Audio Video News

DISH Network to offer Warner movies on-demand and in HD
The ever changing face of video distribution continues to evolve. EchoStar and Warner have signed off on deal that will allow DISH Network customers to access to Warner's new releases and catalog titles via its "Dish On Demand" and pay-per-view services in standard and high-definition.

Customers can use DVRs conjunction with the Dish On Demand service to time-shift and otherwise enhance the viewing experience. According to TWICE the On Demand service is available to subscribers with the DISH Player DVR-508, DISH Player DVR-510, DISH Player DVR 625 and the ViP622 DVR.

Although specific titles weren't listed EchoStar's Susan Arnold was quoted as stating that "movies such as V for Vendetta greatly enhance the variety of movies available to our customers."

AOL Offering Content From Four Studios For Download
AOL announced today that it has started selling downloads of movies and TV shows from Fox, Sony, Universal, and Warner through its AOL Video portal. Movies will be priced from $9.99 to $19.99 and the downloaded content can be viewed on a PC or a portable device.

The Video Portal relaunched in July with more than 50 on-demand "channels" offering available downloads. According to Video Business, recent Fox TV hits such as 24 and Prison Break will be available in addition to older series' such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Among the movies slated for download from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment are The Benchwarmers, Charlie's Angels, Hitch, Spider-Man 2, and Starsky and Hutch.

Initiatives such as this provide an interesting case study for the Blu-ray and HD DVD camps. When consumers were confronted with high-resolution audio on 5" silver discs (DVD-A and SACD) their choice was the now ubiquitous low-res download. While content providers screamed piracy was responsible at the time, the continued success today of online music downloads that are paid for suggests that downloads are simply a better reflection of the convenience and lifestyle choices people make with their music.

With a full blown format war raging and movies starting to show up in stores in triple inventory on Blu-ray, DVD, and HD DVD it will be interesting to see if the format war's combatants are blind-sided again by consumer acceptance of a lower quality choice in programming.