Consumers dissatisfied with video downloading

Perhaps a reason for the falling price of Movielink can be found in a new survey from Parks

Associates, the research firm. Few consumers in the United States are satisfied with the videos they download from the Internet, the survey found.

Just 16 percent say the selection of videos available online is good, and only 13 percent say video downloads are sold at a reasonable price. Fewer than one in five consumers downloading video say they plan to download videos again in the future.

Consumers generally download video from one of two sources: peer-to-peer networks that offer unauthorized copies of TV programs and films, or licensed online services like Movielink, iTunes, Netflix, and others.

Low satisfaction levels, the survey said, might be expected for consumers using unlicensed sources because their quality and reliability are generally low — a consequence of being an unlicensed service. Yet consumers who exclusively use legitimate services are unhappy with the experience, the study found.

“People don’t see a reason to use video downloading services,” said John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates. “Sure, it saves a trip to the video store, but it takes longer, looks worse, and you end up watching it on a 17-inch screen. No wonder consumers are dissatisfied with the experience.”

Niche markets will emerge, Barrett said, but mainstream consumers will remain lukewarm about the video download experience. This, he noted, is good news for DVD makers, perhaps, but not for online distributors.

The data is part of “Global Digital Living II,” a 13-country survey of international technology trends that included more than 13,000 respondents.

For more information, visit www.parksassociates.com.