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Downloadable Movies from Amazon?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the glimpse-of-the-future dept.

StrongGlad writes "Screenshots of what could be an Amazon.com video store in the making surfaced Friday on the Web. Alan Taylor, who claims to have worked for the online retailer more than two years ago, said he discovered the screenshots while poking around an area of Amazon.com used by developers. The screenshots can be seen on Kokogiak.com. The pictures show a service called 'Unbox Video' that offers first time users a free TV show or $1.99 off the first movie they download. Instructions are given for downloading the player and buying movies and video that can be played on a PC, TV or portable media player. Amazon.com has declined to comment."

7 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. apple by minus_273 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I wonder what this means for the apple movie store..

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  2. They still don't get it. by MindStalker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The average hour long TV show can now be downloaded for 1.99. This is fairly reasonable, and I only wish 30 minute shows were .99.

    But these guys are making the same mistake as movielink. They are charging retail and in many instances for older movies more than retail. Sure you'll make money because some people have plenty of money and would rather not run out to the video store. The rest of us will only use these services when they are cheaper than the video store or they have movies that you can't find anywhere else.

    1. Re:They still don't get it. by NosTROLLdamus · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Well, the thing is, this might not be that time efficient either. If I can go buy a movie at a store for the same price as it costs online, and I can get to the store, buy it, and come home before it would of finished downloading, that certainly lessens the appeal.

    2. Re:They still don't get it. by vector0319 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Well considering amazon has always been about the long tail of online purchasing I'd figure they would be ramping up on all the movies you can't find anywhere else. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_tail

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  3. whats with the prices? by noneme · · Score: 2, Interesting
    For about a dollar more (including shipping) at overstock you can buy Road Warrior on physical medium thats uncompressed and higher resolution than any download they'd probably provide.

    Plus they have "Batman Forever" listed for $10. I seriously hope this is just a mockup using current video pictures/prices or that they are considering paying me $10 to watch that movie.

  4. Re:Most shows aren't worth anything. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Anyone notice in the second screenshot that "what" is misspelled. Anyone else think maybe these are fake?

  5. Re:Format? by moonbender · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Chances are the downloadable copies are gonna be of better quality than the freebies (..)

    Why would that be? I mean, in theory, yes, without the hassle of the transfer being illegal you can more easily transmit large amounts of data. On the other hand, while on P2P networks, the transmission cost is shared among all peers, a single distributor has to pay for all (or rather half) of the costs. Are the songs from the ITMS of higher bitrate than the typical scene releases? The TV episodes you can currently buy certainly aren't of better quality than the pirated versions, which are typically 350 or 700 MB per episode.

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