Convergence devices good for Hollywood
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Written by Atila on July 6, 2008 – 2:57 pm
Boy Genius Gregory Kling says movie studios fear AppleTV. But I’m not sure they do, and I don’t think they should.
Yes, movie studios are paranoid about downloads, and yes, movie studios are rapacious, greedy corporate entities that will stop at nothing to maximize a buck.
But paid downloads via iTunes Store and AppleTV must be nearly pure profit for movie theaters - they don’t have to pay for any packaging or shipping costs, and the store becomes yet another distribution channel.
Casual movie fans will want to download movies for fast watching. Serious movie fans will do that and they will continue to buy the DVD packages that actually add some value (how many really do?) with useful extras such as deleted scenes, alternate endings and behind-the-scenes “make of” documentaries.
We spent hours watching all of the extras included with the “Lord of the Rings” extended versions, and were willing to pay the few extra dollars required. We’ll likely buy the 25th anniversary version Peter Jackson joked about in one of the directors’ commentaries that will include even MORE extra footage.
PC-TV convergence devices like AppleTV will be good for movie studios, if only they can get their heads out of their collective rear ends long enough to realize that the more ways they get movies to people easily, the more people will watch them.
Finally, PC-TV devices will get that downloaded video out of the computer onto the big screens everyone either has or wants in their home. Good movies will look better, whetting the public’s appetite for more.
