Amazon.com will follow the trend of video streaming with its new service Amazon Unbox. The program removes the need to download movie content to your hard drive; instead, users will be prompted to stream the videos directly into their television sets.

The news originally came out of the New York Times. According to the newspaper, the service will be called Amazon Video on Demand, and it will be made available this Thursday.

Apple’s iTunes store and Amazon’s original partnership require buyers to download movies before they could start watching them. The new service will now stream the video, therefore allowing the clients to watch the film virtually in an instant.

The service requires users to purchase a special device which is tagged at $300. This device is the Sony Bravia internet video link and it will facilitate the video streaming. Amazon is currently working on having other manufacturers produce the much needed device.

The service will initially allow users to access 40,000 movie and television titles. But before you drool over that number, you ought to know that there is only a limited number of Amazon customers invited to that service. You will have to wait until the end of summer before general consumers can have a hand on the service.

Amazon is not the only company to give this kind of service. Microsoft and Netflix are currently working on giving the same service through their Xbox. Soon, Xbox Gold members can avail themselves of the 10,000 movies and television shows that will available for streaming.

Source: CRN