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| Amazon.com Launches Amazon Unbox Amazon.com has today announced the launch of Amazon Unbox, a new digital video download service offering customers thousands of television shows, movies and other video content from more than 30 studio and network partners from Hollywood and around the world. Unbox is the only video download service to offer DVD-quality picture. In addition, Unbox RemoteLoad technology allows customers to buy from one PC (such as an office computer) and download to another (such as a home computer). Unbox offers triple the video quality of the leading commercial Internet video services, delivering content encoded at 2, 500 kilobits per second using the ultra-efficient VC-1 Advanced Profile codec. At no additional charge, Unbox also automatically includes a second file optimized for playback on any Windows Media-compatible portable device. In addition, Unbox uses progressive download, eliminating the need to wait for the entire video to download before watching. This means the typical cable broadband customer can start watching any Unbox TV show or movie within five minutes of ordering. Unbox RemoteLoad technology offers customers the convenience of shopping for Unbox videos on Amazon.com from any Internet-connected PC - like their PC at the office - and download their videos to that PC or any other connected PC - like their PC at home. Plus, customers get the added flexibility of taking their video collection on the go using any Windows Media video-compatible portable device, including the popular Creative Zen Vision:M. Amazon Unbox customers will be able to access their videos in the Amazon Your Media Library, a personalized Web page that indexes and organizes their media purchases from Amazon.com, including books, CDs, DVDs and Unbox Videos. Your Media Library provides each Unbox customer a place to keep track of their Unbox video purchases, and even download them to an additional PC. Amazon Unbox customers can download episodes of their favorite television shows that aired as recently as last night or favorites from decades past. Unbox offers current hits from top networks like CBS with "CSI" and "Numb3rs" and FOX with "24" and "Prison Break" as well as classics like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Firefly" and "Star Trek". Unbox also offers a broad selection of popular shows from cable networks such as A&E, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, FX and several channels from MTV Networks, including Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and VH1. From September 14th through September 27th, all of the final, cliffhanger episodes from last season's "CSI", "CSI: Miami" and "CSI:NY" will be available for $0.01 to celebrate CSI Week and the launch of the season for all three "CSI" series. Several television series and films will make their digital download debut with Amazon Unbox, including all 79 episodes of the original "Star Trek" series (plus the pre-Shatner original pilot), many anime series including "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED". HGTV, FINE LIVING TV Network and VH1 are three networks making their digital download debut, offering titles such as "Design on a Dime", "America's Dream 18" and "Breaking Bonaduce", respectively. Movies available on Unbox include new releases such as "V for Vendetta", "Inside Man", "Failure to Launch", "RV" and "Walk the Line" as well as numerous classics like "Ben Hur", "Chinatown" and "Poseidon Adventure" from top studios including 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. Unbox will also have independent films from studios such as Focus Features, Fox Searchlight and Lionsgate, including "Akeelah and the Bee", "Brokeback Mountain" and "Friends With Money". Amazon Unbox also offers a broad selection of international television shows and films from the UK, Korea, Hong Kong and Japan. These include the epic Korean period drama "The Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-shin"; the popular BBC comedy "Coupling"; Hong Kong's "Hand of Death, " directed by John Woo starring Jackie Chan; and Japan's "Escaflowne". write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Computing News :: home page |