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  1. #1
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    Coming soon: Download-to-own films

    LONDON, England -- Universal Pictures and the online rental firm Lovefilm are launching what they say is the world's first download-to-own movie service in Britain next month.

    Starting with "King Kong" on April 10, the companies say the new service will let people watch the latest movies on their laptops, home computers or hand-held devices while on the move.

    Currently, films can be legally downloaded only for a short rental period, but this is the first legitimate means of downloading and owning a movie release, the UK's Press Association reported.

    "Download-to-own has the potential to completely revolutionize the way people watch movies," PA quoted Peter Smith, president of Universal Pictures International, as saying.

    Films will be available to download the same day the DVD is released. Consumers will get the film in three formats: two digital files available for instant download -- one for a PC or laptop and one for a portable device -- and a DVD copy sent by mail.

    Initially, 35 Universal films will be available, including "Pride And Prejudice," "The Bourne Supremacy," "Love Actually," "Nanny McPhee" and "Bridget Jones."

    They will be priced from £19.99 ($35) for the latest releases to £9.99 ($17.50) for older films. Downloading a film will take between 40 minutes and an hour.

    "The time is only 12-18 months away when you will be able to put the kettle on, get the kids ready and then have a great movie ready to watch," Lovefilm chief executive Mark Livingstone told PA.

    Eventually all 6,500 movies in the Universal catalogue could be made available for downloading, PA reported.

    The films will be available on the Lovefilm and AOL Web sites. AOL, like CNN, is owned by Time Warner.

    New films will be available at midnight on the day of release -- meaning consumers could be watching a DVD on a hand-held device on their train journey to work before stores have opened.

    Security measures will make it impossible to e-mail the film to somebody else.

    "Consumers are becoming more and more demanding. They want quality products and more accessibility," said Eddie Cunningham, chairman of Universal Pictures UK.

    "This service offers instant access and flexibility for consumers to watch films wherever they like."

    Universal's research showed that 12- to 18-year-olds in particular are keen to watch films on their laptops or portable devices.
    First MP3s now Movies. The three format option looks nice.

    Why don't we just finish the job by flushing our brains down the toilet?

    My DVD Collection

  2. #2
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    £19.99 -- Is this the regular price of DVD's in the UK?
    Seems kind of high since you aren't getting an actual DVD or case.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jean-Pierre Bazinet
    £19.99 -- Is this the regular price of DVD's in the UK?
    Thats the highest price for Dvd's in the UK, usualy they are about £17.99.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jean-Pierre Bazinet
    £19.99 -- Is this the regular price of DVD's in the UK?
    Seems kind of high since you aren't getting an actual DVD or case.
    I believe you will get the DVD also by mail.
    Films will be available to download the same day the DVD is released. Consumers will get the film in three formats: two digital files available for instant download -- one for a PC or laptop and one for a portable device -- and a DVD copy sent by mail.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jean-Pierre Bazinet
    £19.99 -- Is this the regular price of DVD's in the UK?
    Seems kind of high since you aren't getting an actual DVD or case.
    Usually the RRP is £15.99. Unnless you are Universal, in which case, you have the single disc Bridget Jones at £24.99 RRP.

    Thankfully most fall dramatically in price, some even being £5.99 within 6 months of release.

  6. #6
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    lol ... 20 pounds for a movie? hell no! for the same price or even less you'll get hd-dvd/blu-ray in a few weeks. or you buy the regular dvd. the price for a downloadable movie at this rate is way to high.

  7. #7
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    average price for a new dvd in UK is £13.99

    i live in UK so i know.

    go to places like www.amazon.co.uk www.hmv.co.uk www.play.com to see prices.

  8. #8
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    They will be priced from £19.99 ($35) for the latest releases to £9.99 ($17.50) for older films. Downloading a film will take between 40 minutes and an hour.
    hmmm....i'd like to know what type of bandwidth they are looking at. most DVDs are going to be 8.5g, so there is no way they are going to push movies to the mass public and have everyone getting it in an hour.

    unless, they are going to be relasing a low quality version just for downloading, which makes more sense. forces people to purchase the DVD if they want better quality.

    im all for this...but i think they need to do some more research first bfore they start making claims like that.
    "I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone …
    but they've always worked for me,"

    Hunter S.Thompson

  9. #9
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    Thumbs down

    Quote Originally Posted by red bear
    most DVDs are going to be 8.5g
    wrong if it's a dvd9, then max size is 7.95gb and that includes the movie, extras and the menu. only a few dvds really maxed out the size for the movie. most common size is 4 - 5gb for the movie alone including the main audio track.

    when universal speaks of 1hour download time, then i believe the resolution will be around 640x... , max 480p. possible codec will be h.264 or wm9.

    still, way to expensive!!!

  10. #10
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    I see this as just another step before Video On Demand completely takes over the home video market. HBO and Showtime have both moved into the market. I see it as inevitable at this point...
    http://web.sm3thegame.com/media/2502/2863/9999999/BannerPassContest1.gif

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