Oscar Winners/Nominees Coming To Video On Demand

TVN Entertainment, one of the leaders in Video On Demand (VOD) technology, will be presenting eight 2009 Oscar winners and nominees, some of them day-and-date with DVDs.  The movies include Frost/Nixon, The Wrestler, Slumdog Millionaire, and others.

So why is this a big deal?  Because although studios embraced VOD with devices such as the VUDU and the Roku with access to thousands of Netflix titles and cable/satellite companies’ on demand services, they wouldn’t always allow rentals or even purchases day-and-date (when DVDs are released for sale and rental).

Things are changing and that’s a good thing.  However, I think studios can do better: create some sort of “virtual DVD experience” and offer VOD services like TVN the opportunity to have DVD features, like commentary, documentaries, bloopers, etc., along with menus, in SD (standard definition) or HD (high definition).  I believe this will push more people to choose VOD, though Broadband Internet service is a must.

Anyway, TVN also has some release dates of these Oscar winners/nominees and other movies:

April 21, 2009: Frost/Nixon: (Day and date), The Wrestler

April 24, 2009: Rachel Getting Married

April 29, 2009: Slumdog Millionaire

May 6, 2009: Bolt

May 7, 2009: Doubt

May 14, 2009: The Reader

June 3, 2009: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I certainly hope to see more exclusives like this, along with day-and-date releases of VOD movies.  I truly believe this is the future of home movie entertainment.  And if we can “carry” these movies around with us on our mobile devices, like you can with Apple and movies from the iTunes Store, we’ll all be able to enjoy movies at home and abroad.  Hey, it worked for music!

To see the nominees and award winners of this year’s Academy awards, check out our play-by-play coverage of the 81st Oscars ceremony.

Source: TVN Entertainment