FOX is launching a new video service on its IGN and MySpace websites called Direct2Drive, where television programs and movies will be available for download. Television programs such as 24, Prison Break, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia can be downloaded within 24 hours of airing on the network. The cost for each episode is the industry standard $1.99. Movies, such as X-Men, The Omen, Garfield, and Thank You For Smoking will be available for download on the same day that the DVDs are released. The cost for a movie is $20.The catch here is that all the video can only be downloaded and played on computers or devices that run Microsoft Windows Media Player. That means iPods are shut out. FOX probably chose the Windows technology because 1) more people stil use Windows machines; and 2) copyright protection. The service will limit playback to two Windows computers, each with one portable device.
Considering most television downloads have been through iTunes... do you think FOX is on the right track here?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-14-2006 @ 2:48PM
ento said...
Prison Break, 24, and It's Always Sunny are already on iTunes, as are a number of other FOX & FX shows. Perhaps they're just trying to reach out to non-iPod users this time around?
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8-14-2006 @ 3:18PM
mike j said...
$20 for a movie only playable on my own pc, that makes no sense buy high quality dvd w/ special features for $10-15 and play anywhere
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8-14-2006 @ 3:25PM
BobMac said...
I don't care as long as Fox continues to sell them through iTunes.
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8-14-2006 @ 3:31PM
Tracy said...
TWENTY BUCKS? They're crazy. Ten bucks, maybe, but 20 is just nuts. I wonder where they got their pricing ideas...
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8-14-2006 @ 4:25PM
Bob Jones said...
They are a lot more lenient than iTunes, 2 machines and devices - thats 4 playback devices for only $2!
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8-14-2006 @ 4:44PM
Roxanne said...
I do iTunes. If they arn't on iTunes they don't have my business. Simple as that.
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8-14-2006 @ 5:12PM
Gonzo said...
To Poster # 5
iTunes lets you put any purchased content on 4 computers. You can also play it on your iPod and with the right cable connect it to your TV as well. If you chose to do so you could also burn it to a Disc nd then play it on an unlimited amount of devices.
iTunes is also cross platform. It allows users on Windows and Mac operating systems to use it reaching a wider audience than a closed Windows only operation.
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8-15-2006 @ 2:29PM
Paul said...
DOA. Another system built around the needs of copyright holders instead of the wants of actual people.
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8-15-2006 @ 3:02PM
Davin Peterson said...
iPod unfairly dominates the MP3 player world. No one mentions the better Creative Zen Vision:M Player which works with Windows and the new URGE system.
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8-15-2006 @ 4:03PM
Lacene said...
To Poster #7
Microsoft doesn't disallow the use of Windows Media Player on Apple's Mac's....Apple does not allow for it....only recently has Apple allowed for the Windows XP OS to boot to their Mac's, but only with the idea that they will win Win PC user's over to the Mac's in the long haul (altho I doubt it)...the closed operation you're referring to is not from Microsoft, it's from Apple....
Apple's DRM'd audio and video content from it's iTMS service is just as closed, but because the world's PC market is about 80% Microsoft, and 5% Apple, the accessability (or lack thereof) to Apple's proprietary systems is not deemed as important or prevalent as it is with MS systems, so Microsoft gets the bad rap. Why else would the worlds' iPod users - which make up 70% of the DAP market - predominantly use Windows XP OS over Apple's OS X?? If it wasn't for MICROSOFT allowing for iTunes compatibility, and not APPLE allowing for iTunes to be used with PC's, the iPod would not be anywhere as dominant as it is today.....
Quit blaming Microsoft, and look at Apple, once in a while....
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8-15-2006 @ 6:17PM
J said...
I downloaded all of "Prison Break"'s first season via Itunes. I'm perfectly willing to continue doing that. Has it occurred to you that Fox may simply be adding an adjunct for people who don't use an Ipod? It doesn't look as if they're excluding anybody at this point.
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9-24-2006 @ 9:53PM
robbo said...
Downloading video files to your PC is the future,
soon I figure that DVD's will be a thing of the past and video/films held on a memory card will be of whats to come.
www.fox24.co.uk
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