Amazon Unbox has been renting and selling Movies and TV shows for download on a computer for a while. They recently partnered with TiVo and added the option to download directly to your TiVo. This interests me a lot more than downloading to a computer. The only time I ever watch movies on a computer is when I travel. Then, I’ll watch movies on my laptop during plane flights. However, I watch movies on my TV pretty frequently and the option to have them put strait on my TiVo saves the time of going to Blockbuster.

The sign up and setup were easy. I just specified my TiVo info and it found my TiVo box automatically. Very simple and painless. If I had not already had an account on TiVo.com I’m not sure how it would have worked, but I did so it was not an issue. The best part was that by signing up before April 30th I got a $15 credit so my first few rentals will be free (offer details).

The Unbox site is a pain to use when looking for a movie. This is partially because not all of the movies can be downloaded to a TiVo. You have to search for TiVo and it will list only those movies that can be downloaded to a TiVo, but it would be easier if they just made a separate section for titles available for the TiVo. The other issue I have with the site is that there is no easy way to browse new release movies. They really could use a New Release section that has the movies that were just released onDVD the last couple weeks. Instead, you have to go to the Movies section and search for TiVo. Then, try and sort them in a way that works for you. It could be laid out much better. The selection of available movies is limited but not really too bad. I found a couple movies I’d not seen that I wanted to watch.

After picking a movie the download started within a few minutes. I’m not sure how long it took exactly. I started it in the afternoon and then went out to dinner. By the time I got home it was downloaded. The prices are about average. $4 for a movie rental that lasts 24 hours once you start watching it. Pretty similar to On Demand movies from a cable provider. Nothing really ground breaking in the pricing, but it was not any more than going over to Blockbuster. The benefit is that you have 30 days to watch it to once it is downloaded whereas with Blockbuster you have a week to return it.

The movie I rented first was The Illusionist. It looked fine. I have a 32 inch standard definition TV and it looked as good as anything else I watch. My only annoyance with the actual movie experience was the lack of surround sound. I did not really notice in this movie, but in an action movie it would have been annoying not to have the full surround sound.

So, to recap, the prices are about average. The movie selection is not a good as Blockbuster, but there were still a decent amount of movies. I’m sure they will continue to add more as the service grows. It is nice to have a month to watch the movie instead of just a week. The movie itself looked fine on a Standard Def TV, but it would be nice if they had a option to rent them in High Def. My only real complaint about the whole thing is with the Amazon Unbox website. It can be a hassle to browse through movies, but if you have a specific movie in mind it is easy enough to search for.