Wow! This is huge! According to an article in USA Today, you’ll soon be able to buy downloadable movies from walmart.com.
“New releases will be available at www.walmart.com/videodownloads on the same day they come out on DVD and will cost up to $19.88. Older films will go for up to $9.88.”
“TV episodes will be $1.96 the day after they air. Networks on board include Fox, CW and Viacom’s MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Logo and VH1.”
“The retailer that accounts for 40% of all U.S. DVD sales will offer about 3,000 movies and TV shows to buy and download”
OK, the price is a bit steep, but being the lazy a$$ I am, I might bite. This gives me hope though for future prices:
“Although download and DVD prices are similar, “In the end, consumers will determine pricing,” he says.”
It will be interesting to see what devices the movies will play on. It appears to use Microsoft WMP DRM since it’s PC only/Internet Explorer–no Mac/iPod support. “Some portable devices using Microsoft’s digital rights system” will work. Hmmm…Zune???. You can back up the files up to 3 times, but the backup is–not surprisingly–not playable.
The reason I’m really excited is that this is just the first step. I SO badly want downloadable movies available on their theatrical release date.
Supposedly it will take about 45 minutes to download, but the big negative is that it will not include any bonus material…you know outtakes, etc.