Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Amazon Unbox

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 04-12-2008, 10:59 PM:

So I recently got a Series 3 TiVo HD. One of the things the TiVo can do (besides record TV) is download movies from Amazon Unbox. I decided to try it on Joe's favorite film of 2007 "Michael Clayton". Amazon Unbox allows you to rent the movie with a 24-hour viewing window limitation, or buy it. $3.99 and $14.99 respectively for "Michael Clayton". I rented it and let the TiVo download it overnight, not sure how long the d/l took*. The 2-hour film is a 2.46GB file, about half what a single-layer DVD can hold, so obviously it ain't HD. It's watchable though. Reminds me of something you'd see on SD TV, about that level of quality. I was hoping for better but there you have it.

Anyone else tried Amazon Unbox? It's a reasonable alternative to renting DVDs if you have broadband and you don't want to drive to a rental store or deal with NetFlix. But the quality isn't as good as DVD, at least not on "Michael Clayton".

I enjoyed the movie a lot, but agree the car bomb seems like an inappropriate way for that "problem" to be dealt with. Not exactly low key.

*Amazon estimates 50 mins. download time for a PC, 4 hours for TiVo, and 35 mins. for a "portable device", assuming a 1.5mbps broadband connection (I'm on cable modem and typically get up to 8mbps).

Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 04-13-2008, 09:15 AM:

what type of file are they MPG2 , 4 ? and what media player do you require to play them ?

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 04-13-2008, 10:40 AM:

I'd guess the TiVo file must be MPEG2 with some kind of encryption wrapper.

Amazon Unbox FAQ

quote:
What do I need to watch Unbox videos?

Movies and TV shows you download from Amazon Unbox can be viewed using either a PC or a TiVo DVR. Once downloaded to a PC, they can also be transferred to a video-ready PlaysForSure device. To get started, install the Amazon Unbox Video Player on a PC running Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista or register a Series2 or Series3 TiVo DVR.

See the Installing the Amazon Unbox Video Player Help page or the "How do I start using my TiVo DVRs with the Amazon Unbox on TiVo service?" section of the Amazon Unbox on TiVo Frequently Asked Questions Help page for more information.

Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 04-14-2008, 05:41 AM:

I was curious as to how amazon were doing this , we have an outfit over here offering similar service , you sign up on a plan, download their media player and download movies which can only be viewed on a PC through their player and self destruct in 24 hours.

I want to watch shows on my plasma panel at home not on a silly pc screen so that it is biggest downfall personally.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 04-15-2008, 09:08 AM:

I think they use VC-1, as it would make sense for them to use something more efficient than MPEG-2. VC-1 would be supported natively in Windows Media Player, which is probably what they use to wrap their Unbox brand around.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 04-15-2008, 09:43 AM:

Apparently PC playback requires Unbox Video Player. It does also say it requires .NET 2.0 Framework and Windows Media Player 10. Maybe the Amazon component is some kind of plugin to WMP.