XSTREAMHD Signs Deal with Lionsgate

[duckydan]

Even if they do it is cheaper to go the .25 miles from my house and pick up a blu at either blockbuster or red box....

This has been the biggest problem I have with the service. My blockbuster has unlimited rentals (2 at a time) for $24.99 a month counting blu-rays. I can also sign up for 3 at a time rentals on blockbuster.com which includes movies and games for $19.99 a month. Furthermore I have a blu-ray player that has Vudu (which has everything XtremeHD has except for DTS HD-MA. So to sign up for a service that has a high setup fee, a $10 a month access fee, and then I have to pay $5 for every movie I want to watch makes it hard to justify the purchase.

That said if the service is able to provide high definition theatrical releases as has been rumored in a few articles then I can see some value in it as I see 1-2 movies per week in theaters. That however would also depend on pricing as it currently costs us $18 (for me, my wife, and my daughter) to see a movie in theaters... therefore the sweet spot in pricing would be under $15.

[truckracer]

The high start up fee will weed out the customers who wouldn't stay with the service. Directv and dish should charge full price for receivers and equipment to stop the customers who constantly switch from one service to another.

If you can't afford the equipment you probably can't afford to stay with the service for years to come.

[duckydan]

The high start up fee will weed out the customers who wouldn't stay with the service. Directv and dish should charge full price for receivers and equipment to stop the customers who constantly switch from one service to another.

If you can't afford the equipment you probably can't afford to stay with the service for years to come.

I'm not sure I agree with that statement. Before I was making what I make now it was hard to pay every bill but tv is a necessity in my house more than a luxury. If I had to pay for a dish and receivers from D* I would have stuck with OTA before subscribing. That said D* gets about $125 a month from me for my package and a monthly UFC PPV. Is it worth it for them to lose that $125 a month in exchange for $450 up front? Also if I have to pay $450 up front then I can guarantee that they will not be getting their receivers back when I cancel. I would say the same goes for XStream. If I spend that up front cost and deem that the service is inadequate or does not provide me with the service I want then when I cancel the server and equipment are mine.

[Mike0616]

The high start up fee will weed out the customers who wouldn't stay with the service. Directv and dish should charge full price for receivers and equipment to stop the customers who constantly switch from one service to another.

If you can't afford the equipment you probably can't afford to stay with the service for years to come.

That IS the way that the satellite companies used to be and they had very little penetration in places that had alternatives available as cable companies didn't require that you purchase your hardware or sign up for long-term contracts. To be competitive, the hardware costs HAD to be reduced if they wanted to reach the markets where consumers actually have choices. (Also, note that there were no ETFs, long-term contracts, etc. back then, and would venture to say that that has led to more cash-flow stability for D* & E*.) Also, if D* & E* were to revert to previous pricing models, it would make FIOS and Uverse marketers jump for joy!

It appears to me that XStreamHD is going after the same market that the satellite companies did when they started, those without choices. There are so many ways to get HD movies around this metro area that I don't think they will do much in this market, particularly with their current pricing model. Per the 2000 census, under 15 million people (less than 5% of the total) do NOT live in a metro area. Hmmmmmm...... What percentage of that less than 5% has the disposable income and desire to buy the hardware and pay the monthly fees? I hope that XSHD spent the money on the marketing research to find out, but I don't think I want to invest any money in them at the present time.

Will XSHD be around long? Who knows? Voom (among others) had a nice model, but you see where that went.