The movie I chose in Module 4 was “Minority Report” starring Tom Cruise. Believe it or not I didn’t have to rent or purchase the DVD nor purchase a download through any website. Much of the movie and various clips were available on You Tube. I viewed a large amount of the video straight from my computer. Dr. Thornburg (2009) describes the consequences of a Red Queen in that there is a “Huge competition between two technologies in the process all other competitors are left behind.” Thornburg (2009) describes Increasing Returns as when “Two innovations hit the market at the same time. By chance one technology is locked in and drives the other to extinction."
With this in mind I feel that the current competition between DVD’s and video on demand is more Red Queens. More and more consumers are purchasing and viewing movies online, in some cases cable and satellite companies offer these same on-demand services to its consumers, making it even more accessible through their home televisions without ever having to step foot into a Blockbuster. At the same time DVD purchases are being pushed and advertised, these same advertisements are seen online urging customers to “download now” or through cable and satellite providers urging customers to press the “buy” button to view a movie.
When I think of DVD’s and video on demand as they relate to the four criteria of McLuhan’s tetrad, I feel that they fall into the categories of Enhancing and Retrieving.
Laureate, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Red qeens. [Web]. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199715&Survey=1&47=3951732&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
Laureate, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Increasing returns. [Web]. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199715&Survey=1&47=3951732&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
Wandra
ReplyDeleteEven the new DVDs from Disney come with a way to download the movie and take it along with you. I agree that this change is being influenced by the Red Queen. On Demand and streaming of video will replace the DVD, but everything will have its cost. Instead of paying late fees I am sure they will be new charges that we will incur for having these services.
Hi Wanda,
ReplyDeleteIn line with your comparison of DVD’s and online movie download and Dr. Thornburg’s statement you quoted, I can think of several additional examples, like the cassette and 8-track, VHS and Beta, and Blue Ray and HD. All three were innovations that hit the market at the same time and one technology finally won out and drove the other to extinction.
Also, there was the large version of the video disk and the DVD, but that did not last long. When you look back over technology development throughout history, we can see the same trend. As one company or country develops a technology that improves the performance, another company or country always comes up with a better “mouse trap”.
Thanks for your nice explanation!
Ginger Harper
I didn't think about watching it on You Tube, although I should have! My husband and I do not have cable, so I use You Tube to watch certain things that I have missed. I know, I am in an emerging tech class, but I don't have cable! Ha!
ReplyDeleteHey Wandra,
ReplyDeleteI would have never thought of using Youtube. Thats cool. I agree with you about the two formats being Red Queens becuase these are the most widely used formats for viewing movies.