tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post5858921562481782299..comments2024-03-09T06:25:45.105-06:00Comments on uninflected images juxtaposed: The Price of (Home) Entertainment...wcdixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06511429457006302795noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-75093472941245998692007-09-05T17:05:00.000-06:002007-09-05T17:05:00.000-06:00Yay for Dexter...I'm on my second time through now...Yay for Dexter...I'm on my second time through now on DVD and still enjoying it.wcdixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06511429457006302795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-89111158246567961162007-09-05T16:24:00.000-06:002007-09-05T16:24:00.000-06:00Hmm, it was iTunes who claimed NBC wanted to charg...Hmm, it was iTunes who claimed NBC wanted to charge more ... trying to make them look like the good guys, NBC like idiots?<BR/><BR/>I take your point about "free TV" Will, but it's really just a lazy way to say something specific. I pay for cable, but I'd get local channels free if I didn't. My personal ethics of downloading TV involves rationalizations around that. I won't download Dexter or Slings and Arrows because they're on a channel I don't pay for, for example, but I will download House or The Office. I can justify that two ways: they're on local channels (eg Global), and they're on channels I pay for (Fox, NBC). On the rare occasions I've "had" to download, I feel that not only have I already paid for them, I also could have recorded them barring whatever technical or brain glitch stopped me from doing so. So when I say it's free anyway, that's what I mean - I personally won't pay $1.99 to buy something I've already "bought." Not that I can, since iTunes doesn't sell TV here.<BR/><BR/>Started watching Dexter on DVD by the way - love it.Diane Kristine Wildhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14223064643990199706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-77442986082317476692007-09-05T08:38:00.000-06:002007-09-05T08:38:00.000-06:00NBC *is* concerned about piracy -- I don't see wha...NBC *is* concerned about piracy -- I don't see what's wrong with that. The people who are pirating content today, will be doing it tomorrow. This really doesn't change much, except iTunes won't be a source to pirate material.<BR/><BR/>And yes, the Mac users are scalawags. ;-)Shawnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15585446312896504036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-14067335211973387362007-09-05T07:14:00.000-06:002007-09-05T07:14:00.000-06:00The pricing may have been blown out of proportion,...The pricing may have been blown out of proportion, but what NBC are saying by moving to Amazon is that they regard Apple as facilitating piracy, and all iPod users as thieves. Unbox has much more restrictive DRM than iTunes, meaning that you have far fewer options regarding how you watch paid for content. It doesn't seem to matter that barely a single file traded over P2P is an iTunes video.<BR/><BR/>Don't forget that Unbox is a Windows only service, leaving millions of scallywag Mac users out in the cold. I'm sure they'll find some other way to get NBC content onto their hard drives and iPods.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686465069530291040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-56566699477426771232007-09-04T19:28:00.000-06:002007-09-04T19:28:00.000-06:00Wow.Shouting In The Wind's and 'ear way closer to ...Wow.<BR/><BR/>Shouting In The Wind's and 'ear way closer to the ground than mine' Shawna promptly sets the record straight.<BR/><BR/>Sweet.wcdixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06511429457006302795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-70145909884685219152007-09-04T19:13:00.000-06:002007-09-04T19:13:00.000-06:00Breaking News: NBCUni will feature episodes on Ama...Breaking News: <A HREF="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3idc5d27492a3d91c10a27210099fe5401" REL="nofollow">NBCUni will feature episodes on Amazon Unbox</A>. Free downloads of new pilots soon and new episodes $1.99.<BR/><BR/>I thought the $5 thing was blown way out of proportion.Shawnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15585446312896504036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-521967470059576262007-09-04T18:52:00.000-06:002007-09-04T18:52:00.000-06:00My personal habit has been to watchit for free on ...My personal habit has been to watchit for free on network television, or see it the next day via the network's website. Both have advertising attached and get my attention that way.<BR/><BR/>If it is a show I truly embrace, I wait for the dvd set and buy that. For three years in a row I watched the first episodes of 24, then waited til the dvd set came out to watch it in full. I have paid about $49.99 for a full season set. <BR/><BR/>If there's a three season package or ultimate collection I weigh the cost carefully. <BR/><BR/>Fox has gone a long way toward picking up new viewers by reducing the packaging and costs for complete tv sets of BUFFY, ANGEL and X-FILES. They are all very reasonably priced. <BR/><BR/>I don't think that people will pay $5 an episode for a television show...unless they are getting extra material that isn't in the broadcast version and will be later seen on the dvd set. Consider $5 per episode for HEROES x 22 episodes per season and you can see how that is waaaaay overpriced, and that doesn't include any extras. <BR/><BR/>I think NBC Universal is really going to have to pull a rabbit out of their ass on this one to make a $5 sale work. Why don't they just pack the thing with ads you can't skip over and make it all for free?Cunninghamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137025404327426886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-58130322519091978532007-09-04T16:29:00.000-06:002007-09-04T16:29:00.000-06:00Once again, I need others to clarify what I think ...Once again, I need others to clarify what I think I'm trying to say...the dangers of the quick and dirty post. <BR/><BR/>I wasn't really suggesting that the NBC move would drive people to buying DVD's as much as it got me thinking about how we get and how much we pay for our TV 'entertainment'.<BR/><BR/>Yes I think it will probably push more toward illegal downloads. And yes it's NBC's call (they could take back their shows and offer them for 1.99 a download as well).<BR/><BR/>But let me say this: let's move past the notion that televison is 'free' (as in, why would they pay for something when they could have recorded it from free tv anyway). TV is 'not' free. I don't know anyone who isn't hooked up to cable...and the bare minimum cable bill in my neck of the woods is like 40.00 a month. But a lot of people (like myself) have digital cable and/or premiere packages that can run upwards of 60.00-90.00 a month. Again, not 'free'.<BR/><BR/>Not criticizing, but that label of free tv has bugged me for ages.<BR/><BR/>Just sayin'...wcdixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06511429457006302795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-7860520932510202452007-09-04T16:01:00.001-06:002007-09-04T16:01:00.001-06:00I don't really collect DVD sets, but NBC is obviou...I don't really collect DVD sets, but NBC is obviously hoping to cash in on our instant gratification urge - you miss an episode of Heroes, you just have to see it now no matter the cost. So they're hoping the cost of DVDs doesn't really enter into it, since they're targeting people who won't wait that long. But I wonder about that price. Seems to me $2 is easy to throw away, but $5 would be past the threshold for a lot of people, and I bet many would turn to free downloads instead. It's easy not to feel too guilty about illegally downloading TV shows when you could have recorded it from free TV anyway. Reminds me of the issue of cigarette taxation - raising prices on cigarettes is one of the only ways to reduce teen smoking, but if prices get too high, cigarette smuggling becomes rampant. NBC's pricing might push them right out of the market. But it is their decision to make, not iTunes.Diane Kristine Wildhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14223064643990199706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-32706796960720752532007-09-04T16:01:00.000-06:002007-09-04T16:01:00.000-06:00I'm not so sure people are going to go out, in res...I'm not so sure people are going to go out, in response to NBCs move, and buy series DVDs. The main issue I think is that this content is distributed free over the airwaves, but NBC up until now has been able to sell episodes ala carte for 2 dollars on iTunes. <BR/><BR/>People pay for that for convenience.<BR/><BR/>Remember, NBC claimed that this wasn't just about money (although they want to double the price of each episode) - it was also about piracy.<BR/><BR/>Can't help but think that this will encourage piracy.William Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07745291431816829150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-16100795116003228602007-09-04T15:16:00.000-06:002007-09-04T15:16:00.000-06:00I'm really bad about buying TV series on DVD. I ha...I'm really bad about buying TV series on DVD. I have a pretty monstrous collection, one that I continually justify as "research." <BR/><BR/>Paying 30 for a season of television is a great deal in my opinion. Newly released films retail for as much, and with a television show you're going to get a whole lot more than you would with a two hour movie. I recently picked up FNL, Dexter, Brotherhood and the first season of The Shield for 30.<BR/><BR/>60 is starting to push it a bit. I still bought Heroes, but that had more to do with the fact both my girlfriend and roommate desperately wanted me to get it.<BR/><BR/>I have a hard time justifying spending a hundred dollars or more on a television show. That's a little much.<BR/><BR/>But while I happily buy box sets, I'd never pay 5 to download an episode. I probably wouldn't even spend the 1.99 (or .99) that iTunes charges.<BR/><BR/>With DVDs you get some pretty nice intangibles. Commentaries, deleted scenes, scripts. It's hard to quantify how much value things like that add, but as an industry neophyte I've found a lot of it quite valuable (some of Joss Whedon's commentaries on Buffy and Firefly are of particular note).<BR/><BR/>If NBC offered episodes + bonuses for download, I might consider paying a per episode charge. Otherwise give me box sets.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02720531723651182277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27956160.post-12053887051835665622007-09-04T15:14:00.000-06:002007-09-04T15:14:00.000-06:00Sounds right about Friday Night Lights. They obvio...Sounds right about <I>Friday Night Lights</I>. They obviously want folk to catch up and watch the second year.<BR/><BR/>Hell, I always wait for the sales because in England... well, the HBO sets over here are damn expensive. Seasons of <I>The Wire</I> started around £50. They dropped them to half price in the sales.<BR/><BR/>Have to say, in one massive store blowout, I managed to pick <I>Band of Brothers</I> for £5. But they had limited stocks and I had to queue early in the morning.<BR/><BR/><I>I didn't feel bad purchasing the first 2 seasons of each...you know, just to have...show the kids when they get old enough sort of thing.</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, sure. And of course you better watch them to see that the discs are okay, right? ;-)Good Doghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10789861569691613179noreply@blogger.com