Wal-Mart Stores announced Tuesday that it will launch its own video downloads service this week beginning with an exclusive "Superman Returns" DVD bundle containing a video download option with purchase of the physical DVD.
Wal-Mart currently accounts for about 40 percent of all DVD sales in the United States. By launching its own service, industry watchers say Wal-Mart can protect that DVD market dominance.
In a press release, Wal-Mart said the service would be available to its customers on Wednesday in all Wal-Mart stores nationwide.
With the purchase of the "Superman Returns" physical DVD, Wal-Mart said customers can also choose from three video download format options -- $1.97 for portable devices, $2.97 for PCs/laptops, and $3.97 for both portable players and PC/laptops.
The retailer said the physical/digital DVD bundle would offer customers the flexibility to watch the Warner Bros. movie on their TV, portable devices as well as their computers.
View: The Full Story
News source: CNN Money
Wal-Mart currently accounts for about 40 percent of all DVD sales in the United States. By launching its own service, industry watchers say Wal-Mart can protect that DVD market dominance.
In a press release, Wal-Mart said the service would be available to its customers on Wednesday in all Wal-Mart stores nationwide.
With the purchase of the "Superman Returns" physical DVD, Wal-Mart said customers can also choose from three video download format options -- $1.97 for portable devices, $2.97 for PCs/laptops, and $3.97 for both portable players and PC/laptops.
The retailer said the physical/digital DVD bundle would offer customers the flexibility to watch the Warner Bros. movie on their TV, portable devices as well as their computers.
View: The Full Story News source: CNN Money
I own the damn DVD..why am i being double charged again..how about we make the customer pay:
$10 to watch it in theatres
$20 to buy the DVD
$4 to download it to watch it on PC
Another $20 to buy the Extended Directors Cut
Another $4 to download the extended Directors Cut
Total: $58 for a damn movie that wasnt that good to begin with
Awesome..Long Live Capitalism
As for your rights, these are much more limited than you seem to believe. Yes, you own the DVD. The physical media. However, you only license the movie on it, subject to the copyright holder's terms of use.
That's what I was thinking. You could rip the DVD to your portable device, but instead they want money every chance they can get. Greed - and it's only getting worse.
It's the same set of laws.
The more you shop at Walmart, the more middle-class jobs are transferred to China, and the more average citizens (who are lucky enough to still have jobs) are now forced to shop at Walmart because they can't afford to buy anything but cheap imported Chinese goods. And this says nothing about the increasing empowerment of the Chinese government which is growing fat and powerful on its trillion dollar+ trade surpluses with Western nations.
People worry about Microsoft, but it's Walmart (and China) that will end up owning the world if people don't bite the bullet and stop giving their money to this rapacious predator.
People always say that - what about Canada!? It should be "North Americans or Europeans". We're always left out...
Quite true. However, Walmart is far and away the worst offender. If Walmart was a nation, it would be China's fourth largest trading partner.
As for what can be done about it, the US, Canada, and the EU could impose tariffs on goods produced in China and other cheap labor markets equal to the difference in cost between their goods and ours that is a result of their failure to spend the money that we do on infrastructure, the environment, health care, and so on; the things that not only drive up the cost of producing goods, but the quality of life in those countries where money is spent on these fundamentals of civilization.
Such tariffs would help level the economic playing field by forcing Western corporations to decide what to buy and sell based solely on the quality of goods produced rather than the cost of the labor necessary to produce them. That's what fair trade is all about. I know that all things being economically equal, most European and North American companies would have their products made in their own countries where the quality is generally better than that which you can find in the world's cheap – some would say slave – labor markets.
However, don't expect any governments do the right thing. The multinational conglomerates that profit so handsomely from the current setup control everything worth controlling – including the media and governments. The only power that ordinary citizens have is the power of their wallets; the power to withhold their money from those operations like Walmart that are literally sucking them dry.
Of course I don't expect "ordinary" citizens to do any such thing. Low prices are the lubricant that these outfits use to grease up the knob, and I fully expect these citizens to continue to bend over, spread 'em, and beg for more until they're destitute.
Last edited by Octol on 30 Nov 2006 - 13:50
Quite true. However, Walmart is far and away the worst offender.
They also happen to be one of the largest retailers period.
Quite true. However, Walmart is far and away the worst offender.
They also happen to be one of the largest retailers period.
Walmart exploits workers, hires illegal aliens, drives up the trade deficit with China, and destroys local businesses.
It got to be so big and crushed so much of the competition because it cheated and got government backing for its monopolistic activities. Just like a certain other criminal organization involved in the software business I could name.
Don't waste your tine
People always say that - what about Canada!? It should be "North Americans or Europeans". We're always left out...
Shusssh! We're trying not to be noticed! Do you want Bush to invade us for our abundant oil, clean water, and good beer if he notices that we've got lots of those? Use your head.
People always say that - what about Canada!? It should be "North Americans or Europeans". We're always left out...
Shusssh! We're trying not to be noticed! Do you want Bush to invade us for our abundant oil, clean water, and good beer if he notices that we've got lots of those? Use your head.
I'd rather drink some Pyramid or Rolling Rock any day over Labatt Blue. Good beer in Canada? Ha!
Reminds me of that old European joke:
Q: Why do Americans drink their beer cold?
A: So they can distinguish it from urine!
Concerning the Chinese: they certainly aren't any more willing to work for minimal subsistence wages than Europeans or Americans are, but they don't have any choice as they are exploited by the companies and the government as much as possible. They can either work for an apple and an egg or starve to death.
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