Cannily improving upon its own download-only Unbox service and sidestepping TiVo’s set-top box delivery solution, online retail titan Amazon has this week officially unveiled the Amazon Video On Demand service, which will allow users to either download ad-free movies and TV shows or watch them instantly within their Web browsers.
Amazon offers ad-free, Web browser movie and TV playback with Video On Demand service. Image: Night Star Romanus/Flickr.
According to Seattle-based Amazon, the new digital Video On Demand service is compatible with both PC and Mac systems and offers immediate customer access to thousands of Hollywood films and popular television shows.
Furthering its appeal, Amazon has joined forces with Sony Corp. in a deal that will enable users to rent or purchase Video On Demand content directly through Sony’s BRAVIA Internet Video Link device via compatible BRAVIA HDTV televisions.
And, not quite done stoking the fires of market intrigue, Amazon has also announced that the opening two minutes of every movie and TV show available through Video On Demand will play for free whenever a prospective customer visits a specific product page.
“The ability to watch content instantly without downloading first was among the most requested features of our customers, and now it’s live,” enthused Roy Price, Amazon’s director of Video On Demand, “customers can instantly watch the ad-free title of their choice on a Mac, PC or compatible Sony BRAVIA TV.”
Users of BRAVIA Internet Video Link (currently in beta) looking to take advantage of Amazon’s Video On Demand service can do so by clicking here and linking their BRAVIA device to their Amazon.com account. Content purchases can be watched instantly, while a backup copy is transferred to the user’s Your Video Library.
The service is compatible with PC and Mac computers, Sony BRAVIA TVs, TiVo boxes, Windows Media Center extender devices such as the Microsoft Xbox 360 videogames console, and also portable media players.
The appearance of Amazon Video On Demand does not spell a premature demise for the Unbox service, which will remain as Amazon’s client application for downloaded content, while Video On Demand will evolve the overall user experience by enabling instant playback.
Amazon has said that “a full selection of the most popular returning and new shows, including pilots, premieres, and full episodes,” will be announced for the Video On Demand service throughout September.
Presently, as with all the truly juicy online media services, Video On Demand is restricted to the United States.
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