Just got this from my entertainment attorney Mark Litwak...
INTERNET DOWNLOADS OF MOVIES BEGUN
Internet movie services Movielink and rival CinemaNow have begun to provide permanent downloads of movies from major studios on the same day the titles are released on DVD.
Movielink offers titles from Universal, Warner Bros., MGM, Sony, 20th Century Fox and Paramount. Sony, MGM and Lionsgate offer their titles through CinemaNow.
Downloads will cost about the same as the price of a DVD with older releases selling at a reduced price.
Movielink and CinemaNow beat out Apple, Amazon and Google to become the first to offer permanent digital downloads in the U.S.
Movielink's service includes recent releases such as Pride & Prejudice, King Kong and Rent. CinemaNow will launch with 75 films from Sony and MGM, including Memoirs of a Geisha, Bad Boys 2 and Easy Rider. With Movielink, users can transfer download copies to two other computers and burn a backup copy on a DVD. But the DVD will only be playable on a computer and not on a set-top DVD player.
Both services use Microsoft Windows digital rights management technology.
Knew this would happen soon with HD-DVDs right on the horizon. This is just the FIRST step, but a very important one. Soon enough, this will be the norm. The days of renting movies from Blockbuster will come to an end in the not too distant future I predict...
-Blake
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2 comments to "Download Movies Now"
Robert Hogan says:
These services won't last, the reason why is becuase what they don't tell you in the press release.
-Downloading the films is more expensive ($20-$30 compared to $10-$15 for new releases at WalMart and Amazon).
- You can only view the films on your computer. You will not be able to burn the films to a DVD to enjoy on your TV.
- The only support Windows XP and 2000. All other operating systems are out of luck.
- No extras like commentaries or special features.
Rob
Blake Calhoun says:
Thanks for the comment...
Yeah, I read the same stuff. But I disagree totall that they won't last. These early issues will be worked out and so will the pricing, etc. As I said, this is the FIRST step in moving towards digital download VOD.
A lot has to happen before it will be the norm, but it will be one day sooner than later. The main thing for me will be the ability to easily connect the internet to your TV and play back films (perhaps via a Tivo like device?).
-Blake