Sony Wants You to Buy Hancock, But Not on DVD

We told you that the DVD is dying, and now Sony is trying to hasten the burial. According to the New York Times, Sony is planning on selling Hancock digitally before it comes out on DVD. As soon as Hancock has made its run in the theaters, Sony will put it on sale online, all in an effort to change the way you buy movies.

What’s that? You ask if there’s a catch?

Why, yes there is. How did you know?

True to form, Sony is being snobbish about who can access their media. Hancock will only be available for download to consumers who own a Sony Bravia TV that is hooked up to the Web.

Meaning most of you reading this will not be able to purchase Hancock before it comes out on DVD. Sorry for getting you excited, but we blame Sony for being so close-minded. The New York Times article claims that this experiment could change the way we purchase media. We’re not so sure.

Yes, we want to buy movies before they come out on DVD. Yes, we would like digital copies of movies. And yes, we’re okay with Sony changing the way we purchase movies. Just don’t make us join some exclusive Bravia club in order to be part of the fun.

This would be a great way to sell movies, but Sony is too worried about cross-promoting their movies with their TVs. Newsflash Sony: Millions more people would actually purchase movie downloads from you if you made them available to everyone. Why do you think people are only lukewarm about the possibility of downloading movies to a Playstation?

Ultimately, Sony is probably worried about DRM. The Hancock download is likely slathered with DRM code that makes the file spontaneously combust if you try to take it off the Sony Bravia TV. If they really want to make a movie download business work, Sony will have to stop being snooty about content or whether or not we exclusively run Sony electronics.

And until they change their business model or you end up joining Club Sony, you’ll still be waiting until your favorite movies come out on DVD.

Apparently DVD isn’t as dead as we thought.

Since you’ll still be needing a DVD player for the future, stop by our review of DVD players to see which rank the highest.

And don't forget to check out:

It’s an Arthritic Bird, It’s a Burning Plane, It’s… Hancock: Trouble for the Troubled-Superhero Movie