Rich Fiscus
14 May 2009 1:12
Despite all the attention garnered by technology like streaming video and internet VOD, Americans still spend more money on discs than any other type of video delivery. In this year's update to their annual Entertainment Trends In America survey, analysts at the NPD Group found 88% of money spent on home video acquisition going to DVD and Blu-ray purchases and rental.
"Discs are still and by far the dominant way Americans enjoy home video, but there is an increasing appetite for digital options," said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD. "The good news is that the consumers engaging with digital video today also tend to be heavy consumers of DVDs and Blu-ray Disc, but it remains to be seen just how long physical discs and digital formats can co-exist."
Of course spending on discs and streaming aren't mutually exclusive. If you happen to be one of the several million Netflix subscribers you get access to their Watch Instantly service for free. As a result they've managed to become the country's most successful streaming video provider.
But there are still obstacles to streaming that go beyond dollars and cents. It's not terribly unreasonable for many Americans to stream a DVD resolution movie, but HD content isn't quite so simple.
With more than two and a half times the number of pixels, the bandwidth required for streaming even 720p video isn't quite as readily available or cheap. VOD services like the one offered by Blockbuster, address that problem by letting you download before viewing.
For now it looks like the hurdles to internet-based video are big enough that you shouldn't expect discs to go away anytime soon.