Amazon Unbox Downloads

DVD box sets of your favorite shows are great, but you know you like some episodes of a season better than others. It'd be nice if you could choose the ones you want, rather than paying for the whole thing and ending up with some episodes you'll never watch. Amazon Unbox Downloads allows you to do just that, for a reasonable price. You can keep purchased videos on two PCs or TiVo DVRs and two portable video players at the same time. Individual episodes of certain shows are available for $1.99.

Unbox downloads also offers video rentals which can be stored on your PC or TiVo DVR for 30 days. Once you press play, you have 24 hours to watch the video before it expires. Rentals are typically $0.99 - $3.99.

There are some restrictions, though. The offer is only available for US customers located in the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia. You will need to install the Unbox Video Player. Requirements are a Windows-based PC (XP or Vista) or a broadband-connected TiVo DVR (Series2 or Series3). It is not compatible with Apple/Macintosh operating systems. Amazon states that while it may be possible to run the Amazon Unbox video player on an Apple computer running a required Windows operating system, they cannot guarantee performance on those systems. Minimum hardware requirements are a PC with a 1.5-gigahertz (GHz) processor or faster, at least 256MB of memory, and a DirectX 9.0 compliant Video (64 MB Memory) and Sound Card.

Amazon Unbox downloads can help keep your entertainment budget within limits. I've linked some of my favorites on the right that I didn't think I could get for awhile due to money constraints. Don't forget their other choices in movies, music, and books as well. Sometimes Amazon prices can beat eBay.