Amazon Joins the Instant-on VOD Club

Amazon.com has announced a new online store for TV shows and movies, joining Netflix in the battle of instant-on video gratification.

The new store will have 40,000 movies and TV programs available for immediate streaming; no waiting for downloads. It also appears Amazon has worked out some sort of bundle or tie-in deal with Sony, allowing Sony Brava HDTV owners to access the site through a $300 wireless broadband device; future TVs are expected to have the capability embedded and Amazon says it will work with other hardware manufactures for both streaming and bundling in the future.

One feature is an online "locker" allowing users to buy a TV show or movie without actually downloading a file to a PC hard drive, allowing customers to watch shows from any PC, regardless of location.

Current content seems to be just about anything except for HBO, Disney, and ABC; since Disney is pretty tight with Apple.

This is Amazon's second shot at the video-on-demand market; Amazon's Unibox wasn't successful because it only worked with Windows PCs and TiVos and also required a download of special software. The company is not expected to make a lot of money on its new service due to infrastructure and royalty costs, but Amazon Video on Demand provides a "footprint" into consumers' living rooms that leads to more Amazon.com traffic.

For more:
- New York Times Amazon video on demand scoop
- PC World gets a look at the Amazon VOD beta

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