A few folks have now reported on 20th Century Fox’s move to offer an electronic copy of the movie “Live Free or Die Hard” along with packaged DVDs when sales begin November 20th. I love the idea, though being touted as DRM-free is a bit suspect given the digital files are only compatible with Microsoft PlaysForSure devices.
A few things come to mind with this “Digital Copy” business model. First, bundling a tangible item and a digital file together makes sense. Despite the incursion of digital downloads, it’s going to be quite a while before we see the death of the DVD, and studios have a great opportunity to get consumers used to buying something with physical packaging in combination with their video content. In the future the tangible part might not be a DVD, but extras of some sort. (Tee shirts? Phone charms? Posters? I’m sure marketing will come up with something.)
Second, these digital files have to become DRM-free in the future. Maybe there needs to be watermarking (or some type of pin number access?), but those files have to be truly portable. There are too many competing platforms on the market for content to be tied to any single one.
Third, in this specific instance, where are the digital file’s video resolution details? How will it be presented on different screens and devices? Perhaps we’ll hear more closer to launch, or from the folks at Warner Home Video – who are trying the same tactic with their December 11th Harry Potter release.