archer costars as Sharp’s love interest.

Ice Princess
In this new take on the traditional “ugly duckling turns into a swan” tale, Casey (Michelle Trachtenberg), a smart high school student whose mother (Joan Cusack) has her eyes set on Harvard, longs to become a figure skater like Gen (Hayden Panettiere), a beautiful prodigy who’s active in the sport’s circuit. Invited to train with Gen and her mother (Kim Cattrall), Casey must choose her destiny: Should she be an ice princess or a collegiate?

Horror in the East***
Japan’s shocking treatment of World War II POWs and the country’s refusal to surrender are examined in this two-part program. From cultural, political and economic factors to the assault on Nanking and the brutality of Japan’s POW camps, the complex story is told through archival footage and interviews with former Japanese soldiers, kamikazes and Allied POWs. The DVD also includes documentaries on the Indian army and the war in Burma.

Rachmaninoff: Miserly Knight
This dramatic presentation of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s moody one-act opera features Sergei Leiferkus as “The Miserly Knight,” a man so consumed with his wealth that he brings about his own demise. Filmed live at the Glyndebourne Opera House in 2004, this production also features vocalists Richard Berkeley-Steele, Maxim Mikhailov, Viacheslav Voynarovskiy and Albert Schagidullin, backed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Porky
Initially created to team with a cat named Beans, Porky Pig found his niche as Warner Brothers’ straight man, serving as the character audiences could always identify with and delivering his trademark “That’s all, folks!” This collection of classic cartoons pushes the shy and stuttering swine (first voiced by actual stutterer Joe Dougherty and later by Mel Blanc) to the center of the action, showing off some of his most memorable work.

Short article from Reuters presented here in its entirety. Netflix is breaking out the big guns apparently, spending $140 million on a new TV ad campaign.

“LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Online DVD rental company Netflix Inc (NFLX.O: Quote, Profile, Research) has launched a television advertising campaign featuring its first new commercials since 2003 in the latest salvo of its war with rival Blockbuster Inc (BBI.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

Netflix said last year it would run at break even and crank up marketing spending to stay ahead of Blockbuster’s new online service and dissuade Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O: Quote, Profile, Research) from entering the U.S. market.

The Los Gatos, California company would not disclose the size of its new media buy, but Wall Street analysts had projected Netflix would spend about $140 million on marketing in fiscal 2005.

The five advertisements, featuring the tag line “There’s a movie waiting for you at home,” will air on broadcast and cable television into next year, a Netflix spokesman said. ”

So that’s it. Putting the nail in Blockbuster’s coffin, I guess, and sending a warning to Amazon. Maybe they’ll swap the red mailer for brightly colored rings.