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Not cost effective or convenient at all ...
1) Kiosks are not nirvana. Anybody who has stood in line at a Redbox kiosk waiting for kids to browse through just 250 movie choices can attest that it is not always a fast process. Multiple kiosks add throughput, but at multiples of cost (not just a 10-20% increase).

2) Proprietary hardware is problematic, costly, and inconvenient. My house has 4 TVs + DVD players, 2 portable DVD player/viewers, 2 iPods, and 3 laptops. Between me, my wife and two kids, we use all of these devices to views movies and TV shows, not just ONE TV in the living room.

3) Microsoft DRM requires connection to the internet and is not always reliable. I've used the Netflix system and the license acquisition is not always seamless.

4) I have doubts that this will be any more cost effective to the CUSTOMER. I can rent DVDs from a kiosk for $1 per day. I can access a huge library from Netflix for about $1.60 per movie (or less). I sincerely doubt the flashcard solution will come in less than $1 per movie to the CUSTOMER.

5) No way do I believe $2000 per kiosk, not for something that is durable, maintainable, and standalone. Touchscreen, card processing, networking, disk storage, and a rugged station will probably cost closer to $5K-$8K, which is still much cheaper than the robotic DVD kiosks ... but for the vendor, not the customer.

6) Games. Rentable via physical media, not via flash, at least using the current consoles.

So I think it's more of a solution down the road when DRM is either dead or streamlined, and prices are down in the cents-per-movie range. Until then, there's just not a big advantage to the customer, especially considering the limitations (try losing the key!)
Posted by: terry flores   Posted on: 03/03/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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A dead duck  roberto_maietta@... | 03/03/08
Look at Apple...  fde101 | 03/03/08
For every 1 itunes customer  roberto_maietta@... | 03/04/08
RE: Coming soon: Movies on flash memory cards  mrlinux | 03/03/08
Where do I sign up?  nucrash | 03/03/08
Hah...conscientious objection already!  techboy_z | 03/03/08
And this is different than . . .  JLHenry | 03/03/08
When it comes to renting  voska1 | 03/03/08
MS DRM "technology" vs "standards"  n00b-herder | 03/04/08
What does this mean for poor Sony and Blu-Ray?  JLHenry | 03/03/08
Makes sense  Prognosticator | 03/03/08
Can't wait for the pirates  itanalyst2@... | 03/03/08
RE: Coming soon: Movies on flash memory cards  richard233 | 03/03/08
There is still a rental business  nucrash | 03/03/08
tHE INDUSTRY BEGINS TO CATCH UP WITH THE PIRATES?  lucan07@... | 03/03/08
Flash, especially if fixed for lifespan  Boot_Agnostic | 03/03/08
Still easier to pirate  Larsix | 03/03/08
The internet, as of 2006, was handling 10,000 petabytes.  CobraA1 | 03/03/08
Not cost effective or convenient at all ...  terry flores | 03/03/08
I completely agree  roberto_maietta@... | 03/04/08
DRM isn't the only issue ...  terry flores | 03/04/08
Value...  Wolfie2K3 | 03/04/08
It won't make it past the major test phase  stano360 | 03/04/08
Don't see the problem...  Wolfie2K3 | 03/04/08
RE: Coming soon: Movies on flash memory cards  winesipper | 03/04/08
RE: Coming soon: Movies on flash memory cards  cavlosnap@... | 03/04/08
$60 issue  stano360 | 03/04/08
The way to sell it...  Wolfie2K3 | 03/04/08
RE: Coming soon: Movies on flash memory cards  TheSimulacra | 03/04/08
RE: Coming soon: Movies on flash memory cards  TheSimulacra | 03/04/08
RE: Coming soon: Movies on flash memory cards  ylen76 | 06/25/09

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