The Players In Internet Movie Downloads
Author: Madison Lockwood

There are several online movie download services that have
established themselves as real players in the instant
gratification film niche. The latest to join the fray is Apple
with its iTunes Movie Store. You can download a film to your
Mac, your PC or your iPod - although watching a feature link
film on that three inch screen could leave you babbling into
your popcorn box.

Apple is joining a number of existing online services. The
largest among them include Guba, Movielink, CinemaNow and - who
else? - Amazon's Unbox. With the exception of the Apple site,
you're going to need a PC and in most cases, use the Microsoft
Explorer browser to download your films. It's not just films
that are available - many of the services have a TV library as
well.

There are a number of variations among the sites - size of
library, presence (or absence) of first run films, and
variations in the licensing agreements. Without exception, your
download will include digital rights management (DRM) technology
which controls your use of the downloaded file.

The Apple store recorded one million sales in its first month
of operation, seizing on its position in the media download
market to get off to a running start. They feature Disney
products, but these days Disney has a number of film genres put
out under various labels. Their recent releases cost from $12.99
to $14.99 to download.

Amazon has deals with 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight,
Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros. That's
an excellent collection of partners, and their film lineup
reflects it. You can download The DaVinci Code for just under
fifteen bucks, and a show from TV's CSI for $1.99. They have
been heavily criticized for incorporating some extremely
intrusive software into their download process.

Movie Link is a partnership of several major movie studios,
another example of content developers trying, successfully and
economically or not, to create a distribution network. Their
library is probably the best on the block, as the partner
roster includes MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner
Brothers, Disney, Sundance Channel, BBC, and National
Geographic. If you're searching for an obscure gem, Movie Link
has the largest catalogue online. Their new releases are
usually $19.99 and their better catalogue choices $9.99.

CinemaNow is the only service to have managed a film release
simultaneously with the DVD release, which they accomplished
with "Too Fast Too Furious." They also will provide the ability
- for a price - to burn selected downloads to a DVD. Their
licensed partners include Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, NBC
Universal, Sony, and Warner Bros. Their prices for new releases
range from $14.99 to $19.99 and their catalogue charge is $9.99.


Guba is the bargain download shop, with a library built on
deals with Warner and Sony. They began originally as a Usenet
service provider, and feature a Usenet uploads in their onsite
search. Their prices top out at $9.99.

While Netflix has been talking about getting into the download
business for two years, their service remains in the planning
stage. They're going to be challenged when they make the
transition from DVD to computer file, as many of the major
movie houses have tied up their download rights in services
that are their own creations, such as Movie Link or services in
which they are partners.

The computer-driven movie-on-demand service is on the scene,
and many think it will be the format of choice in a few years.
A top end PC is capable of being a highly functional
entertainment center, and the convenience of true on-demand
films is going to overshadow even the most sophisticated cable
TV on-demand services, as compression technology improves and
download times drop.


About The Author: Madison Lockwood is a customer relations
associate for http://www.apollohosting.com . She helps clients
understand how a website may benefit them both personally and
professionally.  Apollo Hosting provides website hosting,
ecommerce hosting, & VPS hosting to a wide range of customers.