MovieBeam, originally priced at $249 plus $30 activation, dropped to $199 without an activation fee about a month into sales. As I wrote, that price still struck me as barrier to entry given the per-movie rental fees. Well, how does 49 bucks sound? MovieBeam’s online media account manager sent me a note to spread the word about a blog & forum special — just enter code PR49B at checkout to get this deeply discounted rate! At $49 a pop I can see them selling enough units to reach a critical mass, perhaps allowing them to recoup infrastructure investments and hardware costs through movie rentals.
Before pulling the trigger, you might want to review this… “Please confirm that you have a land-line phone before you purchase the MovieBeam Player. Sorry, the MovieBeam Player cannot connect to mobile or Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phones at this time.” Ben over at HD Beat did get the unit working on Vonage, but your mileage may vary. Also be aware MB is not available in all areas (remember, local stations beam the movies), but their online address widget will quickly let you know if you qualify.
I’m in! :)
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$49 is still too much for this silly service for me. I can TiVo more content than I have time to watch - I have unwatched DVDs as it is. This service just isn't appealing enough and I can't see it lasting.
Of course, it is moot - Moviebeam is not available in my area. Worcester, MA - second largest city in MA (after Boston) and one of the largest cities in New England.
Great coverage they've got. ;-)
From the Moviebeam FAQ:
Will all movies be in High Definition (HD)? Why not?
Only a select set of movies on MovieBeam are available in HD. Today, not all movies are made by the movie studios in HD, and library movies were almost all made in standard definition format (or were shot on film and were only digitized in standard definition format for DVD's).
I wonder how many movies are actually in HD. Also, you need to pay $40 extra to get the kit with HD cables.
And didn't people complain that the video quality over Moviebeam was overcompressed?
Plus, my local video store lets me keep a DVD for three nights, not 24 hours. Netflix doesn't limit the time you can keep the movie at all. For new releases, my local video store is cheaper, even for the SD prices. And what's up with charging more for HD?
Give me a break.
I have no problem paying 50 bucks to play with a new gadget. I don't have a cable box (no PPV for me) and I haven't been in a movie rental store in years, so this could be a reasonable option for the occasional impulsive SD movie rental when Netflix discs are in transit or we're in the mood for something else. A permanent installation should also be less trouble than hooking up a laptop to the TV as I've done a few times for previous impulse buys (Movielink, iTunes).
I'm under the impression about 10% of the flicks stored on the drive are supposed to be HD and I assume we can use our own HD cables (though I plan to connect it to the SD bedroom set). Ben at HD Beat thrashed the HD quality, though Jeremy at LiveDigitally was a bit more forgiving.
If I can ever get the checkout cart to accept my order (been trying for two hours now), I'll be sure to share my MovieBeam experiences.