AfterDawn: News

Most consumers still prefer DVD and TV to downloads and streaming

A stuch by industry group DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group indicates consumers aren't sold on watching video online.

The study, titled “Online Content: New Pathways of Discovery and Use”, involved a survey of over 1,000 people, and found that most still prefer watching DVDs or TV to streaming.



Only 10% of respondents said they prefer streaming or downloading a movie, while over 70% prefer either DVD or TV.

Perhaps of more interest was the fact that nearly one quarter of those surveyed were interested in paying to stream or download movies if they could get them at the same time they're released in theaters.

Source: Video Business

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 16 Aug 2007 6:06

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• 14 comments

• anubis66

  they have us enjoying what advertises to us most. funny is it not?

  16.8.2007 06:31 #1

• Unfocused

  So, customers prefer watching shows on DVD and TV, yet viewership and sales are down to all time lows due to piracy and downloading?
  
  Their propaganda has themselves confused.

  16.8.2007 07:17 #2

• SProdigy

  Heheh, I prefer to download it and then watch it on my TV! *GASP* Maybe even through my DVD player! lol

  16.8.2007 08:22 #3

• emugamer

  Yeah, half of those who prefer to watch shows/movies on DVD are probably those who download the shows/movies and burn them to a DVD. And the 10% who say they enjoy watching streaming movies on their PC probably have a stock Dell and no technical savy to realize that they can learn how to stream it to their TV. What a skewed survey. People get paid to release this info? Probably by Sony and Paramount Pictures. Let's get a survey out there where we interview the real consumer, not Grandma and Grandpa.

  16.8.2007 08:22 #4

• Mr-Movies

  I think 10% sounds high maybe 1% you got to love how they misrepresent statistics these days. They can throw any number out there to suit their own purpose and people buy it without even knowing how many people were polled, what regions, or ethnic groups were focused on. You got to love it.
  
  I would rent a movie before downloading it or streaming it is just nuts downloading a 4GB movie and Divx is OK but I'd much more prefer full resolution especially on an HDTV.

  16.8.2007 08:45 #5

• DVDdoug

  Quote:Consumers still prefer watching TV shows and movies on DVD or the TV to watching movies online via Streaming or downloading...
  No kidding! They had to take a survey to figure that out? Everybody watches TV every day! This does not surprise me at all. It's simply more convenient and more relaxing to sit on the couch and push a button on the remote than it is to sit in front of a computer and click a mouse.
  
  The headline says "Most Consumers", but the story says that even "broadband Internet users... who watched three hours or more of streaming video online each week" prefer to sit in front of their TV when it comes to watching video.

  16.8.2007 11:34 #6

• Unfocused

  A survey of just over 1,000 people hardly seems representative of the internet / tech savy / AV consumer population.

  16.8.2007 14:24 #7

• craftyzan

  If I download it, it winds up on CD/DVD. I don't stream it cuz I could loose it in the middle, so there is always a disc somewhere in my media.

  17.8.2007 01:39 #8

• maryjayne

  I dont stream because it requires additional hookups to the TV. I would much rather take the 30min out of my time and burn it to disc and watch it in my DVD player.
  Of the people surveyed, did they actually make sure that everyone knew how to stream media? I know my 48yr old mother barely knows how to work a computer let alone stream a video to her TV.
  As for DVD vs TV: if you dont have TIVO then why wouldnt you prefer DVD? You can pause and rewind DVDs and not have commercials...

  17.8.2007 06:13 #9

• iamx

  The whole point is that TVs are not a FAD. They've been in homes for 50 YEARS. In people's minds, TVs are for watching video content, and computers are for (well nowdays) the internet. There is still a major separation between the 2 technologies. When I want to watch a movie, I watch it on tv, not on my computer. I use my computer for the net. Pretty much the rest of the population feels that way. The TVs sole purpose is for watching video content. I don't see the TV becoming obsolete to the computer anytime soon.

  17.8.2007 07:53 #10

• simpsim1

  Quote:The study “Online Content: New Pathways of Discovery and Use” surveyed 1,035 broadband Internet users in the U.S., ages 18 to 49, who watched three hours or more of streaming video online each week.I think these results are fairly easily explained.
  
  I suspect it pertains more to ease of use and final quality than anything else. With more and more high-res media types and larger screens emerging, people are going for quality. So the good old DVD wins hands down (Obtained legally or otherwise. Note that this survey has no reference to illegal downloading). Also, those that have ever used a streaming service have probably found that not only is streaming media generally of poorer quality, but the service itself is rather "hit-or-missy", with the odd freeze or artifacting expected, dependant on the speed of the connection (Not everyone has a 150Mbit connection like the Swedish do).
  
  There's also another problem. Here in the UK, ISPs are starting to panic about streamed media services swallowing up bandwidth and are talking about throttling them during peak times. I'm not being funny or anything, but isn't this when most people would want to be watching this sort of thing?

  17.8.2007 10:52 #11

• craftyzan

  I do use a video capture devise to capture TV programs to my computer just like a VCR then burn it to DVD or CD. But sense that's a disk involved and it's not the other way around, don't think it counts...but first I cut out all commercials!
  

  Crafty

  17.8.2007 12:35 #12

• borhan9

  This is partialy true due to the fact that consumers would like the DVD because it comes ad free. The only thing that i could say that needs changing is the price of the DVD's of New TV series box sets.

  19.8.2007 20:56 #13

• Unfocused

  @borhan9
  
  It seems like the price of box sets is picked out of a hat. Sopranos listed for around $80 a season when they were new, yet I picked up Entourage seasons 1 and 2 for around $20 each.
  
  Now, some might say that the price depends on the number of discs, but if that is the case, how come I was able to buy Lost season 1 and 2 for around $35 each.
  
  The only other thing that pisses my off about box sets is that some of the 80's TV shows are not being released as they were on TV. I bought the Super Mario Super Show awhile back. That brought back some memories, but that set doesn't include the Zelda cartoons that aired on Friday's with the show. If I want to see these, I need to buy another boxed set.

  22.8.2007 16:15 #14