Computers as MultiMedia Centers
SOURCE: NY Times
An Online Supplier for Your Desktop Cineplex
By TIM GNATEK
Published: August 12, 2004
GOING to the movies these days may simply involve a trip to your desktop, as video-on-demand Internet movie services help turn personal computers into multiscreen cineplexes.
A technological step beyond video rentals and pay-per-view cable movie channels, these online movie services provide a legal and reliable way to download and stream thousands of films, from recently released Hollywood blockbusters to vintage serials.
Several video-on-demand services operating with the blessings of the film industry, like Movielink, CinemaNow and Movieflix, have been online for some time. But these services, along with the newly introduced Starz Ticket service, are now gaining considerably in appeal as computer processing power and Internet access speeds reach the point where DVD-quality movies can be efficiently delivered to a mass audience.
To display the movies, computers must have a broadband connection and up-to-date video software. Macintosh users are shut out of this show, at least for now, since the services require a PC with at least a Pentium III processor, 128 megabytes of RAM and a hard disk with several gigabytes of free memory.
Some may question how sitting awkwardly in an office chair watching a movie on a computer screen could compare with reclining on a well-worn couch. But with a few cables from the electronics store, most PC's can be hooked up to home televisions or projectors for a more cinematic experience.
The movies are downloaded or streamed with the Real or Windows Media player programs. Most services wrap their own skins around the software, turning it into a branded movie player.
Downloaded movies reside on the hard drive and can be watched at any time. Just be sure to have plenty of disk space available. Most movies take up 500 to 700 megabytes. "Gangs of New York," downloaded from Starz Ticket, gobbled 850.
All of the services rely on digital rights management software built into the media player to prevent movies from being copied or carried to other computers. Most video-on-demand movies come with a 24-hour viewing license that begins when you start them the first time. After that period, a movie cannot be played again unless you acquire another license, which usually means another payment.
There is usually a 30-day limit on the amount of time that movie files may be stored on a computer, after which they are automatically deleted whether or not they have been played.
The video-on-demand companies all offer basically the same service; where they differ is in their content and delivery options.
Starz Ticket
The newest service, Starz Ticket (www.starzticket.com), from RealNetworks and the Starz premium-movie cable channel, acts as an online companion to the channel, serving movies selected from the Starz program lineup.
For $12.95 a month, $4 less than my cable company charges for the Starz cable channel itself, subscribers get access to a rotating selection...
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