“Only 30 titles are currently featured, ranging in price from the $10 mark down to $6 for The Kovak Box,” MacNN reports. “Some movies can alternately be rented in HD, for as much as $4 or at a base level of $2.”
MacNN reports, “Most of the movies are lesser-known or unpopular ones, but some recognizable names are present. These include American Psycho, 3:10 to Yuma, The Bank Job and The Doors.”
Full article here.
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Ooh – They have the unrated version of Hot Tub Time Machine.
LoL
These movie studios certainly encourage stealing. Why can’t I buy Avatar in HD. I can only rent it. I don’t want the Blueray version because I’m done with physical media. They should stop playing the game of “you can only rent in HD but not buy”. Asshats.
The Doors and American Psycho?
Sweeeet!!!!
I prefer physical media until this whole creating an account for DRM purposes dies off. I’d rather have my movies on a shelf then split amongst four different services on seven different devices. I’m happy to RENT digital movies but not to own them until all these experiments begin to solidify.
A. Psycho is a must-see you haven’t yet.
Mac4lfe
I don’t want the Blueray version because I’m done with physical media.
If it’s a blu-ray, you can:
Give it as a gift to someone.
Trade it with someone, for a different blu-ray disc/dvd.
Take it to a “used video” store (Video Max), to get money back.
Now tell me, HOW CAN you do that with a “download”? Well? I’m waiting.
And last, but not least, is the quality BETTER than 1920 x 1080p ?
Oh I forgot 3D blu-ray is next. Go ahead and download. As long as it’s BETTER than blu-ray, and you have ALL the advantages of blu-ray! Otherwise YOU may be done with physical media but…
Several companies will make it easier to have your purchased movies accessible anywhere on any device from the cloud. That’ll be better than having to manage downloads and syncing. (offline syncs will be offered.) However, you’ll be tied to a particular service and DRM model. We’re not headed toward legal digital utopia — the movie industry won’t allow it.
I am waiting until the non-blueray Avatar becomes available in HD. Apple: hurry up.
“I am waiting until the non-blueray Avatar becomes available in HD. Apple: hurry up.”
You don’t really think Apple has a say on when an HD download becomes available, do you?
I don’t understand the desire some people have to own movies in any format. Music, I certainly understand, because I listen to my favorite songs over and over again. Movies I watch once and usually not again. Really good movies, I might watch immediately for a second time. If I want to see it again, I can pay to rent it again (or use my Netflix). If I had purchased it on a disc or digitally, the cost will be higher (unless I end up renting it more than two or three times) and it will no doubt appear in some brand new super duper format that will make my old purchase dated.
Buying it digitally is especially bad, because each movie ends up taking up GBs of storage and backup space forever. I have videos in iTunes (both movies and TV shows) that I will probably never play again, yet they are still there taking up space because I once paid a few dollars to download them; I have videos that were downloaded for free that I have not deleted. Note to self: I should probably do some “spring cleaning” in my iTunes library.
@ken1w, I agree with all your points. The “might watch immediately for a second time” is precisely why they put the 24 hour rental limit. After you rent for a few days, you realize you’ll never need to own the movie. After the 2nd or 3rd view even for a great movie, most people have tapped out on a film.
One thing that alleviates the storage and format issue is the emerging services like CinemaNow where the movie is kept “in the cloud” (or locally as needed for devices) and you can access whenever/wherever you want in any appropriate format. Hopefully, consumers win as a few competitors adopt this model… but as I said earlier, DRM will be tied to a specific service.
cw for the win
It seems most people don’t like the idea of paying 10 dollars for this. I agree. It’s B.S
@ cw –
The encoding quality on the Blu-Ray disc is SIGNIFICANTLY better than that in the digital download version, yes. Pixel resolution is not the only issue — video compression is a complex beast.
The space and data rate afforded by the BD-DVD and the appliance are still much better than what can be reasonably transferred via broadband internet.
Which is why I haven’t bought any movies in years. Can’t / won’t pay for Blu-Ray, and I’m disappointed by digital downloads.
I bet this is just to start the ball rolling and test the technology. They’ll get more titles soon.
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