What's up with the pricing for downloadable TV series?

[Groo The Perverted]

I went to Itunes today to look into the possibility of me downloading the seasons of Lost.

I'm getting away from the downloading shows via the internet, and buying the sets. Seeing as how everything is going digital eventually, I thought I'd just start buying some shows via Itunes.

The seasons of Lost on Itunes is 39.99 for standard def and 49.99 high def.

ARE YOU BLOODY KIDDING ME????

50 bucks for season 1 of lost on HD and 40 bucks standard def???

Five letters come to mind, and they are GTFOH.

Is Itunes the only place to get these? And if not, are those prices the same everywhere?

[assydingo]

Originally Posted by Groo The Perverted

I went to Itunes today to look into the possibility of me downloading the seasons of Lost.

I'm getting away from the downloading shows via the internet, and buying the sets. Seeing as how everything is going digital eventually, I thought I'd just start buying some shows via Itunes.

The seasons of Lost on Itunes is 39.99 for standard def and 49.99 high def.

ARE YOU BLOODY KIDDING ME????

50 bucks for season 1 of lost on HD and 40 bucks standard def???

Five letters come to mind, and they are GTFOH.

Is Itunes the only place to get these? And if not, are those prices the same everywhere?

[Clark Kent]

There just is not the same value in buying digital downloads as packaged media. The cost per episode, as you can tell, is outrageous with downloads. Which is complete greed, considering downloads cost a fraction of physical media to create.

[Groo The Perverted]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

There just is not the same value in buying digital downloads as packaged media. The cost per episode, as you can tell, is outrageous with downloads. Which is complete greed, considering downloads cost a fraction of physical media to create.

That's what I'm talking about. I mean, you'd think with the lack of packaging and shipping and whatnot, that it'd be a lot cheaper.

I'm willing to go 25..maybe 30 buck a season at most, but damn...They're not cutting down from like 2.99 or so an episode for the entire set.

[wallendo]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

There just is not the same value in buying digital downloads as packaged media. The cost per episode, as you can tell, is outrageous with downloads. Which is complete greed, considering downloads cost a fraction of physical media to create.

Other than special collector's sets, the actual cost of physical media is negligible. BD's are less than a dollar each, and the packaging probably cost a dollar or less. When buying a TV series, you are primarily buying a license to view the programming, this is the major part of the cost. As a result, downloads should probably go for $4-6 less per season. The studios, not Apple, set the prices, and they choose to maximize profit.

I prefer to purchase programming on BD, partly because the quality is better, but also, like many others, a physical product has more value to me than a file off the internet.

The only advantage I can see to digital downloads is that you can acquire individual episodes over the course of a year instead of waiting for the final set months later.

In the more distant future, digital downloads may play a large role in financing television programming. Shows with a niche market such as Firefly, Terminator:SCC, Dollhouse, etc. could be released on a subscription model (although I would still like to be able to purchase the programming on a BD at the end of the season).

[Groo The Perverted]

Originally Posted by wallendo

The only advantage I can see to digital downloads is that you can acquire individual episodes over the course of a year instead of waiting for the final set months later.

Well I like digital downloads because of a few reasons.

1. I don't really collect physical cds anymore, and it's a lot easier to just download the files via Amazon or Itunes.

2. It doesn't take up any space aside from the hard drive. So there's no boxes of discs taking up space. If you live in a small apartment, or even an average sized apartment that makes a lot of difference if you can just buy seasons of tv shows or whatever, and have them stored on a hard drive that fits in your pocket, rather than one that takes up an entire wall of your apt.

3. Plus it's way more accessible than the physical ones. I can quickly cycle through hundreds of titles or seasons and find the exact one I want to use. No physical items to scratch or get damaged.

The only risk is if a HD crashes. But that's what backups are for. Plus it'd be nice if you could have it set in your queue as a record of purchasing (like the PSN store does with games/demos) where if your HD crashes and you lose everything, you can simply re-download it because it's in your account.

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by wallendo

The only advantage I can see to digital downloads is that you can acquire individual episodes over the course of a year instead of waiting for the final set months later.

I have an amazing box in my living room that allows me to do that now.

I believe the person who sold this magical device to me called it a tel'e viz eon!

A truly remarkable device that I believe everyone will have in their livingrooms in the land of tomorrow!

All jokes aside:

I don't believe that digital downloads are going to be a big 'wave of the future' anytime soon. For starters, it's growth is lagging behind physical media {Blu-Ray} growth by leaps and bounds.

Digital is at least 10 years away... and I heard people saying THAT 10 years ago.

Logan

[Secretagentnumber6]

Yeah digital download pricing makes no sense with TV shows and the like. It is the evil of micro transactions. You think a dollar here and a dollar there, but it adds up quick if you do not pay attention.

[atomik kinder]

Originally Posted by Groo The Perverted

Well I like digital downloads because of a few reasons.

1. I don't really collect physical cds anymore, and it's a lot easier to just download the files via Amazon or Itunes.

2. It doesn't take up any space aside from the hard drive. So there's no boxes of discs taking up space. If you live in a small apartment, or even an average sized apartment that makes a lot of difference if you can just buy seasons of tv shows or whatever, and have them stored on a hard drive that fits in your pocket, rather than one that takes up an entire wall of your apt.

3. Plus it's way more accessible than the physical ones. I can quickly cycle through hundreds of titles or seasons and find the exact one I want to use. No physical items to scratch or get damaged.

The only risk is if a HD crashes. But that's what backups are for. Plus it'd be nice if you could have it set in your queue as a record of purchasing (like the PSN store does with games/demos) where if your HD crashes and you lose everything, you can simply re-download it because it's in your account.

Believe it or not, Itunes does not let you re-download something if you lose it. I have heard a few stories where some people have been able to get Itunes to allow them to do a few things. But in general their policy is you have to purchase it again.

[wallendo]

Originally Posted by atomik kinder

Believe it or not, Itunes does not let you re-download something if you lose it. I have heard a few stories where some people have been able to get Itunes to allow them to do a few things. But in general their policy is you have to purchase it again.

That is correct. It is your responsibility to back up your data to a DVD-R, backup drive or online backup.

For some people, those who make multiple back-ups and store them in different physical locations, this may actually be more secure than a physical disc which can be stolen, broken, burned, etc.

Many people, however, do not make adequate backups, or if they do will keep them all in the same location. For these people, the risks of loss are greater with downloads.

I have an amazing box in my living room that allows me to do that now.

I believe the person who sold this magical device to me called it a tel'e viz eon!

A truly remarkable device that I believe everyone will have in their livingrooms in the land of tomorrow!

Actually the magical device to which you refer is a Dee-Vee-Are. The tel'e viz eon only allows realtime streaming at a date and time of the content providers choice.

[atomik kinder]

Originally Posted by wallendo

That is correct. It is your responsibility to back up your data to a DVD-R, backup drive or online backup.

For some people, those who make multiple back-ups and store them in different physical locations, this may actually be more secure than a physical disc which can be stolen, broken, burned, etc.

Many people, however, do not make adequate backups, or if they do will keep them all in the same location. For these people, the risks of loss are greater with downloads.

Tell me about it. I replaced the hard drive in my laptop, but before I did, I backed up all my songs on DVD-Rs. When I was all done, I went about restoring the songs to my Itunes, but apparently the back up didn't work all that well and a lot of the songs did not restore. I could see that they were supposed to be there, but they weren't loaded back. I ended up downloading a lot of my CDs back in to Itunes one at a time. Very time consuming. Luckily, the only album that I downloaded from them was okay.

[KilloWertz]

I don't really see how $2 an episode in HD is really outrageous. The first season of Lost was 25 episodes. It costs at least that much or more per episode to buy TV seasons on Blu-Ray when they first come out.

[kevinbr100]

Originally Posted by killowertz

I don't really see how $2 an episode in HD is really outrageous. The first season of Lost was 25 episodes. It costs at least that much or more per episode to buy TV seasons on Blu-Ray when they first come out.

but bluray hd is still going to be way better than the downloadable hd version.

the problem i see with purchasing downloads still is what if the drm they use becomes obsolete, what if ur harddrive crashes, or u simply have to keep buying more harddrives for space, what if u want to watch it at ur friends house, what if the online stores close, and the records of ur purchases r lost, so u have to rebuy if u lose ur digital copy, or ur copy just stops working because the license cant be validated anymore.

the benefits of a physical media is the playback devices have a long life. they hold higher quality, extras. helps fulfill that collectors bug. something to physically hold on to, look at, show off. if ur hard drive crashes you dont have to redownload, or lose ur copy. your rights to view cant be revoked. if the store goes out of business it doesnt impact you. you let your friend borrow it, or take it to his/her place. if we go back to the dark ages for some reason, they make good frisbees. you dont need the internet to view.

[jadedeath]

Originally Posted by kevinbr100

the benefits of a physical media is the playback devices have a long life. they hold higher quality, extras. helps fulfill that collectors bug. something to physically hold on to, look at, show off. if ur hard drive crashes you dont have to redownload, or lose ur copy. your rights to view cant be revoked. if the store goes out of business it doesnt impact you. you let your friend borrow it, or take it to his/her place. if we go back to the dark ages for some reason, they make good frisbees. you dont need the internet to view.

I agree wholeheartedly with all of the above.

Logan

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by kevinbr100

but bluray hd is still going to be way better than the downloadable hd version.

the problem i see with purchasing downloads still is what if the drm they use becomes obsolete, what if ur harddrive crashes, or u simply have to keep buying more harddrives for space, what if u want to watch it at ur friends house, what if the online stores close, and the records of ur purchases r lost, so u have to rebuy if u lose ur digital copy, or ur copy just stops working because the license cant be validated anymore.

the benefits of a physical media is the playback devices have a long life. they hold higher quality, extras. helps fulfill that collectors bug. something to physically hold on to, look at, show off. if ur hard drive crashes you dont have to redownload, or lose ur copy. your rights to view cant be revoked. if the store goes out of business it doesnt impact you. you let your friend borrow it, or take it to his/her place. if we go back to the dark ages for some reason, they make good frisbees. you dont need the internet to view.

I'm not saying that people should download tv shows rather than buy them on Blu-Ray. I was just making a point that I don't agree with the OP complaining about the pricing when you compare it to the same seasons on Blu-Ray when they first come out. I buy TV seasons on Blu-Ray rather than download them for obvious reasons and I'm willing to pay the extra money it costs. I've downloaded a few episodes here and there for various reasons because I'd rather watch them on my TV rather than my computer, but that's really beside the point.

[fatediesel]

I'll occasionally buy TV episodes on Itunes or PS3 if my PVR doesn't record something or I'm going on a trip and need some entertainment, but I would never buy a whole season for their insane prices. As the OP mentioned, it is $50 for HD Lost season 1, whereas the DVD is currently $17 on Amazon and the Blu is $35. Also, I've watched programs in HD and SD on both PS3 and Itunes and the difference is barely noticeable. It's nowhere near the difference between HD and SD on TV. If I wanted to keep shows on my computer or portable device I would just buy the DVD, rip it to my computer, and then sell the DVD set.

[Groo The Perverted]

Originally Posted by killowertz

I don't really see how $2 an episode in HD is really outrageous. The first season of Lost was 25 episodes. It costs at least that much or more per episode to buy TV seasons on Blu-Ray when they first come out.

Key words being WHEN THEY FIRST COME OUT.

Lost season 1 you can find on dvd for 15 bucks or so. So why is the standard def Download versions still 40 bucks?

You can find the bluray for way less than 50 bucks.

That's my point though

[mewantyblu]

It really is complete greed concerning the prices for DD ,if they ever want it to take off into the masses then they better start having more reasonable prices , until they do I'm going for the physical media 99 times out of 100

[Groo The Perverted]

Originally Posted by mewantyblu

It really is complete greed concerning the prices for DD ,if they ever want it to take off into the masses then they better start having more reasonable prices , until they do I'm going for the physical media 99 times out of 100

Music, I buy via Amazon MP3 or Itunes (99% of the time via Amazon) but with videos, while I'd love to, there's now way I'll do that knowing I have to pay full price for it no matter WHEN it came out, unless they decide to knock a couple bucks off temporarily, and then knock the price back up.

There's no reason to have to pay 50 bucks for a season of TV that came out back 6 years ago. There just isn't.

[mewantyblu]

I completly understand buying mp3s