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Download Kiosks Hit Stores

Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 01:00 PM ET
Tags: Industry Trends, Hollywood Video (all tags)

Four Hollywood Video locations in Seattle and Portland as well as two Blockbuster stores in Dallas will be testing out the new download kiosks this week.

Digital distribution methods are still being nailed down, especially in those areas without a high speed connection. NCR Corp hopes to provide the solution with their new download kiosks. Kiosk customers will be able to browse from a selection of around a thousand films and download them directly to an SD card.

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The cards are expected to be provided for free to customers, while set-top boxes to play the cards back on may be complimentary or offered as rentals. Playback of the movies seems to be limited to branded set-tops at the moment, though the company is considering allowing playback on computers.

Customers who rent the movies will have 30 days to watch them. After they begin playing the film, they’ll have 48 hours to finish before the file times out and becomes unplayable. Prices are not yet established, but according to CEO Anthony Bay, “You’re not going to see $1 downloads.”

The idea sounds good until it’s compared to Redbox. For some price higher than a dollar, you’ll be able to plug an SD card into a set-top box that you’ll have to buy or rent and then watch the film within a designated time. The resolution and quality of the video is unknown at the moment. Of course, if these come in high def, things start sounding a little better.

Source: Video Business

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