Hey folks. USA Today is running an article about the next-gen DVD format wars. Basically all old news, but still a useful comparison, if only for the list of corporate backers. There are so many companies to keep straight even I have trouble with it. An updated timetable for consumer availability and an abridged list of title releases also make this article worth reading.
Link.
Remember that crappy Netflix class action settlement? The one where the lawyers got $2.5m and the customers got a free one month rental plan upgrade? And then if they forget to change it back they get billed for it? And a lot of people were pissed? Well, apparently somebody got the crazy idea that maybe it was a bad settlement.
The national public interest law firm Trial Lawyers for Public Justice has long been taking aim at what it considers unfair class-action settlements, filing objections to the settlements it believes offer lots of money to the plaintiff attorneys but very little–usually coupons with relatively small monetary value–to consumers. The group’s latest target is a proposed class-action settlement involving Netflix customers.
The proposed settlement, which TLPJ officials said is worth $4 million max, includes $2.5 million in attorney fees. But that’s just one of the problems with the proposed settlement, according to TLPJ, which filed a legal challenge . More troublesome, TLPJ says, is what consumers get: Current Netflix customers would get one-month upgrade to receive more DVDs, a value that ranges from $2 to $6, depending on what plan a customer is signed up for. But if consumers fail to cancel that upgraded service at the end of 30 days, they would then be billed for the more expensive service every month after that. Meanwhile, former Netflix customers, would get a month’s free service.
Light dawns on Marble Head. The real question: how much will TLPJ be paid for fixing this mess?
This is the biggest news in some time re: video on demand: Fox has announced that it will shorten the hi-def/VOD window to 60 days, coinciding it DVD releases. Until now, in-store and online rental have had the edge over On Demand by up to 45 days. If Fox’s move proves to be profitable, other studios will follow, ushering in a new era of On Demand satisfaction for all.
For a little bit of history and perspective on the topic, see my post on the dying institution of physical video stores here.
New on-demand video service VONGO is set to shake things up in the rental biz. The service, ($9.99/month subscription model) is rumored to include over 1,000 movie and TV titles for instantaneous download, plus a $3.99 PPV service. What’s more, the service will debut new releases at the same time they are released on DVD.
If this is indeed true, Netflix and Blockbuster may be in for some serious competition. Even with a small library, new releases on demand (no waiting for shipping) is mighty tempting. Funny how ‘Flix was talking about something very similar not too long ago. This may force their hands a little and move us toward an on demand model.
Taking a page from Mike at Hacking Netflix, here’s some top (and bottom) lists for 2005.
Top Grossing Movies Released in 2005: Star Wars: Episode III leads this list.
Roger Ebert’s Best 10 of 2005: The Yoda of the biz shares his picks (and Star Wars is not on it).
IMDB Top DVD Releases of 2005: The Incredibles was #1 last year with 17.38 million copies sold.
WSJ Best of 2005: Surprising picks including Harry Potter and Grizzly Man (thanks, Joe).
Rolling Stone: One of the few lists that had the Wedding Crashers.
AFI Awards 2005: The best of film and tv from this year (and one of the few lists to have the 40 Year-Old Virgin on it).
2005 Oscar Winners: It’s hard to belive that almost a year ago Million Dollar Baby won best picture.
MTV Movie Awards: Napoleon Dynamite was the #1 movie.
p2pnet.net File Sharing Top 10: It’s only for a week, but it’s interesting to see what movies people are downloading.
Time: Top 100 Movies of All Time: Ok, it’s more than 10 and none of the movies were released in 2005, but there are some great movies on this list.
Rocchi Report Top 10 / Worst 10: Ex-critic for Netflix puts together a good list of what worked and didn’t work in 2005.
Enjoy your fond remembrance of ‘05. Oh, and here’s a cool sneak preview of ‘o6! Not many huge blockbusters on the horizon… will I even go to the theaters at all? Oh wait… Snakes on a Plane !