Friday, June 5, 2009

Youtube to premiere its first full-length movie

A documentary called Home will be the first on Youtube to be available the same time as the theatrical version. This is a big move by Youtube to increase profits and advertising rates in an attempt to get some of its market share back from rival Hulu. Don't expect any mainstream blockbusters to be on the list just yet, but it is a step in the right direction.

This idea is good and all, I'm happy anytime anyone makes it easier for people to see movies. I also think this is a great way to combat piracy. The one thing I don't like, though is there are commercials, placed at random intervals without any regard to the particular scene in the movie. I guess the real question will be, does anyone actually care about this, or has Youtube come and gone the way of Napster.

I, personally use Hulu any time I can, but Youtube just has so much content, it will be hard to avoid. I am not one who will watch a movie on my computer, however. There is something to watching a movie on a TV, or especially in theaters; the experience will always be better. Will this really be an alternative to trekking to the movie theater or your Netflix queue? I would say it probably will be, for a pretty large group of people, provided the commercials and pop-up ads don't get too extensive.

For me, I'll stick to my DVD's, thanks. How about you, if there is a movie on Youtube, will you watch it or stop by your local Blockbuster or put it in your Netflix queue?

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