You're spot on. I never consider how little I actually use my 1 dvd plan - but you're right - I do see it as a security blanket and a type of ownership - even though I usually just pirate movies to save my lazy ass the effort instead of sending in and reserving the next dvd I want.

The streaming is close - it's incredibly convient, it's great when the movies are in store, but the quality is still questionable due to issues around silverlight and the general questionable nature of the US internet infrastructure - mostly a last mile issue I suppose.

I had to stop by a client's house two weeks ago - I usually don't make house calls and tend to focus on corporate gigs, but she - a lawyer in her mid 40s - pays the bills - to help her with setting up her Netflix streaming on her internet enabled TV. She's able to use and can afford the internet enabled TV, but I doubt that she was savy enough to use a computer hooked to a TV. I suspect when more televisions come internet enabled, then we will truly see the demand for streaming services take off.

I'd be curious to see what Netflix's marketing researched showed - assuming that they did any - around perceptions of their brand and the challenges and ease of use of around streaming service. I'm also curious if they have any marketing consultants involved and what their guidance was.