Sonic Solutions plans to offer 3D movie downloads by year-end as part of its Roxio CinemaNow service.
By partnering with NVidea, Sonic will use 3D technology originally developed for video games, formatting films for home playback with NVidia GeForce technology, Video Business reports. The movies will be viewable on PCs or on supported televisions, including Samsung's SyncMaster2233RZ and ViewSonic's FuHzion VX265wm.
Because 3D will require extra computing muscle, a PC will need to be hooked up to the set. I imagine NVidia hopes to see additional sales of graphics processors through the deal, and perhaps a bit of cross-marketing.
3D glasses will be required to watch the movies, but it's not known yet whether they'll be the kind you get in theaters or more advanced models.
Sonic isn't saying what content will be available, but it will likely be a combination of blockbuster films that use 3D, specialized sports and other content to be determined.
CinemaNow says it isn't trying to muscle out 3D Blu-ray. Speaking to CNet, CinemaNow vice president Michael DiMaria said 3D downloads are merely bridging the gap until 3D comes to Blu-ray, possibly next year, adding that "Blu-ray will be the dominant format for the distribution of 3D content."
That's an odd statement to make, given that critics of Blu-ray often pit it against digital downloads. If this download service proves desirable, I doubt that CinemaNow would simply roll over in a year, once 3D Blu-ray comes to town.
