Virgin Media teams up with Universal Pictures to launch PictureBox HD
There's more high-definition content coming to Virgin Media (hurrah!). The cable TV broadcaster has done a deal with Universal Pictures to launch PictureBox, a movies-on-demand service which will show many films in high definition.
Virgin subscribers will have to pay an extra £5 a month for the service, which will provide a broad selection of recent and library films, many of which will be available in HD and have not yet been seen on free-to-air television in the UK, says Virgin.
You'll be able to view from a selection of 28 films at any given time, with seven new titles being added every Friday.
Highlights from the first batch of films include Hot Fuzz, The Bourne Ultimatum, Scarface, The Nutty Professor and E.T.
The agreement continues the expansion of the PictureBox service, which also operates on other platforms in the UK, Poland and Singapore. This is the first time it's been offered in the UK in HD.
Comments
So... I just checked it out as it is now availible...
I would have hoped for a better launch myself, I mean HD offerings of the Grudge 2, jaws, Mr Beans Holiday to name a few, not a great offering especially for a launch on Virgin.
Good news is, there was no sign of costs next to the film title, so perhaps the five pounds lets you select any title with no extra cost, not something I stuck around to find out after browsing the offerings... Bit of a let down.
Yes, the PictureBox HD service is an additional �5/month, but I think Fumanchu is referring to the fact that most existing HD films on Virgin cost about �5 each for a 24 hour download.
It's £5 per month, isn't it, not £5 per movie?
I think they should offer the HD rentals for 1 week after purchase, �5 per HD movie for 24hrs is not that great a deal, with this new charge on top it's even less appealing...