Redbox Instant by Verizon is entering an extremely competitive marketplace. While the service has the clout behind the Redbox and Verizon names, some are wondering if the service has any real competitive advantages to help it stand out.
Fast Company has run an interesting article taking a look at the service, which is currently in public beta testing. The article concludes that Redbox Instant has “no clear advantage” over other streaming video providers, calling it “an awfully lazy attempt to compete with … already established players”.
From the article:
To tick off the biggest problems: Redbox has far less content than its arch rival Netflix; it inexplicably offers no TV shows, essentially making it the opposite of Hulu; it has no original content like HBO Go; nor does it come with streaming access on an endless array of devices, as Amazon’s Prime service does. Worse yet, talk with those behind the service, and they’re almost unable to explain in any compelling fashion why consumers would want to spend cash on Redbox Instant as opposed to another streaming option.
Fast Company concludes that the only real differentiator for Redbox Instant is the access it provides to nearly 40,000 Redbox kiosks across the country.
What do you think the advantages of Redbox Instant will be? Or does it have any?
[via Fast Company]
I don’t know how RedBox can keep up with NetFlix.. Net Flix has them hands down. One thing I do like about the RedBox deal. Is the (4) free movies a month. Now if they can put the new movies out online when they hit the RedBox. That will help. But they will need to to do much more if they are going to make it work..
NetFlix has TV shows, Closed Caption, and Old Movies/TV shows. More.
RedBox will have a big fight on its hands soon. To make this work..
I will check it out. Try it. Why not! But I will keep my NetFlix. And my Block Buster two out at a time..
Granted Redbox has very limited programming compared to Netflix; however, there is one possible advantage that was not mentioned by Fast Company–VERIZON!
Anyone who is fortunate enough to have FIOS service knows that it is superior at streaming AV.
If Redbox can come up with: surround-sound, sub-titles/closed caption, 4k and other features to its content [exploiting the greater fiber bandwidth], it will compete with others.
It won’t compete if it cannot get good content. They are so far behind if they have zero tv shows? Really?
Vernon,
What you say is good food for thought. But to compete they will need to open it up to everyone. Not just the VERIZON users. And they must have Closed Caption on everything. NetFlix will have it on everything by 2014.
And they have it on all kinds of TV shows and Movies now.
RedBox can not limit itself. It will need to come out fighting to take on NetFlix. I will see just what it is when it comes out. But I will keep my NetFlix. And Block Buster two out at a time. I really don’t see how RedBox can compete with NetFlix. I do like that you get (4) free movies. But that will not do it.
There are about 30 million fiber accounts now and that number probably won’t increase by much overtime.
Also, if LTE continues to exploit spectral potential and wireless services afford decent bandwidth, than the redbox/Verizon partnership *might* be good option. Technological advances are always a wild-card for the newcomers. But as others have posted, the race started awhile back, and redbox/Verizon are way, way behind.
I am always hoping that more players come into the streaming space, giving everyone multiple choices [either cost or content].
Shane check out Aereo…
NEW YORK — The Barry Diller-backed Internet company that challenged cable and satellite TV services by offering inexpensive live television online plans to expand beyond New York City this spring.
In the wake of a federal court ruling that tentatively endorsed its legality, Aereo will bring take its $8-a-month service to Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington and 15 other markets in the U.S., as well as to New York’s suburbs. For the past year, the service had been limited to New York City residents as the company fine-tuned its technology and awaited guidance on whether its unlicensed use of free, over-the-air broadcasts amounted to a copyright violation.
A federal judge in New York ruled in July that the service doesn’t appear to violate copyright law because individual subscribers are assigned their own, tiny antenna at Aereo’s Brooklyn data center, making it analogous to the free signal a consumer would get with a regular antenna at home. Aereo spent the subsequent months selecting markets for expansion and renting space for new equipment in those cities.
“The court decision was the green light in our perspective,” CEO and founder Chet Kanojia said in a recent interview at Aereo’s sparse offices in a former engine factory in Queens. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime to build up something meaningful to change how people access TV.”
Aereo is one of several startups companies created to deliver traditional media over the Internet without licensing agreements. Past efforts have typically been rejected by courts as copyright violations. In Aereo’s case, the judge accepted the company’s legal reasoning, but with reluctance.
If the ruling stands, Aereo could cause a great deal of upheaval in the broadcast industry. It could give people a reason to drop cable or satellite subscriptions as monthly bills rise. It also might hinder broadcasters’ ability to sell ads because it’s not yet clear how traditional audience measures will incorporate Aereo’s viewership. In addition, it could reduce the licensing fees broadcasters collect from cable and satellite companies.
Broadcasters have appealed the July ruling. At a November hearing, appellate judges expressed skepticism about the legality of Aereo’s operations. In addition, the original judge’s ruling was preliminary, made as part of a decision to let Aereo continue operating while the lawsuits wind their way through court. Even if courts continue to side with Aereo on the legality of its setup, broadcasters still could nitpick on the details and try to argue that the antennas don’t actually operate individually as claimed.
Despite Aereo’s initial win, copyright attorney Kevin Goldberg with the firm Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth rated Aereo’s chances “a toss-up. You really are trying to break new ground here.”
With average monthly TV bills exceeding $75, Aereo is positioning itself as a cheaper alternative. For $8 a month, subscribers in New York get 29 over-the-air stations. They can watch shows live and record up to 20 hours using Aereo’s Internet-based digital video recorder. Subscribers get 40 hours of DVR space for $12 a month and can reduce that to less than $7 by paying for a year in advance.
Great find.
:)
If they have newer movies they will win hands down. If they have 30 year old crap like Amazon it will be just another streaming service. VuDu would be winning right now if their prices weren’t so high because they’re the only ones who stream in 1080p. As a consumer here’s what I want. Newer movies, even if they’re crap, in 1080p, at .99 a download or a low monthly fee. Give me that and you’ll rule the movie universe.
I have a been using RedBox Instant for about a week now.
There are 3 categories to pick from: Streaming; Kiosk; Rent/Buy
Streaming has very little content. I can absolutely confirm this. Also, there are a few small glitches that need to be worked out. One of the movies I watched had a problem where the video would stop, the audio would keep playing, and then the video would skip and then catch back up with the audio. Very weird.
Kiosk is where you can pick out your movies to pick up at your local Redbox, just like reserving online. It uses your allotted disc rentals first. After that it will automatically charge your credit card on file.
But Rent/Buy is what really makes me angry. It’s just a video rental service (like VuDu). Why the hell would I pay a monthly fee to have access to a digital rental service. And this is where all the “fresh” content is.
The prices to rent are absolutely insane. $5 to RENT a movie. Seriously, WTF!
At least why not have it the same price as a disc rental at the kiosk?
I’ll tell you what I did, I saw a movie I wanted to watch on the Rent/Buy section, and reserved it at a kiosk using one of my 4 disc rentals allotted.
After my free trial expires, I will NOT pay to renew my membership.
Can you tell me if this has Closed Caption?
THanks……
No captioning so far.
Hi,
Thanks for the info.!
If Redbox can rent physical media for $1.20/day, why couldn’t they, or Netflix, stream a new movie for the same price? I refuse to pay such extortionist prices to stream a movie. I have internet speeds fast enough to get the best HD VUDU can through at me, but I refuse to pay the price, I’d rather rent the Blu Ray for $1.50.
It makes no sense, seeing as how it costs more money to stock kiosks and buy physical media.
I’ve been using Redbox Instant, and it is underwhelming, very, very disappointed! My first thought was… “i waited 9 months for this??” There are a hundred or so movies, most of them older. Some are HD, but the only value i see is the 4 credits you get per month at the kiosk. Unlike promotional codes though, the credits can not be used on /towards Blu Ray rentals???? That seals it there…. i think i will cancel and see what they are up to in 6 months… for now, it’s not a real player in the streaming world. Netflix has NOTHING to worry about from Redbox Instant. Can’t believe it took 2 companies to figure out this worthless service!
Hi SomeGuy.
Thanks for the info in your post… Just tells me what I have thought all along.
NetFlix Has them hands down. I think RedBox is a day late/and a buck short.
Have a good safe one.
Book’em Danno!
Hello All,
One thing I have found out. McDonalds has a hand in RedBox. They own part of the Co. IF, now I am saying IF?? If this is true? I do not go to McD’s Do they have RedBox at them? When you get your last weeks frozen bugger, can you get a RedBox movie also?
I go to IN and OUT myself…
Have a good one people.. And Rock on….
Book’em Danno!
I signed up for the free trial, and was very disappointed that there is no Roku support. I’m going to use my 4 physical rental codes and then cancel.
They have none. They are just going to lose money on this. It will probably go down as one of the big failures of 2013
I just found out this morning from one of my coworkers at DISH that the four discs a month from Redbox’s new service could be Blu-rays if you pay more. So not only do they have nothing good to stream, you have to drive and go pick up your discs, and you have to pay more for the high quality of Blu-rays. This is NOT my idea of a deal worth considering because it’s not really a deal. I’m happily staying with DISH’s Blockbuster @Home. Not only can I stream movies that I’ve heard of before, but also I can rent an unlimited number of DVDs, Blu-rays, and video games by mail, and I don’t have to pay extra if I want a Blu-ray or video game instead of a DVD.
It was my unlucky day when I was selected to participate in the Redbox Instant Beta. This release is far from Beta, it is not yet ready for Prime-time.
It is advertised as Unlimited Streaming + DVDs [Free Trial] $8/mo. Basic Subscription. 4 DVD Credits. I was able to use the 4 credits for the kiosk, but it was hardly worth the trouble.
Not all kiosk movies are available to Reserve with the Redbox Instant membership. You can go to the regular Redbox.com site and see all of the new releases and good movies, but in Redbox Instant, they are hidden from the members.
The selection of movies are terrible, it is all the knock off movies that Redbox has, 10,000+ downloads of crap! All of the movies that you see at the kiosk where the title sounds very similar to some blockbuster at the theaters, but just a little different to trick the gullible. Seriously, the only movie that I could find in the entire selection that I could even watch, but never got the chance to because it doesn’t work, despite trying in the FireFox, Chrome, or Internet Explorer browsers was “Looking For Lenny (Unrated)” Documentary, not a blockbuster, but seriously the best of the entire selection on any genre.
However, when I attempted to view it, I got the following error:
“An error occurred while attempting to retrieve the media file”
http://www.redboxinstant.com/product.html#/ab22e7a0-2cf6-4034-90b2-9e646f09dacc/Looking+For+Lenny+%28Unrated%29
Other times, I would get this type of error “Server Error -
We cannot complete your request at this time. Please try again later.”, like when I tried to see if “Thor” would work. On another try the error was different:
“This title is currently not available. Please try again later.”
Finally, I got the same error as with all other Instant videos:
“An error occurred while attempting to retrieve the media file”
I could not get 1 movie to stream for me.
The blockbusters are available on the site, but not unlimited, they up-charge you to view. Like for “Ted”, that came out Tuesday, the following were the options for “Watch Now”:
Rent HD $5.99
Buy $9.99
Buy $16.99
Other slightly lower prices were available for older movies:
Rent $4.99
Buy HD $14.99
The website as a whole needs a lot of work, nothing really works right and it is just confusing. This service is no where near the level of other competitor website, namely Netflix. This is too bad, since Redbox is so great a the kiosk. Don’t change the business model or don’t let Verizon steer Redbox into a mess, this service sounds great on the surface, but it will not be something that anybody signs up for will keep for long. As soon as they figure out what is really offered, they will feel duped and run for the hills.
Wallstreet and shareholders beware, this is not a service that will help this business.
Hi,
Thanks for the Info.. And I am seeing more and more people saying the samething..
Looks like a bad set up that will get worse as it goes…
I have NetFix. And doing just great with it..
And going to keep it…
RedBox will be no box soon if they keep this mess going..
I understand it is a start up.. But from what I hear. This is one big mess of a start up.
And people are going to go by what they see right up front.
And this just sounds bad!
Just my two bits….
Redboxinstant is a joke! I didn’t even try to watch anything because I couldn’t find anything I wanted to watch. Just cancelled my subscriuption, you can’t even delete or update your credit card info, hope they don’t charge it anyway.
I use vudu.com to stream HDX to my htpc, yes its expensive at $5.99 a movie.
Right now, the only other streaming service that offers HD streaming to Windows PC, is CinemaNow.com and only if you have a 2nd generation or higher Core i3/5/7 processor.
We really need something to fill the streaming void between Netflix’s mostly older movies and vudu’s new releases but for a monthly flat fee.
I’ve been browsing on-line greater than three hours lately, yet I by no means discovered any attention-grabbing article like yours. It’s lovely value enough for me. In my view, if all webmasters and bloggers made just right content material as you did, the net might be a lot more helpful than ever before.
Redbox Instant = EPIC FAIL. Just got my beta code. A few hilariously old movies, a few newer ones already on HBO, thanks. No TV shows, no movies even worth driving to a kiosk for.
Whoever put this together should be fired. Will either lower prices to $1.99 a month (and it’s not worth even that, unless it comes with one top-of-the-line kiosk movie per month) or be out of business about six months after they open.
I’m not even bothering to waste the gas to pick up my ‘free’ movies. I’ll just call on Monday and cancel my free trial. People, don’t waste your time.