RSSDay and Date On Demand Movies Tested
By Ed Oswald | Published December 19, 2006, 6:26 PM
Comcast's on-demand service is quite popular, mainly due to the wide array of free programming. But the cable provider now wants to turn it into a revenue driver, and is testing a service that would allow its customers to rent movies on demand on the same date it is released on DVD.
The films would cost $4, roughly the same price as renting it from the local video store. According to The New York Times, the service is currently offered in Pittsburgh and Denver. Normally, it takes as long as one to two months before movies make it to on demand services.
However, DVD sales have slowed, and on-demand is now widely available. The convergence of these two factors makes such a tie-up between cable providers like Comcast and the movie studios all the more profitable for both sides.
At least one studio, Warner, is providing its movies through the service. Comcast is declining to comment on the offering, although it has been advertised locally in both markets. Executives from Warner believe that there would be a market for the service, as Comcast has done well with its current offerings.
A study by research firm Claritas recently showed that 54 percent of digital cable subscribers use VOD, up 15 points from last year. Of those who use VOD, 53 percent watch movies through the service, up 13 points from 2005.
I would also order them through comcast for $4 if they are in HD.
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|It only makes sense...I don't see why this wasn't the case in the first place anyway, since they're only losing money to blockbuster and netflix. $4 a pop probably won't work though, since Blockbuster has a $27 unlimited plan, and since Block. and Netflix have an online service. Still, this is the way to go.
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|If the movies are in HD, I would definitely spend the dough to watch them in my own theater the day they come out.
Smart idea from Comcast for only four bucks a pop.
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|HD cable service is a joke compared to satellite or Verizon's fiber optic TV. With cable the HD signal is converted from digital to analog on its way to your home and then the signal is changed back from analog to digital by your converter box or TV tuner. This means you get a grainy HD picture with cable.
By comparison the HD picture you get on Verizon fiber optic TV or satellite dish services such as DirecTV or Dish Network stays in its original digital form until it gets to your TV. This means that what you see on your TV screen is identical in every way to the original broadcast.
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|Well for 1. Verizon FiOS is not very far or widespread as yet....so lets wipe that one off the list for now. Now for directv, personally I didn't get it because though they have a pretty clear compare chart with myth vs. fact, I use Comcast primarily for on demand - now I see where they say they offer it, especially with FX - but I can't find it in the lineups anyplace, so I'm assuming I'd have to tack it on extra someplace, or pay per view their on demand list. I get almost every channel there is on comcast incl. all premiums and all Video On Demand (Premium channels) for $99 a month....not into sports so I'm not sure about the seasons packs etc. Find me a better deal and I'll switch, it must have HBO, Starz, Cinemax and Showtime On Demand included in the package, it must have 250+ channels and must be $99.
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|Thats crazy $99 for all those channels? I get HBO channels and only the channels you get with an antenna plus my internet though and it comes out to more then $100 a month. I get no basic cable channels or showtime or any other movie channels. Maybe its a Massachusetts thing with Comcast but they charge an arm and a leg around here compared to satellite which my apartment building doesn't allow anything besides comcast.
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|I disagree, Comcast HD looks better than DirecTV or Dish but the opposite is true for standard channels. I've had them all and I'm very picky when it comes to video.
DTV and Dish's HD looks very very compressed and pixelated.
I havent seen Verizon's yet.
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|Dish Network's DishHD Platinum $99/month package includes far more channels than Comcast. Also, even though Dish Network doesn't specifically include Showtime On Demand all of Dish Network's PPV programming is in HD. Comcast can't beat that. Even better yet, every single HD channel on Dish Network broadcasts everything in 5.1 channel Dolby Digital surround sound. Comcast broadcasts HD in stereo.
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|Uh...every HD program I've watched on Comcast shows up as being in 5.1 on my receiver. Plus, I can hear it. So, your claim that Comcast broadcasts HD in stereo is entirely false.
I feel weird defending Comcast though...I absolutely hate them.
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|Whatever Comcast representative you talked to (if you DID talk to one) to set up your service, well...they can basically give you whatever you want for whatever price they want to give you. The guy I talked to gave me every channel EXCEPT the Showtime and TMC tiers, plus 8Mb/768Kb internet (although the download speeds reflect a 12Mb connection...mmm) for $110/mo including taxes and other fees. A friend of mine gets everything Comcast offers, including the premium VOD content for about $90/mo.
Oh by the way, it's illegal for your apartment building to discriminate against satellite or OTA broadcasts. If they don't allow it because they don't want dishes seen on the walls or roof, well, they HAVE to allow it. It is teh laaaw.
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|I have my Motorola cable box connected to my receiver using a fiber optic cable and nearly all of the shows on premium channels such as Showtime and Cinemax come through in stereo Dolby Digital sound. So far, the InHD channel is the only channel I've seen in Comcast's HD lineup that broadcasts everything in 5.1 channel surround sound.
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|Apartments only have to allow satellite if you have an area pointing to the south that you exclusively control. Apartments are NOT required to provide a place for you to mount a satellite dish if one does not already exist.
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