delivering product exclusively online
 

just kinda wondering if anyone has stopped delivering DVDs, and only started putting finished product online for viewing? Or at least charging extra for DVDs? I would love to just upload and be done at this point with the quality available for downloading.

I think too many people don't have a good enough quality computer to view HD video on their systems. We all have computers that can view HD on them, but that is because we all work on HD video all the time.

Plus I think if you deliver entire products, the bandwidth bill would be more than what discs would costs.

Hi Scott!

I'm 100% positive that day will come. I won't make any predictions when though. I've started delivering on flash drives, which is a step in that direction. There are a lot of suppliers that will engrave and print on aluminum flash drives. They've got some weight to them and you can send them in attractive tins or boxes. Makes for a nice presentation. 8gb drives can be as little as $20 in quantities of 25. Right now I just have them engraved with a generic 'Our Wedding Film' and offer the option to purchase the drive by itself or with one or more WD TV's:

WD TV HD Media Player ( WDAVN00 )

I'm sure that day is coming, but not today. I'm already having trouble finding digital pictures I took of the kids two years ago, but that 15 year old box of prints is still in the closet, and those 20 year old photo albums are right where I left them. Wedding videos, just like wedding photos are expected to be saved forever (or at least for the life of the owners) not disposable like a NetFlix download.

I don't know if we'll ever be to the point where digital copies are as easy to track as physical items. A computer crash or novice computer user can easily wipe out a hard drive. Plus what happens when you upgrade and forgot the wedding video was not backed up?

I'm not saying that DVD (or even Blu-ray) is here to stay - but a physical deliverable is.

Probably a better solution right now would be to provide both - a physical deliverable and a downloadable digital copy that is available for life (meaning the life of your company!)

Online delivery for how long exactly...? Who is paying for the bandwidth/storage?

I deliver a DVD, keep a master, wait a few months and archive the files "just in case"... I can't see online delivery of the same package being very practical, and open to too many variables/risks.

I like the 8G flash drive idea, but I think I'd still want to offer a regular DVD for compatibility, seems like a dynamite add-on for HD delivery, may consider it!

Obviously the client would. Perhaps not directly in a monthly fee. I don't provide any service without someone paying in some manner, shape or form.

With something as valuable as a wedding film, I can't imagine not getting a hard copy of some sort if I was the couple. So let's assume Company XYZ shoots/edits and hosts the wedding film online. What happens when Company XYZ suddenly goes out of business and disappears?

Purchasing music online has been around for years now, but I know plenty of people who still want a physical CD in order to feel like they really have it.