Audio Video News

This past Tuesday Universal Studios released The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift day and date on standard DVD, HD DVD, and through CinemaNow in a "downloadable DVD version" that can be downloaded and then burned to a blank DVD for just $9.99. The burned DVD is claimed to be playable "in virtually any DVD player," which means CinemaNow users aren't confined to watching the feature film on their computer monitors.

According to CinemaNow, the burned DVDs will include all the special features that ship with the standard DVD, including the menu graphics, 5.1-channel surround, commentary tracks, etc., and users can also download and print out a DVD label and cover art. No word on the resolution, data rates or quality of the video stream.

The allure of this model to the studios is obvious. With such a model the studios get out of the disc replication and production costs associated with physical media completely, and, on top of that, the distributors and retailers involved with DVD distribution are replaced by CinemaNow.

CinemaNow is currently offering over 100 titles for download and Burn to DVD, including two other recent releases from Universal, Spike Lee's Inside Man and Bring It On: All or Nothing. The Burn to DVD title lineup will continue to expand over the next few months, according to CinemaNow, and the company's other distribution models include download-to-own, pay-per-view, and content to stream.

Every time I see a service as clever, convenient and affordable as this it makes me wonder whether the next-gen HD disc formats are merely fighting to become the next niche format, a la Laserdisc. There's no question that the disc formats will remain the premium experience, offering the highest quality HD video available, as well as upgraded sound and interactivity. But in the mass-market convenience rules and services like this are more reflective of many people's habits and lifestyles than those old-fashioned, clunky silver discs.