![]() |
CinemaNow Review: Online DVD Rental |
Rating: |
|
| Excellent download service for legal, very high quality computer viewing | |
|
CinemaNow is the pioneer and leader in the nascent movie download service market. Instead of getting a DVD, this service allows you to download or stream a movie and watch it on your computer or, if your laptop has an S-video jack, you can watch them on your TV. In order to take advantage of this service, you'll need, at a minimum, Internet Explorer 6.0 or Firefox 2.0, Windows XP or Vista, Windows Media Player 10, and a 300K or better Internet connection. Cable or DSL is ideal. This service is not available for Macs. CinemaNow's standard movie files are encoded at 700K, and their premium movie files are encoded between 1200K and 1500K. You'll need around 1.5Gs of free space on your hard drive for a premium file. Movies can take up to an hour or an hour and a half to download, even with a fast connection.
If you computer meets the technical requirements to play high quality video, this is a very convenient option because you can download or stream movies instantly. CinemaNow's subscription plan allows you to stream as many movies as you want, and includes access to a large selection of adult films as well. After the free three day trial, the subscription is $29.95 per month or $99.95 for one year. You can also rent or purchase individual movies. CinemaNow rentals are priced between $2.99 and $3.99, and can be watched at any time during a 24 hour window. CinemaNow also allows users to download movies, TV shows and music videos permanently, providing an unlimited viewing period on up to three devices. Movies are priced from $9.99 to $19.99, while TV shows and music videos are priced at $1.99. Some of these movies can also be burned to DVD. This service is an interesting one and we encourage you to test it out. |
|
| Free Trial: | Three days |
| Monthly Price: | $29.95/mo or $99.95/yr |
| Delivery Speed: | Stream or download instantly NOW |
| Late Fees: | N/A |
| Shipping Fees: | N/A |
| Customer Service: |
NextAdvisor Online DVD Rental Blog Headlines
Netflix to split streaming and DVD, renaming DVD to Qwikster
Over the weekend Netflix announced they will be separating their DVD-by-mail and online content streaming services and renaming their DVD business as Qwikster.com. This comes on the coattails of their recent decision to charge for their formerly free streaming service, thereby changing their entire pricing and plan line up and increasing prices up to 60%. [...]
Is Google's new online movie rental poised to end Netflix?
A few days ago at Google I/O, Google's yearly developer conference in San Francisco, the company made public a new movie-rental service for the Android Market. It'll roll out soon to Market applications on Android devices: handsets, tablet computers, PCs, and laptops. Users will be able to stream these movie rentals from the cloud, making it [...]
Stream Netflix movies on your Wii
Netflix is adding Nintendo's Wii consoles to the list of devices that allow Netflix subscribers to stream unlimited movies and television episodes. If you're already a Netflix member but haven't already been taking advantage of Netflix's unlimited streaming content, the addition of the Wii makes it even easier to start. And if you're a Wii [...]
Consumers still prefer DVDs over streaming video
It seems logical to assume that over time, the popularity of DVDs would fade in favor of streaming video. But for the present, DVDs are holding strong. A new survey found that the majority of consumers would rather rent DVDs than stream movies over the Internet. Only 6% of respondents considered the streaming feature important. [...]


