We had a pretty good feeling this would go down eventually, but we certainly didn't see a confirmation (of sorts, anyway) coming this soon. Jim Denney, VP of product marketing at TiVo, has been quoted as saying that although the current version of Amazon Unbox can't process high-definition content, TiVo and Amazon will jointly announce HD capabilities "in the not too distant future." Granted, the content -- whenever it does actually arrive -- will only be accessible by "cable subscribers" with adequate bandwidth, but it's not like that's any sort of surprise. Sadly, details beyond what you've seen here were left out, but at least you can sleep soundly tonight knowing that high-def Unbox material is most certainly on the horizon.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

There's nothing like a random question on a marketing survey to get the old rumor juices flowing, but we wouldn't be at all surprised to find that Amazon is working on HD Unbox rentals, as hinted by the latest survey sent to customers. Respondents were asked to prioritize several interesting potential features, including HD downloads, instant streaming of DVDs ordered from Amazon, ad-supported free streaming, and the ability to browse your entire Unbox purchase history from a TiVo. Actually, several questions focused on the TiVo and other media streamers -- it looks like Amazon's at least considering developing the TiVo as its answer to the Apple TV and Xbox 360. Of course, if that's the case then HD downloads need to happen yesterday, since Unbox already way behind iTunes and Xbox Live Video Marketplace in that regard -- and with the possibility of Netflix coming to the 360 and PS3, it stands to fall even farther back. We'll see how this plays out -- hopefully the high-def download scene is about to blow up.

Apparently a move to Amazon Unbox isn't all that's in the cards for NBC's lineup of television programming, newly free of those iTunes shackles. The company is going to start testing a new NBC Direct service in October with full, free downloadable episodes which can be stored up to seven days on Windows PCs. The shows will be on offer for a week as soon as they've aired, and will include imbedded, un-skippable ads. But that's just for starters, apparently NBC wants to eventually transform the service into an iTunes-competitor, with pay-to-download episodes. "We did this to eliminate the middleman," says NBC's Jeff Gaspin. That they did, and we suppose we finally know what NBC was talking about when it comes to "packaging options."

[Thanks, Webon]

Naturally, there had to be somewhere to pick up those episodes that iTunes won't be delivering to the Heroes-addicted and "Jim and Pam forever" types, and it looks like NBC has picked Amazon Unbox to do the honors, and has started selling select shows already. If this wasn't a good defense for lifting DRM restrictions from video downloads, we don't know what is: as it stands right now, people will be able to stick with their favorite NBC shows on iTunes until the middle of the season, and then get sent packing over to Unbox -- meaning half of their purchased episodes will only play on an iPod or iTunes, and the other half will only play on PlaysForSure portable devices and Windows computers. Of course, the informed will buy shows on Amazon from the start, and to help that along NBC will be offering free pilot episodes of new NBC shows starting September 10th. Pricing so far hasn't diverged from the $1.99 model, and we're still not sure what exactly NBC meant by "packaging options."

A couple of lines in a settings file does not a partnership make, but some enterprising hackers at the Archos Community Forums have discovered evidence that Archos is planning at least one large-scale content deal when the super-hot 605 launches in the US. Poking around in the unit's provider.xml file inside the system folder, user Plissken007 discovered pointers to not one, but eight major content partners for wireless media distribution, including some with live holder pages on the Archos website. Notables include Best Buy, Cicuit City, Amazon (for Unbox, probably), MovieLink, Vongo, AOL, and, of course, YouTube. Now, we can't see Best Buy and Circuit City sharing space like this, so Archos is probably hedging their bets a little, but if it's true, it looks like there's finally going to be a major competitor to Apple's iPod / iTunes ecosystem out there, eh?

[Disclosure: AOL owns Engadget's parent company.]

[Via Archos Fans]

When TiVo first brought Amazon Unbox movies to our Series3, we wondered why we still had to log on to Amazon.com to order our flicks. We weren't the only ones and some even took matters into their own hands by creating a home grown application. Well TiVo and Amazon finally got the hint and today announced what they're calling Buy on TV -- which obviously lets you buy movies directly from your broadband enabled Series2 or Series3 set top box. You can find movies or shows to download by either browsing under TiVoCasts or via Swivel search; and so your baby-sitter doesn't run up your bill, you'll need to enter your five digit purchase pin when ordering.

[Via TiVoBlog]

Wouldn't these two be a pair, teamed up against Blockbuster's video rental service and the iTunes gorilla? Wall Street seems to think so, and rumors today of Amazon having plans for acquiring Netflix sent shares of the former to heights not seen since 2004. Unfortunately, the fun didn't last long, with Netflix quickly calling it "rumors or speculation," and Amazon defining it as "speculation and rumor." But, like Silicon Valley analyst Rob Enderle states: "If they're not talking, they probably should be."

[Via El Reg]

We heard rumblings of such a partnership last fall, and now it appears that those rumblings were indeed legit: Amazon and TiVo are teaming up to get Unbox video downloads into your living room. The two companies will be announcing a limited test run today for an unspecified number of customers, with a full rollout expected "later this year." This of course comes on the heels of Wal-Mart's big announcement of all 6 movie studios inside its new download store, and it appears Amazon is quite aware of its content shortage. "We have a strong relationship with Disney," says Amazon's Bill Carr, "It hasn't been worked out yet, but it will be." TiVo CEO Tom Rogers commented on Sony, saying they've "indicated they're looking to be part of this at time of launch." So nothing set in stone, but Wal-Mart won't be able to just sit back and rake in the dough, especially with Amazon and soon Apple delivering these shows to the TV. Of course, the Amazon / TiVo edge is that instead of users springing $300 for an Apple TV, they can just turn on that broadband-enabled TiVo of theirs -- 1.5 million of which are already in homes. Unfortunately, DirecTV and forthcoming Comcast TiVo customers will be SOL. No additional hardware is needed, and there won't be any sort of service fee, just the existing iTunes-esque Amazon prices. Oh, and that TiVo / Netflix dealio a while back? Rogers says they went with Amazon thanks to its large customer network and large catalog of distribution rights, something Netflix couldn't deliver.

Read - Los Angeles Times
Read - USA Today

[Thanks Nick and SebS]

Looks like all those rumors and conspiracy theories regarding a Wal-Mart download store actually counted for something this time around. Just in time for the holidays, Wal-Mart has announced its very own video download service, which will kick off in "beta" mode next week with an exclusive Superman Returns bundle. Buyers of the DVD will have an option to also obtain a portable, PC, or dual license for a movie download, priced at $1.97, $2.97, and $3.97 respectively. Users will be directed by a sticker on the DVD case to walmart.com/superman where they can enter a promo code and start the download -- which can be watched while the movie is downloading if they can't bring themselves to pop in the actual DVD. This is quite a different tact than other movie download services, such as iTunes, Amazon Unbox and Xbox Live, and it seems primarily designed to protect video sales cannibalization while leaving out much of the convenience of a traditional movie download service. Wal-Mart says it has more bundles planned for the beta launch, along with what is presumably a more traditional download service with more traditional pricing, though deets are slim at this point. What we do know is that the war for your holiday download dollar will be a bloody one this year.

If you can't beat 'em, complain about 'em. That seems to be the mantra of Wal-Mart, and now Target, both mega-retailers who seem to have given up the fight with video download retailers before it begins. The latter of the pair has come public with its objections to movie price schemes, calling them less expensive than DVDs, and busting out the vague threat that Target "would reconsider its investment in the DVD business" if the pricing didn't level out. Somehow, we can't quite muster much sympathy for the whiny retailer, given the fact that the online prices are hardly bargains, the resolution is lower, the special features are non-existent, and the market is still teensy tiny. Walt Disney Co. has apparently pointed most of this out to Target already, and since they've gone ahead with their open letter to the industry, we suppose it didn't do much good. Still, we've got a good feeling about market pressures pushing through full-blown online movie sales at decent prices within, oh, let's say the next decade or two, no matter how much "investment reconsidering" Target does in the meantime.

No surprises here, but Amazon has taken their fancy new Unbox video downloads store live, and it's looking... download-ey. Bad news first: prices are kind of xtreem, with our personal fav Rumor Has It going for $19.62, and the 1999 cult hit Office Space topping the download charts at $13.45. Luckily, the price fluctuations have an up-side, since you can catch boy wonder Elijah Wood in Everything Is Illuminated for a mere $8.99. TV prices, however, sit solidly at the $2 price predicted. As for download format, the full-length and preview videos are standard .wmv fare, but can only be played by the Unbox player. A third file is downloaded in a ".amzn" format for playback on mobile devices, but Amazon claims it's just a straight PlaysForSure DRM-scheme. They've tested the files out on the Zen Vision, Zen Vision: M, Gigabeat S, Archos AV 500/700 and the iRiver PMC, but we're guessing most devices shouldn't have much of a problem. As for the full quality flicks, we can't get an exact number, but we're just going to assume "DVD quality" means 720 x 480, and we did note that sound is 5.1 surround. With rights management, rentals allow you a 30 day window to start watching the movie, but once you've begun you have 24 hours to enjoy before the file gets deleted. Purchased movies can reside on up to two computers, with each computer being allowed to sync with one portable device, and it does seem that re-downloading will be allowed in case your HDD crashes. DVD burning is allowed for backup, but you can't burn playable DVDs, and the only way to get video to your TV is through a video out plug from your PC or media player. Now if you'll excuse us, we've just dropped a Jackson to see what crazy antics Jennifer Aniston has gotten herself into this time.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

The word is out on Amazon's movie download service. After plenty of rumorings, it doesn't look like Amazon will be able to keep mum on the subject for long, since they're expected to launch "Unbox" today. The word on prices isn't exactly wonderful: rentals should go for about 4 bucks, while permanent downloads are hovering at $15. TV shows are matching the $2 iTunes pricepoint, and should be available the day after they air. As for studios, Amazon is purported to have Warner Bros., Fox, Paramount, MGM, Lionsgate, Sony and Universal all signed up, but Disney is said to be holding out for iTunes at this point. Picture quality is supposed to be DVD-ish, and videos will be playable in Amazon's Windows-only Unbox player (pictured), or on your TV or portable device. So far the amazon.com/unbox URL is redirecting to a plain-vanilla DVD page, but if all this word on the street proves true we should be seeing it up in the next few hours.

Read - Unbox rumor roundup
Read - Unbox screenshots
Read - Amazon.com/unbox (not yet live)