Add Amazon To The Long Long Long List Of Video Download Providers

from the in-case-there-weren't-enough dept

For quite some time there have been rumors about Amazon’s plans for video or audio downloads. Now, just a week after Apple’s movie download plans are leaked, Amazon’s own similar plans are leaked as well. Apparently, Amazon decided to skip completely by a music download store (something they’ve also talked about for years) since Apple remains so dominant in the space. So, it’s unlikely they’re thrilled about Apple’s plans in the video space as well. However, again, it’ll be interesting to see how the market shakes out. The article is a bit vague and still leaves a lot up in the air, while ignoring how things like BitTorrent or YouTube could end up competing in the market. Just because Amazon is entering the space, it doesn’t mean it’s a slam dunk that enough people will care.


Rate this comment as insightful
Rate this comment as funny
You have rated this comment as insightful
You have rated this comment as funny
Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam
You have flagged this comment
The first word has already been claimed
The last word has already been claimed
Insightful Lightbulb icon Funny Laughing icon Abusive/trolling/spam Flag icon Insightful badge Lightbulb icon Funny badge Laughing icon Comments icon

Comments on “Add Amazon To The Long Long Long List Of Video Download Providers”

Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment
9 Comments
Standard Customer says:

Standard?

Are they going to offer the movies as standard MPEG files, or as MPEG file wrapped in the standard DVD VOB format, OR – are they the going to distribute the movies in a proprieatary PC format? If it is not a standard format (MPEG-based), then I will not buy it. Is the qualitity of the download version the same as the DVD version? If not, I say nay!

Daniel Bjorndahl (user link) says:

My thoughts.

For those curious, they’re going to develop an obscure format that you’ll need their player to view. This is done in an effort for copyright protection, which hackers and coders will eventually find a way to reverse, making it yet another pointless codec to annoy downloaders like you and me.

It don’t mean to be pessimistic, but history repeats itself, and other download sites have tried the same and failed (such as Sony with it’s…whatever the heck it is format that I have to put up with).

For the one wondering about ‘used sales’ of data…
Techincally speaking, bytes can’t be ‘used’.They are only read, written or deleted. Reading a file does not change it in any way, thanks to technology that made the VHS and cassete obsolete!
But hey! If you wanna sell your data, open up your own store, just make sure you get the copyrights for it…unless you’re just giving copies to your friends. In which case, small scale theft is something that could never be dealt with in an industry so ridden with major theft.

Which brings me back to how industry leaders aim to stop theft: inconvenience. New codecs and new media players are inconvenient, and so in vain hope the industry leaders place their investiments in inconvenience.

Maybe they should try creative commons, or follow a similar model of shareware…

E-mail me your thoughts at daniel.bjorndahl@gmail.com

Leave a Reply to pwb Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here

Comment Options:

Make this the or (get credits or sign in to see balance) what's this?

What's this?

Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. Credits can be purchased at the Techdirt Insider Shop »

Follow Techdirt

Techdirt Daily Newsletter

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

A weekly news podcast from
Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

Subscribe now to Ctrl-Alt-Speech »
Techdirt Deals
Techdirt Insider Discord
The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...
Loading...