Major Studios Limp Into Present, Offer US Movie Downloads
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Written By Reprise Media | April 3, 2006 | Share This
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Movie lovers in the United States finally have a way to legitimately download and own major films. Beginning today, Movielink.com, jointly controlled by Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, Fox and MGM, will digitally offer films from those studios, while Sony and Lions Gate will distribute films via their CinemaNow service.
The news gets less exciting from there. Although we’re glad most of the big studios (Disney’s still holding out for now) have safely arrived here in their time machine from the year 2002, little about either service is attractive enough that consumers might bolt their DVD players. A back catalogue of select movies will become available right away, but newer films will be released online either on or within 45 days of the DVD street date, so there’s no time-based incentive to download. Microsoft DRM protects the movies from being burned to DVD (except for backing up) or being enjoyed on a portable device. And while Movielink does allow movies to be transferred to two other computers, CinemaNow films are stuck on the machine that downloaded them.
And don’t think that bypassing the packaging and the shiny plastic disc will result in a discount: pricing is described as ‘competitive’ with DVD, meaning that comsumers opting to legally download sacrifice portability and most bonus features in return for…not having to go to the store to pick the thing up. At least with Universal’s UK-based download service, customers will get a DVD mailed to them.
We know, we know. Baby steps. Industry people are confident that portable device transferability and DVD burning will become available within the year, but by that time Amazon, Wal-Mart and Best Buy will also likely be in the movie download game, and being first won’t mean much if the studios don’t give cinephiles more reasons to dig their services.
Topics: ECommerce |