Filed under: Video, Internet, Internet Tools
Amazon Unbox
The long rumored Amazon video download service has made its debut. Amazon Unbox is its name, and it has some very cool features. Progressive downloading means you can watch your movie, or tv show, as it is downloading which is helpful since Unbox only allows one download at a time and with 1 hour of footage measuring in at a gig, you'll thank Amazon for this feature. You can also buy videos on one machine and download them to another, though only 2 machines can actually pay the videos.
Amazon claims that the resolution of their videos (which you can purchase or rent for 24 hours) is twice that of their competitors. Couple that with surround sound and an impressive lineup of content and we may have a winner here. Price varies from $7.99 and $14.99 for movies, but TV shows will set you back a familiar $1.99.
There is one problem though, none of this will work on a Mac. The Unbox video player is required to play any of these videos and it is Windows only.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
HS said 4:04PM on 9-08-2006
"And we may have a winner here"
Really? I guess you've seen more than me of what is coming then..
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Tony said 4:09PM on 9-08-2006
I don't really care if it's Windows only...I don't think I'd use it anyway. For $8-$15 I'll just buy a used DVD version. I assure you it'll be higher quality than what they're selling, and I can watch it anywhere. Plus, I can rip it to my computer for use on a portable player.
If people are going to bother with the slow download speeds, the price needs to be *really* attractive.
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Derick said 4:12PM on 9-08-2006
If this is Windows only, why is it on an Apple weblog?
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nick said 4:13PM on 9-08-2006
its showtime!
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Scott McNulty said 4:17PM on 9-08-2006
It is on an Apple blog for two reasons:
1. New Macs can run Windows.
2. This competes with the iTunes Music Store.
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derek said 4:25PM on 9-08-2006
#3
haha two dereks, thinking the same way. (just spelled a little different)
#5
How does this compete with the iTunes music store? sure they both have some tv shows, but the amazon unbox is mostly movies. no movies on iTunes...
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nick said 4:32PM on 9-08-2006
Yeah #5 No Movies Yet... :)
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Menhir said 4:36PM on 9-08-2006
I think Scott mentioned that Unbox competes with iTunes for two reasons:
1. iTunes already sells TV shows and so does Amazon - so yes, it does compete with iTunes already.
2. In anticipation of what's coming next week - considering it's pretty much a given that iTunes will start selling movies.
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James said 5:22PM on 9-08-2006
Since Unbox doesn't allow you to burn DVDs for you DVD player, for most people, the movies will remain confined to their desktops and out of their living rooms. I can't wait for Apple to do this right.
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James Donevan said 6:11PM on 9-08-2006
"...we may have a winner here... There is one problem though, none of this will work on a Mac."
Earth calling Scott, Earth calling Scott. We have a failure to communicate. It is difficult to have a winner for Mac users if it does not function on all Macs.
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Tom said 6:55PM on 9-08-2006
"...we may have a winner here..."
Umm... no. And movies do not actually top out at $14.99. There are quite a few going all the way up to $20. This is just like Vongo and AOLVideo and Movielink, etc., etc. and it will not take off. The studios just don't get it.
Not many people will want to buy or rent videos they can only watch on their computer in another custom player. There are definitely not enough HTPCs hooked up to TVs out there to support this.
Who wants to "rent" a DRM addled download that they have to watch in one 24 hour period and can't take over to a friend's house like a DVD?
Who will pay nearly the same price for a product with all those restrictions when you can get a DVD, complete with extras and physical media, and do what ever you want with it?
People en masse are just not going to pay near the same price for downloads as for physical media. It won't happen. Steve and co. will just have to show the studios how it's done. They did it with music, then with TV shows. Now it's time for the studios to watch and learn. Now if someone sets up a download rental service similar to Netflix with 1 out and say 20 max a month, I'd easily pay $20 or more.
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Clark said 7:34PM on 9-08-2006
I think I would stick with Netflix for rentals and Amazon for purchases (of dvd's). If I purchase a dvd it means it has some kind of long term value for me. Will I be able to watch a movie downloaded at Amazon 5 years from now? I'm doubtful.
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andy said 10:22PM on 9-08-2006
To say it doesn't work on a mac is no longer accurate really. It's more correct to state that is doesn't run under OSX. It will run on a Mac under Parallas or Boot Camp.
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ana ismii said 10:50PM on 9-08-2006
Same here, Clark. I suppose it's different for everyone, but personally, I only buy DVDs once or twice a year, if even that. If there's a movie I want to see, I'll very rarely watch it more than once after first getting it, and so Netflix has been excellent for all of my movie needs.
I really wonder how these rent-by-downloading services can expect to thrive with prices like these, when there are more benefits to watching movies from the real DVDs themselves, whether by owning or renting. Being able to download a movie and watch it right away sounds good in theory, but there are definitely a lot more details that need to be ironed out before it can truly become something revolutionary.
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coal said 11:02PM on 9-08-2006
Please Please Please dont down load from them, this is to much money, I was the first to buy a tv show from Itunes at $2.00 and I thought I would even pay 3 but $13.00 they are off their nut, and only a Retard would buy from them, litteraly because they could not understand that this was a blatant display how people are going to be taken advantage of, my Question to everyone is How much should you pay for what they are offering. If it were for mac. my dime is $6.00 for a download.
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pixelbender said 2:17AM on 9-09-2006
#13, you're wrong. It won't run on PPC Macs (I doubt VPC is fast enough on all but perhaps the highest PMG5s).
This is STUPID! Here in town, our Movie Gallery (rental place) is selling hundreds of pre-played, guaranteed FOR LIFE DVDs for $5 a pop, and we're talking Wedding Crashers and a bunch of other newer movies.
Why on earth pay MORE for LESS? REDICULOUS. This is the only arena were I wish Apple would do a subscription service. Say $15 a month for unlimited, perhaps 2-3 "active" at a time downloads that are DVD quality and stay good for as long as you are subscribed or until you get another download.
If they go purchase, they need a burn-to-dvd option to REALLY succeed.
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Arnoz said 3:36AM on 9-09-2006
And again, the service is not for European people... :(
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Johnny Thrash said 7:10AM on 9-09-2006
I assume this all uses Microsoft DRM? If so, no way! I had the worst experience with a Dell DJ before I bought my Nano which inevitably led to my purchase of my iMac.
Microsoft DRM gets 2 thumbs down.
Even if I didn't have a G5 iMac, I wouldn't want to run Windows. Why would I want to use something so inferior?
Just my opinion... but, to each his own.
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Dan Ridley said 11:57AM on 9-09-2006
So it looked cool that they had Dr. Who, but... They only have the old series, not the 2005-2006 run; they charge per 25-minute episode, not per serial; and it's only a rental! $8 to *rent* one serial? No thank you.
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sumer said 1:52PM on 9-09-2006
here is an email i sent to amazon after trying to download a movie.
being caught up in the excitement to download a movie from where i bought loads of dvd's in the past. only after i made the purchase did i realize that it was a windows based program when i was prompted to download the player...again, after the purchase! here's the emai and their reponse -
You don't support apple computers? or ipods? how can you
not support the number one personal video device that you sell? amazon sells all apple products. and can you please contact the news media regarding this issue, since they clearly state on news websites - "Seattle-based Amazon said the service will work on any Internet-connected personal computer." - not true!
can you please credit my account since i can't watch the movie on my
apple computer.
THE REPLY
Hello from Amazon.com.
Thank you for contacting us about the problem you encountered with The
Family Stone. As a standard policy, Amazon Unbox videos are not
returnable after they have been downloaded and viewed.
However, because of the circumstances I have made an exception and
issued a refund for $17.65. This refund should go through within the
next 2 to 3 business days and will appear as a credit on your next
credit card billing statement.
As part of the return/refund process, I have also revoked the license
for this video. It will no longer appear in Your Media Library and you
will be unable to play any copies you may have downloaded. We
recommend that you delete the inactive file from your computer.
Currently, the Windows XP operating system is required to run the
Amazon Unbox service. Because of this, Amazon Unbox is not supported
on the Apple Mac OS.
While it may be possible to run the Amazon Unbox video player on an
Apple computer running a required Windows operating system, we cannot
guarantee performance on those systems.
We value customers who experience our site and services through the
Apple Macintosh platform. We hope to be able to better serve you in
the future.
hmmmm
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