AfterDawn: News

Wal-Mart enters movie download business

Retail giant Wal-Mart introduced a test version of its new download service for movies and TV shows. Powered by technology from Hewlett-Packard, Wal-Mart's service is the first to be launched with the backing of all the major Hollywood studios. This puts the retail giant in direct competition with Apple's iTunes.

The service, which is available on Wal-Mart's website, lets users download and keep major Hollywood movies, as well as TV content. The company claims that over 3,000 films from studios like 20th Century Fox, Disney, Lions Gate, MGM, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. are already available.



Downloads are priced between $1.96 per TV episode to $19.88 for a new movie. New movie releases will be available for download on the same date as DVD release.

Source:
Reuters

Written by: James Delahunty @ 6 Feb 2007 8:40

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• 14 comments

• squidge37

  Is it just me, or is $19.88 a really high price tag for a compressed video file? I could get the actual DVD for five dollars less. What's the incentive? Aren't other download services offering movies for $10?

  6.2.2007 10:31 #1

• Ketola

  Originally posted by squidge37:Is it just me, or is $19.88 a really high price tag for a compressed video file? I could get the actual DVD for five dollars less. What's the incentive? Aren't other download services offering movies for $10?It's definitely not just you. Now if it were 1080p playable on any device of my choosing, $19.88 might be just about bearable.

  6.2.2007 10:47 #2

• goninjago

  $20 for a compressed video file is just ridiculous. If I want something of lesser quality I'll stick to torrenting my movies, Wal-Mart, thank you very much.

  6.2.2007 11:36 #3

• bkf

  Small selection, Prices a bit high, and naturally the one thing these places all have in commen. "Can't burn" Seems they have a real problem getting that concept out of their heads. They won't last long.

  6.2.2007 11:39 #4

• solarf

  way too high

  6.2.2007 12:26 #5

• BludRayne

  They want us to pay more for inferior quality and no packaging ha ha ha!

  6.2.2007 13:03 #6

• chubbyInc

  I hope Wal-mart takes down iTunes. Either way though I'll never use any of those stupid services.

  6.2.2007 13:41 #7

• andy409

  you can just buy a movie for 10 or 15 bucks, rip it and then play it or put it on a ipod or psp or just put it in the DAMN DVD TRAY ON YOUR COMPUTER!!!!!

  6.2.2007 15:57 #8

• venomX05

  Your right...no incentive what so ever.
  
  In my opinion, they should make it $5, because with less quality, no packaging and the fact that some dvds contain bonus discs. All you are paying for are like the bargain bin ones that you see in Walmart.
  
  If they really want to make a killing, have a price tier:
  
  Normal quality-$5
  High quality-$10 (for HD)
  Bonus DVD-$1
  
  *You all get the idea*
  
  They should consider this...it isn't like they have access to the newest movies, only those released on DVD. If that is the case, you might as well drop the price like they do in the big bargain bins in the middle of the electronics isle.
  
  If you think about it, when you buy a movie at Walmart, it always comes with a FREE bonus disc. Something a little extra to keep the experience enjoyable. No sense in charging outlandish prices for something you would like/don't want for your d/l.
  
  V

  7.2.2007 04:16 #9

• bkf

  Originally posted by andy409:you can just buy a movie for 10 or 15 bucks, rip it and then play it or put it on a ipod or psp or just put it in the DAMN DVD TRAY ON YOUR COMPUTER!!!!!Ok Andy your right (even though I don't think your going to find many $10 movies except in the junk bin. So my question is What is the difference....Except for the ripping part. You might as well rip a rental. My point being it can be done one way or another so why is the burning not allowed from a legal paied for downloaded movie. The undoing of so many other download services. Keep telling the people what they can't do and you know where it will end up then no one gets anything. It only takes one.

  7.2.2007 04:18 #10

• moocowgal

  Maybe there's something that I just don't get about this or maybe my mind works differently from the average consumer, but whichever way you slice it, I just can't picture myself paying that kind of money for a movie that I'd have to have my whole family crashing on my super single waterbed to watch on my computer monitor. lol

  7.2.2007 21:07 #11

• bkf

  Originally posted by moocowgal:I'd have to have my whole family crashing on my super single waterbed to watch on my computer monitor.This is why it will fail like so many other things. They may as well not bother doing it at all.

  8.2.2007 02:14 #12

• borhan9

  Wal-Mart will not make any ground on Itunes based on those prices set. Also the price that they set on the movie download the consumer is better off going to the shops and buying the actual disc without the headaches.

  10.2.2007 02:27 #13

• ivymike

  So WalMart is gonna offer downloadable movies? Why, so they can censor the graphic content? $19.88 is a high price to pay for a "cleaned" version of a movie such as "The Departed".

  10.2.2007 15:07 #14