Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

MovieBeam

By


MovieBeam, a venture formerly funded by just The Walt Disney Company, but now with backing as well from Intel, Cisco and several venture capital firms, is a new set top box ready to join the array of boxes already cluttering home entertainment systems across America. This latest unit though provides some of the most interesting promise: wirelessly downloaded movies from virtually every major Hollywood studio, including 20th Century Fox, NBC/Universal Studios, New Line Cinema, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Brothers Studios.

Recommended Videos

The MovieBeam set top box is priced at $199.99 after an introductory rebate. It comes preloaded with 100 mainstream movies across multiple genres and downloads 10 new movies a week – some new, some older popular favorites – via over-the-airwaves data casting technology which is carried on top of an existing PBS broadcasting infrastructure managed by National Datacast. As new movies are automatically downloaded, older movies are automatically deleted to keep the number at a constant 100.

Besides the initial hardware cost, a one time activation fee of $29.99 must be paid. Movies downloaded to the box also cost money when they are viewed on demand: $3.99 for new releases ? some of which are same day release as their DVD siblings – and $1.99 for older ?library titles?. MovieBeam users who have high definition systems will find that a limited number of movies ? approximately 10 percent of loaded titles at any one time – are available in native HD format and can be viewed for an additional $1 on top of the existing rental fees. All rentals are good for a 24-hour period, during which time they can be viewed for as often as one likes. They cannot at this time however be copied off of the MovieBeam player to a computer or portable entertainment device.

Hardware features of the MovieBeam system include the set top box, an indoor antenna which receives the data cast signal carrying new movies and a remote control. The set top box itself, which is co-branded with Cisco?s Linksys home networking division, contains a 160GB hard drive and a 200Mhz CPU. It sports a variety of video connection ports including HDMI, component, S-video and composite. Audio connection options include digital coaxial, SP/DIF, HDMI and left/right stereo audio.

MovieBeam
Image Courtesy of MovieBeam

Also part of the hardware of the MovieBeam player is Ethernet and USB 2.0 ports. These will enable broadband connectivity later this year, which should expand the features and content of the service. This is joined by additional features such as up-conversion of standard definition movies via the HDMI connection when connected to a HDTV, DVR-like functions for controls such as pause and rewind, free full-length trailers for every available rental and an on-screen user interface which sorts downloaded movies by characteristics such as title and genre.

Another expansion option coming down the pipeline is a USB peripheral, being developed in collaboration with Intel, which will bring the MovieBeam service to other devices, most likely PCs.

The MovieBeam service is initially available in 29 major metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon), Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

More details about MovieBeam, including information on where to find the set top box, can be found at their website.

Editors' Recommendations

Andrew Beehler
Andrew Beehler
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Andrew Beehler has been with Digital Trends since 2009 and works with agencies and direct clients. Prior to joining Digital…
How to watch the DC movies in order
Barry Allen in the Flash suit looking to the distance in The Flash.

DC movies are in a weird place right now. Four of the DC Extended Universe films are being released this year, and two of them, Shazam! Fury of the Gods and The Flash, have already hit theaters. What makes it strange is that the DCEU as we know it is going to come to an end with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in December 2023. In 2025, James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Studios films will start the new DC Universe with Superman: Legacy, which will be a true fresh start for the franchise.

Where does that leave fans of the DCEU? All of those DC movies are still on Max (formerly HBO), and those films aren't going anywhere unless Warner Bros. Discovery really wants another huge tax break. That means you can watch any and all of them at a moment's notice, except for The Flash which has only just hit theaters. As for the rest, you have two options to watch them in order: Chronologically or by release date. And in this post, we'll give you the correct order for both.

Read more
Max: Price, movies, shows, and more for the HBO/Discovery combo
The Max app on Apple TV.

And now there is Max. The road to the streaming service dubbed "the one to watch" is a long and twisted one that's seen two major rebrandings in just a handful of years. But here we are, with the former HBO Max now combined with (and living under the same corporate umbrella as) Discovery.

The short version? HBO, once upon a time, was owned by Time Warner, which at one point was owned by AT&T, which decided maybe a telecom didn't need to be in the entertainment business after all, and so it did a deal that combined WarnerMedia with Discovery. Tucked away in that timeline was the dawn of the streaming age, with HBO first navigating a messy dual live/on-demand strategy with HBO Go and HBO Now (or was it the other way around?), before merging those into a single HBO Max service.

Read more
Sonos Beam vs. Sonos Arc: which soundbar should you buy?
Sonos Beam Gen 2.

When it comes to home audio, Sonos is the kind of go-to name that is backed by years of delivering phenomenal sound quality, intuitive features, and wire-free listening. From the company's smallest wireless speakers like the Sonos Roam to its most monolithic systems, the Sonos experience is buttressed by the amazing Sonos app (available for iOS and Android devices), a control center that grants access to a number of music streaming platforms, audio calibration tools, and much more.

Sonos is also a force to be reckoned with in the home theater space. Today, we'll be comparing the $499 Sonos Beam with the $899 Sonos Arc, two of the company's soundbars that are built to deliver Dolby Atmos virtualization. Combine these soundbars with the formidable Sonos Sub and a set of rear speakers, such as Sonos' latest game-changing, Dolby Atmos-capable Era 100 and 300 models, and you can build a serious surround system for your movies, TV, and immersive spatial audio music. But which soundbar to choose? Let's dig in.
Check out our full reviews of both the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) and the Sonos Arc.

Read more