Adult dvd rental unlimited

Users aren't streaming to download movies

Dallas Morning News

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

Instead of the bright and brassy Internet presence predicted by many, the downloadable movie scene has been a decided flop.

Online X-rated cinematic productions flourish, but family viewing choices have dwindled in the last year. Some early players have exited, stage left. And the two major Web-based services that remain are wrestling with delivery, pricing and less-than-compelling catalogs.

Many analysts still say Internet video-on-demand will thrive as more consumers blend computers into entertainment centers. By 2006, In-Stat/MDR researchers predict, 7.6 million North American broadband subscribers will shower Hollywood with more than $820 million in movie subscription and rental fees.

But for now, Internet video is just another coming attraction. In recent months, Intertainer.com folded and accused the big studios of monopolistic practices. Movies.com, a Disney-20th Century Fox venture, never got its download service up and running as promised.

There are limited ventures out there, such as Atomfilms.com and SightSound.com. But for major studio releases, only Movielink.com and CinemaNow.com remain.

Movielink is backed by Sony, Time Warner, Vivendi Universal, MGM and Paramount Pictures, and offers downloads of about 450 films from a wide range of studios. CinemaNow -- financed by Blockbuster, Microsoft and Lions Gate Entertainment -- carries the products of only MGM, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Lions Gate.

While CinemaNow boasts 1,200 available films, 519 of them are in the adult "After Dark" category.

You won't see current releases posted at either site, and neither service beats the corner video store to recent releases. Everything in the CinemaNow and Movielink catalogs debuts in the so-called pay- per-view window -- after arrival in video rental stores and before their appearance on television movie channels.

Josh Bernoff, a Forrester analyst who covers video-on-demand, said studios are unlikely to offer any breaks soon to the Internet sites. That's because they don't want to cut into the profits generated by Blockbuster and other rental outlets, which account for about 90% of revenue, he says.

Viewing a newer release by download or streaming will cost about $5 on either service -- not an attractive price when compared with video stores. But the services may appeal to a couple of niches.

Travelers who want to watch a movie on the plane may find downloads cheaper than upgrading laptops with DVD drives.

Both CinemaNow and Movielink allow you to stream movies or to download them and watch later. The rental periods are usually 30 days with unlimited viewing of the film for any 24-hour period. After you start watching, the files destroy themselves at the appointed witching hour.

CinemaNow offers several subscriptions that allow unlimited viewing of certain classifications of its catalog. A premium subscription ($9.95 a month or $49.95 a year) gives you access to low- budget flicks. Premium Plus ($29.95 a month or $99.95 a year) adds adult titles. For anything current, you'll pay at least $3.99 as a "pay-per-view" fee, whether you've got a subscription or not.

Technically, the experience is uneven. At CinemaNow, the interface makes it difficult to survey options. After you find a flick, register and provide credit card information, the site forces you to download various software components.

Both Movielink and CinemaNow are vying for spots in the interface of Microsoft Media Center PCs. These machines, making their way into household entertainment centers, may give Internet video-on-demand a foothold with consumers.

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