Download-To-Own Movies: Get Less For More!
from the business-models-that-stink dept
You may recall CinemaNow - the major studio backed online movie downloading company - from the review in the NY Times last year which included such great quotes as: "How CinemaNow stays in business is a marvel. The site is so marred by typos and poor programming, it could have been a high school sophomore's first Web design project." and "CinemaNow stand[s] out primarily for [its] puny selection, poor video quality and overly rigid copy protection." A ringing endorsement. Well, now it looks like they're trying to adjust their business model, and instead of just allowing people to watch movies for a limited time, they're starting up a "download-to-own" feature complete with annoying copy protection (of course). As with the download movie rentals, you get less for more. Now, instead of actually owning a DVD that you can play anywhere on any machine (and which comes with extras and perhaps a booklet with more info), you get a digital copy of the movie that is completely clamped down on the machine you downloaded it on. Also, the prices are more expensive than buying a DVD. A quick look at their featured choice for "download-to-own" shows that you can get the same movie, brand new, on DVD at Amazon for $3.75 less. They're also claiming that you can now start watching a movie 30 seconds after it begins downloading. If it really works well, that's great, but if it includes typical video buffer loading pauses, I imagine it's not going to make many movie renters happy.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
j
nxjxjjzhzsjbsxh$38;$8;$
ksjdjdidjidhxhshdhznxgzbgs hbvbhhxjhghdxjxhxjxhxjxuxjxjhxhduxx
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
$!.$.'zvzgz
&;7.7.8.&,$),uxjhxndxhjrxiyehywjdydbhxbxbsgdb zhndhdjhcjhgddhdhdhfhjxdhhddudhdhx xhxuxjxjxhmxhxjxmzcjxlxjjxnnxjCjzncuxjixjxsjfjdkjxjxjdjxkxkxkkxkkzbxjxdklLfjxjhxjndjdnzjdnxjdbshxnxh xixjxhfkxhxjj
xudjxixkjcjik
jxlxllxkkkkkcjxjxnhdjjjjjkhhxxjxnxncnkdhdjdkxjdjdhxjhexjxjjsjjxjxjxjjj xhxjzjzzjzjkChufbxsjjzjdskdlksjJJNZjcjxnxjxjxjxhxjhxhdhxjsdhjxenxjzbhzjzxhjxjzdjzjxhxjjxjxhdjxjcxjjx njxkxlxjcjxnxjxjixixpdidpl
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]