The Blog for Video 2.0

At the annual MacWorld Expo this week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the availability of movie rentals via both iTunes and now directly from the Apple TV.

Apple was able to secure deals from all major and independent film studios including Fox, Universal, Warner and Disney. Library titles will be offered at $2.99, new releases at $3.99 and HD verisons for an additional dollar.

The DRM restrictions are consistent with offerings from Microsoft's Xbox 360 Marketplace, Amazon Unbox and traditional cable pay-per-view. Customers will have 30 days to watch a downloaded film. Once a user starts watching, they will have 24 hours to complete the film before their download expires.

Included in the announcement were upgrades to Apple TV which now includes the tag line, "no computer required." Users can now rent movies directly from their Apple TV device without going through iTunes. This is a great benefit for Apple TV users and may push Apple's portable media dominance into the family room.

For people looking for independent content for their iPod or Apple TV, HungryFlix.com offers movie downloads with no DRM restrictions starting at just $0.99.

Labels: apple tv, download, ipod, iTunes, movie downloads

Amazon has release a beta edition of its new DRM-free MP3 music download service this week. The web-based solution has received positive reviews from computer users, music download fans, and the anti-DRM community.

Amazon is offer singles from $0.89, and all files offer 256 kilobits per second and did we mention no DRM?

This is clearly the record labels attempt to reduce iTunes' dominance in the music download market. Time will tell if consumers, who seem to enjoy the seamless nature of iTunes, will move to Amazon's service. In a very interesting move, Amazon offers a downloader helper application that will directly transfer you songs into iTunes or Windows Media Player.

Consumers looking for DRM-free video downloads can try the great indie films offered at HungryFlix.com.

Labels: amazon, download, DRM, iTunes, music downloads

As Old Media gears up for the start of the fall TV season, we seem to be getting weekly updates on who is and who is not playing nice with Apple's powerful iTunes distribution model.

NBC fought for tiered pricing, Apple held firm, and NBC walked in favor of pushing shows as free streams and as downloads via Amazon Unbox and the yet-to-be-seen Hulu.com.

FOX and CBS seem to be happy with Apple and iTunes. These networks view iTunes as more of a promotional avenue and not for pure revenue.

The iPod/iTunes backlash is growing and it will be interesting to see what the Next Big Thing will be.

All of this is well and good for the big guys and their major studio titles. But as we continue to look at great independent content being produced and distributed online we hope that sites like HungryFlix.com continue to grow.

HungryFlix provides iPod movies free from DRM restrictions. We hope to continue to help indie producers get their works seen.

Labels: download, hungryflix, ipod, iTunes, video, video distribution

The number of downloads from legal music and video services in Japan has fallen for the first time, according to the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).

A total of 111.6 million downloads were made during the second quarter of this year, down from 114.3 million in the first quarter of the year, the RIAJ said. The figures are derived from data supplied to the RIAJ by its 42 member companies.

Root causes for the drop were not yet determined. Even with the small decrease in volume, revenue managed a slight increase.

US-based startups like HungryFlix.com offer movie and music downloads and continue to see growth. It will be interesting to see if this negative trend moves to the US.

Labels: digital download, download, hungryflix, iTunes, movie downloads, music downloads

HungryFlix.com is now holding an Apple TV Giveaway. Just visit the site and create an account to be registered to win a 40GB Apple TV.

We love watching great films in the comfort of the family room or den. We know that you will too. So join now and get your chance to win.

HungryFlix.com is the spot for independent film downloads All content is compatible with iPod, PSP and now Apple TV.

Labels: apple tv, contest, download, movies, win, youtube

According to a study from market research firm NPD Group, Apple Inc.’s iTunes Store has 9.8 percent of overall retail music sales, making it the third largest music retailer in the United States. Amazon.com and Target captured 6.7 percent and 6.6 percent of the market, respectively.

Apple's iTunes trails only Wal-Mart with 15.8% and Best Buy, which as 13.8%.

This is continued good news for the downloadable media market. Consumers have chosen convience, ease of use and quality provided by iTunes.

While the music download market grows in maturity, the movie downloads market continued steady growth through 2007 with sites like HungryFlix.com leading the way.

Labels: download, hungryflix, iTunes, music, music downloads, youtube

HungryFlix.com continues to be the leading source of independentmovie downloads for Apple TV with this week's featured content being the films of Tempe DVD. Tempe is one of the world's leading distributors of B-Movie Indie Horror.

Horror movie fans and Apple TV owners can download 640x480 versions at prices of just $3.99 and up.

Labels: apple tv, appletv, b-movie, download, horror, ipod

Who needs iTunes? The rise of the ‘indie friendly’ video download store by ZDNet's Steve O'Hear -- Adams Media Research predicts that by 2011, the online video market will be worth $5.8 billion, and bucking today's trend, the majority of that revenue will be generated through selling downloads not ad-supported content. It's perhaps no surprise then, to see a number of paid-for download services pop up over the last 18 months...

Labels: download, hungryflix, independent, indie film, ipod, iTunes, online video, video distribution, video download

Fox affiliates will be able to begin selling TV downloads of Fox TV shows to local viewers as part of a new interactive plan.

Shows will be available for purchase the night after they air on TV, and users will be able to buy individual episodes or season packages. Prices will vary, depending on whether a user purchases a single episode or a season package. Downloads can be viewed on a PC or portable device.

Fox companies and affiliate stations will share advertising and pay-per-view revenue under the deal.

Users on the Fox.com Web site will enter their zip code and be directed to their local affiliate for viewing.

It will be interesting to see if this individual method of distribution fares versus using Apple's iTunes as digital distribution hub.

Labels: download, online distribution, online video

Apple TV, Apple Inc's set-top box that will allow users to play downloaded movies and video podcasts on their family room TV has been delayed until mid-March.

No specific reason was given, a spokeperson simply said: “Wrapping up Apple TV is taking a few weeks longer than we projected, and we now expect to begin shipments mid-March.”

Apple TV will sell for $299 directly from Apple. The device will sync with iTunes from a Mac or PC and allow users to stream movies and videos wirelessly to their TV set. This will allow users to watch their movie downloads from HungryFlix.com in the family room.

Labels: apple, apple tv, download, iTunes, online distribution, online video

After over a year of negotiations with Hollywood, the biggest name in piracy is going legit.

BitTorrent today is launching its digital content store, featuring movies, TV shows and videogames from partners including Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, MGM, and MTV Networks.

It also has content from several indie distributors, such as First Look, Palm Pictures and Japanese company Kadokawa, as well as TryMedia, an online vidgame distributor with titles from Activision, Ubisoft and Vivendi Games.

BitTorrent software is a peer-to-peer protocol, which is free and used by tens of millions of people around the world, primarily for piracy.

As a result, Netco has the advantage of a very well-known brand name among online downloaders and a very popular Web site, but it will go up against powerful competitors already in the market such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, and Wal-Mart.

Premium TV and movie content won't be well differentiated from other sites, as BitTorrent is offering the same usage rules and prices and is missing several partners, such as Disney, Universal and the big three broadcast nets, that are already working with others.

But BitTorrent has more indie partners and will try to stay true to its roots as a peer-to-peer application by including high-quality user-made videos alongside Hollywood content in its search results.

BitTorrent has been working aggressively to filter pirated content on its own site and will make users click a button to see search results from outside servers, which it doesn't control.

Movies will only be available for digital rental, not permanent downloads, based on company's observations of demand at other websites based on the DVD-equivalent prices studios offer.

"I just don't know who in marketing at the other stores thinks that $25 movie downloads are going to do it for consumers," said Navin.

This reinforces the business model of HungryFlix.com, which provides short films and video downloads at prices starting from just $0.99.

In addition to selling TV and game downloads and movie rentals, BitTorrent will start offering free ad-supported TV shows in the near future.

It's launching in the U.S. first, but company has international rights for most content and plans to hit foreign markets soon.

Labels: bittorrent, download, movies, online distribution, online video

Adams Media Research has released the results from their "Video on the Internet" management report. In the report they claim that the online video market will see significant growth in both ad-supported and paid download models.

AMR’s analysis claims that the advertising model will dominate in the early experimental period of 2007-2009. But as significant numbers of homes connect their TVs to the Internet, consumer spending on downloaded movies and TV shows should expand rapidly and exceed ad spending substantially by 2011.

The state that new devices that bring video into the family room will help push for more downloaded content. Users can download movies today from Apple's iTunes, HungryFlix.com, Google Video and other sites.

Labels: apple tv, download, iptv, movies, online distribution, online video

Convergence at it's best. Here are two big players joining forces. TiVO owners will be able to download movies from Amazon's Unbox service directly to their TiVo units.

TiVo really has an interesting role here. Amazon and TiVo are planning for the service to be available on 1.5 million TiVo boxes soon. That is a great installed base to begin with. This could also usher in a new era for TiVo where they could move from their high monthly subscription fees and into more paid downloads and advertising supported content.

Here at HungryFlix.com, we provide MPEG4 movie downloads that can be made compatible with TiVo. We hope TiVo will open their technology to other online distributors and allow our content to be pushed easily to the family room.

More info at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070207/tc_nm/tivo_amazon_download_dc_4

Labels: convergence, download, movies, video distribution