Pioneer just announced their SyncTV on-line television download service. The ad-supported, subscription-based service costs between $2 to $4 per channel per month or $2 for any show you wish to download outside of your subscription -- there's no mention of streaming capability (though it's not excluded, either). While details are soft, downloaded video is said to offer DVD-like, "home-theater quality" with surround-sound capabilities and in some cases, hi-def resolution. They will be PC and Mac compatible wrapped in a Sony, Philips, Samsung, and Panasonic (note: not Microsoft or Apple) supported "Marlin" DRM wrapper. As such, expect to see portable players, television, and set top boxes from at least one of these manufactures sometime early next year in support of the nascent service. A private test begins today with a public beta set to launch in January. Unfortunately, the channels and shows available over SyncTV were not revealed today so we'll just have to wait to see how this develops.

Update: The SyncTV site is now up with more information and beta pre-registration.

Get ready to mop the juices fanboy, Microsoft just announced that Reed Hastings, chairman and chief executive of Netflix, will join their 10-member board of directors. So Microsoft -- the people behind the Xbox Live video-download service -- and Netflix -- recently seen pushing into digital delivery of video -- are now officially in cahoots. Of course, we must be careful about reading too much into board-level appointments. After all, no business deals were included in the announcement. But damn if this doesn't sound like a potential win-win for both camps: Microsoft could quickly extend their meager video catalog while Netflix finally lands themselves a living room box. With both facing stiff competition from the likes of Amazon/TiVo, Wal-Mart, and now Apple, it sure smacks of something in-the-works, eh? Oh, and it wouldn't be too bad for us consumers either.

[Via Business Journal, Thanks Dave K.]

Movie Gallery -- the media cats behind Hollywood Video and Game Crazy stores -- just announced a foray into the online video rental service. Set to launch sometime in mid-to-late 2007, the new service is meant to complement its brick-and-mortar business. They also announced an extension to their movie kiosk program by adding another 200 movie vending machines to the 74 units already occupying high traffic areas in malls and supermarkets. How the new rental service (no mention of download-to-own) will integrate (if at all) with their recently acquired MovieBeam service is unclear. One thing's for sure however, Blockbuster had better get a move on if they hope to compete in this redefined marketplace which is both busting at the seams while simultaneously converging.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

Usually when a vendor says available "later this year," they deliver in December, not the following month. So excuse our surprise to find Amazon's Unbox video download service "Now Available!" to any broadband connected Series2 or Series3 TiVo. That's right, after a brief pilot kicked off in February, TiVo subscribers can now register their box with Amazon and get $15 worth of free movies and TV shows in the process. Not all Unbox content is available for download -- only about 1,376 titles are tagged for TiVo download as of this posting. We presume that's due to the need to transcode titles into a TiVo-playable format and not the result of some nefarious meddling by the studios. TV shows cost $1.99 per episode while most movies can be purchased for between $9.99 and $14.99 -- movies rentals start at $1.99 although most are listed for either $2.99 or $3.99. If you already own a TiVo then this is about as easy as movie downloading can get.

[Via TiVo Lovers]

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.

Yeah, we've been around the block on this rumor a few times already, but some interesting new details about a possible (some would say invitable) iTunes Movie Store have emerged in a recent BusinessWeek article. The gist of the report is that Wal-Mart has been talking up the Hollywood suits lately, and isn't too happy with the idea of Apple selling new releases for a mere $15 while Wal-Mart has to spend $17 wholesale for the same title in physical form. Of course, that $14.99 number -- $9.99 for older movies -- isn't exactly official, but the way Wal-Mart is purportedly going off about it, it seems to be a very real figure indeed. According to BusinessWeek, the Wal-Mart gripes are one of many reasons Apple has been having trouble signing up studios other than Disney (of which Steve Jobs is the largest shareholder) for the store. Some studios aren't happy with iTunes DRM that allows playback on up to five devices, while others are afraid of getting locked into a single pricepoint with Steve Jobs and co.. Either way, it's clear that movie downloads are the future -- Wal-Mart has their own such service in the works -- but we just hope these "discussions" end soon; before we end up spending $45 a flick and verifying our identity for playback with thumbpricks and urine samples.

We have no idea why they chose today to do it, but today seven major movie studios announced they'll be selling movies online through Movielink and CinemaNow. Warner Bros, Universal, Sony, Paramount, Fox, and MGM will all be distributing first-run titles online -- definitely something they've never done before -- through Movielink for between 20 and 30 bones (way, way too much if you ask us), with older movies going for between $10 and $20. Lionsgate (and Sony) also announced distribution through CinemaNow. Really this was only a matter of time -- for these guys it was either sell these things online DRMed all to hell for way too much money (see above), go the subscription route (like Vongo, for example -- not likely) or continue whining without any justification whatsoever about pirates stealing movies in the Internet. At least now they can say they've legitimately offered their digital content up online (hey, you can even make a DVD backup for use only on Movielink-authorized computers), even though they still can't account for the artificial demand they try to create by releasing movies for purchase months after the films have gone out of theater.

[Thanks, Phil]