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rickey939 · 04:55 PM

Mac Rumors: Amazon's 'Unbox' Video Service Opens

"SeattlePI reports that Amazon launched their video download service today -- dubbed "Amazon Unbox".

The service offers television shows, movies and other videos from over 30 studios and networks. TV shows will sell for $1.99 while Movies range from $7.99 - $14.99. If you prefer to rent, Movies can be rented for $3.99 each.

The movies are provided in two formats: a "DVD Quality" version and a portable-device compatible one. System requirements are listed:

Windows XP Professional, Home Edition,Media Center or Tablet PC. A Computer running 900 Mhz or greater, with aminimum of 256 MB of RAM, and 200 MB of hard disk space.

Movies are accessed and played through the Amazon Unbox Video Player (which is not compatible with Mac OS X).

For an example, The Matrix sells for $9.88 with the DVD quality version being 2.2GB with a 2500kbps Video Bitrate and 5.1 Audio while the portable version is 520MB.

Apple is widely expected to launch their movie service on September 12th, but there have been rumors that they may launch with only one studio due to negotiation difficulties with the studios."

Landos Mustache · Sep 7, 2006, 04:37 PM

Not bad.

Dakar · Sep 7, 2006, 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by rickey939

the DVD quality version being 2.2GB with a 2500kbps Video Bitrate and 5.1 Audio while the portable version is 520MB.

No way in hell Apple offers substandard movies at the same price. It'd be suicide.

turtle777 · Sep 7, 2006, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by Landos Mustache

Not bad.

Not bad ? LOL, pathetic.

They offer 14 movies. Fourteen. That's it.

The rest is TV shows, that Apple had for the longest time.

-t

The Godfather · Sep 7, 2006, 04:54 PM

Originally Posted by rickey939

Apple is widely expected to launch their movie service on September 12th, but there have been rumors that they may launch with only one studio due to negotiation difficulties with the studios.

If by "widely" you are referring to the fringe of rabid Apple fans, then you are right. The regular Juan Perez doesn't want the hassle of downloaded movies if they can buy a full copy for 5 extra pesos.

And by that, I am not meaning this development is not important. Apple is doing a good business move by snatching a piece of the market early, rather than late.

scottiB · 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by what_the_heck

Not bad ? LOL, pathetic.

They offer 14 movies. Fourteen. That's it.

The rest is TV shows, that Apple had for the longest time.

-t

They have at least 70 movies from 20th Century Fox.

From the FAQ:

Can I use Amazon Unbox on my Macintosh or iPod?

No. Apple Computer Inc. has exclusive rights to the hardware and software that would make this possible. Because of these restrictions, we are unable to make Amazon Unbox compatible with these products. While it is possible to run one of the approved operating systems on computers made by Apple, we cannot guarantee the performace of Amazon Unbox on these systems.

Looking everything over, it is very inelegant.

Oversoul · Sep 7, 2006, 05:06 PM

Wait? So I can't play this on my video iPod?

All kidding aside, can these movies be played on portable media players? If so, which ones? Ones with the Amazon Unbox Video Player? Certainly not the iPod.

scottiB · Sep 7, 2006, 05:32 PM

Creative Zen Vision: M
Creative Zen Vision
Toshiba Gigabeat S
Archos AV 500
Archos AV 700
iRiver PMC (Portable Media Center)

Anything that works with Plays For Sure: PlaysForSure

Turias · Sep 7, 2006, 05:34 PM

I'm just happy that Amazon is going with near-DVD quality. I am going to be so pissed if all Apple releases on their Movie Store are a bunch of crappy 320x200 video files.

voodoo · Sep 7, 2006, 05:40 PM

Hmm.. this deal from Amazon is very un-appealing to me for some reason. Other than I don't own a Wintel to take advantage of it of course.

Apple has been pushing HD movie trailers for quite some time now. I'm sure that if they offer a movie download service, they'll offer 480p resolution (essentially DVD quality) up for download. I mean, they're already offering 1080p HD.

Still, this might not be such a brilliant idea or market to get into. The restrictions will be huge and benefits are.. debatable. iTMS and the iPod make eachother work.

A movie store and your Mac? Possibly.. but it won't be the success on-line music sales has become, I think.

V

Landos Mustache · Sep 7, 2006, 05:45 PM

Originally Posted by what_the_heck

Not bad ? LOL, pathetic.

They offer 14 movies. Fourteen. That's it.

The rest is TV shows, that Apple had for the longest time.

-t

Ah no they don't.

Either way I am talking about the pricing and the quality. Apple better match or beat it.

Calimus · Sep 7, 2006, 06:10 PM

I would imagine that Apple already knew at least the general specs of the Amazon store. I'll be very suprised if the Apple offering doesn't at least match the Amazon store, if not surpass it in some ways.

mitchell_pgh · Sep 7, 2006, 09:49 PM

IMHO, everyone is gabbing about movies... yet I just don't see the appeal.

I would be a bit more exited if there were HD rumors... or you could rip a DVD to your computer and play it on a new cool media box... but that's just fantasy.

Much to do about nothing.

Kerrigan · Sep 7, 2006, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by voodoo

A movie store and your Mac? Possibly.. but it won't be the success on-line music sales has become, I think.

It would be a big hit though if they could come up with a reasonably priced device to connect this service to your living room TV. It would be the natural successor to the DVD player, much in the same way that the iPod is the successor to the walkman.

Don Pickett · Sep 7, 2006, 11:43 PM

Some problems, from the FAQ:

Can I make a DVD from my Amazon Unbox downloads?

You can store your downloaded files on a DVD or other removable computer storage device for the purpose of backup in the same format as the original files. However, any DVDs that you burn with Amazon Unbox files will not be readable by a DVD player. And the burned copies will only be viewable using Amazon Unbox installed on the computer that originally received the downloads.

Can burn it to DVD, but only for storage. You can't play it in your DVD player. And you can only play it on the machine on which it was originally downloaded, so no taking your DVD to your friend's house and watching it there.

What is the difference between renting and purchasing Amazon Unbox videos?

If you purchase Amazon Unbox Video, your rights to view the file do not expire, except as provided in our Unbox Video: Terms of Use. The license agreement for the videos you purchase allows you to download an Amazon Unbox video onto a total of 2 different personal computers at one time. Each of those computers will, in turn, be able to transfer that video to one portable (e.g., hand-held) video device.

You can only have the file on two computers, and each of these computers will only be able to put it on one portable device.

So, basically, you can only watch this thing on your machine or your portable device, and it looks like you can only have it on two machines at any one time. You can play it to your TV if you hook your TV up to your machine, but the quality level will remain to be seen.

One thing they did very right:

What if my computer crashes and I lose an Amazon Unbox video?

Your Amazon Unbox purchases may also be stored in Your Media Library, accessible through Your Account on Amazon.com. If you want to re-download an Amazon Unbox video stored in Your Media Library or authorize it for download on another computer, you can make these changes online.

Compared to what Apple lets you do with your iTMS music, it's very restrictive. I hope Apple has similar rules to the iTMS when they start to offer movies. It's a moot point to me, not having a machine which runs Windows.

iREZ · Sep 8, 2006, 02:36 AM

free instant rebate on your first tv show purchase from amazon...too bad i cant download the player

.

yakkiebah · Sep 8, 2006, 04:09 AM

You could install Windows on a Mac mini but then again you need a better video card to run it.

Edit: no wait, it can run on a minimum of 64MB.

Landos Mustache · Sep 8, 2006, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh

IMHO, everyone is gabbing about movies... yet I just don't see the appeal.

I would be a bit more exited if there were HD rumors... or you could rip a DVD to your computer and play it on a new cool media box... but that's just fantasy.

Much to do about nothing.

I don't totally get it either. I mean if you want a DVD and live in the sticks you can order it from Amazon and have it in a day.

After that you can rip it and put it on whatever format you want and copy it to death.

I've never bought an iTunes song either but if someone out there wants it they can go nuts, it is their money.

RAILhead · Sep 8, 2006, 11:22 AM

(much ado about nothing, not "to do" about nothing)

turtle777 · Sep 8, 2006, 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by RAILhead

(much ado about nothing, not "to do" about nothing)

Wrong thread. The Grammar Boot Camp thread is the next door on the left

-t

kick52 · Sep 9, 2006, 02:15 AM

why the f*ck do amazon go and get involved in online videos/tv shows. for f*ck sake, you are an online store! its where all the money is, but they just wanna try and kill apple. go back to what you were originally doing, you bastard!

The Godfather · Sep 9, 2006, 03:24 AM

^ Screams of fear?

Zeeb · Sep 9, 2006, 03:47 AM

Originally Posted by scottiB

They have at least 70 movies from 20th Century Fox.

From the FAQ:

Can I use Amazon Unbox on my Macintosh or iPod?

No. Apple Computer Inc. has exclusive rights to the hardware and software that would make this possible. Because of these restrictions, we are unable to make Amazon Unbox compatible with these products. While it is possible to run one of the approved operating systems on computers made by Apple, we cannot guarantee the performace of Amazon Unbox on these systems.

Looking everything over, it is very inelegant.

Well, seems to be compatible with my mac hardware -- while running windows at least. I downloaded an episode of CSI and the full screen viewing option has excellent quality.