Universal Launches ‘download-to-own’ Movies March 24, 2006

Read more Home Entertainment , Online , PC , Portable Media

Now this is a first. Universal is the first big movie studio to announce that from April 10, UK surfers will be able to download versions of new movie release for keeps. Serenity, King Kong and Pride & Prejudice are among the first up but the studio is planning to get all of its 6,500 movies online over the coming year or so. So what’s the catch? Well, the cost is £19.99 for new movies and £9.99 for older ones – Bridget Jones etc. For that you get to download a version for your PC, another version designed to run on portable video devices and a DVD in the mail. All good. The downside is that downloads will be protected by Windows DRM software to prevent burning them to disc or uploading them to the Net. Still, by offering three different formats of the movie at one price, isn’t Universal taking the pain out of piracy for you?

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