Downloading a video from the web and watching it on a TV has been something that only computer geeks with home-networking expertise could enjoy. Now Movielink LLC, CinemaNow Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are making it easy for couch potatoes–-at least those willing to buy into Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004. “Now you can have that 10-foot couch potato experience, and download a video with your TV remote and transfer to your TV,” says a spokeswoman for CinemaNow.
CinemaNow, a service majority-owned by Lions Gate Entertainment along with other movie producers, introduced today a television interface that lets users of Windows XP Media Center download from a collection of more than 1,000 videos from CinemaNow.com on a pay-per-view basis. It will eventually also offer a subscription service, the spokeswoman adds. "The ability for people to access movies from CinemaNow via a remote control and to play them back on their television or PC has been one of the few remaining hurdles for the success of Internet-based video-on-demand," said Curt Marvis, CEOof CinemaNow. "Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 represents a giant leap forward in transforming the PC into a true entertainment hub.”
Movielink, which is a joint venture of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Studios, offers a similar service designed for the Windows XP Media Center from Movielink.com. It offers more than 400 videos.
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