Sometimes I think about keeping thoughts to myself as they often conflict with what people want to hear or contradict what they believe and then I feel bad and then it happens and then the cycle repeats
So here we are at the refresh of another cycle. I’m about to feel bad. Over-the-top progressed faster than I thought and gave more options than I thought, but now I think OTT has done better than VOD because it offers more options, probably did a better job marketing, and will likely dominate in the future because of its options. To me OTT movies are simply VOD out of someone elses garden but I have a vehicle driving me to many more gardens to pick from.
So what got me thinking about this cycle? Well, I finally got a Roku box which I thought would stop me from plugging my PC into the TV, but it didn’t. Next I read that people think VOD is losing out to OTT because it has inadequate advertising support and awkward program guides. This was in a report summary sent out by TDG recently and repeated by many others…. Market Watch, Broadband and TV News, Marketwire, WCBSTV, etc.
Yes, I’ve been told that I’m not reading between the lines of the summary and it’s really about cable operators losing a market they should have controlled. So perhaps, yes, VOD should have done better, but how can it compete against all the options.
- Roku gives me the option to pay a monthly fee for Netflix, or to rent by the movie from Amazon, or to watch for free on the Crackle channel with advertisements. Those are only 3 options out of many more options.
- Playstation, Wii, and xBox give me many of the same options as Roku and at the same time provide entertaining game that are owned by perhaps 3 or 4 times as many people that have VOD boxes. I have all 3.
- I can still plug my PC into the TV and rent YouTube movies or watch for free with a commercial. I often go to YouTube for free movies because I prefer the one opening commercial to Crackle’s one every 15 or 20 minutes.
- And there are more media players out there with similar options that I won’t even get started on.
So why would VOD dominate the movie watching world? I just don’t see it… or should I say watch it.
Now please don’t be offended it you’re a VOD provider or supporter. This is just the way I look at things and I’m an older baby boomer. I’m not the one to watch out for like x, y, z generation that will decide how this plays out. The younger generations are way more exposed to this stuff than this atypical bb gen’r but a lot of operators recognize this as they focus on broadband so the future is looking brighter for options.
6 replies on “OTT movies equal VOD with more gardens to pick from”
Very interesting post, Roger!
While I agree there is a lot more variety in OTTP movies/TV shows than for On Demand cable TV, there are 2 key issues to consider (at least for me):
1. How good is the OTT Video quality when played on a large flat panel TV?
2. Do you have to install new video codecs/plug-ins that may harm your computer or spy on you?
Personal Opinion: Besides Netflix, Hulu/Hulu+ and xfinity (Comcast) I don’t know of any other OTTP movie provider that’s safe. They all require you to install some new software/plug-in that may damage your PC (or make their video codec your default player).
Also, I don’t want to buy a box (e.g. Roku) that front ends my TV to play OTT videos when I’m paying an ever increasing amount of $$s for Xfinity Digital Cable with On Demand. But I’m probably not a good sample, because I don’t watch a lot of movies. Mostly, I watch real time sports.
OTT movies can not compare with the video quality you get from On Demand or a DVD. When you dispaly an OTT movie (except for Netflix via the Roku box) on your TV, the qualtiy is not nearly as good!
I agree with Alan and Joe. Often the quality isn’t as good, but I’ve watch some HD that’s pretty darn good. Also it simply beats watching TV and all the commercials. I’ve sort of had it with quantity of commercials. I don’t have to install new codecs (like networks often require) with YouTube, and of course not with the boxes, so that’s no longer an issue. And I just don’t have an issue with quality… it beats out quantity (of commercials). But again I’m a baby boomer not the new gens that aren’t buying TVs and are watching OTT. Also though, I don’t think they’ll change to be like others my age when they grow older, cause options will have changed drastically by then.
Yes, by the time they get to your age, to paraphrase the old song, they will just stick the cable (or virtual cable) in their veins and get “TV OD”. I can’t find the song and who wrote that song, but I did find an earlier reference to an article I posted on this topic (where I quote that same song) at this link:
http://www.viodi.com/newsletter/050200/article3.htm
I agree Roger!
The quality of HD movies from Roku is fine on my 46″ flat screen TV.
A 40 minute show is much more pleasant to watch when I don’t have to watch 20 minutes of commercials during a 1 hour time segment.
I think the younger generations may not be as concerned about quality as us boomers. They have sacrificed a lot (probably unknowingly) in the phone service quality department by only using cell phones (voice and data) for long distance communications.