Go to a video or TV programme on Amazon and it will start playing -- though you only get to watch the first two minutes. However, if you pay for it, you can watch the whole thing in streaming video mode, without downloading it. And if you want, you can watch it on a different system, so you can buy films in the office or on your mobile phone then watch them at home.
That's the basis of Amazon Video on Demand, which starts its private beta test today, according to The New York Times. It says:
Films and TV shows from almost all the major studios and television networks are available for sale or rental to Amazon's customers in the United States, at varying prices depending on the program and whether people buy or rent it. The lone holdouts are Walt Disney and ABC, which Disney owns. Both have close relations with Amazon's digital rival, Apple.
Amazon already has Unbox, a video service that works with Windows PCs and TiVo set-top boxes. However, this takes the traditional download-to-watch route. Streaming will presumably have the potential to reach a wider audience, as long as the internet connection/buffering system is up to the job.
Obviously, Amazon Video on Demand will be more attractive to people who have a PC or equivalent system connected to their TV set, which is part of the appeal of the Xbox 360 in the Netflix deal. But in the long term, you'd expect a decent TV set to have a PC built in.....
Also in the long term, such services could reach distant lands, such as the UK.....
