Movie download features muscle in on Blu-ray

The Blu-ray format will get some added competition this year from Roxio CinemaNow, a download service that will boost its features with 1080p video, 3D movies and interactive bonus features.

Not all of these features are revolutionary -- 1080p downloads and streams are available for plenty of other sources and Microsoft has announced its own "Virtual DVD" plans -- but they all pose a threat to Blu-ray as it tries to battle on-demand downloads.

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CinemaNow, owned by Sonic Solutions, has a standalone Web site, but it also appears on TVs and Blu-ray players, and powers branded online storefronts from Best Buy and Blockbuster. The company spent 2009 bulking up its presence on hardware devices, as many online services have, and is now focusing on adding new features. CinemaNow 2.0, as it's called, will be demonstrated at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show this week.

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Because I don't own any devices (aside from my computer) that runs Roxio CinemaNow, I'm less excited for this service specifically than I am for the implications behind it. Movie studios bend over backwards in hopes that you'll buy movie discs. They've withheld bonus features from rental DVDs, they've added gimmicky augmented reality features, and they've even bundled DRM-shackled digital copies. Meanwhile, manufacturers are investing heavily in 3D, and the Blu-ray Disc Association has jumped on board.

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But if bonus features and 3D video can be achieved in downloadable form, it takes some of the wind out of Blu-ray's sails.

CinemaNow's problem is one that's consistent throughout the movie industry: It's hard for users to have full control over the content they buy. If you download a movie through CinemaNow, you're bound to devices that run the service. That's why I got excited last year over Disney's rumored plans to let people purchase a movie once and watch it on any device. If a service like that can be combined with the robust features being touted with CinemaNow, Blu-ray and optical media in general will be in serious trouble.

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