According to foreign media reports, Amazon has launched a new video-on-demand service. Industry insiders have rated it as the biggest competitor to Apple's iTunes.
Unlike the previously launched Unbox, this service, named Amazon Video on Demand, can run on Mac computers and offers faster video transmission speeds. Tests have shown that the service runs smoothly with little change in video quality and user interface, although there is some slight noise.
The rental fee for this service is between 3 to 4 dollars, movie prices range from 10 to 15 dollars, most TV series are around 2 dollars, and full season packages are also available. These prices are comparable to those of Apple's iTunes video transmission.
However, Amazon also offers NBC programs and provides versions without commercial interruptions. This service currently offers access to 40,000 movies and TV shows. Similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360, this service can transmit videos to certain Sony TVs, TiVo devices, and Windows Media Center extension devices. However, the full download mode for offline viewing is only available on Windows PCs and TiVo, not on Mac or Apple TV; moreover, portable movies still cannot be played on Apple hardware such as iPods or iPhones.
Although it is difficult to predict the market prospects of this service, industry insiders have stated that it has made significant progress compared to Unbox.
Source: pcpop.com