“Amazon.com’s Unbox is a horror show. The Unbox service appears not so much to have been introduced as to have escaped from the laboratory,” Peter Lewis reports for Fortune.
Lewis reports, “Of all the smart and talented people at Amazon, did no one dare say, ‘Wait, our new service bites! It’s slower than a trip to Blockbuster, more expensive than a DVD, absurdly restrictive on how the consumer uses the movie, delivers lower resolution than a DVD, and requires running a cable from the PC to the TV if you want to watch the movie on something larger than a PC monitor?'”
“Unbox works only with Microsoft (Charts) Windows computers. Amazon says the recommended configuration is a Windows XP computer with 1GB of system memory, a 2.4-gigahertz or faster processor, a 5.1-channel sound card, a DirectX-compliant video card, and a broadband connection capable of sustaining download speeds of 1.5 kilobits per second. You’ll have to set up an Amazon.com account if you don’t have one already, then download and install the Amazon Unbox Video Player and other software to be able to use the movie download service,” Lewis reports. “Assuming you pass those Unbox requirements, the real unfun begins.”
Lewis reports, “Unlike Apple, which tried to establish uniform prices for digital movie downloads, Amazon appears to allow the studios to set pricing. Here are some examples:
• “Office Space” is $13.45.
• “The Matrix” is $9.77.
• “V for Vendetta” is $13.87.
• “Brokeback Mountain” is $14.99.
• “Rebel Without a Cause” is $23.99.
Lewis reports, “By the way, while I could download the James Dean classic “Rebel Without a Cause” from Unbox for $23.99, Amazon also offers to sell it to me as a special 2-volume DVD set, which includes extra documentaries and features, for $19.99.”
Lewis reports, “None of the navigation controls on the Unbox Video Player worked, other than “pause” and “stop.” I could not select scenes, fast-forward, reverse or do anything but play the movie start to finish… And then there’s ‘Plays for Sure.’ The Unbox download service actually delivers two files to the computer, one that plays on a computer (although only in the Unbox Video Player), and a second, smaller file that will play on a small variety of Windows “Plays for Sure” portable media players, not including, of course, the most popular one. (It ‘Will Not Play for Sure’ on the Apple iPod.) Plays for Sure is Microsoft’s tag for devices that support Microsoft’s digital rights management scheme. But Amazon seems less sure. According to the Amazon notes, ‘If your device is Plays for Sure compliant it may work.'”
Full review, a funny read unless you’re responsible for the hideous thing, here.
These reviews are Microsoftian in scope. Amazon, Undo.
Related articles:
Amazon Unbox generates resounding yawns; analyst: ‘too little too early’ – September 11, 2006
CNET Alpha Blog: absolutely do not try Amazon Unbox – September 09, 2006
Analyst: ‘Amazon Unbox – Well that didn’t work at all’ – September 09, 2006
Analysts: Amazon’s ‘Unbox’ to be ‘Unsuccessful’ vs. Apple – September 08, 2006
Cringely: Apple, Amazon, and what Steve Jobs has up his sleeve for next Tuesday – September 08, 2006
Amazon.com launches ‘Amazon Unbox’ DVD-quality video download service with TV shows and movies – September 07, 2006
Escaped from the laboratory, seeking the Bride of Ballmer.
Is it any wonder why iTunes/iPod are a sucess? when will they learn to stop dealing with MS, and start making deals with something that works.
“Rebel Without a Cause” for $23.99 !!! My God, I’m not going to stop torrenting any time soon.
I hope plenty of people read this before spending $9.77 – $23.99 on a movie.
Wow! That read like a multiple homicide crime scene report.
“Then comes the meat wagon. Wee-doo-wee-doo-wee-doo. And the medic gets out and says ‘OH MY GOD’ and the new guy is in the corner pukin’ his guts out all because you wanted to save a few pennies . . .”
To Amazon’s credit they did get one thing right – they got studios.
I tried out iTunes movies and I would gladly buy more (640×480 looks good to me on my non-HDTV) but the content just isn’t there. I hope new studios are added ASAP.
Definitely don’t want to watch movies on an oil rig. That’s just a slippery slope.
A lot of technology companies in particular seem to think that customers will be delighted with whatever shit they put out just because they do. Personally I’d rather have no movie service than a shitty one.
iTunes movies will get my business when they add porn.
Frankenmovie.
I think the TV content was even worse last year than the movie content options this year at their respectable launches.
Hopefully, as quick as TV shows ended up on iTunes, so will Movies.
hopefully.
I love Apple, I love iTunes. I download TV I’ve missed, and I download songs, the latest being last night. But I absolutely can not see downloading movies from iTunes or anywhere else. Maybe I’m lacking in imagination, but why would anyone pay $9.99 to $14.99 to download a movie when the DVD on a disc that can be played “anywhere”, is often loaded with extras, and comes in a nice, colorful protective case for only a few dollars more? Plus, there are a large number of DVDs that don’t cost even $9.99. Not to mention that the 640 X 480 quality brings back memories of my first 15″ CRT from 1985.
Box sets of TV shows, excepting the outrageous pricing of Star Trek-related items are less that $42 most of the time,including shipping, and with extras, nice cases, etc, compared to $43.78 for 22 shows at iTunes.
I just do not see the point of movie downloads at all, or TV for anything more than an occasional missed show. Anyone have any advantages I’ve overlooked?
Good good. Another piece of crappo stuff linked with Microsoft which will steer millions more to the iTunes store…
Apple is looking better by the day. Next share split soon please…
Me: They got the studios because they bowed down to them, and look where it got them.
A big selection that can’t play on anything is useless.
It’s like our local library. It started using a new service to borrow digital audio books. The service only works with Windows and is not iPod compat. I e-mailed the librarian and said “Why on earth would you pick this service? It’s not compat. with 75 percent of the digital audio players out there.” Librarian’s response was “It had a larger selection.” My response was “Who cares? If the majority of people can’t use it, it’s useless no matter how many titles you have.
So I then went a level higher, to the county level library service, and asked the same question. Their response was “Just like if a person doesn’t have a DVD player, they can’t use DVDs, if a person doesn’t have a compat. player, they can’t use this service.”
So my response to THAT was “True enough. But why waste money on a format that most people don’t have? It’s akin to picking Beta over VHS.”
Same thing applies to Amazon. More selection means nothing if you can’t use it.
Serves you damn Americans right. You SHOULD suffer the stink of your own crap, simply for being so arrogant as to only release these services to yourselves and nobody else on the planet. You deserve it, eh?
bwahahaha.
TV shows are available for download long before the boxed sets are available in stores.
I don’t watch hardly any TV because I HATE COMMERCIALS. Watching downloads of LOST season 2 was a pleasant experience. I hope the new iTMS download format does not take 4 times as long to download. The old format was fine on my 12″ Powerbook.
yeah unbox is a total embarrassment.
I’m willing to spend 9.99 for iTunes movies. But I want a way to schedule a download while at work, and have it completed by the time I get home. It would sure beat a stop at the store after work. Just come home go right to the living room and there it is on my iTV.
as a place to buy Macs and Mac software for cheap
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Forget the movie thing!
America deserves this kind of junk: So, why can’t your cruddy country (whatever that may be) come up with its own download service. Everyone always relies on America, even for something as stupid as a download service. God, you’re all helpless.
We’re so damn arrogant, yet you want US to offer you downloads. What? Nobody in your country knows how to start their own damn business?
Have people who complain about the 640×480 resolution actually tried it? There is more to the equation than resolution. The codec used to compress movies makes a difference too. H.264 is far superior in quality than mpeg-2 so you can actually get the same quality with smaller resolution. Ofcourse iTunes can’t compete with HD and it will still take a few years until people have broadbands fast enough to download HD. I’m sure HD will become available when the market is mature enough.
Yeah, I hate the commercials too. I try to record just about everthing I watch. I’ve often thought to myself that if I had to sit through the shows I watch live, I’d soon find something else to do. I couldn’t stand it.
No, I have not tried 640 X 480, and I don’t care to even if it may be better than I think. It is not as good as a 480P DVD on a wide screen TV and regardless of the perceived quality, which is particular to every person, there is simply no way to excuse away the value of a boxed TV set or film, with extras, and sometimes multiple discs, compared to a download of the movie/TV show only.
I’m American too, eh? But I split.
Why can’t Canada come up with their own movie downloads? pfffttt. I dunno. Don’t get me wrong; the canucks are plenty squirrely too .. but not so excessively self-centered, imho. I just felt like trashing the yanks a bit, so I spit it out. heh. Don’t sweat it.
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“If your device is Plays for Sure compliant it may work.”
Classic.
Hey, cool, horror movies.