C
inemaNow offers newly released
movies on the same pay-per-view
model that most of the other ser-
vices here (with the exception of Vongo)
use, but the service also sells a limited col-
lection of movies that can be downloaded
and burned to a DVD that can be played
anywhere. CinemaNow’s optional subscrip-
tion service allows unlimited downloads, but
these titles cannot be burned.
We can’t imagine who would spend $
per month (or pay just $100 for an entire
year!) to watch the less-than-B movies that
CinemaNow has on tap ( Addicted to Murder
II: Tainted Blood, Planet of the Werewolf,
Backyard Fight Clubs Volume III ). If the
free content on YouPorn leaves you less
than satisfi ed, on the other hand, mem-
bership in CinemaNow’s Platinum Club
also entitles you to unlimited access to
AllAdultChannel.com.
The service’s burn-to-DVD offerings
range in price from $9 to $20, and we found
many of Hollywood’s better, if not exactly
fresh, offerings (including Reservoir Dogs,
Requiem for a Dream, and Secretary ) sell-
ing for just $10. But why bother download-
ing movies and burning them to a disc
when you can buy them factory-pressed
for nearly the same price? Besides, most
of the other fi lms we found in this category
are much less appealing than those cult
faves (anyone in the mood for a Sinbad
comedy special?). You can burn any other
purchased movie to disc, but only as a
backup data fi le—the discs will not play on
standard DVD drives or players.
CinemaNow’s rental model is muchmore typical, with pay-per-view movies
going for between $2 and $4 (with new
releases such as Michael Clayton and
Rendition priced at the higher end of that
range). The service had 16 of our top 25
new releases available for rent and 19
available for purchase. Customers have a
24-hour window to watch the movie within
30 days of downloading it. New releases
available for purchase averaged $20 each.
These titles cannot be burned to disc, but
they can be viewed on up to three devices,
including PlaysForSure handhelds.
As with the other services, CinemaNow
was much lighter on classic content and had
only three of the AFI’s top 25 fi lms available
for rent ( Psycho, On the Waterfront, and To
Kill a Mockingbird ). Offi ce Space was the
only one of our cult favorites available for
rent; that and Reservoir Dogs were the only
fi lms on that list available for sale.
CinemaNow has some TV content for
sale ($2 per episode),
which can be trans-
ferred to portable
devices but cannot
be burned to disc.
We found much of
Fox TV’s program-
ming (including 24
and The Family
Guy , but not The
Simpsons ), several
of Showtime’s origi-
nal series (such as
Brotherhood but
not Dexter ), and a
handful of classicTV shows from the 1960s (including Time
Tunnel and I Spy ).
CinemaNow is integrated into both
versions of Windows Media Center (XP
and Vista) and content can be streamed
to your TV using a Media Center Extender.
The service has also been integrated into
HP’s MediaSmart LCD TVs, which have
integrated network-streaming hardware.
Movies and TV episodes are delivered in
WMV format at the equivalent of standard
defi nition (640x480 resolution). When
we scaled video up on our home-theater
PC, we noticed signifi cant compression
artifacts in shadows and dark skies, a
problem we experienced with every WMV-
based service except Vongo. As with most
of the other services reviewed here, we
judged video quality to be less than what
you would get from a DVD.
We can’t recommend CinemaNow’s sub-
scription service at any price, and its movie
offerings are about the same as the rest of
the fi eld’s (both in terms of price and the
depth of its catalog). The service does earn
points for supporting multiple PCs and por-
table devices and for being integrated into
both versions of Windows Media Center.
But the bar set by the competing services is
pretty low.26 MAXIMUMPC | MAY 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
CinemaNow
Better than average, but that’s not saying much
You can begin watching a movie downloaded from CinemaNow as soon as the Watch
Now button is unghosted.VERDICT6
Movie rentals: $2 to $
Movie purchases:
$9 to $
TV episodes: $
CinemaNow is aggressive about servicing a broad variety of http://www.cinemanow.com
hardware, including portable devices and Media Center PCs, like
this Asus Minuet.DOWNLOAD
SERVICES
MOVIE GUIDE