CinemaNow was the first, and remains among the best of online VOD sites, and we highly recommend them. CinemaNow was founded in 1999, and was the first site to offer pay-per-view from major studios and to offer a download-to-own option. Because it has been around so long, it has amassed an inventory of 15,000+ films by negotiating licenses with over 250 content providers including 20th Century Fox, Disney, EMI, HDNet, IFC, Lionsgate, MGM, Miramax, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Sony, Sundance Channel, Vivendi Entertainment and Warner Bros.
You can download to own, or download or stream to "rent." If you do the latter, you can choose to begin watching the film within a 30-day window, and once you begin playback, you have 24 hours to complete viewing. This is a typical rental provision across mainstream VOD sites, but keep in mind you can download the film off the internet, then play it back on a device later when offline. What you get is a Windows Media Video (WMV) file, generally around 1 GB for feature film length; if you're watching it on your PC, this will play just fine in Windows Media Player. You can play downloaded content on up to three authorized devices (similar to the conditions with iTunes downloads--other more restrictive services like Movielink often limit you to just one).
CinemaNow displays the films alphabetically in 12 genres like Action, Sci-Fi, and Family, and shows each film's payment plan. You can also search by movie title, actor, director, or keywords. They also have a very limited High Definition inventory (something even services like Netflix do not yet), though it was only around 70 films when we checked. They do have adult content, so it's good to know there are parental controls to restrict account access. You can create subaccounts which kids can use that are restricted.
CinemaNow uses Window Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) to control access to their downloaded films, but this has proved restrictive, preventing many consumers from watching the content on various devices. So since August 2008 they have been switching to Widevine Technologies open DRM and copy protection--this will allow dissemination to many other platforms, while still preventing piracy.
CinemaNow has a membership mainly composed of tech savvy early adopters, but as dissemination means broaden and VOD becomes more common, it is gradually taking the service more mainstream.
Dissemination: CInemaNow's proprietary downloads can be viewed on a PC (Windows XP or Vista and Internet Explorer required) as well as on the common Roxio Venue program from Sonic. CinemaNow also have the widest range of portable and networked TV viewing solutions we've seen from any VOD service.
You can view CinemaNow content on HP MediaSmart TV, ARCHOS portable media players, EchoStar's Dish Network 622 set top box, the Samsung P2 portable media player (PMP), Tivo, Xbox 360, as well as select DVD/Blu-Ray and other media players from Archos, Dell, HP, LG, Microsoft, Nintendo, Pioneer, Samsung, and Tivo. CinemaNow also in April launched a facility where mobile phone users can download films direct to their handsets. This is the way of the future; downloads that can be viewed across various platforms--especially mobiles which will become increasingly popular.
CinemaNow is available outside the US, but with a limited selection of videos. Many content providers, especially the major studios, only licensed the films for release in the US. However, they are working to broaden these licenses, and the barriers should break down over time.
Prices: Their are two means of delivery on CinemaNow:
- Download-to-own costs $9.99 to $19.99 for films, and $1.99 for TV shows and music videos.
- Pay-per-view to watch something in a 24-hour window costs $2.99 to $3.99.
Another option is to buy a subscription for either $29.95 per month, or an entire year for $99.00, a whopping savings of $260 over paying monthly. Subscriptions don't give you access to the whole site or the major studios' work, but there are hundreds of titles available, as well as thousands at their adult sister site AllAdultChannel.com. Also, each month, you get a free pay-per-view rental from the main site (itself an approximately $48 value, so that's half the price of the discount subscription right there).
CinemaNow offers one of the best and largest VOD sites, with the widest support of any service for watching on the go or in the living room 
Video on Demand Basics