AUGUST 28, 2006
Technology
By Ian Sager
Movielink's Limited Engagement
This Web video site has lots of movies to rent or buy, but they might not be the ones you want to watch. Still, it beats driving
If, like me, you loathe the long lines at your local Blockbuster (BBI) and hate waiting for the films on your Netflix (NFLX) queue to show up, then take note. Movielink may have a better way. With more than 1,000 movies in its library and a user-friendly download program, Movielink is among the sites that aim to change how you rent and buy movies.
Movielink is a Web-based video-on-demand service offering movies, TV shows, and other material for rental or purchase. The service is owned and operated by Movielink, a joint venture of Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SNE), Universal Studios, and Warner Brothers Entertainment (TWX) (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/1/06, "Movielink on the Block").
I gave it a test run as part of BusinessWeek.com's series of reviews of video Web sites (see BusinessWeek.com, 8/24/06, "Guba: The Good Stuff's Not Free").
NEW AND CLASSIC. Movielink at first leaves the user feeling a bit like a kid in the cinematic equivalent of a candy store. It's easy to maneuver, letting users find movies by browsing categories or by searching by title, actor, or other parameters. The layout is simple yet informative. Browsable categories adorn the left of the page, while various genres and special deals fill up the lower half of the page.
Films are broken down by genre, as well as by top rentals and purchases. The library features recent hits such as Mean Girls and V for Vendetta, as well as classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. In addition, Movielink features TV programs from the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, as well as BBC documentaries and Sundance award winners.
You rent a movie by downloading it to your hard drive; it can be stored for up to 30 days after you've downloaded and paid for it. Once you start playback, you can watch it as many times as you'd like within 24 hours. If you want to keep the movie permanently, choose the purchase option.
CLEAN IT UP. To purchase, you go through the same process you did with the rental except there is no limit to how long you are allowed to store the film or how many times you watch it. Movielink says the average time it takes for a full download is 30 to 90 minutes, though you can start watching the flick within a few minutes of beginning the download.
Movielink boasts a handy tool that makes downloading easy. The Movielink Manager, free software that comes with your first download, lets you watch, download, and keep track of purchased films. The file is relatively small (2.2 MB) and downloads quickly. After restarting my computer, I was ready to roll. Included in the program is a download queue, media player, and download tool. It also contains an auto clean-up feature to remove expired rental movie files.
I did encounter a few problems with Movielink. Most glaring, Movielink is only compatible with computers running Microsoft Windows XP or 2000 along with an updated version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. This leaves Mac and Linux users out in the cold. Then there was the limited selection.
SELECTION AND PRICING ISSUES. During my search, I looked for one of my favorite films, Airplane. Unfortunately, Airplane wasn't in the Movielink library. But I was in the mood to laugh, so I searched for another of my favorite films, This Is Spinal Tap. Again, no results. Frustrated, I clicked on the comedy link and was disappointed to find few of my favorite films. The library is very hit or miss.
Another issue is the lack of rhyme or reason in pricing. While Movielink offers daily weekday specials for under 99 cents and certain films for half-price every week, the prices are set by each movie house. So Robin Williams' RV, a Sony Pictures film, costs $19.99 to purchase, while the Philip K. Dick-inspired Paycheck from Paramount is only $9.99. There is little or no correlation of prices within movie companies either. Paramount's films range from the pricey (Aeon Flux at $19.99) to the relatively cheap (The Congo at $9.99).
Still, I am struck by Movielink's potential. By combining Movielink's digital library with advancements in home theater technology, you can create an impressive and entirely digital movie library. And you can watch Movielink movies on your TV as long as you have a PC-TV connection.
If you wanted, you could fit more movies than you know what to do with on your computer and wait for a rainy day. Movielink could change the way you get your movies, if they happen to have something you want to watch and if you can figure out what it's going to cost you.
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