Amazon Unbox is an extension of Amazon's web based sales service. Unbox requires users to install the “Amazon Unbox Video Player” to watch purchased videos. This means that buying videos takes place on the web and watching and organizing videos takes place on a separate application on your computer.
Unbox has a vast library of both TV shows and feature length films. Some videos are available for purchase, while others can only be downloaded as temporary "rentals."
Currently Unbox houses 1290 movies from 6 studios. It also has past and present TV shows from all of the major networks.
Popular favorites are easy to find, but there is also a large selection of documentaries, art house and foreign films.
The Web Site:
The Unbox web site offers many search and sort functions for perusing video offerings. Users can search for specific titles, actors or directors; or sort movies by genre or studio.
Once you find an interesting movie, you can read a synopsis or watch a trailer before purchasing.
The Video Player:
The video player is problematic, as has been documented in user complaints on blogs and forums around the web. Essentially, it isn't fully integrated with the download service. The player feels slow, with no menu bar or feedback on download status.In order to download videos from Unbox, you must download and install the Amazon Unbox Video Player. This software is only available for US residents who have a Windows computer running Windows XP service pack 2, with more than 5 GB of free hard drive space.
You can purchase or rent videos through Unbox just as you would purchase any other product from Amazon. Registered users can use their existing Amazon account; new users must create a profile by entering a valid email address and credit card number.
All TV shows sell for $1.99.
Films can be bought or rented (one or the other depending on the film). Rentals are $3.99, and most films cost $14.99 to purchase.
Rentals:
After download, the rented video can be stored on your PC for up to 30 days. Once you begin watching, you have 24 hours to complete viewing. After that, the video is automatically deleted from your hard drive.
Purchases:
Purchased videos can be stored on up to two PCs and two portable video devices (though the movies will not work with iPods). Users can back up purchased videos on data DVDs (not for playback), or store them remotely in "Your Media Library" on Amazon.com.
