CinemaNow downloads now playable on Macs

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CinemaNow Downloads Now Playable on Macs

by Jennifer Netherby
Video Business (8/18/2008)

In a move that could step up the competitive pressure on Apple, movie download service CinemaNow has inked a deal that will make its movie and TV show downloads playable on both PCs and Macs.

CinemaNow announced today it has signed a deal to use Widevine Technologies' multi-format digital rights management and copy-protection technology to make CinemaNow's video downloads playable on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms. The technology also enables CinemaNow to stream movies to users through the Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari and Opera browsers.

The move could help the company wrestle market share away from Apple iTunes, which dominates the paid digital video business. Up to now, iTunes has been the only download service to sell major studio movie downloads playable on Apple computers and PCs.

CinemaNow, Amazon.com, Movielink and others have been restricted by DRM to offering downloads compatible with PCs and Windows Media portable devices, the latter of which make up a fraction of the portable market compared to the iPod.

ITunes still offers the only downloads playable on the iPod, giving it a considerable edge over competitors.

With its Widevine partnership, CinemaNow´s digital content will be available on a wide range of consumer electronic devices as well as new devices shipping to retail with CinemaNow´s "CE Store" application. CinemaNow downloads still won´t play on iPods, a spokeswoman confirmed.

"Widevine´s technology helps CinemaNow expand delivery of high-quality digital content across any consumer electronics device or platform," CinemaNow chief technology officer Jesse Keane said in a statement announcing the deal. "With the integration of Widevine´s multi-platform and multi-format solution, we ensure our content partners receive the highest level of protection, which is a key factor in their ongoing support for CinemaNow´s open platform and domain-based business model."

The move comes as several competitors have dropped out of the download business and others are shifting their models. Last week, news broke that Starz Entertainment's Vongo service and Morgan Freeman-backed movie service ClickStar shut down. Meanwhile, Amazon launched a streaming movie service called Amazon Video On Demand in beta last month as an eventual replacement for its Unbox download service, which has gotten off to a slow start. Amazon's streaming service is playable on PC, Mac and Linux computers.

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(Bonus article)

Italians Block Pirate Bay Website
Authorities deny access to BitTorrent site

by Nick Vivarelli
VARIETY (8/17/08)

ROME - Italian authorities have ordered the country's Internet service providers to block access to the Pirate Bay, among the world's largest sites indexing pirated movies and music.

In a bust being hailed as one of the biggest of this type in Europe, Italy's anti-fraud police have issued injunctions and posted official "access denied" seals on Italy's ISPs to block the Sweden-based site, which uses BitTorrent technology.

The Pirate Bay is estimated to allow some 10 million to 15 million users per month to file-share copyright-protected material worldwide. Ironically, only about 450,000 of those users are believed to reside in Italy.

The block, which at this stage is a preventive measure, was prompted by legal action taken by Italy's music industry federation, Fimi. The injunction can be appealed by attorneys for the Pirate Bay, who would be fighting it in a Northern Italian court.

Meanwhile Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde boasted in his blog that the bust is only helping to increase Italo traffic to his site. Sunde claims Pirate Bay has circumvented the block, without specifying how. One possibility could be that Italians may access Pirate Bay via an OpenDNS system, rather than through an ISP.

Pirate Bay also reacted to the bust by issuing a statement on an alternate ISP website, denouncing the move as a fascistic act against freedom of expression.

The Swedish file-sharing site furthermore blasted the block as being dictated by Italo premier and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi as a means to "retain his monopoly" on Italian media.

Italo authorities rapidly reacted to the alternate Pirate Bay website by blocking ISP access to it.

Praising Italo authorities, Fimi topper Enzo Mazza has dismissed the censorship charges.

"Controversy over supposed censorship is a mere ploy to manipulate public opinion away from the fact that Pirate Bay violates Italian criminal law regarding intellectual property; that is why it has to be blocked," he said.

"Italy's judiciary is sending an important signal."

The move has been welcomed by the Intl. Federation of the Phonographic Industry, IFPI, which, along with the MPAA, will be watching this precedent-setting legal battle closely.

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