Aren’t DVD movie rentals are a couch potato’s wildest dream come true. No trips to the local video store. No return dates to worry about, no problem about losing out money on bad prints. Well what more can you ask for? This relatively recent trend has taken the dvd rental market by storm, well not completely, but at the rate of growth it currently enjoys, it will definitely boast of a large mature market in the next few years.
The DVD Rental industry is currently pegged at 8 bilion $. Pioneered by Netflix, who used a simple internet based service with a tie-up with the US Postal Service.
If you are an avid internet dvd rental aficionado, you probably are in love with Netfilx with your ex- being BlockBuster Inc. BlockBuster Inc, with close to 6000 stores across the US was caught on the wrong foot by Netflix, but was quick on its feet.
So, what was it that caused the local stores to give away their premium position to the internet DVD rental fellows? A host of reasons. 1. These rental service providers have a basic model wherein you register with them for a monthly fee. Amongst the various DVD rental plans they offer, the major criteria is whether you go for an unlimited or limited number of dvds per month. The cost is low if one goes with the former, with the price of a movie coming down to a third of its original cost.
2. You receive a package by mail – That’s the best part – No running to the store involved.
3. There are no late fees levied almost all of these plans, which is the biggest bait that these companies offer. Keep the dvds for as long as you like for a monthly rental and you receive the next set when you return the former set. That gives you the liberty of watching the movies at your own free time.
4. Another advantage is the seemingly unlimited stock of movies that are available, so that you don’t have to wait in the queue for the latest ones.
Basically, what is it that has helped in the internet dvd rental boom? The first is of course the tremendous popularity of dvds that has almost completely ousted the vhs market. In fact major Hollywood studios earn more from their DVD sales than from the movie releases itself. Second, of course, is the fact that the current dvd rental companies have seen the opportunity in internet and are fighting tooth and nail for this lucrative market.
So, what do you look for when you search for a internet dvd rental service?
1. Fee Structure – There should be free two-way shipping, no late fees and a wide variety of movies to select from. 2. Reliability – Whether the provider is reliable and there are no delivery hassles. 3. Reviews – Most such services provide critical reviews, classification and news stories about the latest movies. 4. Search Capacity – Should have multiple search indexing based upon movie title, etc, so that it is easier to trace the movie that you want to watch.
So whats the fuss all about HD DVD (High Definition Digital Versatile Disc)s and Blu-Ray Discs? Seems that just when everyone is happy - not exactly though - about the crystal clear movies they watch on their oh-so-good home theatres with dolby digital sound, the biggies have launched into a full-scale war over tomorrow's technology.
HD DVD? Blu-Ray? How does that matter to me? Seems pretty similar to a guy happy not so long ago on the VHS - DVD? Doesn't matter.
You could say that the data available on a single disc makes the difference. DVD is capable of multiple subtitles, DTS sound, scene selection and much more, simply because of the tremendous data capacity - How much is that? 4.7 GB - over 120 minutes of high quality video and a great deal of solid features.
So much and much more in a DVD. So, why are we talking about HD DVD and BDs? Blame it on the guys who stretched the TV, so that they became more of wall features than cabinet ones.
Though it is just one of the reasons, it is worth its ground. Today's giant flat screens need a resolution which is over the limit of what a normal DVD can supply. PLUS, you can use the extra space which a HD DVD or a Blu-Ray provides. There's always some more stuff to fit in.
So, what exactly does "extra space mean"? Thats 15 GB for a HD DVD (close to thrice the DVD space) and 25 GB for BD (you can do the calcs on that one). And again, we are talking about single layer ROM (Read Only Memory). For dual layers, multiply the disc space by two.
So what else can the two new technologies offer me that a normal DVD can't? It basically boils down to pixels - more resolution per frame - and audio fidelity for a video. However, we are forgetting the game phenomenon. 3D - Games get more than a face-lift on the these, especially the Blu-Ray Discs.
Does that mean that the DVD players you have wont be able to play the DVDs that are going to come over the next few years? The earlier ones will will come with both HD and normal DVD formats. However, there's no doubting the fact that the DVD as we know it today will be outdated over the years to come.
Whether the Blu-ray hits one over the HD DVD is yet to be seen though.
