Best Buy CinemaNow Movie Download Service Imminent

Hulu Plus may not be ready for primetime, but Best Buy's digital movie rental service is about to square up against Netflix, Blockbuster and iTunes.  Dubbed CinemaNow, the service will use Sonic Solutions' technology to deliver video content via the internet to, initially, LG Blu-ray players, before spreading to some Samsung Blu-ray players and HDTVs, and then eventually being accessible to most network-connected home entertainment hardware.

Individual titles are expected to be priced at around $2-4, and releases should happen on the same day as DVD and Blu-ray availability.  Users will also be able to buy digital copies of new releases, at around $10-20; some content will apparently be available in various levels of HD, up to and including 1080p.  The service has been in development since late 2009, with Best Buy picking up the CinemaNow branding from Sonic Solutions