UltraViolet NOOK video from Barnes & Noble
September 26, 2012
By Colin Mann
US retailer of content, digital media and educational products Barnes & Noble has become the latest outlet to add video to its product portfolio with the announcement that its NOOK e-reader will première NOOK Video this autumn, with blockbuster movies, classic films and original TV shows from major studios including HBO, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, STARZ, Viacom and Warner Bros. Entertainment, plus favourite movies from The Walt Disney Studios.
Barnes & Noble, which is one of the country’s leading DVD and Blu-ray Disc retailers, will now offer an expansive digital collection of popular films and television shows to be enjoyed anywhere on NOOKs, TVs, tablets and smartphones. Barnes & Noble is also planning to make available content from other leading studios to be announced.
Beginning this autumn in the US and coming this Christmas to the UK, NOOK Video will offer customers the opportunity to shop an extensive and diverse digital collection of standard and high-definition movies and TV shows available for streaming and download. Through deals with these and other major studios, the NOOK Video catalogue will offer something for everyone in the family to enjoy.
Videos that are streamed and downloaded from the NOOK Store will be stored safely and securely in the NOOK Cloud, so NOOK Video content can be enjoyed on NOOKs and other devices via soon-to-launch free NOOK Video apps. As with the NOOK Reading apps, NOOK Video apps will seamlessly work together so customers can pick up watching right where they left off on any of their connected devices.
NOOK Video will also integrate a customer’s compatible physical DVD and Blu-ray Disc purchases and digital video collection across their devices through the UltraViolet digital locker system. Customers will soon be able to easily link their UltraViolet accounts to the NOOK Cloud allowing them to view their previously and newly purchased UltraViolet-enabled movies and TV shows across NOOK devices and NOOK Video apps, as well as through third party applications.
In addition to purchasing a digital version via NOOK Video, customers can shop for DVDs and Blu-ray discs with the UltraViolet logo in Barnes & Noble and other retail stores, add them to their digital collection, and instantly watch compatible titles from the NOOK Cloud to enjoy wherever they go and however they choose.
“As one of the world’s largest retailers of physical video discs and digital copyrighted content, our new NOOK Video service will give our customers another way to be entertained with a vast and growing digital video collection, as part of our expansive NOOK Store,” said William J. Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. “The launch of our new digital video service with our long-time studio partners allows us to bring award-winning current and classic movies, TV shows, documentaries and more to millions of customers’ screens, coming soon.”
“With the great success of the NOOK tablet and Barnes & Noble’s in-store promotional efforts, we are very excited to bring our acclaimed programming to the NOOK Store,” said Henry McGee, President, HBO Home Entertainment. “NOOK Video offers a customised and convenient way for entertainment enthusiasts to own award-winning shows such as Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Girls, and True Blood and enjoy them across a multitude of devices.”
“NOOK Video provides customers a simple way to buy movies digitally and UltraViolet brings unmatched convenience and portability to those purchases, allowing consumers to access their digital collection from almost anywhere,” said Thomas Gewecke, President, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. “With Barnes & Noble’s in-store, online and digital promotions many consumers will learn how to maximise their entertainment using all the benefits UltraViolet provides.”