http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/ Engadget Comments for Wal-Mart signs big 6 studios for movie downloads http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/
Will they ever learn.. sigh]]>Feb 6th 2007 4:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/Feb 6th 2007 7:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/
So for example a DRM'ed "24" will end up costing close to 50 bucks. Crazy. Why not just get the DVD box with better quality and extras for $40, watch it and sell it on eBay?

Unless they are selling these in almost real time (right after they have been shown on TV), I fail to see *any* point in this. Not even then, actually.

Not that this really matters, as I live in Europe.

Our choices are the following:

* Wait a year or more for the series to start on TV (if they are shown at all)

* Wait even more for the R2 DVD box (or buy R1 DVD if you have a modded player)

* P2P (sadly)

I'd be happy to pay $20-25 for something like a season of 24 in downloadable format IF I could get it immediately after it's shown in the US, IF the quality was decent and IF it wasn't riddled with some ridiculous DRM ("watch once, rewinding not possible and we install some spyware on your computer").

As it is, media companies don't want my money. They want to spend *their* money and resources chasing teenagers who download stuff illegally from the internet, instead of coming up with a decent digital content distribution system.

The technology is already there, but the will isn't.]]>Feb 6th 2007 7:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/Feb 6th 2007 7:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/Feb 6th 2007 9:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/
Really though, no rentals? Not interested. I'll stick with Netflix and their combined offering of DVDs and streaming movies.]]>Feb 6th 2007 10:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/Feb 6th 2007 10:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/
The FAQ states this is supported now.

As a test I just snagged a $7.50 video - came down at over 500kbps in little over 38 minutes. the process was simple and easy to setup. Windows Media can play the files which are simply wmv video. Seems pretty slick to me.]]>Feb 6th 2007 10:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/
Does this mean I need to have my DVD player online to watch a DVD copy??? If so this is a major deal breaker for me...]]>Feb 14th 2007 3:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/Feb 6th 2007 12:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/
"Can I transfer movies or TV episodes to my iPod, Zune, or other portable hand devices?
Due to licensing restrictions, videos purchased from Wal-Mart Video Downloads are not compatible with Apple iPods, Sony PSPS, or Microsoft Zune portable players"]]>Feb 6th 2007 11:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/
What format(s) are available for TV episodes?

Portable: Our TV episodes are optimized for fast downloads and viewing on the go. All TV shows can be played on both your PC/Laptop and compatible portable video players. Please note that due to licensing restrictions portable files will not play on iPOD, Sony PSP, or Microsoft Zune portable players.
Technical Specification: 320 X 240 resolution, 30 fps, 500-810 kbps bit rate.]]>Feb 6th 2007 12:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/
http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/548/picture1zm0.jpg

The best part of this whole ordeal is the fact that the only recognizable thing on the Wal-Mart download page is the word "BETA." Indeed.]]>Mar 6th 2008 3:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/
Just like their music site, it is written for and renders fine in IE 6 on Win XP. However, the search window relies heavily upon client-side Java applets.

Also, during the related actor search, several of the movies listed the Film Cast as "null." Pretty sloppy programming.]]>Feb 6th 2007 10:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/Feb 8th 2007 6:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/Feb 6th 2007 9:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/Feb 13th 2007 8:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/06/wal-mart-signs-big-6-studios-for-movie-downloads/Feb 23rd 2007 5:40PM