It's finally here....

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09-17-2002, 07:30 AM
clifgriffin

Thanks to Windows Media 9 series...pay per view on the internet is now avaliable.

Although the selection of movies you'd actually want to watch is thin. Movies like "A Beautiful Mind", "Monsterball", Harry Potter, and many old classics such as "Gold Rush", "Meet John Doe", etc.. are avaliable for immediate viewing...some for as little as 2 dollars, with the newest ones at 4 dollars.

The quality doesn't meet DVD...or even VHS, but it is watchable.

CinemaNow.com
Cinema now offers the largest selection of B movies you ever seen. They have very few good movies. In fact....there free selection "The Burns and Allen Show" (hilarious) is probably better than all of the other movies they have up. Beverly Hill Vamps..the worst movie you will every have the displeasure of watching...is also available for viewing free of charge.

CinemaNow's redeeming quality is that is provides many movie short's....many are quite good. And they are all free.

Intertainer.com
Intertainer.com, with less free content...has more premium content that you'd actually consider worth buying. They have more new releases than CinemaNow, and they have many more old classics than CinemaNow.

In summary, you'll have to pick the service by the movie...the prices are reasonable on each site, and the quality is watchable for that night you have nothing else to do.

I recommend giving it a try...if only to see how bad a B movie can be... :)

Remember, all these services require Windows Media Player 9 to work.

Clif Griffin
09-17-2002, 07:33 AM
ad_mtk2

Hooray!!!

Another excuse to spend even more hours on the computer!!!

Thanks Clif! ;)

(n.b. no sarcasm intended)
09-17-2002, 07:38 AM
CVO Chris

I didn't realize version 9 was out. Think it's time to Auto update my PC.
09-17-2002, 07:49 AM
NerdInside

Other then the follow facts:

Windows Media Player is owned by Micro$oft
Windows Media Player tracks what you play and tells a server
Windows Media Player can only run on Micro$oft platforms

It's a great service. Then again, there are (and have been) other pay-per-view serivces that do not require Windows Media Player. Those will be the ones who live in the long run. You can't make money targetting 1 OS in this Mac/Linux/Windows world.
09-17-2002, 07:51 AM
CVO Chris

Quote:

Originally posted by NerdInside
Windows Media Player tracks what you play and tells a server

Can you block this with a firewall and still run it?
09-17-2002, 07:54 AM
NerdInside

Nope. Can't block it, you can't stop it, Microsoft knows.

http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,50567,00.html
09-17-2002, 07:57 AM
clifgriffin

Quote:

Originally posted by CVO Chris

Quote:

Originally posted by NerdInside
Windows Media Player tracks what you play and tells a server

Can you block this with a firewall and still run it?

You have to allow it to in the privacy settings...when it first runs it allows you to select what you want Microsoft to know and not know. I went ahead and allowed them to take useage statistics..

(These settings are new for version 9, nerdles.)

Intertainer.com requires your player be "Individualized" meaning it turns on DRM for that site...to protect their content. In effect you get a "license" to view that movie that expires after 24 hours (or whatever they specify).

I believe this is why Intertainer has more good movies.

NerdInside, versions for Mac, Solaris, etc.. will be available with the final release...just as version 7.1 was (is).

Linux is probably out of luck though.
09-17-2002, 07:59 AM
NerdInside

Wait, hasn't RealPlayer always had pay-per-view content? I know at least RealOne did. And I still standby that there are other pay-per-view sites where you can use QuickTime or RealPlayer. So :p!
09-17-2002, 08:02 AM
clifgriffin

RealPlayer doesn't...just checked.

Good luck on finding a quicktime one...I'm almost positive that they don't.

Clif
09-17-2002, 08:06 AM
NerdInside

I'm to cheap to find out. I won't be signing up for something just to prove you wrong.

QuickTime can stream content you know, it doesn't just load everything
09-17-2002, 08:08 AM
clifgriffin

Not as good as WMP or RealPlayer though...

Right now, WMP is definetly the best at streaming content..

Clif
09-17-2002, 08:12 AM
NerdInside

No way man! RealPlayer is better then WMP. It doesn't track what you do!!!
09-17-2002, 08:24 AM
clifgriffin

I was talking about Quality and Load time. . . :rolleyes:

I personally allowed them to know how I'm using my player...it helps them develop the product better for future releases.

I'm not doing anything I wouldn't want Microsoft to know...besides they couldn't trace the information to me if they wanted to.

;)
09-17-2002, 08:27 AM
NerdInside

Quote:

Originally posted by NerdInside
Other then the follow facts:

Windows Media Player is owned by Micro$oft
Windows Media Player tracks what you play and tells a server
Windows Media Player can only run on Micro$oft platforms

It's a great service. Then again, there are (and have been) other pay-per-view serivces that do not require Windows Media Player. Those will be the ones who live in the long run. You can't make money targetting 1 OS in this Mac/Linux/Windows world.

I standby this. Windows Media Player sucks.