What is wrong with this article? Can you spot the mistake?
A new survey from market research firm Parks Associates has found that few consumers in the US are satisfied with the videos they download from the Internet… “People don’t see a reason to use video downloading services,” said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates in a prepared statement. “Sure, it saves a trip to the video store, but it takes longer, looks worse, and you end up watching it on a 17″ screen. No wonder consumers are dissatisfied with the experience.” He noted that niche markets will emerge, but mainstream consumers will remain lukewarm about the video download experience. Good news for DVD makers, perhaps, but certainly not the feedback that online distributors like Apple are hoping to hear.
[via ContentAgenda.com]
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They seem to be lumping all genres together – so there’s no distinguishing between movies, tv shows, podcasts, paid vs. free, mainstream vs. amateur etc.
August 11th, 2007 at 4:47 am
Hmmmmmmm.
First, no distinction between downloading and streaming–the latter being fairly instantaneous.
Second, many services let you view once the first X minutes has downloaded so you don’t wait hours.
Third, it’s been a while since the 17″ screen was the norm for home computers.
Fourth, the assertion about lower quality I’m not sure about.
And finally, you could push the video to your TV if you want.
That what you were looking for?
August 11th, 2007 at 7:55 am
I personally agree that currently online video offers a less than perfect user experience and that DVD are still prefered by consumers. That said, this is an issue that is being adressed by reputable online video providers. Also, there are multiple video distribution technologies online and you can’t lump all of them together – that would be like lumping all ofline video technologies together. Some of these distributors are getting close to providing a seamless user experience whereas others may never get it right.
I also agree woth Surinder regarding the fact that we need to investigate different types of video content separetely. Some types of video content only exist online. Whereas video content that was designed for movie theaters or TVs are becoming better supported everyday. Therefore, DVD makers may still be on top but that does not mean that they will be able to hold this position – the competition will only get tougher as companies like Apple and Microsoft (via X-box) improve their services.
August 12th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Um… they’re forgetting about the hundreds of thousands of people who are downloading movies via bittorrent
August 13th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Don’t ask what they think, track what they do/download. Of course they’re dissatisfied : they’re being asked ‘are you satisfied’…
I guess you could conduct the same research on music you would get the same answers.Or about the dvd few years ago.
BTW I love the ‘people don’t see a reason to use video downloading service’.
Oh and can you read a DVD on any digital device ?
August 13th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
It’s more fundamental than anything said so far. You can’t ask people to rate things they don’t understand. The research is asking people who are failing to use the opportunities correctly. It’s worthless opinion. Show people how to use technology then ask them to rate it. You can’t ask a person what a Ferrari is like to drive when all they’ve done is ride a bicycle while reading a Ferrari brochure. Whoever commissioned the research, ask for your money back.
August 13th, 2007 at 6:31 pm