Amazon retools video, going from download to streaming

Consumers balked at Amazon’s Unbox service because it required the download and installation of yet another proprietary player. The current problem the download model is that the big studios currently insist on restrictive  DRM which puts restrictions on portability for viewing on other devices. Now Amazon is betting that consumers will take to streaming movies in  a pay per view format.

Customers of Amazon’s new store will be able to start watching any of 40,000 movies and television programs immediately after ordering them because they stream, just like programs on a cable video-on-demand service. That is different from most Internet video stores, like Apple iTunes and the original incarnation of Amazon’s video store, which require users to endure lengthy waits as video files are downloaded to their hard drives.

“For the first time, this is drop dead simple,” said Bill Carr, Amazon’s vice president for digital media. “Our goal is to create an immersive experience where people can’t help but get caught up in how exciting it is to simply watch a movie right from Amazon.com with a click of the button.”

Amazon, which is based in Seattle, is also pursuing the technology and media world’s holy grail — an Internet pipeline to the TV. It has struck a deal with Sony Electronics to place its Internet video store on the Sony Bravia line of high-definition TVs. (New York Times)