Cinemanow Apple Mac Movie Downloads

In a move that could step up the competitive pressure on Apple, movie download service
CinemaNow has inked a deal that will make its movie and TV show downloads playable on both PCs and Macs.

CinemaNow announced today it has signed a deal to use Widevine Technologies' multi-format digital rights management and copy-protection technology to make CinemaNow's video downloads playable on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms. The technology also enables CinemaNow to stream movies to users through the Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari and Opera browsers.

The move could help the company wrestle market share away from Apple iTunes, which dominates the paid digital video business. Up to now, iTunes has been the only download service to sell major studio movie downloads playable on Apple computers and PCs.

CinemaNow, Amazon.com, Movielink and others have been restricted by DRM to offering downloads compatible with PCs and Windows Media portable devices, the latter of which make up a fraction of the portable market compared to the iPod.

ITunes still offers the only downloads playable on the iPod, giving it a considerable edge over competitors.

With its Widevine partnership, CinemaNow�s digital content will be available on a wide range of consumer electronic devices as well as new devices shipping to retail with CinemaNow�s "CE Store" application. CinemaNow downloads still won�t play on iPods, a spokeswoman confirmed.

"Widevine�s technology helps CinemaNow expand delivery of high-quality digital content across any consumer electronics device or platform," CinemaNow chief technology officer Jesse Keane said in a statement announcing the deal. "With the integration of Widevine�s multi-platform and multi-format solution, we ensure our content partners receive the highest level of protection, which is a key factor in their ongoing support for CinemaNow�s open platform and domain-based business model."

The move comes as several competitors have dropped out of the download business and others are shifting their models. Last week, news broke that Starz Entertainment's Vongo service and Morgan Freeman-backed movie service ClickStar shut down. Meanwhile, Amazon launched a streaming movie service called Amazon Video On Demand in beta last month as an eventual replacement for its Unbox download service, which has gotten off to a slow start. Amazon's streaming service is playable on PC, Mac and Linux computers.

CinemaNow Movie Downloads Review

CinemaNow movie download service offers movie rentals, memberships and downloads for purchase from popular movie companies like Disney, MGM, 20th Century Fox and Miramax.

This service has a little something for everybody, from family favorites, cult classics to major new releases.

This service even offers streaming video, HD downloads and they are completely compatible with Windows Mobile??based Portable Media Centers.

CinemaNow has collaborated with many Hollywood heavy hitters to total over 250 licensors to offer over 4000 titles. They have created relationships with media moguls like Disney, Microsoft, MGM, Miramax, NBC Universal, 20th Century Fox, ABC News and Vivid Video.

Movie Download Selection
This movie download site is a little more adult oriented than some of the other sites that we reviewed. For example, they only offer 105 titles in their family section, whereas they offer 600 Drama and 300 action titles as well as a large adult content section. However, they do provide parental controls and do not display graphic images on their regular pages. It is a good idea to visit this site before your kids do, to set the parental controls, because they are not automatically on.

At the time this review was completed they offered almost 25 pages of New Releases for rent, which included popular titles like Ghost Rider, Pan?s Labyrinth and the Astronaut Farmer. CinemaNow also offers independent films and titles from smaller production companies.

Ease of Use of Movie Download Service
This movie download service is a bit different from other movie download services, they offer a membership plan, movies for rent and for downloadable purchase (digital sell through).
CinemaNow has recently included a ?Burn to DVD? section that allows you to burn selected titles and play them on most DVD players. Furthermore, they let you browse their extensive selection without having to register or sign up for a membership-you can see what they offer before making a commitment.

Their membership is a bit pricey at $29.95 per month and includes adult content videos, news and concert downloads and access to nearly 1400 free videos. However, membership does not provide unlimited access to the Hollywood hit rentals, these are offered pay per movie only.

If you choose to rent a movie, they range from $1.99 to $3.99 each and you have unlimited access for 24 hours after you begin watching the film.

Digital sell through movies vary in price and they offer nearly 1400 of these titles.

Their downloads are extremely compatible with Microsoft products, they work with Windows Mobile??based Portable Media Centers and are available for streaming or download. They also offer High Definition (HD) downloads. However, their services are not available for Macintosh or through browsers other than Internet Explorer.

CinemaNow posts customer reviews and hosts several account management tools including parental controls, My Media Manager and a Recently Browsed section. The service supports searches by title, actor, director or keyword, genre, format and device.

Summary
For quick, studio backed and legal downloads try CinemaNow. This service offers choices for all ages and all tastes, from Comic Superheroes to Cult Classics to Feature Films. So instead of getting in your car or waiting for a two hour download, visit CinemaNow, and get it NOW....

CinemaNow: burn-to-DVD digital movies via Windows MC

Representing the latest effort to compete with iTunes in the burgeoning movie download space, CinemaNow is now offering a variety of paid content services through Windows Media Center. These include download-to-own movies, priced from $10 to $20; TV shows and music videos are priced at $2.

The company claims that download-to-own movies are available day-and-date of retail DVD release, but doesn't mention the breadth of the upcoming library (right now there are about 3,400 feature-length movies in CinemaNow's collection). The service will also offer 24 hour movie rentals priced between $3 and $4. Select Pay-Per-View titles are available day-and-date of retail DVD release.

CinemaNow also enables customers to legally download a DVD, play it back on their PC, and burn a copy to a blank DVD disc. The disc can then be played in virtually any DVD player with full remote control navigation and access to all of the special features. Burn-to-DVD movies are priced from $9 to $15.

The service will also take advantage of Microsoft's Internet TV Beta ? a U.S. offering within Windows Media Center that "allows consumers to choose from more than 100 hours of TV entertainment, music concerts, movie trailers, news, and sports content" ? and Online Media, which offers sports news and statistics from Fox Sports, XM Radio, HSN Vision, and Showtime TV.

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CinemaNow stike deal with Macrovision

Online movie download site CinemaNow Inc. has struck a deal with software maker Macrovision Corp. aimed at making it easier for manufacturers of media players and other devices to make their products compatible with CinemaNow's on-demand movie service.

Terms of the agreement, which was being officially announced Thursday, were not made public.

CinemaNow has been pushing to make its movie service available beyond users' personal computers, with the goal of enabling users to easily transfer movie downloads for viewing on TV sets.

CinemaNow users can currently download movies and videos from the service for viewing on televisions via several devices, including Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360, certain portable media players from Archos and Samsung Electronics Co., and on Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Media Smart LCD TVs.

The Macrovision deal should eventually lead to many more compatible devices coming to market in the second half of this year, said Curt Marvis, CinemaNow's chief executive officer.

"This year we'll see CinemaNow start to become available across a very, very broad spectrum of products," Marvis said.

The agreement called for both companies to integrate their technology. Consumer electronics manufacturers, many of which already incorporate Macrovision's anti-piracy or digital distribution technologies in their products, will have to update their Macrovision technology for their new devices.

Devices equipped with the technology will be able to download movies, music videos and other CinemaNow programming directly to digital TV sets, set-top boxes and network-attached storage devices. The devices will also be able to find, stream and play other content stored on a home network, CinemaNow said.

The Macrovision-CinemaNow technology alone won't make devices automatically compatible with CinemaNow's service, but it should make it far easier for manufacturers to adapt them, Marvis said.

CinemaNow is privately held and has about 1.5 million monthly users.

Among its investors are Lionsgate Entertainment Corp., Microsoft Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and Blockbuster Inc.

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