Red Queens and Increasing Returns

When I decided to obtain the DVD, Minority Report, for my science fiction assignment in Module 4, I originally based my decision on the prospects of retrieving it from a digital server similar to Netflix or Blockbuster.com. I was familiar with Blockbuster.com as I was a customer for more than a year; however, before deciding on the reinstating my membership, I thought I would try Netflix. I even went as far as creating a free trial membership during the weeks of Module 3. I had never ordered a movie digitally from any site besides Direct TV Movie on Demand, but I thought this might be a great time to try.  Because my television was not easily accessible to viewing the movie in this manner, I had to resort to finding the DVD.

Redbox was my faculty of choice because, in all actuality, I ceased my membership with Blockbuster.com due to the convenience and price of Redbox. Redbox is a retail movie rental facility that uses kiosks to dispense movies for a nominal fee.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as I had anticipated because the movie I had chosen was only available in Blu-ray. I was very happy that my 19-year-old gamer was still home for summer break, and before heading to work gave me a quick tutorial on using his PSP to watch the movie.

I am inclined to believe that the current competition between DVDs and video-on-demand is an example of increasing returns as evident of the closures of so many DVD retailers.  Yes, the economy has had a hand in these closures, but the video-on-demand concept is a technology that has flooded the market place. If the concept related to kiosks in dispensing DVD was introduced earlier, it could have had the opportunity to be a Red Queen. In my opinion, the kiosks have kept DVD rentals in the market.

Relating to the four criteria of McLuhan’s tetrad, the video-on-demand has great potential in rendering DVD’s obsolete by rekindling more control of what is personally viewed on television screens.

~Wanda Ardoin-Bailey