Movie Downloads and Rentals Reviews

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Movie Downloads and Rentals Reviews Reviewed
Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Movie Downloads and Rentals Ratings Comments on Reviews
1. The New York Times >> Details/Subscribe	Web Movies Show Why DVDs Sell David Pogue Feb. 21, 2008		The New York Times' tech columnist David Pogue reviews and rates four movie download boxes: Apple TV, Vudu, Xbox 360 and TiVo/Amazon Unbox. The only thing these services have in common is that all can deliver content directly to a TV, without the need for a computer. Pros and cons of each service are discussed and grades are assigned for instant gratification, selection and overall movie joy. Vudu, the only dedicated movie-download-only box, is the clear winner, but Pogue isn't overly impressed with any of the services. "When competing with the humble DVD, Internet movie boxes do poorly on price, selection and viewing flexibility (that is, how much time you have to watch)," he writes, adding that convenience is their only big advantage.

Movie Downloads and Rentals Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Movie Downloads and Rentals Ratings Comments on Reviews

2. PC Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	The Best Devices for On-Demand Video Joel Santo Domingo, Brian K. Neal, Tim Gideon Mar. 6, 2008		This review roundup at PC Magazine covers Apple TV, Xbox 360 and Vudu. Though the write-up here is brief, links are provided to full, detailed reviews of each. Brian K. Neal says Vudu "manages to set the bar high for what a set-top on demand rental experience should be," but still needs improvements "to truly give Apple a run for its money." However, the Xbox 360 Elite "wins the crown as the best gaming/media entertainment device available," and Xbox Live is saluted as "a digital media lover's dream."
3. The Washington Post >> Details/Subscribe	Waiting for a Blockbuster Rob Pegoraro Feb. 21, 2008		Rob Pegoraro, personal technology columnist for The Washington Post, examines the movie download services available through Apple TV and Microsoft's Xbox 360. He discusses key considerations, such as pricing, viewing windows download times and more. He says the standard definition downloads look "blurrier and fuzzier than DVDs," but that high definition downloads look "magnificent, with far less evidence of the compression used to squish a movie into a downloadable file." In the end, the biggest criticism of both services is that neither stocks enough movies.

Movie Downloads and Rentals Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Movie Downloads and Rentals Ratings Comments on Reviews

4. Top Ten Reviews.com	2008 Online Rental Report Editors of TopTenReviews.com Not Dated		TopTenReviews.com reports often are downgraded because of its grade inflation (giving most products the same rating) and generally skimpy reviews. While the reviews in this report are still thin, the comparison chart is excellent and the ratings are uncharacteristically tough – not even winner Netflix gets a perfect score. Three of the ten services rate very poorly.
5. Top Ten Reviews.com	2008 Movie Download Report Editors of TopTenReviews.com Not Dated		Similar in tone and content to its report on online DVD rental services, TopTenReviews.com rates ten movie download services, awarding CinemaNow the gold medal over Movielink (which is now part of Blockbuster) because it offers more titles along with the ability to burn downloaded movies onto DVDs. Some of the information is dated. Despite the claim that this is a 2008 report, Wal-Mart Video Downloads, which closed in late 2007, is listed in sixth place.
6. Gizmodo	Apple TV vs. Vudu vs. Xbox 360: Video Download Battlemodo Wilson Rothman Mar. 4, 2008		This brief faceoff of three computer-less video download services does a good job comparing key differences, but ultimately does little to answer the question: "Which one is better?" Still, having a side-by-side-by-side comparison of costs and content, along with screenshots, can be helpful. Advantages are found with each. Vudu is the overall content champ, but Apple TV delivers more TV programming -- minus NBC. Xbox 360 gets the nod for image quality. Author Wilson Rothman also asks readers to vote (the Xbox 360 was winning by a healthy margin when we visited) and there are many reader comments that add fire but only a little light to the debate.
7. PC Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	Broadband Cinema Michael Muchmore Mar. 14, 2007		This older report rates six services including Amazon Unbox, CinemaNow, Vongo, MovieFlix, Movielink and Apple iTunes. All of the services reviewed have strengths, but Amazon Unbox and CinemaNow rate highest. Reviewer Michael Muchmore notes that picture quality of the movies downloaded from Amazon Unbox is the best of any of the movie download services. However, there are no free movie download or subscription options. CinemaNow scores points for its free content (which has been greatly curtailed since this review was written) and for giving users the ability to burn downloaded movies to DVD. Picture quality with free and subscription content is not very good, but things look much better for movies downloaded via the site's movie rental option.
8. Big Picture Big Sound.com	Magic Movie Machine Joseph Santiago Nov. 13, 2007		This single-product review does a superior job evaluating Vudu. Setup and use are adequately detailed, and positives and negatives are squarely addressed. Joe Santiago finds the image quality and movie selection to be particularly impressive. Initial cost is a major negative, and despite promises of instant viewing, a robust Internet connection is required if you want to watch a movie without a sometimes-significant delay. A Dec. 2007 update reports on the addition of HD movies and TV shows to the Vudu lineup.
9. The Associated Press	Review: Vudu Does Movie Magic, but Is Hamstrung by Hollywood Peter Svensson Dec. 20, 2007		In this review, which can be read at Yahoo! and other news sites on the Internet, Associated Press technology writer Peter Svensson says that Vudu is the best attempt yet to get movies from the Internet to the TV. This review does a nice job of discussing some fine points that others miss -- like the fact that its constantly working hard drive can be annoying if it is kept in a bedroom (though he adds that at least it is quieter than an Xbox). Svensson praises the large library compared to other download services, but takes issue with some of the pricing. One downside with HD is that the movies take four hours to download.
10. DVDRR.com	DVD Rental Review Contributors to DVDRR.com As of Mar. 2008		DVDRR.com provides thumbnail reviews and basic information about online movie rental sites in the U.S., U.K, Canada and Australia. Unfortunately, much of the information is out of date. That said, DVDRR.com is still worth a visit because it provides a forum for users to post their own reviews, and that part of the site remains fairly busy. A comparison chart, by country, makes it easy to see where each site ranks compared to its competitors.
11. CNet.com	Netflix vs. Blockbuster: Which One Is Better? John P. Falcone Updated Feb. 3, 2006		CNet.com is often the top go-to site for reviews of anything digital, but editors never make a determination of which rental service is superior. Reviewer John P. Falcone appears to like Netflix best, but never actually says so directly. There is a decent side-by-side comparison of features, although information about pricing and the number of distribution sites is clearly outdated.
12. CNet.com	Apple TV (160GB) John P. Falcone Updated Feb. 12, 2008		With the release of a new software update, CNet.com has extensively revised its review of the Apple TV. John P. Falcone appreciates that the software upgrade makes it possible to order titles direct from the TV, and says that the quality of standard definition videos has improved. However, he criticizes the limited viewing time frame, lack of subscription options, incompatibility with non-widescreen TVs and a few other issues.
13. CNet.com	VUDU Review John P. Falcone Updated Jan. 24, 2008		While not a comparative review that ranks similar products against each other, CNet.com's John P. Falcone says that the new Vudu console "may well be the closest thing to a video store in a box that we've seen to date," outclassing previous boxlike devices that bring movies to your TV. However, it still suffers from some shortfalls, including far fewer titles than are available from online movie rental services such as Blockbuster Online and Netflix.
14. Popular Mechanics >> Details/Subscribe	Movie Download Site Comparison: Test Drive Glenn Derine Mar. 2007		This older report is short and doesn't really pick a winner among five download services, but it does tell you how much time it will take to download movies from each service. In addition, it links to an informative sidebar that provides instructions for three ways of transferring movies from a PC to your TV.

Movie Downloads and Rentals Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Movie Downloads and Rentals Ratings Comments on Reviews

15. Webware.com	A hands-on look at Amazon Unbox on TiVo Matthew Moskovciak Mar. 8, 2007		This article looks at the marriage between Amazon Unbox and TiVo, and reviewer Matthew Moskovciak comes away generally unimpressed. Quality falls short compared to DVDs and the service can't display videos in a true widescreen format. The 24-hour viewing period is too limiting given the price of rentals. Those factors lead Moskovciak to say "We can't see ourselves using Amazon Unbox on TiVo that frequently."
16. SixStarReviews.com	2008 DVD Rental Reviews Editors of SixStarReviews.com Not Dated		Despite a "cheerleaderish" tone punctuated by an annoying number of exclamation points, the reviews seem unbiased and negatives are found for each of the five online DVD rental services reviewed here -- one of which no longer rents DVDs. Top-rated Netflix is criticized for its lack of game rentals and for sending high-demand titles to users who rent fewer DVDs first -- an industry practice known as throttling. The information provided seems reasonably up to date.
17. PC World >> Details/Subscribe	Vudu Delivers High-Quality Video on Demand--For a Price Harry McCracken and Melissa J. Perenson Sept. 7, 2007		The PC World reviewers like the Vudu movie console better than "previous gadgets such as MovieBeam" except for price, which has since been lowered. In the final segment of this report, titled "Vudu Economics," Harry McCracken and Melissa J. Perenson conclude that this is a good deal only if you value convenience and "instant gratification" over thrift.
18. Macworld >> Details/Subscribe	Hands on with Apple TV, Take Two Christopher Breen Feb. 12, 2008		Macworld reviewer Christopher Breen looks at the Apple TV "Take Two" update in this article, which also appears on the website of sister magazine PC World. Breen details the changes in this latest update -- which includes a simpler interface and the ability to rent movies directly from Apple's iTunes store -- and discusses some nuts-and-bolts topics, such as updating older Apple TVs and new settings options. Unfortunately, this all-too-cheery report fails to find any negatives at all, and his viewing test consists solely of the first 15 minutes of the HD version of "Live Free or Die Hard" -- hardly a comprehensive sample.
19. Fortune >> Details/Subscribe	Two Thumbs Down for Unbox Peter Lewis Oct. 3, 2006		This review calls the Amazon Unbox download service "unfun" because it's slow and difficult to use. Reviewer Peter Lewis says the service "appears not so much to have been introduced as to have escaped from the laboratory." Since this review, Unbox has been tweaked to allow direct downloads to TiVo DVRs.
20. The Wall Street Journal >> Details/Subscribe	Cinema Buffs Capture Hard-to-Find Films Katherine Boehret and Walter S. Mossberg Sept. 5, 2007		The Wall Street Journal technology columnists Katherine Boehret and Walter S. Mossberg report on Jaman.com, a service that specializes in foreign and independent films that can be rented or purchased via download. However, the site itself is described as "overwhelming" because of organizational problems. The reviewers also don't like that Jaman.com uses a peer-to-peer distribution method that borrows bandwidth from users to prevent overloading its own servers. Downloads are very slow. The site includes a community section designed to encourage film reviews and discussions, but that's described as "a little weak."
21. HackingNetflix.com	News & Info Editors of HackingNetflix.com As of Mar. 2008		Despite its Netflix-centric name and slant, this blog is one of the better sites on the Internet to stay abreast of the latest developments in the world of online DVD rentals and the DVD industry in general. Though you won't find reviews per se, you will find lots of information about services, new or discontinued features or policies, problems and solutions and just about anything else you can think of. Posts are lighthearted but informative, and readers have plenty of opportunity to add opinions of their own.
22. TopChoiceReviews.com	Online DVD Rental Reviews -- 2008 Editors of TopChoiceReviews.com Not Dated		The site rates and ranks six online DVD rental services, picking Netflix as top-rated. The brief reviews can be critical – it lists "cons" for every service but Netflix. While the side-by-side comparisons seem to have up-to-date information, the reviews tend to be simply updated rather than rewritten and reevaluated – and not all that carefully, as the comparison chart has DVD Avenue with 25,000 movie titles while the review says the service offers just 10,000, "less than half the selection as Netflix" (the chart says Netflix offers 85,000 titles). Among the sites reviewed is RentDVDHere.com, which has ceased operations.
23. GoRunGoReviews.com	Best DVD Internet Rental Service 2008 Editors of Consumer First Reviews Not Dated		GoRunGoReviews makes an effort at transparency, at least acknowledging that it gets a commission if some of the products are purchased after clicking through this site, but also stating that it strives for "unbiased" reviews. However, we are troubled that despite the 2008 date on its ratings, now-defunct QuikFliks holds down the number three spot. Even more worrisome is that Intelliflix holds down the fourth spot despite the comment that it is "slow at distributing new titles," an understatement considering the feedback we've seen elsewhere.

Movie Downloads and Rentals Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Movie Downloads and Rentals Ratings Comments on Reviews

24. CNet.com	Which DVD rental service do you use and why? Contributors to CNet.com As of Mar. 2008		In addition to the reviews above, CNet.com has a discussion area that includes an active topic devoted to online DVD rental services. As with similar user-discussion sites, you won't likely find too much unbiased commentary. Users may be familiar with only one or two services, they may have a grudge or they may even be employees of one of the companies posing as customers. The discussion is lively and sometimes informative.
25. Epinions	Online Stores & Services DVDs and Videos Contributors to Epinions As of Mar. 2008		This user-review site includes online DVD rental services within the "Online Stores and Services" category. Unfortunately, navigation is difficult as you need to scroll through pages of retailers and other service providers to find online DVD rental companies. Lots of services are profiled here, but only the giants -- Netflix and Blockbuster Online -- receive many reviews.