Costs of XstreamHD thread

[Don Landis]

I thought it would be a good idea to gather thoughts, opinions and facts on what this service will cost us to use and have in place.

Hopefully this single thread can be a collection point for us and the business to understand what is acceptable, i.e. what we are willing to pay for such a service.
All's fair in this thread and comparing to alternative programs sources should be encouraged.

For openers, I'd like to request Scott to post his FACTS regarding what he has learned from xstreamHD as to how the equipment and service costs will impact us. That is- will the equipment be leased or owned. Will the programming be PPV, Pfor all day, Pay for a week available, or permanent pay once or even monthly for a number of downloads.

In order for this to sell it is quite evident from other threads that it largely will be dependent on how competitive the pricing is. I agree but this pricing must be measured against value. In 2010 it is no longer an issue of HD availability, nor is it really an issue about PQ as all providers are doing a pretty good job of delivering within 85-90% of maximum PQ and audio quality, so the service has to boil down to cost, quantity, and variety.

[SatinKzo]

I too wish there was some very definitive info because everything I read now (not sure if fact or rumor/speculation) makes me wonder how this thing will not be just stillborn brain-child of some innovators who got some investors to buy in and all seem to be out of touch with the industry and what the consumer will pay.

[vurbano]

I thought it would be a good idea to gather thoughts, opinions and facts on what this service will cost us to use and have in place.

Hopefully this single thread can be a collection point for us and the business to understand what is acceptable, i.e. what we are willing to pay for such a service.
All's fair in this thread and comparing to alternative programs sources should be encouraged.

For openers, I'd like to request Scott to post his FACTS regarding what he has learned from xstreamHD as to how the equipment and service costs will impact us. That is- will the equipment be leased or owned. Will the programming be PPV, Pfor all day, Pay for a week available, or permanent pay once or even monthly for a number of downloads.

In order for this to sell it is quite evident from other threads that it largely will be dependent on how competitive the pricing is. I agree but this pricing must be measured against value. In 2010 it is no longer an issue of HD availability, nor is it really an issue about PQ as all providers are doing a pretty good job of delivering within 85-90% of maximum PQ and audio quality, so the service has to boil down to cost, quantity, and variety.

I just think someone would have to be really hard up for HD on demand or really lazy given that you can get BD's from blockbuster for a great price every month with an online subscription and unlimited in store exchanges.. Id like to see the math on this service that can justify it.

[K9SAT]

They dont have me sold on a priceing point either. 399 is really steep given current economic conditions. Two years ago I would have bought one no questions asked, now I can barly afford what I have. Im really not sold especally with 1 TB drives going for as low as 80 bucks on price grabber. They need cut their prices in half and then we can talk. Untill then I think Ill be out of the Xstream HD game unless given a winning mutlitmillion dollar lotto ticket. (i dont play the lotto either, cant afford it)

[Scott Greczkowski]

This service is not aimed at the "cheap service" it is aimed currently for the folks who want the best.

I honestly believe at $399 that they are losing money on each system they sell. The drives in here are not $80 drives they are heavy duty drives with a 2 year warranty on them. They are server grade drives. And that's not including the high quality equipment which can handle outputting lossless 7.1 surround sound etc...

Will it work? I don't know only time will tell, however I intend to give them a fair shake and see where they go. What I saw at CES was really exciting.

[n0qcu]

Looking at their specs I sure hope they just have incorrect info on the site or they have a serious design flaw,

It states they have three ATSC UHF, 14 - 69 tuners, that would make them worthless to people that have VHF stations.

[stonecold]

Yeah i would be a deal breaker for me too since where I live 3 of the major networks actual broadcast channesl are between 2 and 13 VHF only 1 major network is above 14.

[SatinKzo]

This service is not aimed at the "cheap service" it is aimed currently for the folks who want the best.

I honestly believe at $399 that they are losing money on each system they sell. The drives in here are not $80 drives they are heavy duty drives with a 2 year warranty on them. They are server grade drives. And that's not including the high quality equipment which can handle outputting lossless 7.1 surround sound etc...

Will it work? I don't know only time will tell, however I intend to give them a fair shake and see where they go. What I saw at CES was really exciting.

Well, there is upscale customer and there is just fools with money customer. No offense to you Scott cause I know you are doing what you love to do in test this stuff out and we all know you will have no problem calling out flaws.

I do think they are probably losing money on the hardware as most of the tv/sat companies do with new customers. Heck even sony had to subsidize the PS3 to get it into homes.

I just think the pricing structure of the "service" is way out of line. The only advantage this offers over things like Vudu is the lossless audio and maybe an improved bitrate for PQ (yet to be seen how it performs in the real world setups).

I'm sure as more info comes to light it will make some more sense or make less sense on the pricing, but to me a monthly fee just to have the privilege of the service is absurd.

I'm glad you are going to try it though cause it will be a unbiased assessment of the company and its product.

Looking at their specs I sure hope they just have incorrect info on the site or they have a serious design flaw,

It states they have three ATSC UHF, 14 - 69 tuners, that would make them worthless to people that have VHF stations.

I just noticed that this morning too. I have 4 VHF ( CBS, NBC and 2 PBS and I watch PBS alot) stations so if it only tunes UHF, it's definitely out for me.

[K9SAT]

This service is not aimed at the "cheap service" it is aimed currently for the folks who want the best.

I honestly believe at $399 that they are losing money on each system they sell. The drives in here are not $80 drives they are heavy duty drives with a 2 year warranty on them. They are server grade drives. And that's not including the high quality equipment which can handle outputting lossless 7.1 surround sound etc...

Will it work? I don't know only time will tell, however I intend to give them a fair shake and see where they go. What I saw at CES was really exciting.

I dont think the "upscale" market is going to be big enough to turn a profit! Also the Upscale market is getting smaller, lets face the fact your in the poor house or you have more money than you know. Anything in between that is disappearing.

[vurbano]

Looking at their specs I sure hope they just have incorrect info on the site or they have a serious design flaw,

It states they have three ATSC UHF, 14 - 69 tuners, that would make them worthless to people that have VHF stations.

Yeah ABC here has gone VHF