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Death of The Video Rental Store

Death of Video Rental A few weeks ago, I was sitting at a traffic light by the Hollywood Video store near my home and glanced over at the empty parking lot. This was not an unusual sight because for years the parking lot at the Hollywood Video was always empty. But looking a bit closer, I realized the space was being gutted and prepped for an upcoming Advanced Auto Parts store. The Hollywood Video store was gone for good.

To be honest, I have not entered a video rental store in probably 10 years. But, I still felt a bit sad and nostalgic for all those Friday and Saturday nights back in the early 1990’s that I spent in the video store perusing the shelves for the newest flick with my boyfriend (who is now my wonderful husband). Rows and rows of videotapes, which eventually changed over to DVDs, were all lined up right at our fingertips. We really enjoyed going to the video store.

But then my husband and I stopped going to the video rental store. And it looks like everyone else stopped going too.

20% of US Peak Bandwidth used by Netflix Instant

North America Network Downstream Traffic Profile Fixed Access According to a study by Sandvine, 20% of non-mobile internet traffic during prime time can be attributed to Netflix instant accounts during prime time usage periods in the US while streaming media accounts for 43% of peak period traffic. While Netflix accounts for almost half of the streaming bandwidth between 8p and 10p utilized by only 1.8% of Netflix subscribers.

While only 1.8% of Netflix subscribers are using the streaming capabilities, CEO Reed Hastings envisions Netflix as a streaming service. β€œIn fact, by every measure, we are now primarily a streaming company that also offers DVD-by-mail.”

I happen to agree with Hastings as my video content viewing has dramatically changed from TV to Netflix Instant since I dropped premium channels such as HBO and Starz. In addition to the 1 disc in mail I tend to watch a movie or TV episode on the iPad at night and I’m watching less and less TV except for the few shows which I follow.

Content in the cloud (both audio and video) is the future.

Source: Wired

Netflix no longer requires disc for PS3 and Wii

Wii and PS3 offer disc-less Netflix streamingComing on the heels of Netflix announcing that PS3 consumers no longer need a disc to stream Netflix content, Netflix customers with a Wii console can begin streaming movies from the service without the Netflix disc starting this week.

Last week, Sony launched the disc-less service for PS3 console customers. PS3 customers, unlike Wii customers, will be able to view Netflix content in high-definition viewing with surround sound.

Best Buy to compete with Netflix et al. in digital movie download business

best buyIn a move that seems obviously like an effort to emulate the success that Netflix and Amazon has had with their digital entertainment download services, Best Buy is throwing their hat into the ring as well.

No start date yet, but the service called Blue Sky Video will give its customers one free movie download every month. Well, that’s a good way to lure new customers over!

Sony and Netflix got together so you can stream Netflix movies to your PS3

Got a PlayStation3 ? Then you might want to think about getting one, because Sony just came up with one more reason for you to buy one: Netflix. Yes, Sony and Netflix got together so that you can stream Netflix movies to your PS3.

As long as you have a Netflix account, there is no extra charge. Launches next month. Sign up at http://www.netflix.com/ps3.

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