Amazon Unbox Gets it All Wrong
The videos at Amazon Unbox range from televisions shows like "24," "Pimp My Ride" and "Star Trek" to full-length feature movies from Warner Bros., Paramount, Sony Pictures, Fox, Universal and other major studios. Customers can buy most TV shows for $1.99, and your first TV show is free for a limited time. Renting a movie costs $3.99. Buying a movie costs anywhere from $7.99 to around $19.00, and there are around 1400 movies on offer. Buying it means you get to download it and watch it whenever you want, however many times you want. Amazon has also created a piece of software called the Amazon Unbox Video Player that plays and manages your videos while also acting as a storefront, much like iTunes and the iTunes Music Store.
Here are seven reasons why Amazon Unbox will fail:
- Windows only. The service requires the Amazon Unbox Video Player, which only works on Windows, and Windows Media Player 10.
- You can't use your iPod. Even if you have Windows.
- The video files are not portable. You download two files — one that has to stay on your computer and one that you can use on a hand-held device. That portable device must have Microsoft's Plays for Sure DRM compatibility.
- You can burn the downloaded video to a DVD, but that DVD only works on the computer that you used to actually download the video.
- The prices are too high compared to alternatives with far fewer restrictions. You can rent actual DVDs for less money. CinemaNow downloads start at $0.49, then go to $2.99 for second-run films. Popular features are the same price, $3.99.
- Watching full-quality video on a television requires hooking up an approved PC to your TV — remember, no universally compatible DVDs!
- Rentals expire after 30 days. Once you start a rental video, you must finish watching it within 24 hours. That's too restrictive.
There's one more reason why this service is flawed, but it's subjective and not technical. It's rental, and rental doesn't work. See Napster, SpiralFrog, etc. Granted, the for-purchase downloads are not rentals, but their use is so terribly restricted that I can't see myself or anyone I know actually buying a movie from this service. If I download something and pay for it, I want to own it. I want to be able to watch/listen/experience however I want, just like I went down to the store and bought a hard copy. Amazon Unbox is a long way off.
GigaOM says, "Top that, Apple!" I'll second that emotion.
"Amazon's Online Video Gambit" [Wired News]
