Quote:
Originally Posted by agzg
Well, it depends. Right now there are some problems with the streaming. Mainly, Netflix contracts out to a server/push company (I don't remember what the correct term is), and companies like Comcast (FUCK THEM, but they own part of Hulu and are also running their Xfinity streaming which they actually don't have license to do), is putting an additional fee on Netflix's contractor because instant streaming is "taking up" so much bandwidth (plus, Netflix competing with Hulu is bad for the cable companies). Additional fee - I remember hearing it was a whopper - is then passed on to Netflix, which ultimately will endanger the low low prices of streaming only or any other plan, really.
So, DVD's and BluRays might be cheaper right now (because they worked out a sweet deal with the Post Office) since many people have plans that limit their DVD renting but not their streaming. Also, lots of dumbasses like live-in and I pay for the unlimited DVD/BluRay to mail but end up using the streaming so much that we never watch the physical disks or send them back (seriously - we had two movies sitting on our coffee table at our old place since May and we didn't watch them until after moving to our new place - in August.
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Right...I am actually slowly backing down on how many DVDs I get per month for the same reason...and ever since Netflix capable blu ray players and game systems are out with some newer movies (Thanks Starz!) available, it's almost a why bother stance for me.
The decision to stream movies still depends on deals from movie houses because I realisitically believe that within 3 to 5 years we will have rendered physical movie disks obsolete. The problem is of course the whole piracy issue and also I believe how to track revenue of a non physical product. Most people would tell you that music is one thing but controlling video is a bit more difficult. I think that's why we haven't seen the type of leap that we saw when iTunes came around that a lot of us did for music.
And yes, you are right that cable companies are afraid now. They lost an estimated 1 million customers last year due to recession and the fact that there are cheaper alternatives (the streaming option we just menetioned) to having cable. And as streaming sites continues to grow and as prices stay inexpensive, people will find reasons to get rid of those ghastly 100+ dollar a month bills for hardly anything on TV.
I was just having this discussion the other day with a friend who wants to use her PC as a media device to get rid of cable so she can use streaming as her only option because her bill is too expensive.
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