Module 5 Blog
When finding my movie to watch for Module 4, I immediately looked to Netflix streaming. I wanted to watch Minority Report but it was not available for streaming so I chose to watch Next Paycheck instead. It was a matter of quick access and convenience.
If I had to choose a model for the battle between DVDs and videos on demand I think that I would side with the Red Queen model.(Thornburg, 2008) I believe that with today’s society in constant search for entertainment, it is inevitable that this sort of battle would commence. I believe that the DVD format will be able to sustain its fierce battle with video on demand because of hold outs to streaming and for collectors who like to have a “hard copy” of their favorite movie. Video streaming will be able to compete because of its instant accessibility-no leaving to go to the store and no waiting on DVDs in the mail. All that is required is a push of a button to watch the desired movie. The only drawback that I have found with streaming is that all movies that I want to see are not available in this format. But how is that different from the traditional method of obtaining movies? How many times have you been to the movie store only to find that they are out of the movie you want to watch? I think that this battle of the Red Queens will come down to consumer preference. However eventually I believe that most of what is watched will be in a streaming format as the space available for online storage and distribution. Looks like that is where the new wave “cloud storage” will come in.
When it comes to McLuhan’s tetrad model I believe that DVDs extended the movie experience for movie buffs past the movie theater and into the home. DVDs made obsolete VHS because of their higher quality and smaller size. The DVD rekindled a time when families sat around the radio listening to “shows.” Now the voices have faces and movements. The DVD format set the stage for streaming video.
As for video streaming via the internet it is an extension of the DVD because it is offering the same product in a different format that is being quickly adopted. One day it may obsolete the DVD when internet use for entertainment has been fully adopted by the masses. I believe this will happen within the next ten years. Video streaming will be pushed to the limit when it attempts to increase its instant plays adding more and more movies, shows, ect... Cloud storage may be the answer.
Resources:
Thornburg, D. (2008). Red Queens, butterflies, and strange attractors: Imperfect lenses into emergent technologies. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.
Tabitha
ReplyDeleteIn 2007, Netflix made the best move ever by entering the video on demand industry and offering streaming movies to its customers (Chiu, Doroudi, Haussler, Khosla, Mattingly, 2007). Even though, Netflix may not have all the videos you want to see in streaming video format, I think we will continue to see Netflix increase their amount of streaming videos and they will dominate the market of video on demand just like Apple is dominating the market on iPads. Evagelista (2011) was able to show how Netflix has been growing and making deals with Epix, and Walt Disney Company and how its growth could eliminate the need for cable television.
These resources below illustrate how powerful Netflix has become in the video on demand industry.
Chiu, R., Doroudi, S., Haussler, T., Khosla, A., Mattingly, S. (2007). NETFLIX
Entering the Video on Demand Industry through Providing Streaming Movies. Retrieved from
http://www.stanford.edu/~aditya86/Netflix.pdf
Evangelista, B. (2011, January 2). Netflix’s streaming iideo keeps making inroads. Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F01%2F01%2FBUSD1H079M.DTL
Hi Tabitha,
ReplyDeleteBecause of copyright issues Netflix Canada has a lot less movies than Netflix US. It was the same thing with the Kindle - I wanted one when it first came out but could not buy one unless I drove into the US! There were issues with copyright access to books and broadband limitations... Amazon had a 'click here and tell the publishers you want access to this book' button. All this died out with the advent of the iPad and the app driven access. I eventually settled for a Sone e-reader but it sits mostly as an obsolete technology near a floppy drive I never got around to using because of flash drives... I do think Video on demand is the way of the future but some financial considerations seem to slow this technology from running away with it - I thought the force at work here was Increasing Returns - our team seems to be split. Please see my post and let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Soraya
I never thought about DVD's still being a hot item for collectors. I guess just like some people actually still go to the store and physically buy CD's of their favorite singers. I don't I just download from iTunes.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I agree with Soraya I thought they were increasing returns nor Red Queens. Funny how two went one way and two went another.