HD VoD is officially here from Amazon and it’s on TiVo

Get those TiVos ready! Because we told you it was coming, and now it is here. Today is the first day that TiVo HD, TiVo HD XL, or Series 3 subscribers can download high definition TV shows and movies right off of the amazon.com website.

Amazon takes on iTunes

As I predicted after poking around Amazon’s site a while ago (when I found pages that weren’t really supposed to be found), the cost for a current season download is $2.99, and their new releases for movies are going for $3.99 to $4.99. So the price is still in direct competition with iTunes. It should be interesting to see how it plays out now that they are obviously going to try to give iTunes a run for their money.

How it works

When users run a search on TiVo, they will get Amazon’s HD selection included with all the broadcast and cable options. Tara Maitra, General Manager and VP of Content Services and Advertising Sales at TiVo Inc. says “Our customers now have access to a new world of ultra high quality HD television and movie choices, many of which are available when the DVDs are released, something no other DVR, cable, or satellite company can match.”

All you have to do to get started with activating your TiVo DVR is log into Amazon at this page. You complete a one-time registration, which allows you to use the remote to search and browse the Amazon selections and download your choices right onto your TiVo DVR.

Will it take off?

Bill Carr, Amazon VP Music and Video is excited about the partnership. “TiVo is enabling customers to access our unparalleled library of hit movies and TV shows, bringing them directly into the home where friends and family can watch from the comfort of the couch. Together with TiVo, Amazon Video On Demand is excited to offer HD and increase the selection, quality, and convenience for the TiVo community.”

Whether or not it will have the video quality people will demand remains to be seen, as well as the selection. If VoD is done the right way…it could obviously take off in a major way, even more so than it has yet to do yet. But, you have to convince people that the service you’re selling is the best one. Is it Amazon’s? Guess we’ll have to wait and see how they stack up.

For more information, check out Amazon’s TiVo page.