| HIGH-DEF DISC NEWS TAGGED "CINEMANOW" | Receive High-Def Disc News via RSS |  |
CinemaNow Makes the Leap to 1080p on PC - For Intel Owners Only
Thu Oct 13, 2011 at 02:00 PM ETTags: CinemaNow, Streaming, Intel (all tags)
Fans of high definition video may be swayed to the service, but there are some strict limits on who gets to use it.
The good news first. The folks at CinemaNow are providing 1080p video rentals to your PC. Pretty slick, especially since most rental services either limit to 720p or just plain don't support HD video on the PC - we're looking at you Vudu!
The bad news is that, inexplicably, you'll need to have a second-generation Intel Core processor in order to use it. That means anyone using Intel's 2011 Core i3, i5 or i7 processors will be able to watch the videos and everyone else is out of luck.
It's a deal made between the companies clearly, since it's difficult to think of a technical limitation that would disqualify an AMD or older Intel Core processor.
Source: Home Media Magazine
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Redbox Subscription Streaming Plans are Official
Fri Feb 18, 2011 at 12:00 PM ETTags: Redbox, Streaming, VUDU, Walmart, CinemaNow, Amazon, Industry Trends (all tags)
Just who they're working with is still a mystery, but Walmart, Amazon, and CinemaNow are all rumored.
Redbox is doing just fine financially, but that doesn't mean that the company is just going to sit there complacent and collapse under its own weight and failure to evolve. That's more of a Blockbuster thing.
Instead, Redbox is going to be the next company stepping into the highly profitable business of subscription based streaming, making them the first real competitor to Netflix. Mitch Lowe confirmed this in a meeting with analysts this week, but stated that just who they'll be working with is up in the air. "What we're looking for is a partner that, yes, has customers, but also more importantly has a lot of quality entertainment rights," said Lowe.
CinemaNow has often been touted as the logical choice, but the Seattle Times is reporting that Walmart's Vudu service and the upcoming Amazon streaming service are possible Redbox partners. Walmart might be the most logical, since Redbox kiosks are already in thousands of Walmart stores around the country.
Source: Engadget
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Best Buy Launches CinemaNow Service
Wed May 19, 2010 at 09:00 AM ETTags: CinemaNow, Best Buy (all tags)
An improved and updated version coming later this year.
Remember how Roxio's CinemaNow service changed its name to RoxioNow just a few weeks back? That was, apparently, to clear the way for Best Buy, who now own the CinemaNow name. Aside from that, there doesn't seem to be a significant change.
It's all still powered by the RoxioNow technology, and the rental scheme doesn't seem to have switched around too much. You can rent or buy movies, many on the same day that they're available on disc. Only a few titles are available in high definition, and they're all documentaries.
Once CinemaNow gets up to snuff with the HD content, it could definitely be worth checking out. But $19.99 to buy a standard definition film just seems steep, especially when Blu-rays can be had for the same price.
Source: TWICE
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
CinemaNow Starts Offering Divx Downloads
Fri Dec 18, 2009 at 09:00 AM ETTags: CinemaNow, DivX (all tags)
The Divx format is compatible with cell phones, Blu-ray players, and televisions, but until recently, there weren’t a lot of options for Divx downloads. Thats changed, as CinemaNow will be offering film downloads in the Divx format.
Divx will be familiar to anyone who downloads a lot of videos from the net or through torrents. The format is often used to encode video for download since it is able to maintain a high video quality while keeping the file size low.
Since the Sonic Solutions Roxio CinemaNow service is available in so many devices, this one deal brings Divx an incredible amount of exposure to new users. “With millions of Divx-enabled devices shipped into the market and strong consumer interest in the format,” says Dave Habinger of Sonic Solutions, “we look forward to working with Divx to enhance our Roxio CinemaNow entertainment platform and the digital home experience for consumers.”
Divx is already being used for digital copies overseas, but hasn’t yet seen much mainstream distribution in the US. This will certainly be a huge step forward for Divx, but also for consumers of digital video.
Source: Video Business
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Redbox Teams With CinemaNow
Mon Nov 16, 2009 at 06:00 PM ETTags: Industry Trends, Redbox, CinemaNow (all tags)
Redbox and CinemaNow have announced they’re currently testing a program to determine the consumer demand for digital distribution.
With a good chunk of the studios and most of the video rental world at its heels, Redbox needs all the friends it can get. CinemaNow, on the other hand, seems to be hooking up with just about everyone these days. Together, they’re hoping to gauge the mass market demand for digital delivery.
Frequent customers of Redbox kiosks, and those who buy certain prepaid packages, will be given gift cards that will let them redeem titles on Roxio’s CinemaNow service. Representatives from Redbox would not say how far reaching the initiative is, but they did state that the program started on October 29th.
“We think this is a space that we should be testing in and understand better,” said Paul Davis, CEO of Redbox’s parent company Coinstar. “It’s an interesting space that we’d like to explore.”
CinemaNow appears to be the company that will receive the most benefit from the arrangement. After the announcement last week that the CinemaNow service would be embedded into electronics sold at Best Buy, this move seems to cater towards a different, but just as noteworthy, demographic.
Source: Video Business
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
Budget Brand Manufacturer Funai Adds CinemaNow
Mon Oct 19, 2009 at 05:00 PM ETTags: Funai, CinemaNow, Industry Trends (all tags)
Funai, makers of a wide variety of budget line home theater products, are adding CinemaNow to their new products.
The name Funai might not be entirely familiar to most, though the brands they produce products for certainly are. Those lower end brands Wal-mart carries like Emerson and Sylvania? That’s Funai. Looking at a new Philips or Magnavox? You’re looking at Funai. Best Buy’s Insignia brand? You guessed it: Funai.
In order to up their competitiveness this holiday season and address “the emerging market demand for direct access to Internet movie downloads from connected devices,” Funai will be adding access to Sonic’s CinemaNow movie service.
Mark Ely, VP of strategy for Sonic is understandably optimistic about the agreement. “It certainly does bring us a much broader reach into the marketplace,” he quips. While CinemaNow is already available through some LG Blu-ray players, the inclusion of the service into these widely carried brands could translate into big numbers for CinemaNow.
Source: Video Business
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
» High-Def Digest home page
