New Movie Download Pay Service 353
SailorBob writes " After nearly two years in production, Hollywood-backed Movielink is giving the green light to its online movie rental service.
The Web site, a joint project of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal and Warner Bros., will debut Monday with a limited selection of first-run and classic films from the five major motion pictures studios, in a test of the technology to select U.S. residents. Though the film studios have licensed content to other video-on-demand sites, it is the first time they've introduced a service of their own.
Of course, just like the new music services, this is also only available to US residents. "
IE only (Score:2, Informative)
And those residing in the US who are using Internet Explorer 5 or later.
Whats wrong with my money? (Score:5, Interesting)
I am interested in this, but they are not letting me in, so does anyone know of any open proxy servers based in the US so I can have a look see?
Cheers
"Work made for hire" is weaker outside the USA (Score:5, Informative)
Dont they want money from outside the US?
The difference is that in the United States, the studios own the movies' copyrights because of the "work made for hire" rule. Elsewhere, the "work made for hire" rule applies less or not at all, and the studios do not own the movies; the director, screenwriter, and score composer do. The studios may have to negotiate a separate contract for each country where the service is offered.
Re:"Work made for hire" is weaker outside the USA (Score:5, Insightful)
I wonder if the UN will soon become the new world copyright enforcement body. I'd love to see a dozen UN tanks parked outside my house when I get home tonight. Maybe I'll even get 'sanctioned.' If that doesn't give my W4R3Z dud3 street cred a bump, I don't know what will.
Re:Whats wrong with my money? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Whats wrong with my money? (Score:5, Informative)
The MM also "convieniently" removes movies files when your rental expires.
30 days: (Score:3, Informative)
Also, it looks like it is offered in Real or Windows Media Player formats.
Re:Whats wrong with my money? -nothing (Score:3, Funny)
They have made this service available to every one withing the four corners of the world...
...of couse since they are from the US, four corners of the world means Florida, Maine, Washington and California.
Re:Whats wrong with my money? (Score:3, Informative)
I don't see how this forces the rest of the world to download the illegal version...you don't have a "right" to the movie or a "right" to watch it. You aren't being "forced" to illegally download it. No one is holding a gun to your head...if you download it illegally, you've downloaded it illegally. You can't use "the legal download service wasn't available for me so I was forced into a life of crime" excuse..that is just plain ridiculous. Stop whining and get on with life.
24 hours to watch it all once downloaded (Score:5, Informative)
When I first saw the headline I assumed it was going to a great step towards truly using the power of the internet and online sales.
However, this is nothing more than glorified movie rental with the user paying well over the odds.
I've been using something called DVDSONTAP for a while now, pay £9.99 a month and rent as many dvds as I like and send them back when I like. $4.99 AND the "pleasure" of downloading AND having to install their DRM crap? No thanks. I'll stick to regular DVD and of course, leeching from usenet
Re:24 hours to watch it all once downloaded (Score:2, Informative)
These downloads aren't exactly small, either (the faq claims that they average around 550MB), so I am not going to wait at my computer for the download to finish so i can hit "play" before my 24 hours runs out...
Re:24 hours to watch it all once downloaded (Score:3, Funny)
Re:24 hours to watch it all once downloaded (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:24 hours to watch it all once downloaded (Score:3, Interesting)
* The services are fundamentally dissimilar. One is "on demand"
I bet I can pop off to the local video store, browse for a while, check one out and be home watching before your download is even half done. (even with broadband)
This service is (probably) faster than the post, but it is hardly "on demand." "Overnight" or "Later in the day (as long as you start early enough)" is a more apt description
Re:24 hours to watch it all once downloaded (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:24 hours to watch it all once downloaded (Score:5, Informative)
Re:24 hours to watch it all once downloaded (Score:2)
Netflix (Score:3, Informative)
I'd say they have an excellent selection of non-mainstream films. Last year I shared the account with my apartmentmate Kate. She definately had non-mainstream taste in movies. I don't think there was a single movie she wanted that she couldn't find on NF.
Cheaper than this new service and higher-quality too. Also more flexible and available to those who don't have broadband.
Netflix spams - avoid them (Score:3, Informative)
Google'd evidence [google.com]
NETFLIX da bomb? (Score:3, Interesting)
One advantage of Netflix over on-demand is that you can watch more than once. With kids, this comes up a lot, and they are heavy consumers of videos if you multiply out multiple viewings. Also the DVD's occcasional offer extra stuff worth watching, maybe not all at once.
They appear to have dropped the 2-disc plan mentioned elsewhere. Oh well.
I would expect on-demand to extinguish transitional by-mail eventually, but won't hold my breath.
If they're spamming, as alleged elsewhere here, I'll send them a complaint emphasizing that I am a subscriber and that's not kosher. I won't give them word-of-mouth if they're using strongarm.
Microsoft Windows only (Score:2, Interesting)
* You Need Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP
They are severely limiting their audience here. While "normal" people will simply go to Blockbuster and rent the DVD, the Internet community doesn't allow have "Windows 98, ME, 2000, or XP".
As I (obviously) can't browse through the webpage, could someone tell me how format these are going to be distributed in?
[BTW, I'm running Mozilla 1.1 on SuSE 8.1 Professional.]
Re:Microsoft Windows only (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Microsoft Windows only (Score:2, Flamebait)
Re:Microsoft Windows only (Score:2)
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Re:Microsoft Windows only (Score:3, Interesting)
Ah.. But "all users on the internet" are not the eligible pool of useres for their service.
The movie downloads are
It would be interesting to know the distribution of OS users among broadband users. I'd be shocked if The non-windows percentage was enormously higher, but wouldn't be shocked if it was somewhat higher (broadband is still a faily geeky luxury)
Next:
Finally: willing to watch on the computer or able to connect the computer to the TV? Sorry, I just don't see Ma and Pa Knownothing who bought their Windows XP box to get that newfangled e-mail thingie as being willing to put up with watching on the computer.
Face it. The only audience that this service can target is geeks. (Perhaps they don't realize this) The OS/browser distribution in the general population will not save them from failure.
The failure of this service will have nothing to do with technology. They missed basic business principles. (such as: know your customer)
Re:Microsoft Windows only (Score:5, Insightful)
I think that blocking Mac users is far more stupid. I mean, they are content on shelling out some $100 a year for .mac, I think that testing such a service would be a no brainer.
linux lnthusiasts are necessarily cheap (Score:5, Insightful)
i think this is a incorrect generalization. i'm a big supporter of OSS, GPL, free speech, etc., but i'm also very willing to pay for content i appreciate. not *everything* has to or should be free, and i gladly pay for content i could get for free (ie music). i do this because i understand that an efficient way to encourage content production (code, art, etc.) is through monetary support.
Audience Not Limited (Score:3, Interesting)
You need Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP
You need Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher - Upgrade Now
You need RealPlayer 8.0 or higher
Windows Media Player 7.1 or higher
You need a Connection Speed of 128 kbps or higher
Most folks run 98 or higher, but still a large % don't. (Win95, Mac, Linux, etc.) ~ 75% do.
Most people have IE 5 or higher, but still a lot don't. ~ 65% do.
Most have Real 8 or Media Player 7 or higher. ~ 80% do.
Few have a high speed connection. ~ 20% do.
So, I hope my math is right, but:
Of those 8% of computer users, how many are going to use the service? How many are willing to wait for the download vs. walking down the street ot rent the DVD for less?
Sounds like an excellent business model!
Re:Audience Not Limited (Score:4, Informative)
I won't bother getting into the discussion of whether your numbers are accurate, but if we assume they are, i'd figure that the best guess for the actual market is much closer to being exactly the same as the percentage of users with broadband, due to overlap. In your estimation, that's 20%, which is still a fairly decent chunk of the user base, assuming they're able to effectively advertise to that demographic. I don't think they will, mind you, but it's still a potentially lucrative market.
-k
Re:Then run Virtual PC (Score:2)
Re:Encoders cost money (Score:2)
Re:Microsoft Windows only (Score:2)
A glance at the requirements site reveals the following:
I don't know what IE does that Mozilla can't, but I've already seen the "hot new releases" they're offering anyway (well, most of them, but I'm not really interested in the rest).
Re:Microsoft Windows only (Score:2, Informative)
Interesting.. (Score:5, Insightful)
1. You can download certain videos that are probably like the "new release" section at the video store, but also some classics (examples- A beautiful mind, harry potter,
2. You can view it within 30 days of the download, but once "play is hit" you can only watch it within a 24 hr period (but as many times as you want).
3. Cost will be between 2.99 and 4.99
My question is- Why not save yourself 1 1/2 hrs and possibly a buck and drive to the video store? The only thing I can think of is no late fees. A little more convenient in that sense. But what about video quality? Who wants to watch a video on their pc as opposed to the big screen tv upstairs?
Re:Interesting.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course, one could argue that the original DivX was not flawed but merely ahead of its time. That seems to be what they're counting on.
Re:Selection (Score:2)
It's not difficult to connect a VGA signal using those output jobbies on the back of the card, I agree. However, the quality leaves much to be desired in my opinion. I haven't used the ATI card, but my AGP Diamond card had a video out and it doesn't come close to the quality that my DVD player gives me. Not only that, but you also have to get that connection TO the TV. A lot of people don't have the tv right next to the PC, so that means that they have to either buy a long cable and run it or use one of the wireless transmitter/reciever devices. Again, crappy quality and a lot more work than just sticking a DVD in the player.
However, your other point (video availability) is a pretty good one. It really gets me ticked when I go to the video and the 99 copies of the new release are gone. However, after reading the article it kind of sounds like the new releas selection will be AFTER the videos have been released at the video store.
Re:Interesting.. (Score:2)
for what it's worth, both of those movies are still on the new releases wall at blockbuster in my neighborhood.
Why hide the site? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm don't see why I can't even have a look? Are they just paranoid of people copying their service in the rest of the world?
I'd be nice to know more, but seems we have to resort to Gnutella/eDonkey/etc... here
EVERYBODY!!! (Score:2, Insightful)
I may not have articulated it very well, but I'm sure you all know what's at stake here. So go there, look for a movie you like and pay for it. And don't put it in a shared folder.
Re:EVERYBODY!!! (Score:2)
Wrong (Score:3, Insightful)
Not to mention the charges are HIGHER than at your local video store. $2.99 for a 24-hour rental? Not to mention at lower quality and you can't even play it on your living room TV.
No, this does not deserve our support.
Re:Wrong (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:EVERYBODY!!! (Score:2)
Windows only for now. (Score:5, Informative)
Thank you for your interest in Movielink. We want you to take part in the powerful Internet movie rental experience that Movielink delivers; however, you currently do not meet our minimum system requirements. You will need to adjust the following:
*
You Need Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP
Running Netscape, even on Windows will get you:
Thank you for your interest in Movielink. We want you to take part in the powerful Internet movie rental experience that Movielink delivers; however, you currently do not meet our minimum system requirements. You will need to adjust the following:
You need Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher - Upgrade Now
Spoofing your browser & javascript settings will just hang your machine.
Re:Windows only for now. (Score:3, Insightful)
Do you really mean machine? If so, maybe you do need to upgrade away from whatever OS you're using, that permits a website to do such a thing...
Re:Windows only for[ever?] now^h^h^h. (Score:3, Interesting)
Look at this way. There are only three reasons for a site to be IE and Windows only, or even IE only. The first is lack of resources for development. Houston ISD fits this category. The second is incompetent web development. Companies like Cingular and some credit services fit this category. The third is an explicit decision that certain customers are not important, or to keep certain customers out.
The movie industry had resources. The project should make enough money to justify competent programmers. Everyone watches movies, and success depends on popular appeal, so there is no basis to say a certain group of customers is unimportant. That leaves explicitly keeping certain customers out.
Who is being punished? The Linux and BSD users, who broke and published DVD encryption, and are a major thorn in the sides of the movie industry. Apple Mac users, who buy their computers to 'Edit, Rip, Burn,' or, in the eyes of the movie industry, pirates who wish to steal content and force the movie industry into starvation.
As such, I think we take this as an attack on the npn-MS systems. The movie industry does not like non-MS, and they will not play with them, at least until a time when the movie industry can set all the rules. It is the movie industries right to do this, but it is blackmail.
Before the rants and flames start... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, someone will crack the DRM. Yes, the adoption rate will suck because most non-geeks really do want to watch movies on their televisions. But all in all, movie-industry suits have shown themselves to be more adaptable in the face of change than their counterparts in the music industry -- CDs cost what they cost a decade ago, but DVDs are probably about a tenth or twentieth of what the first VHS movies cost when you factor in inflation.
Bottom line: I'd rather have the movie industry experimenting and learning than have them go into siege mode the way the music industry has done. They both have a lot of money to throw at Congress -- money and influence we can't ever match -- so signs (even dull glimmers) of cluefullness are greatfully appreciated.
Why bother (Score:5, Insightful)
They try to protect these films so much and then you can only watch them for a short while, why would anyone bother?
I think the possibilities for actually storing *bought* films on you HDD (perhaps as part of an iTunes like library) which can be watched direct to TV will be the answer.
Download to your PC is just *not*. Who wants to watch a film on their computer, crouched over on an uncomfortable office chair? Or maybe they still believe in the convergence of the PC and TV... er... nope
Anyway the download times are so horrific it would be quicker to nip to the shops...
In fact the only advantage I can see is that Hackers will break the code in.. oh... seconds and then peer-to-peer distribution will take off for film ;-)
Re:Why bother (Score:5, Informative)
From the article:
The company is testing the service for 90 days, taking in consumer advice and troubleshooting the technology. After that, it expects to publicize the service widely through online marketing [...]
Note to hackers, make sure to wait until the studios evaluation period is over before releasing the crack..
Rent films at your public library (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: public library (Score:4, Insightful)
I consider library fines to be one of my major modes of charitable donation. I don't deliberately keep books overdue, it just works out that way... a lot
Re:Rent films at your public library (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm considering becoming a library contributor; I'll buy a movie, watch it until I'm tired of it, and then give it to the library for the tax break and the possibility of renting it again later.
Same old problems (Score:5, Insightful)
- $3.00 to rent a movie for 24 hours, versus $5.00 to rent it for a week from the shop down the road.
- It's not portable. I can only watch it from the downloading computer.
- Forced, automatic "updating" of their software.
For any lurkers: Charge me $5 to $10, depending on age, for a permanant copy which I can burn to DVD myself. Charge me extra if I want the "value added" version (the retail DVD, versus just a movie.) Afraid I might pirate your stuff? Please, if I have broadband, I already can. So, take my money, the way I want you to, or I'll get your product somewhere else. Get over it and get with the economy.Re:Same old problems (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Same old problems (Score:2)
Re:Same old problems (repost) (Score:3, Interesting)
Blackmail implies a negative outcome for the company. Or, at least, an outcome more negative than had I no dealings with the product. They gain money by providing me with product, and they lose no money (save what they had to gain) by not. That is not blackmail.
The part about acquiring it illegally is a given about much of the public in many ways of life. 30 seconds on packetnews, go to the appropriate IRC channel, and get the newest Screener or DVDRip. Been that way for awhile. You might bemoan that, but it's still the case.
Here they're trying to fulfill a market that doesn't exist (24 hour online rentals) and so of course it's going to fail. The only people interested in online rentals are agorophobians and people who live in desolate areas. So that leaves Johnny Carson, and who else?
Porn is the only industry that gets off (pun intended) on that business structure, and this venture won't change that.
Side notes: In my meager defense, I've downloaded a move exactly once, then realized why screeners really suck. I will likely do it for Spirited Away though, because of Disney's cock-up in distributing it to all of 200 screens in total, with the nearest being three+ hours away. I may do it for Bowling for Columbine too, because of the Regal Cinemas flap, unless Michael Moore wants to sell me a DVD personally, so I'll know he's getting my cash and not a distributor.
Sigh. Too true (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't object to the self destructing movies - really that's quite reasonable if the price is low enough. As long as this is done sensibly, will allow me to transfer the movie to a different machine, and reregister the same copy if I want to see it again, a few months later I'd happily pay a reasonable amount for a convenient download (although "convenient" implies it will take less than 3 hours to download).
It looks like I don't even have the right to buy a VCD version online. That's something I want. I want to be able to download it, burn to CD, and watch it on my DVD player. I want to be able to access it via FTP or any other open protocol. I want to be able to choose the software I download with. I like my text based FTP client. They should stop trying to force me to use what they think is better. I want them to accept that some piracy will happen, and stop punishing me - the purchaser - for other people's piracy. I'd willingly pay a reasonable amount. Considering the distribution and manufacturing costs aren't as high as for VHS, and the quality is worse than DVD, I'd expect the costs to be substantially lower.
Piracy will happen. If they can't pirate from the video files, they'll pirate from a rented DVD. Macrovision doesn't work as well as they like to think, and an MPEG 1 recode is good enough for most people. You only need one person to pirate it. Everyone else will just spread that copy.
Re:Same old problems (Score:2)
Yes. If it doesn't, and it's a major release, then when it's in stock I get a free rental. Also, its selection is exponentially larger (yes, I know it's a misused word, but it's appropriate given this site's stock).
Re:Same old problems (Score:2)
Shamefully admitting use of IE (Score:2)
The Appointments of Dennis Jennings [imdb.com]
Does anyone know why this intense, Oscar winning IIRC, little film cannot be found under the sun?
Re:Shamefully admitting use of IE (Score:2)
Read the article (Score:2, Informative)
(and before you say "it's not a test without platform X", I'm sure if they can get it to work on Windows, they can get it working on your platform).
It doesn't support Linux (Score:2)
Horay!!! (Score:2, Funny)
Only in the US (Score:2, Insightful)
USA only (Score:5, Funny)
Europeans not allowed, and it is not slashdotted. This proves that we, europeans, are the major factor in the slashdot effect
Q.E.D.
Re:USA only (Score:2)
paranoid (Score:2, Interesting)
Thank you for your interest in Movielink. We want you to take part in the powerful Internet movie rental experience that Movielink delivers, but it is presently unavailable to users outside of the United States.
The pirates are so much more user/customer-friendly.
Working in Turkey at the moment, around the block from the hotel people are standing around with these huge boxes full of DIVX movies. costs about a buck or 2 a movie (depends on your bartering skills)...
the amazing this is that they even have a system! It's all DVD quality, autorun feature that would install all the codecs, subtitling software,...
now i don't feel so bad for having bought some of those when i' really really bored...
i was going to buy some from your site mr. movie exec... but you wouldn't let me... so this was my only option
I'll stick with Charter On Demand. (Score:2, Informative)
It doesn't require my to go by a specific TV from a specific vender either! I can use an old B&W tv with vacuum tubes or a new shiney one. It can be a large screen, or HDTV or just a regular TV.
Life is good when you don't have to buy even more stuff you don't want (like a WindozeXX computer) just to see a stupid movie!
$4.99, one day, low quality a/v, watch on PC only? (Score:5, Insightful)
Okay, so lets review. You pay $4.99 for a new release, you get one day to watch it, it's lower video quality than DVD, you can only watch it on the PC (unless you have video out hooked to a TV) and to top it all off, you can't use the service without Windows let alone even browse the site without IE?
How this is even close to spending $3.99 to rent a DVD new release you can watch on a TV for two days with full quality video and sound is lost on me. Yeah, you don't have to drive anywhere to get it, but you pay more and get a lot less.
I can't imagine why this service would fail to catch the business of regular people, and of course those people trading DVDs.
The movie industry joins the music industry... (Score:2)
And for the rest of residents on this globe... P2P... gosh, the people in the movie industry are just as smart as the music industry. They're going to be flushed down the drain if they're not coming up with a viable internet business idea soon...
Maybe good for a plane flight (Score:4, Interesting)
I was hoping that this may allow you to burn a DVD or VCD from the downloaded site but no such luck. I can't think of any time that I would sit and watch a movie on my PC except when travelling.
I can't quite see how they expect to make any money off of this. To be competitive this services has to offer something better than the existing distribution channels. I see far too many bad points and only one good, no returns or late fees.
Upgrade now (Score:2)
'* You need Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher - Upgrade Now'
Food for thought.
This is a joke (Score:2, Interesting)
Tried it (Score:5, Informative)
This service would actually be useful for us, because we live so far away from any rental store... and sometimes have problems getting the movies back on time.
We usually watch DVDs on the computer anyway.
If a service opens up that uses MPEG4 (or DivX) and has good prices, then we will be using it quite frequently.
Web design (Score:2)
- Easy to browse.
- Compatible with multiple browsers.
- International, by allowing non-americans to connect.
- Searchable.
They also use innovative comments called "nukes" to tell us if the quality isn't what a user would expect.
So, I think MovieLink should learn from that one and come back.
Collusion? (Score:2, Insightful)
Not in the US but... (Score:2, Informative)
But perhaps the biggest issue here may be bandwidth - even with 1.5 Mbps DSL at home it'll take awhile to download a movie. (I wonder how the quality is at that...) If I'm going to rent a movie, it is rare that I'm thinking ahead as to what I'd like to watch. So once I decide "hey let's rent a movie", the download process begins and a few hours later I can actually watch the movie. As opposed to running to the video store for about the same price in half an hour.
An even bigger threat may be Video on Demand (VOD) services slowly being introduced by cable companies. They are basically offering the same service, but you don't have to wait for it, and it works with your TV equipment, not your PC.
Even with all of these problems, there may be a niche market here - such as going on a flight - just DL a movie ahead of time. Of course DVDs are readily available - but at least in this case you can do it a week ahead of time and not worry about returns - hey here's a thought maybe they can offer LAN services from stores a local airports? Download over your ethernet from airport store servers?
I hope they have a business plan though!
It's so convenient! (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes, gasp on that last one. I do actually pay-per-view right now, when there's something showing that I want to see. Look, actual currency, waiting to go into your bloated pockets! I'm not a habitual collector of free content. I'll only leech if there's no easier way to view the content (like, you refuse to make it available to me to maintain your artificial market segmentation).
But this is asking too much, offering too little, and it's hostile as all hell. It looks as though it's pretty much set up to fail, which might be the point.
"The Day The Skies Went Black" (Score:5, Interesting)
In the big hubbub prior to "The Day The Skies Went Black," i.e., the time when HBO and Showtime began encrypting their signals (early 80's), denying them from the long-standing C-Band pirates, various congressfolk went ballistic. Their gripe (inexplicable and amazing to us in the industry at the time) was that the cable networks could not all-of-a-sudden deny the pirates their entertainment; we had to at least offer a for-pay alternative to what they had gotten previously for free. This neccessitated a tremendous cost in building out certain shared encryption operations centers that would pool subscriber data, etc etc. (Happy upside that nobody predicted was that the revenues garnered from catering to the former pirates was HUGE, in some networks' instances well in advance of Cable susbcriber revenue.)
Of course, this didn't stop the real dyed-in-the-wool, off-shore-operating, parrot-on-the-shoulder, chip-modding, math-prodigy, Trans-Am-On-The-Cinder-Blocks, Complete-and-Total-Social-Outcast Pirates, who set about cracking the (ridiculously loose, in hind sight) encryption we used at the time. But... because we had gone to the pain and expense of creating this "inclusion" distribution for all the dis-affected Big-Ugly-Dish geeks nationwide, we as an industry had tremendous goodwill with the Gov't. This led to numerous FBI sting operations against the pirates, whereas before the industry couldn't really get the authorities' attention on the matter. In fact, my boss at the time was one of the industry guys who travelled around with the FBI agents cuffing the pirates. Big, Big, Fed-Entertainment Industry co-op, once the Ent Industry showed good faith in creating a system that ensured "no one was left out."
You see where I'm going with this. "Back In the Day," the pirates said, basically, "If you don't want me to view your network, keep it out of my living room." Tough to argue with, so the Ent industry encrypted and provided Joe Dish-Geek a means to buy his entertainment. Flash forward 20 years (ye gods... has it been that long? Christ, I'm old...), and Joe Internet-Geek is saying, "Look, I'm getting this entertainment on the Net, I'm accustomed to getting it on the Net, you can't deny it to me." By providing a net-based, for-pay service, H-Wood is "fulfilling its tech evolutional obligations" yet again. And they are doing so faster than their peers in the Music and Book Publishing industries.
Only Windows? Only US? Who cares? Certainly not H-Wood, or US Law Makers and Enforcers. It ain't about wide-spread adoption (although if they can make some money on this, they won't turn it down) it's about having some credibility and teeth in the subsequent piracy pogroms.
Re:"The Day The Skies Went Black" (Score:3, Funny)
While it's true I have a parrot, I wouldn't be caught dead in a Trans Am.
This should be a buy... (Score:2)
Why not just charge a little more, sell a nice DiVX rip of the DVD, so that I can buy the movie, download it, burn it to a CD, and watch it all I want? The movie companies would make more money in the long run, because they no longer have to package and (physically.) distribute the movie. Of course, I might just serve the video up on Kaazaa, a private FTP, or an IRC bot, but someone else was already doing that when the movie was in the theatre!
I think it is nice that the movie companies are doing this, but they need to loosen up a little. Exisiting distribution paradigms are dying fast, the time has come to cut losses and just give consumers what the consumers are already getting for FREE, instead of selling a crappy version.
i love it (Score:4, Insightful)
Lets make a site that is ridiculously restrictive so that when most people come to it, they will be forced to either upgrade or go away. This way when can point to movielink and say, "We tried, but the pirates do not want to pay for anything." Then we will be able to convince congress to force mandatory drm.
</recording studios>
Just use the Web Entanglement proxies! (Score:4, Informative)
An alternative (Score:2, Informative)
I guess it all depends if you've got $500 to spend on the PVR card and DVD burner. For me it was a worthwhile investment, I'm really happy with it, and it's cool to have the ability to edit out commercials as well. (I wonder, when you rent their movies online, how many previews they'd subjcet you to and if you'd actually be able to skip them. My guess is about 10 minutes, and no.)
US proxy doesnt seem to make a difference (Score:2)
May Be redundant, but... (Score:4, Interesting)
Thank you for your interest in Movielink. We want you to take part in the powerful Internet movie rental experience that Movielink delivers, but it is presently unavailable to users outside of the United States. "
I guess Denver, Colorado isn't a part of the US. (Or AT&T Broadband, either.)
I guess they don't Like me (Score:3, Informative)
*
You Need Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP
Whatever the business model...it's LOONY fast (Score:5, Interesting)
Last night I downloaded a 650mb film in under 20 minutes. I was even shocked when the Movielink Manager estimated the time to download at "less than 25 minutes", thinking it was in error. But the sucker came down at a steady 4mbps.
I've only ever gotten speed like that from Apple FTP, MSDN and one or two Internet 2 guys on IRC. Maybe it's due to huge capacity with probably only me using it (heh) but whatever the complaints, it's hard to complain the download is slow.
It's a start on the right path, that's the key... (Score:3, Insightful)
However, what's more important is that the movie industry is at least starting off on the right foot into the online digital distribution model, compares with the music industry. Here, yes, you have to watch the movie within a month, and then for only 24 hrs since you start it, it costs about as much as a rental (and takes more time), quality is not as great as a DVD rental, and a list of other problems. But this is the first trial of their service. Maybe later they'll add the option that for $5, you can keep the movie, possibly burn it off to some standard format, or have a quick order method to get the DVD shipping automatically to your home, offering a discount since you've watched it already. Maybe they'll eventually increase the time allowance on the movie, since 24hrs is awfully short. I don't know but this is certainly not an attempt to alienate customers (except for those outside the US, but someone pointed out the legal reasons for this regarding work-for-hires), but a chance to work with them, and to see if they can improve the service.
Of course, half the problem right now with this service is that putting 550megs downstream is slow and time consuming due to poor broadband adaption and dl caps for most consumers. This won't be a permenant situation, but will be with us for a while.
Again, the Bandwidth of Blockbuster... (Score:3, Insightful)
And, as I have mentioned before, you can't beat Blockbuster's bandwidth. Period. It is so much faster to walk to the video store and rent your movie then it is to wait for the download to complete.
Why it will fail (Score:3, Insightful)
MovieLink features (Score:3, Informative)
- You need Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP.
There's spyware.You need Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher>
You need RealPlayer 8.0 or higher or Windows Media Player 7.1 or higher.
You need a Connection Speed of 128 kbps or higher. Scripting must be enabled.
Cookies must be enabled.
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a. Downloads. You acknowledge that Movielink and/or its authorized third party providers and affiliates may issue upgraded versions of the Services and Movielink Manager Software required to be downloaded by you from time to time, and may automatically electronically upgrade the version of the Movielink Manager Software that you are using on your computer. You consent to such automatic upgrading, and agree that these Terms of Use (as amended from time to time) along with the Software License Agreement and any amendments thereto will govern all such upgraded versions.
There's an arbitration clause like the one just struck down by the courts regarding PayPal.b. Modification of Services. Movielink reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to update, change, modify, add or remove any portion of the Services or these Terms of Use, in whole or in part, at any time. Changes to these Terms of Use will be effective when posted. You agree to review these Terms of Use periodically to be aware of any changes. By continuing to use the Services after any changes, you agree to be bound by subsequent revisions to these Terms of Use.
The plot thickens. (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't really know the wording of copyright law in all its many jurisdictions, but I do know that the original intent was to grant an exclusive right to profit from publication and that copyright was certainly not intended from the beginning to limit the free exchange of information which is how it is being re-constructed with all this language twisting and convenient redefinition of terms like piracy and theft.
Re:hmmmmm...only windows? (Score:2)
Only IE can access it. Sucks to be them. I guess they view the Open Source users as non-consumers. And the site is running java for fuck's sake.
Re:hmmmmm...only windows? (Score:5, Interesting)
Before some linux fanatic mods me down, look at
this [google.com]. In the "Web Browsers Used To Access Google" graph, IE clearly dominates everything else.
This [google.com] is from August, but I doubt anything has changed. Linux is only 1% of the OS used to access google. Even with it's own linux portal! [google.com]
I'm a big fan of linux. My websites use linux. My firewall is linux. My Tivo is linux! However, if you think that companies will try to build a web application that only 1% of population will ever see, then you're misinformed.
Now let's see if I get modded down...
Re:hmmmmm...only windows? (Score:2)
Re:Barberella for $1.99.... Where do I Sign up! (Score:2)
While Hanoi Jane may look good in that movie, my TV and PC both know that any appearance of her on either screen for more than 3 seconds will result in swift destruction of the offending device. As such, they refuse to display her countenance.
For those that do not know, Hanoi Jane (Fonda) actively colluded with the North Vietnamese during the war. A better looking 60's John Walker Lindh.
You may think a particular war or military action is wrong, but actively helping the other side (whomever they may be), against your own country, is just plain wrong.
Re:MACINTOSH is BANNED! Despite google statistics (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Well, since I'm not American... (Score:2, Insightful)
Thank you for your interest in Movielink. We want you to take part in the powerful Internet movie rental experience that Movielink delivers, but it is presently unavailable to users outside of the United States.
If you really wanted me take part, then you wouldn't stop me from entering.