movielink Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's been awhile since we last heard anything about Movielink. Actually, it's been awhile since we last heard any news regarding movie download sites in general. Honestly, I had pretty much forgotten about them, despite the news earlier this year about Hollywood giving the greenlight on download-to-DVD options. But today we get a doozy of an announcement relating to the topic: Blockbuster Video is buying Movielink.com. I'm sure I'm not the only person not surprised by the decision. I've been expecting Blockbuster to do something with downloads for a few years now -- though I did think they'd develop something new, in-house. Going with Movielink seems easier, but it also brings any baggage the download site has in terms of reputation and satisfaction -- something I can't speak for since I've never tried their service. All I know is that in two years Movielink (and CinemaNow and Guba, etc.) has failed to show the world that this is the wave of the future. Part of this, I believe, is due to the high price of movie downloads. Then there's also the matter of iTunes jumping in late and stealing the show. Blockbuster will have to figure out a cheaper cost -- among other things -- if it hopes to compete.

Personally I have little interest in movie downloads, because I have little patience and a terrible attention span when it comes to watching stuff on my computer. If anything I would rather watch streaming videos on the web, and even then I prefer short stuff or segmented films (unfortunately my favorite segmented streaming movie site was not legal). Even as a longtime fan and subscriber of Netflix, I haven't yet been able to finish a whole feature on the company's new streaming, Video-on-Demand-style "Watch Now" option (and even though I don't take full advantage, I'm still disappointed that Netflix's recent price decreases caused customers' streaming hours to decrease as well). Blockbuster's purchase of Movielink is probably going to be seen as more directly competitive with this Netflix service (than with iTunes), so we'll have to see what people prefer -- streaming or download -- in the future. Blockbuster's plan for now is to continue to operate Movielink as is, but they'll also be integrating the site's technology and elements into Blockbuster.com.

We may have the first important movie tech story of 2007: The major studios have approved new security technology for downloaded movies that are burned to DVD. Sonic Solutions Inc. has introduced their Qflix system, which adds a digital lock to the DVDs. This copy-protection lock isn't much different from the locks used on store-bought DVDs, though because it is for burned discs, it will require customers to buy a new kind of blank DVD and a new kind of DVD burner.

This could be a very big step in the movie download business, because one of the downsides so far has been that few movie sites have been given permission to offer a download-to-burn option. CinemaNow introduced such an option last summer, but it got a bad reputation. Another concern for downloaders is with the restriction of multiple burnings, but the movie download sites will likely allow for two burns, which seems in my opinion to be plenty for non-pirates.

In addition to benefiting the personal computer movie downloaders, Qflix is going to aid the in-store download kiosks that were being discussed last year. These kiosks will offer an extensive list of titles to be downloaded and burned at places like Walmart and Target.

Significant issues still exist for movie downloads, such as reasonable cost and picture quality, and until these issues are dealt with or bettered, downloaded movies are still not that appealing for mass consumption. But at least the studios are headed in the right direction.

In totally unrelated news, Blockbuster Video has shut all its stores in Peru.

More on movie downloading:

Film Clips: Direct-to-Download: The New Wave of Film Distrib?

Cinematical Seven: The Most Important Things to Happen in Film in 2006

Earlier this month, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer let out the news that the studio would soon be selling movie downloads through Movielink, CinemaNow and iTunes. Not only that, but when asked when the movies would be available on iTunes (keep in mind Apple hasn't announced a service for feature films yet, since they were only said to be in negotiations with studios), Feltheimer said before the end of 2006. That gives us only a few months left in this year until we get to see if Apple can do for movies what it has done for music.

Industry experts are expecting Apple to make an official announcement on September 12, when the Apple Expo 2006 opens in Paris. BusinessWeek is also reporting that the pricing for these iTunes movie downloads will be $14.99 for new releases and $9.99 for older titles. Additionally, the magazine says that Apple will be releasing a new wide-screen iPod, news of which has been rumored for many months now.

Now, according to every internet complaint out there, the pricing for movie downloads are still a problem. If this pricing plan is correct, then iTunes is a bit cheaper for new releases than their competitors, but it still isn't great. Yet, when the service first began with music downloads, it didn't seem plausible that so many people would pay even a dollar for songs they were previously downloading for free, and look what happened there. Could Apple revolutionize digital distribution of movies within the next few months? We'll just have to wait and see.

This has been the year of the movie download, as studios have finally accepted the concept and have partnered with sites like CinemaNow, MovieLink and Guba. The problem is, downloading movies -- legally anyway -- still isn't a very popular idea. This could be due to many problems, such as picture quality and limitations on burning the movies to disc, but the main deterrent to consumers seems to be the price. All of the sites have been selling movies for a price too close to the cost of a DVD, which is certainly a better format.

Now Guba, which offers titles from Sony and Warner Bros., has slashed its prices. New movies are now only $9.99 (down from $19.99) and older movies are $4.99 (down from $9.99). But don't get too excited from this news. The site is only discounting its downloads for a limited time, likely not much more than a month. This seems like a desperate move and will undoubtedly attract people who can't decide which site to sign up with, but it's just bait for customers who probably won't stick around when the prices go back up.

While some reports are saying the move is simply to compete with iTunes for TV Show downloads, there is no logic in that thinking. Even though Guba is now offering shows for only 49 cents, compared with iTunes' $1.99, Guba only offers four shows, and none are probably that much in demand. But Guba does have reason to fear competition with iTunes, as Apple's in-the-works movie download service will probably blow them away when it finally arrives.

In Monday's Wall Street Journal, Sarah McBride reports that Tuesday's release of Brokeback Mountain on DVD will not only herald its viewing by a gaggle of fans who got to hear all about it during award season, but a slew of folks who are into the whole "I got a copy online - legally" thing, too. While this will apparently be a pricey proposition for those who choose to go with the broadband-downloaded version -- the expectation is that "newer" films on Movielink will be between $20-$30, according to the article -- the big story here is really that the studios are getting with the program, and realizing that downloaded versions, whether legal or not, are the way things are going, and a preferred method for a lot of people.

Will this bring a little bit more positive light towards Movielink and the studios? Maybe a little, but probably not that much if the pricing is going to be out of whack. A lot of people who like having a digital version would still know how to get around most of the security features of whatever they have purchased above the board, and the extra step might be worth a 50% bounty on having that digital version. Let's just realize that for the big biz folks, it's all about baby steps.