Is Hollywood embracing digital downloads of digital high-quality movies in the popular DVD format? Can this be? I just received an email from Movelink, which states, in part: As a reader of VoIP & Gadgets, I wanted to make sure you've heard Movielink's latest news. For the first time in the U.S., consumers can legally download to own movies from major Hollywood studios, such as King Kong, Good Night, and Good Luck, Hustle & Flow, East of Eden, The Sting and To Kill a Mockingbird. For the first time ever, titles such as Brokeback Mountain will be available to download day and date with DVD. This is a major step forward for the entertainment industry, as the Internet proves to be a viable distribution platform for delivery of premium content. It's also a major advancement for consumers who can now build their own personal digital movie libraries, stream movies around the house, and watch movies whenever and wherever they want.
I hope you'll visit www.movielink.com to see what's new.


So I did some more research. The broadband video-on-demand service Movielink announced that it is expanding its service to enable customers to buy digital-quality movie downloads online, in addition to the company's existing rental service. They've signed onboard several Hollywood heavyweights, including MGM, Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Universal, and Warner Bros. Brokeback Mountain will be the first major title released the same day the film hits DVD (tomorrow). Films debuting today with the launch include King Kong, Good Night, and Good Luck, Walk the Line, Memoirs of a Geisha, Hustle and Flow, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This marks the first time the Hollywood studios will sell major blockbuster movies online the same day they become available on DVD.

The films available on Movielink can be stored indefinitely on a computer hard drive or transferred to as many as two other computers. A copy can be burned to a DVD as a backup, however these DVD discs can only be played on up three PCs authorized by Movielink - they cannot be viewed on a standard DVD player because of special security encryption. Studios are being extra cautious about selling films online in part because DVD sales produce more profit than theater box office receipts. Still, this could be a deal breaker for many users that don't have a PC hooked up to their large-screen TVs. Who wants to watch a DVD on a teensy 17" or even 21" PC monitor?

Being able to download digital DVD quality movies over the Internet is a step in the right direction for Hollywood, but they still have a ways to go. I'm afraid the Bittorrent P2P users who get their movies for free (illegally) won't be jumping ship if they can't play these "legally" downloaded Movielink movies on their home surround sound theater setups.

If Hollywood makes it easy for users to download and play movies on their television, they could make a killing. Just look at what Apple iTunes did after everybody said that no one would pay for music in the "Napster age". Apple proved them wrong. Hollywood could do the same if they make the user experience as easy and simple as Apple did. If the Hollywood studios make a killing now on DVD profits, just imagine when they cut out all the manufacturing costs for the DVD disc, the cost of the packaging materials, the damn impossible to remove cellophane with security tape, as well as the distribution costs and paying retail outlet stores a "cut" of the revenue. Hollywood could get a much bigger piece of the pie if they offer digital downloads since the cut all of these expenses out. Eventually Hollywood will see the light. I hope...