Looking to cover some ground on the sagging sales of DVDs and Blu-ray, leading US electronic retailer Best Buy is hoping into the digital download arena. The company has partnered with CinemaNow on a new digital service that will allow customers to download movies to any compatible internet-connected device. What gives Best Buy an edge is that it will be pre-loading the software onto devices from Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba. So, for example, you buy a Samsung Blu-ray player. There's a good chance it will come with the option to purchase or rent movies and TV shows.
It's just another one of the many ways consumers can begin digital downloads of movies and TV including Xbox Live, Amazon and iTunes. But while there a lot of options, the concept still hasn't really caught on to a wide section of the public. Best Buy has actually been offering digital downloads on its website since the beginning of the year, but who actually knew that? I suppose the thinking here is that in a few years DVD will be obsolete so it's better to get your foot in the door now and integrated hardware is the key and one advantage Best Buy has over, say, Amazon. But, will you use it? Will you be annoyed that your hardware is being pre-installed with software you're not interested in using?
Extra Tidbit:
For me, the price of fiber optic online services (like FIOS) need to come down before digital downloads become the norm.
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11:03PM on 11/03/2009