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iTuneski for films challenges Hollywood

A Russian movie download site is looking to undercut Western services with cheap film downloads at typical prices of about $2.99. ZML.com, which describes itself as a movie library, offers around 1,500 titles without copy protection. Customers can burn downloaded content onto DVDs. Titles on offer include summer blockbusters …

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Geoff Bowen
Thumb Up

Right model, right price, shame it aint legal

Now if only this was legal, I'd use it in a heartbeat.

Global distribution and global pricing, open formats, with ability to use the content on any device with a simple transcode. Very importantly, its a one stop shop, All content available in one place regardless of studio.

If they offered HD versions at say $7.99 to $9.99 aswell, it would be pretty close to the complete offering.

The speed of content access makes it compelling over p2p at the right price. no DRM, no regional restrictions, open standards, no device tie in.

So Content owners of the world please take note. Heres your model, it's obvious.

It always was, In the same way unencumbered open standards files such as MP3 are for digital music distribution. But given we still can't get those for all but a few labels at a price point that doesn't work for album purchase, I don't hold much hope.

Smell My Finger

More crooks...

The wholesale theft of copyright with no money going back to the studios almost guarantees this will be the subject of legal action fairly quickly. Nobody can still answer the basic question though if you sell non-DRM'd material how far beyond the original purchaser will it be distributed? At the end of the day you can't distribute material without permission of the owner and profit from it, that's a level of crookedness that even exceeds the business practices of the legitimate owners.

Dazzer
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DVD Quality?

Legality aside, their claims to be DVD quality are laughable. All the films I had a look at so far are at resolutions of around 664x268 when DVDs are 720x576 (for PAL). I wouldn't pay for that any more than I'd pay the same price as a physical DVD for a DRM'd download. I don't use bitorrent or newsgroups but it doesn't surprise me that others do when these are the only legal/questionably legal options.

Diogenies
Flame

Shame its not legal

Went looking for dvd's today as Xmas present to myself as I am into old war movies - Battle of Britain, Tora Tora Tora, Dam Busters all AUD 25 (on Amazon USD12 + ph = around AUD25) for a movie made in the 60's & 70's FFS !!!!

Found "Sink the Bismark" on a remainders table for $10 .... oooh that Dana Winters (born in Germany incidentally) ....

Now does anybody know where I can get a copy of Fraulein Doctor (IMDB entry http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064350/) legally or otherwise :-)

Anonymous Coward
Go

ZML- It works for me

It's a good service and for me, definitely the way forward, as long as everybody (writers included) is happy/covered.

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