If Apple unveils a movie download divine service at its September 12 press event as it ’s widely expect to do , it will have some troupe . What ’s more , whatever service Apple wind up announcing will follow on the heel of a digital video store launched by another tech industry giant .
on-line retail merchant Amazon.com take the wrapping off itsUnbox Video Storeon Thursday . The storehouse boasts thousands of DVD - quality video from more than 30 movie and telly studios ; users can hive away downloads on up two PC and two portable video instrumentalist . In improver to offering movies and TV display for purchase , Unbox also features $ 4 movie rentals .
By combining television show purchases with movie downloads , Unboxinvites inevitable compare to Apple ’s iTunes Music Store , peculiarly in Light Within of Apple ’s upcoming press result ( simulate , that is , that Apple has anything involve movie downloads up its sleeve ) . To put those comparison in context , then , here ’s what you ’ll detect at the Unbox Video Store — as well as what ’s miss .
What Unbox offers
Amazon opened Unbox with seven motion-picture show studios—20th Century Fox , Fox Searchlight , Lionsgate , Paramount , Sony , Universal and Warner Bros. Unbox is institutionalize between $ 7.99 and $ 14.99 for most pic . Rentals of the tardy movies be $ 3.99 , render the studios the flexibility that they were look for .
Users who rent movies will have 30 days to watch the video file . What ’s more , after they begin playing the filing cabinet , they have 24 hours to finish watch it ; after those 24 hours , the video recording is automatically deleted from their computer .
Videos purchased from Unbox can be stored on up to two PCs and two portable video players at once , Amazon.com says . When a substance abuser downloads a picture show or show , Unbox mechanically sends a second download data file optimized for Windows Media - compatible portable devices . As an example of file size , a two - and - a - half - hour film likeThe Matrixcomes as a 2.2 GB file ; the nomadic file size is 520 MB .
Unbox keeps track of medium purchases on a personal page at Amazon ’s Your Media Library , and acts as a backup , allowing exploiter to download video purchase onto an extra personal computer . Amazon.com says users can hive away download file cabinet on a DVD ; however , DVD with Unbox data file wo n’t be clear by a videodisc participant . substance abuser will only be capable to watch the single file burned on that DVD on the computer that to begin with received the download .
Users with older microcomputer may incur it difficult to encounter Unbox ’s ironware requirements . At lower limit , user will need a PC with a 1.5GHz processor and 512 M of memory , in addition to a DirectX - compliant video ( 64 MB ) and sound carte . user must also have an Internet link capable of free burning 800kbps data conveyance pace , Amazon says .
What ’s missing
You ’ll observe there ’s been no cite of the iPod so far . That ’s because Amazon.com has launched Unbox without any sustenance for the hand-held medicine and video recording role player that dominates the market for such devices .
Not only does Unbox scorn the iPod — it put up no Mac funding whatsoever . The avail necessitate Microsoft ’s Windows XP . Amazon advise that Unbox may work out on Intel - based Macs with the aid of package such asBoot CamporParallels Desktopthat lets Mac users run Windows XP , but the retailer say it can not guarantee carrying into action on those machine .
observably absent from Unbox ’s lean of participating movie studios is Disney . Apple CEO Steve Jobs sits on Disney ’s gameboard of directors and is the company ’s largest individual shareholder — a office he assumed in the beginning this year when Disney buy Pixar . It ’s widely take on that , should Apple annunciate a movie download serve of its own , Disney with its near ties to Jobs would be one of the first participate motion picture studios .
What it means to Apple
The participation of so many studio in Amazon.com ’s venture raises questions about whether those same companies will be willing to also fall in force with Apple , if a download service is on tap for next week . Negotiations between Apple and the major movie studio apartment have been strained , as the side wrangle over pricing . Apple reportedly desire all movies sold for one price , standardized to the pricing structure throughout the rest of the iTunes store ; motion picture studio are rumored to want wide-ranging pricing , as is available through Unbox . Apple reportedly also wants digital downloads to be uncommitted the same day as DVDs are released while the studio desire wide-ranging spillage dates .
So what if Apple were to throw a picture show service launching party this Tuesday , and only Disney show up ? Analysts say they ’re not concern if Apple debut a new serve with just one studio better half — that ’s what happened when the company added TV program to the iTunes Music Store a year ago , after all . But this meter around , Apple faces competition from an naturalized service of process — even if that service has been around for less than a week .
Should Apple unveil a picture download table service , the company is almost sure to use iTunes as the metier management tool . That ’s not an peanut point — adding such capability to iTunes gives both Mac and Windows user of the armed service the ability to manageallof their digital media : music , television , and ( theoretically ) movies . It also provides a style for Mac and Windows users to synchronise media with their iPod — something Unbox lacks .
Amazon has given us something to think about with its video memory and pricing modeling , but by not having supporting for the iPod , Amazon has given users a reason to await . If Apple successfully negotiates price with film studios , next week ’s extra consequence could have Mac and Windows iTunes user download and syncing movies with their iPods very quickly .
[ Jim Dalrymple is Macworld.com ’s News Director . ]
