April 2006
MovieBeam: Pay-per-view goes over-the-air
New service is intriguing yet limited
Television service is diversifying, with a host of new services promising on-demand delivery of movies and other programming.
But most of those ventures (including the free on-demand video streams of several hit shows announced this month by ABC-TV)
deliver signals to a PC, forcing you to view content on its relatively small screen or find a way to send it to a TV elsewhere
in the house.
A new service called MovieBeam, by contrast, delivers films to a $199 proprietary TV set-top decoder. Billed as "a video store in a box, " the service broadcasts over the air, piggybacking on the television transmissions from local Public Broadcasting Service stations. You receive broadcasts using a proprietary indoor antenna; it's flat and can sit atop the box, TV, or other surface. No Internet connection or new wiring is required.
The box comes loaded with up to 100 movies, any of which subscribers can "rent" for up to 24 hours for prices ranging from $1.99 for older releases, through $2.99 or $3.99 for newer releases, to $4.99 for new releases in high-definition. You can pause, rewind, and fast-forward a movie at any time, just as with a DVD. The service is unique in intriguing ways. Every week, up to 10 titles stored in the box are automatically replaced with new selections. And while movies typically hit cable and satellite-TV on-demand services a month to a month-and-a-half behind their availability on DVD, MovieBeam will add new releases from Disney (a partner in the venture) on the same day they're in rental stores.
Our tests found MovieBeam to be an interesting home-entertainment option--though with some caveats that may give you pause before ordering it, at least yet.
WHAT IT IS, HOW IT WORKS
For now, MovieBeam service is limited to 29 U.S. cities. To establish if your city is on the list, call 866-645-6836, go online to MovieBeam.com, or visit retailers including Best Buy and Sears.
After we signed up by registering one staffer's home address and telephone number, the slim MovieBeam box--containing a 160-gigabyte hard drive loaded with 87 movies and 14 previews--arrived via FedEx in the promised three to four days. The unit comes with standard audio and video connectors, allowing easy hookups to a standard TV. A set of "pass-through" composite-video connectors helps accommodate owners of TVs with a limited number of audio-video inputs. The MovieBeam box can be plugged into the TV in place of a VCR, for example. The VCR is then plugged into the MovieBeam box so subscribers can still watch videotapes when the MovieBeam is turned off.
The box also has S-video and component-video connections. However, the box provides high-definition signals (in 720p mode) only via an High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connector. HDMI inputs are found only on select HDTV sets made after 2003; subscribers with older HDTVs will be forced to use MovieBeam's other connections, none of which support high-definition signals.
After those connections are complete, the box automatically checks antenna reception and the box's connection to a standard telephone line, which is required in order to report your rental history back to MovieBeam for billing purposes. The box can easily share the line with a telephone, and it needn't remain connected to work; that's helpful should a continuous phone connection be inconvenient--say because the phone jack is a long way from the TV. But subscribers will have to reconnect the box periodically (say, every two weeks) so it can dial in and update your billing account and thus continue your rental privilege.
PERFORMANCE RESULTS
Navigating MovieBeam's library and on-screen menu choices was easy using the small remote, though we did find it to be a bit front heavy and hence easy to drop. Movies can be sorted by title, genre, and directors. Parental controls allow you to lock out material rated as inappropriate for kids. The unit also features selectable extras--trailers of upcoming theatrical releases, director commentaries, and outtakes--for some movies.
The 87 movies pre-installed on the box were a jumble of titles from 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney, NBC Universal, and Warner Bros. Some were old--"Eraser" with Arnold Schwarzenegger from 1996--while others were recently released on DVD--2005's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Like movies on DVD, some titles were available in both the squarish 4:3 aspect ratio as well as widescreen 16:9 format, while others were available only in one or the other (including standard-definition movies viewed via the HDMI connection, which frustratingly appeared only in the 4:3 shape.)
MovieBeam representatives promised that Disney movies would appear on the day of its DVD release. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, " for example, was scheduled to be available on our unit on April 4, the day DVDs appeared on store shelves. However, that's not the case for movies from other studios. 20th Century Fox's "Walk the Line," already on DVD and in stores since Feb. 28, wasn't scheduled to hit MovieBeam boxes until April 7. And titles from Sony Pictures' library aren't available at all since that company has yet to sign a distribution agreement with MovieBeam.
MovieBeam's library of high-definition movies--an area where the service could have shined, given growing consumer demand for HD content--was also a bit of a disappointment. When we browsed through MovieBeam's "HD Showcase, " we found only seven titles--one, "Sacred Planet, " was a mere 47-minute long documentary originally shot for IMAX screens and released on DVD in April 2005.
High-definition movies looked fine, much as they typically do on cable or satellite HD channels. Picture quality of the standard-definition movies, viewed via the MovieBeam's S-video connection, was a bit "softer" than those produced by a typical DVD player; they looked more like movies broadcast on an analog cable TV channel. If you own an HDTV, you can enjoy better quality from these standard-definition movies by using component video connections, which produced images comparable in quality that of a DVD player, digital cable, or satellite TV.
THE BOTTOM LINE
For standard-TV owners, MovieBeam's digital library offers more choices than the pay-per-view services of cable or satellite. But it obviously can't match the thousands of DVDs available through brick-and-mortar and online rental chains. And the lack of control over selections is frustrating. You can't choose which movies stay or when--or if--you'll get a "new" movie that you want to watch on any given day. (The box does at least give some advance notice when a particular movie will be replaced during the month.)
For HDTV owners, MovieBeam is an especially dubious investment. Selection is limited, rental prices are high, and the fact that MovieBeam's HD signals are available only through an HDMI connection means that only certain HDTVs can view those HD titles. (Any HDTV could, of course, freely receive standard-definition movies from the box.)
A company representative told us that later this year, MovieBeam may offer improvements, including better library management. The company plans to enable the Ethernet and USB ports located on the back of the box to allow for an IP connection to a high-speed home network. Using the Internet, subscribers should then be able to request certain movies for delivery to their home PC that wouldn't be subject to the rotation of selections on the MovieBeam box. (However, that repositions MovieBeam in the computer-viewing realm; also, new releases and HD movies will continue to be sent only via PBS's digital airwaves.)
You might consider investing in MovieBeam now if its advantages address disadvantages to other movie-rental options that especially irk you. Drawbacks like movie availability: MovieBeam offers at least some movies more rapidly after theatrical release than do pay-per-view cable or satellite. Or monthly fees: After the $199 investment in its equipment, there are no ongoing, fixed costs to MovieBeam--making it a better value for occasional movie watchers than mail-rental services such as Netflix, which cost $10 and up a month. Or the hassle of returning DVDs: MovieBeam offers timed, electronic rentals, meaning you skip running back and forth to the local video rental store to return DVDs.
New service is intriguing yet limited
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A new service called MovieBeam, by contrast, delivers films to a $199 proprietary TV set-top decoder. Billed as "a video store in a box, " the service broadcasts over the air, piggybacking on the television transmissions from local Public Broadcasting Service stations. You receive broadcasts using a proprietary indoor antenna; it's flat and can sit atop the box, TV, or other surface. No Internet connection or new wiring is required.
The box comes loaded with up to 100 movies, any of which subscribers can "rent" for up to 24 hours for prices ranging from $1.99 for older releases, through $2.99 or $3.99 for newer releases, to $4.99 for new releases in high-definition. You can pause, rewind, and fast-forward a movie at any time, just as with a DVD. The service is unique in intriguing ways. Every week, up to 10 titles stored in the box are automatically replaced with new selections. And while movies typically hit cable and satellite-TV on-demand services a month to a month-and-a-half behind their availability on DVD, MovieBeam will add new releases from Disney (a partner in the venture) on the same day they're in rental stores.
Our tests found MovieBeam to be an interesting home-entertainment option--though with some caveats that may give you pause before ordering it, at least yet.
WHAT IT IS, HOW IT WORKS
For now, MovieBeam service is limited to 29 U.S. cities. To establish if your city is on the list, call 866-645-6836, go online to MovieBeam.com, or visit retailers including Best Buy and Sears.
After we signed up by registering one staffer's home address and telephone number, the slim MovieBeam box--containing a 160-gigabyte hard drive loaded with 87 movies and 14 previews--arrived via FedEx in the promised three to four days. The unit comes with standard audio and video connectors, allowing easy hookups to a standard TV. A set of "pass-through" composite-video connectors helps accommodate owners of TVs with a limited number of audio-video inputs. The MovieBeam box can be plugged into the TV in place of a VCR, for example. The VCR is then plugged into the MovieBeam box so subscribers can still watch videotapes when the MovieBeam is turned off.
The box also has S-video and component-video connections. However, the box provides high-definition signals (in 720p mode) only via an High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connector. HDMI inputs are found only on select HDTV sets made after 2003; subscribers with older HDTVs will be forced to use MovieBeam's other connections, none of which support high-definition signals.
After those connections are complete, the box automatically checks antenna reception and the box's connection to a standard telephone line, which is required in order to report your rental history back to MovieBeam for billing purposes. The box can easily share the line with a telephone, and it needn't remain connected to work; that's helpful should a continuous phone connection be inconvenient--say because the phone jack is a long way from the TV. But subscribers will have to reconnect the box periodically (say, every two weeks) so it can dial in and update your billing account and thus continue your rental privilege.
PERFORMANCE RESULTS
Navigating MovieBeam's library and on-screen menu choices was easy using the small remote, though we did find it to be a bit front heavy and hence easy to drop. Movies can be sorted by title, genre, and directors. Parental controls allow you to lock out material rated as inappropriate for kids. The unit also features selectable extras--trailers of upcoming theatrical releases, director commentaries, and outtakes--for some movies.
The 87 movies pre-installed on the box were a jumble of titles from 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney, NBC Universal, and Warner Bros. Some were old--"Eraser" with Arnold Schwarzenegger from 1996--while others were recently released on DVD--2005's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Like movies on DVD, some titles were available in both the squarish 4:3 aspect ratio as well as widescreen 16:9 format, while others were available only in one or the other (including standard-definition movies viewed via the HDMI connection, which frustratingly appeared only in the 4:3 shape.)
MovieBeam representatives promised that Disney movies would appear on the day of its DVD release. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, " for example, was scheduled to be available on our unit on April 4, the day DVDs appeared on store shelves. However, that's not the case for movies from other studios. 20th Century Fox's "Walk the Line," already on DVD and in stores since Feb. 28, wasn't scheduled to hit MovieBeam boxes until April 7. And titles from Sony Pictures' library aren't available at all since that company has yet to sign a distribution agreement with MovieBeam.
MovieBeam's library of high-definition movies--an area where the service could have shined, given growing consumer demand for HD content--was also a bit of a disappointment. When we browsed through MovieBeam's "HD Showcase, " we found only seven titles--one, "Sacred Planet, " was a mere 47-minute long documentary originally shot for IMAX screens and released on DVD in April 2005.
High-definition movies looked fine, much as they typically do on cable or satellite HD channels. Picture quality of the standard-definition movies, viewed via the MovieBeam's S-video connection, was a bit "softer" than those produced by a typical DVD player; they looked more like movies broadcast on an analog cable TV channel. If you own an HDTV, you can enjoy better quality from these standard-definition movies by using component video connections, which produced images comparable in quality that of a DVD player, digital cable, or satellite TV.
THE BOTTOM LINE
For standard-TV owners, MovieBeam's digital library offers more choices than the pay-per-view services of cable or satellite. But it obviously can't match the thousands of DVDs available through brick-and-mortar and online rental chains. And the lack of control over selections is frustrating. You can't choose which movies stay or when--or if--you'll get a "new" movie that you want to watch on any given day. (The box does at least give some advance notice when a particular movie will be replaced during the month.)
For HDTV owners, MovieBeam is an especially dubious investment. Selection is limited, rental prices are high, and the fact that MovieBeam's HD signals are available only through an HDMI connection means that only certain HDTVs can view those HD titles. (Any HDTV could, of course, freely receive standard-definition movies from the box.)
A company representative told us that later this year, MovieBeam may offer improvements, including better library management. The company plans to enable the Ethernet and USB ports located on the back of the box to allow for an IP connection to a high-speed home network. Using the Internet, subscribers should then be able to request certain movies for delivery to their home PC that wouldn't be subject to the rotation of selections on the MovieBeam box. (However, that repositions MovieBeam in the computer-viewing realm; also, new releases and HD movies will continue to be sent only via PBS's digital airwaves.)
You might consider investing in MovieBeam now if its advantages address disadvantages to other movie-rental options that especially irk you. Drawbacks like movie availability: MovieBeam offers at least some movies more rapidly after theatrical release than do pay-per-view cable or satellite. Or monthly fees: After the $199 investment in its equipment, there are no ongoing, fixed costs to MovieBeam--making it a better value for occasional movie watchers than mail-rental services such as Netflix, which cost $10 and up a month. Or the hassle of returning DVDs: MovieBeam offers timed, electronic rentals, meaning you skip running back and forth to the local video rental store to return DVDs.
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