From HBO, to Blockbuster, to Pay-Per-View, there are many ways to watch a movie in the comfort of your home. However, until now, there has been no real way to watch a movie on demand without having to wait for the show to start, running out to a video store, or even waiting for it to appear in the mail via a service such as Netflix.

MovieBeam Description

MovieBeam is a service that allows you to watch movies on demand in your home. The MovieBeam service consists of a receiver box about the size of a standard DVD Player that attaches to your TV. Downloaded movies are stored on the device's internal hard drive for playing on demand. Up to 100 movies are stored on the drive at one time and are continually refreshing with new movies of MovieBeam's choice every week.

Unique to MovieBeam is how movies are transmitted to the device for play. No Internet connectivity is necessary because it continually receives movies via an external antenna attached to the device. This helps make the setup tremendously easy. Besides the antenna and hooking up the device up to the TV, the only other connection necessary is a phone line (used only for billing purposes).

Pricing & Selection

In order to use MovieBeam, a MovieBeam hardware device must be purchased for around $200 (however, if you hurry, you can do a web search for MovieBeam promo code, and get the device for $50). There are no additional service fees for using the device. You only have to pay for the movies that you watch which cost between $1.99-$3.99.

The movie selection, while not perfect, is definitely well thought out. There were at least 15-20 movies that I had not seen that I would watch when I first used the device. Most of the movies are new or recent DVD releases of many different genres. MovieBeam seems to do a good job of selecting good older movies to mix in with the new ones.

Once you select the movie to watch, you can watch it as many times as you wish within a 24-hour period from the purchase. Much like a DVR though, you can start, stop, pause, rewind, etc. during playback.

In addition to watching movies, MovieBeam stores previews of all of the

movies on the device, including movies that are 'coming soon'. This feature is a great help in determining whether or not you want to watch a movie that you may have never heard of before. Similar to DVDs, as an extra throw in, Moviebeam contains many short featurettes on movies allowing you a sneak peak behind the scenes of your favorite movies.

Connectivity and HD Support

MovieBeam supports most standard connectivity to your TV including composite, S-Video and component connections. HDMI support is also included for High-Definition (HD) displays, although you can only watch movies in HD if your TV supports an HDMI input. Look for an "HDMI" labeled connection on the back of your HDTV, if you're not sure if your TV supports HDMI.

Drawbacks?

Here are the only downsides that I can see to this device:

The antenna must be positioned strategically to be able to receive the movie signal. It does not work in the basement, which is unfortunate for those who have installed home theaters on their lower levels. You also have to live in a region that MovieBeam supports.

The remote control is unlike any that you've ever used before and takes some time to get used to it. Definitely room for improvement in the next generation.

You cannot yet control which movies are beamed to the device nor when a movie is removed/replaced by another movie. The support person I spoke to alluded that this may be changed in a future release, which makes sense and makes this device much more appealing. However, with 100 movies to choose from, lacking this feature shouldn't prevent you from buying the device.

Recommendation - A great buy for movie watching convenience

MovieBeam will not replace DVDs or put Netflix out of business anytime soon. It does however fill a void in movie watching that currently exists - the ability to watch a movie right now from the beginning without having to go anywhere, wait for it to start, or remember to TiVo it in advance. The preview feature also gets you to watch movies that you might have otherwise missed. When selecting a movie, it's also much nicer to watch previews than stare at DVD covers.

If you live in a MovieBeam area, this purchase is worth it at $200, and a no-brainer at the $50 price tag.