Amazon unveils video download service

[Paddy]

http://playlistmag.com/news/2006/09/08/unbox/index.php

Pretty stupid move to make it PC-only, if you ask me...since I can't see any earthly reason why they'd need to do that.

Should be interesting to see what Apple comes up with - if the rumors are correct and they're about to get into the downloadable movie business. You can bet they won't be limiting it to just Mac users!!

[Parker]

well they can't compete with apple now... eh?

[swhitset]

"Pretty stupid move to make it PC-only, if you ask me...since I can't see any earthly reason why they'd need to do that."

I haven't checked out your link yet, but I would bet the reason it's PC only is DRM related.  Most of these PC only services use Microsoft's  Windows Media DRM which does not work on mac.  Some of these companies even claim that they would like to have a mac service as well using Apple's fairplay DRM.  Of course Apple won't open it up to third parties.  

Steve

[krissel]

Well, it seems a lot of PC people won't be using it either.

QUOTE

The service only works on Microsoft Corp.’s Windows XP. Users with older PCs may also find it difficult to meet Unbox’s hardware requirements. At minimum, a PC needs a 1.5GHz microprocessor and 512MB of memory, in addition to a DirectX compliant video (64MB) and sound card. Users must also have an Internet connection capable of sustained 800kbps data transfer rates, Amazon said.

[kimmer]

I haven't read the FAQ's but a friend has. She shared this with me:

QUOTE

This was in the FAQ about copying to a DVD:  

QUOTE

Can I make a DVD from my Amazon Unbox downloads?

You can store your downloaded files on a DVD or other removable computer storage device for the purpose of backup in the same format as the original files. However, any DVDs that you burn with Amazon Unbox files will not be readable by a DVD player. You can only view the files using Amazon Unbox installed on the computer that originally received the downloads..

So you can only watch it on a computer or some hand-held video devices, or on your TV if you can hook up your computer to your TV, so that the image feeds to your TV, but if you still want DVD's of the movies or shows that you could play on a DVD player, you would still need to buy the DVD's.  

Personally, with all the firewall stuff we now have in place, I have slow downloads as though I was on dial-up and I wouldn't spend the time. Besides, I'm working on cleaning out our movie collection -- it takes up too much room.    Poor Sneakers.  

[Paddy]

Ah - well, there you have it. It requires software to play these movies - they're not stored in normal DVD formats. THAT'S why it's Windows only. Well - I don't want to watch movies on my Mac anyway! So...I think I'll stick to OnDemand and Blockbuster. If I had more time to actually watch things, NetFlix is a much better deal, IMHO.

[D76]

Tom Merritt, a blogger on CNET, found that Unbox hijacked his 'Doze box. That's another reason Amazon won't let Macs hook up — Amazon can't take control of your life.