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Amazon Unbox Video Store Launches
andrewl6097 writes "Amazon.com has launched it's Amazon Unbox video store. Looks like about 1300 movies and 350 tv series, at $9.99 and up for movies and $1.99 per TV episode. Downloads come with a DVD quality version and a version more appropriate for portable players (using Windows DRM). Also, videos can be re-downloaded from your Amazon media library. Cool!"
slashdot is now running accolades for DRM crippled movie downloads? uncool!
sulli
RTFJ.
At 1/3 to 1/2 this price I'd go on a spree.
My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
Why would I pay for video files that are tied to a particular OS?
Funny thing is, i *would* pay for non-DRMed movies. I've bought plenty of non-DRM music online.
It deserves to fail, IMHO.
No Mac support == dead to me.
No support for iPod == dead to the market.
iTunes movies will probably be dead to me too since I live in !USA.
DVDs are cheaper anyway. the entire concept of movie downloads priced the same, or more expensive, as DVDs is retarded.
The FAQ here.
Which includes this showstopper for Mac and Linux users:
Minimum System Requirements
OPERATING SYSTEM: The Unbox Video player application is only compatible with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows XP Professional SP2, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition SP2, or Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Update Rollup 2. The Unbox Video player is not compatible with Apple/Macintosh operating systems.
COMPUTER HARDWARE: A PC with a 1.5-gigahertz (GHz) processor or faster, at least 512MB of memory, and a DirectX 9.0 complaint Video (64 MB Memory) and Sound Card.
INTERNET CONNECTION: Broadband internet connection capable of 800 kbps sustained transfer speeds.
No iPods either:
Can I use Amazon Unbox on my Macintosh or iPod?
Unfortunately, our Amazon Unbox video downloads are not compatible with Apple / Macintosh hardware and computer systems.
Animoog.org
The phrase "If your device is Plays for Sure compliant it may work," is quite amusing.
... but it might not ... great stuff! ;-)
So the device claims to play for sure
The site says they use wmv files. I'm assuming the recently mentioned FairUse4WM will work on them. Looks like I might need to check out one of their $3.99 (-$1.99 first time user discount) movie "rentals" to see how well it works (FairUse4WM, not Amazon Unbox).
This guy's the limit!
It seems this whole thing is kind of half baked, as if they were in a rush to get out before the itunes movie store.
-dKL
$10 bucks and up, that's fucking ridiculous.
I pay that or less in a movie theater. I pay much less than that to rent or greencine it. Never go but I would bet movies cost less than that at Walmart, esp when on sale.
Oh, and you can eventually get a whole season or two of shows for $40-60.
All the above options lack the DRM feature, so I guess you get what you pay for.
You can't even transfer the file that you download between computers. Check this out, from their FAQ:
"You can only view the files using Amazon Unbox installed on the computer that originally received the downloads."
So that means if I buy one of these files and burn it on a DVD to transfer it to another computer that I own, I won't even be able to play it on that other computer. I will have to actually download it again from Amazon.com. You can store it on up to 2 computers (and 2 corresponding video players) at any given time, but files can only be played on the computer to which you downloaded it.
So that means if I want to use up to the 2 computer limit, I have to actually download it twice. There is no way to save download time by using alternative transmission methods, like a flash drive or a DVD-R. This sucks.
Remember all the early iTunes-like stores that failed? Although iTunes has DRM, it succeeded in part because its restrictions were less strong than, say, AOL's. I think Amazon.com's is too restrictive.
ITMS could beat it by being nicer about it, at least allowing you to transfer it between computers however you like. Honestly, that restriction doesn't even make sense from a DRM point of view, because you could always just require people to "authorize" a computer like ITMS. Maybe they aren't as skilled at this as Apple is?
"From time to time, Amazon will automatically deliver promotional video content (e.g., movie trailers, celebrity interviews, reviews, etc.) to your Authorized Device. Amazon may automatically delete such promotional video content from your Authorized Device without notice to you."
"If Amazon changes any part of the Service or modifies license terms applicable to Rental Digital Content or Purchased Digital Content, which it may do in its sole discretion, you acknowledge that you may not be able to access, view, or use Digital Content in the same manner as prior to such changes, and you agree that Amazon shall have no liability to you in such case."
The Software automatically checks for upgrades, but the Software will not automatically upgrade without your consent, except as provided herein. If you do not consent to an upgrade that we make subject to your consent, the Digital Content may no longer be viewed on your Authorized Device."
Java has no friends.
Nope, you are not. You can burn it to the DVD, but only in their file type. You can't burn it in a DVD-Player readable format. 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. You can only view the files using Amazon Unbox installed on the computer that originally received the downloads..
Basically, this service blows.
Why will there be a price war when the same interests are behind both sites? The face looks different, but the gizzards are the same.
I bit and bought a tv show and then downloaded and installed Unbox which after installing, started to download the show. I decided I didn't want to wait for the download and stopped that. I then tried to uninstall it from my XP SP2 system and the uninstaller connected to Amazon and restarted the download! Couldn't find anyway to prevent this even having Unbox delete the file it had created (which reserved the full space required for the video). Uninstall still kept reconnecting and trying to download the video. I finally had enough of this and used the restore point that had been created when Unbox was installed, the after rebooting, manually deleted the file that had been created. Not very friendly. Larry
Wow. I didn't think the kind of people who say "micro$hit" actually existed. I always thought they were a myth, to scare kids with.
I'd love it if they were to offer you the ability to download a movie instantly when you buy the same DVD from amazon, so you can watch it while the physical disc is in the mail. That way you get the instant gratification, but you will still control the content you own.
I would like to point out that when I looked at the website, the top ten downloads included:
#5 Firefly
#6 Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Funhouse Mystery
#8 Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley: The Case of the Volcano Mystery
This proves beyond a shadow of doubt that Slashdot users are a significant part of the early adoption crowd.
FairTax baby!
They are spinning like a politician on this...
I d=161988011
from the FAQ:
Unfortunately, Apple Computer Inc. has exclusive rights to the
hardware and software that would make it possible for Amazon.com to
provide Amazon Unbox for these devices. Because of these
restrictions, we are unable to make Amazon Unbox compatible with
these products.
Additional information on using Amazon Unbox and purchasing videos
is available on our Help pages at this URL:
www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?node
now wait just a damn minute - there is NOTHING stopping Amazon from writing software for Mac OS X. nothing. Apple allows anyone to write software for Mac OS X. They do not have exclusive rights to the hardware and software to make this work on the Mac.... Microsoft does.
Micorsoft does not write any software to allow non-Windows operating systems to view Windows Media files. (they used to have Windows Media Player for the Mac - but now, they let a small company write a codec for Quicktime to play non-DRM WMP files - Flip4Mac)
Anyhow - screw Amazon - they are lying. They can write any damn software they want for the Mac - and the iPod will play any mp4 file you want.
Nothing is stopping them from making Mac compantible files - its their own problem that they don't.
guns kill people like spoons make Rosie O'Donnell fat.
So this is why MSFT fixed the Windows Media Flaw in 3 days...
Microsoft can't modify MacOS X to add copy protection crap in there at all levels. Think of the protected audio path in WinXP, or the protected video path in Vista. Apple have nothing like those, and as far as I can see they don't intend to either. Microsoft can't add those things to MacOS X themselves, so they refuse to support DRM.
MacOS X is also lacking some other bits that MS-DRM uses (like any equivalent of the "protected storage" section of the registry). Not that it really matters, since they obviously don't work, but it's a nice excuse for Microsoft to not support DRM.
Same deal with Linspire, by the way. It has officially licensed WM codecs, but no DRM because Linux has none of the restrictions that Windows does.
Wait a second: it says specifically that you can't BURN A DVD from the downloaded file. Wha'?
Absolutely the worst idea, and opens the door extra wide for a certain, slightly balding man in a black mock turtleneck...
---- Please be nice in case my Slashdot karma ~= my real life karma.
So I can download Outlaw Star for $3.99 per episode, or I can purchase a complete set of 26 episodes on 6 DVD's from Amazon for $43.88 (or $30.17 used). Of course with the on-line download I get all that special DRM goodness.
[Insert pithy quote here]
"Tell me (slash-dotter)... what good is a (VIDEO) if you're unable to (PLAY IT ON LINUX BOXES)"
ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
Yes, yes, everyone complains about 'teh evil' DRM. I'm sure the studios give Amazon the content with no restrictions at all and it's up to Amazon to decide what happens after that. Right. Sure. The prices must be the same way. Amazon gets it all for free and are just greedy bastards ripping you off like that.
The content owners who set the rules have little relationship with the guys who are providing access to the content. You got a complaint? Buy stock in the content holders and bring it to the shareholders meeting.
There's a reason Apple only has content deals with one studio (I leave it to the general paranoia of this thread to speculate on Jobs' relationship with Disney). It's probably like pulling teeth to get the studios to unclench their sphincters from around those digital copies even in DRM encumbered form.
I love it...
From the description about supported devices:
If your device is Plays for Sure compliant it may work, but we cannot guarantee performance on untested devices. (Emphasis mine.)
Dude, so if all of those people with "Plays for Sure" players will send me 20 bucks now, I'll send them 25 on Monday. For Sure!
If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
Interesting, they charge $2 more for the widescreen. I've either never seen that before in brick & mortar stores, or never noticed.
"... some DRM is good to protect the artists"
The current use of DRM is _not_ to protect the artists.
When the artists make pennies to the big publishing companies dollars, it should be obvious who DRM benefits.
The current use of DRM is control:
- control where and how the renter/"buyer" views/listens to the media.
- when the viewer/listener wants to listen/view the media in some other way, The media must be re-purchaced.
- this re-purchacing leads to a more constant money flow, without the need for new material.
- this combined with a near infinite copyright period helps to maximize profit from old works.
As with many things in society today, a very effective, but irresponsible way to make money is to make the product disposible. If the buyer is forced to throw away the DVD/Music/Computer/Phone every so often, more money is to be made.
Hmm... if a Slashdot submitter doesn't provide the details of a story, they get hammered for it. When they DO provide the details, they get classified as a "shill".
C'mon, I think the way Amazon's store is set up sucks (way to restrictive DRM, no non-Windows support) - but this most certainly qualifies as news.
#DeleteChrome
Quite frankly, $1 for a song, $2 for a 20 minute TV show, and $10 for a movie on iTunes seems completely fair to me. I wish it were cheaper, and at that price I wouldn't go on a shopping spree often, but they have managed to price it at that evil little point in which the content is neither too expensive nor cheap enough. I make a fairly good income, for a High School student at any rate, so I would be happy to buy most of my music/videos.
The problem is the DRM. I don't object to DRM on moral grounds, it simply kills the value of the media for me. I own a PSP and a Treo 650, both of which cannot play the media I buy from iTunes (and Amazon). While I do use a Mac as a primary computer, my secondary Linux box would not be able to use it either. I also want the assurance that I can jump platforms at any time, and still be able to play my media. DRM cannot offer me that assurance, and I don't want to be stuck on any operating system/portable media player simply because the DRM is compatable with it. Also, what happens if, in 10 years, Apple runs out of business (anything can happen in the long term) and shuts down the FairPlay servers? All the stuff you bought is gone forever, as your computer can't obtain the keys to decrypt it.
If I pirate the media, however, I get the same thing, simply DRM free, so I can use it on essentially any operating system/device. The files last forever, untill I destory them myself. Thus, the pirated content is better then that which I can buy. If you think there is little enough encouragement to buy media these days, just put yourself in my shoes.
I have used the iTunes video and music store before, using gift cards I often receive as presents. FairPlay isn't horribly restrictive; you can move the DRMed files anywhere, back them up, transfer them to another computer, using conventional drag n' drop methods. And you can play them on Windows and Mac (not Linux, however). In fact, the only restriction that really bothered me was, unfortunately, the biggest: DRM restricts the platforms on which you can use your media.
I don't beleive in the whole "changing culture" thing many people use to justify piracy as something moral. But I believe in DRM even less. Piracy is my only option if I want the latest episode of the Colbert Report on my Treo 650, and I take that route because the companies controlling the media offered me no legal alternative.
0) you can put it on an unlimited number of ipods that are synched to your computer.
1) Every itunes account can be shared by up to 5 computers.
2) an itunes account can be migrated from one computer to another (so if your computer dies your music does not)
3) you can burn an itunes song to a CD which will work on any computer (not sure about the video)
4) you can convert any song with AAC DRM to DRM free using iMovie on a macintosh.
5) you can convert any AAC DRM song to DRM free using Jhymm.
Does that answer your question?
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
My dad owns several hundred CDs. (500+) So it became an issue of simply storing them. We had two practical ways to deal with it, the first was to simply buy a couple of massive carosel cd players, the second was to convert them to mp3s and get an Audiotron. The latter was cheaper, and turned out to offer a lot more flexibility. (Though encoding that many CDs took a few months) Owning a CD player is no longer worth even the space on the shelf.
It's digital audio, you can always just convert it to mp3 to play it on the stereo right?
So not too long after, he bought a CD online. DRMed. It will never legally play on the audiotron, only on the computer. I went to usenet to get a WORKING version. That's the fundamental problem with buying music online. The music industry wants to use it to impose new restrictions, rather than to expand thier market.
It's easy to feel guilty stealing music. It's hard to feel guilty when I _HAVE_ to break the law to listen to it.
It gets better:
Unfortunately, our Amazon Unbox video downloads are not compatible with Apple / MacIntosh hardware and computer systems.
MacIntosh. Yeah.
I also found this funny:
One hour of programming is roughly equal to one gigabyte (1 GB) of file space on your computer... 1-hour TV episode=1.2GB
And the finale:
Some videos encoded with 5.1 surround sound do not sound as good as possible if your PC's sound settings are not configured properly.
Ya think!?!?
This service is only available within the US. The client seems to determine whether it is in the US by sending a GeoIP lookup request via SOAP. I won't tell you the address, you can do the legwork yourself.
Interestingly, that soap-request contains the amazon username and password to do further SOAP GeoIP lookups.
If you were really devious, you'd either proxy that stuff or manipulate the SOAP response. Nobody here is devious, right ?
You can buy the DVD's on the internet for cheaper prices, and there is no technical curve to playing a DVD. Unless the software creates a burnable DVD that can play on any DVD player with one click, this will fail hard and fast. The only reason iTunes works is because the iPod exists. Its easy to get your music on to the portable player, plus you can burn it to a CD that can be played in any other CD player. The only appeal this Unbox has is the instant gratification of getting a movie on a whim. Unfortunately, most people dont want to watch movies on their computer - they want it on their TV. Most people do not have a media PC hooked up to their TV. So Amazon provides no proper delivery system to get this to the TV set and not one popular leading portable device to drive the portable market either. Is their even a cheap rental option that can beat out NetFlix? Wow, suits can't think.
If Amazon wants to make this actually work, they will sell you the crappy as hell drm'ed digital video AND send you the actual DVD in the mail for the price of the regular DVD. That way you can get the instant gratification and not get ripped off.
Sound waves should be free!
I agree. At least with iTMS I can burn my music to an audio CD which actually works in a non-computer. Until these services let me burn a DVD from their player and let me play it on my iPod, there's no interest here... The whole "Plays for unsure" deal follows the usual Microsoft joke for reliability and interoperability...