For a price, however.
The Hollywood studios are requiring home pay TV services, such as cable, satellite, Apple TV and Vudu, to include a 24-hour time limit for when a viewer can watch a PPV film. The 24-hour clock starts the minute the film is ordered, meaning that a subscriber will be unable to watch it a day later.
But according to Yahoo Tech!, Vudu has sent an e-mail to subscribers saying they can buy another 24-hour viewing period once the first one expires. The cost is an additional $3.99 for high-def movies, which initially cost $5.99 to order. That means the HD rental will come to $9 if you want to watch it in two different 24-hour periods.
Yahoo! reports that Vudu customers have a week to order the additional 24-hour window once the first one ends. After that, the subscriber must re-order the high-def film for the original rental price.
The studios are imposing the 24-hour time period because they say it will reduce the chances of illegal copying. But some viewers say it's inconvenient because it forces them to watch the movie shortly after they order it.
The Vudu set-top, which retails for $295, enables users to download movies over a high-speed Internet connection. The box, which can store 100 movies, includes both standard-def and HDTV films.
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