Entered CNET Catalog: 09/28/2006
SKU: SERVAOLVIDEO
Manufacturer: America Online, AOL
Product summary
The good: AOL Video is a Web-based site that offers a decent mix of TV shows, movies, and user-created content; the primary interface is well organized and user-friendly; video is supported on many Windows Media portable devices; good video quality; progressive downloading; you can view content in Windows Media Player.
The bad: AOL Video suffers from a lack of movie content (this could change quickly); you can't burn movies to watchable DVDs; new movie releases are expensive; some parts of the interface (such as the movie section) are half-baked; some video playback bugs exist.
The bottom line: AOL Video aims to be a one-stop shop for video, but it needs more compelling content and reliable playback.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 09/28/2006
Unlike iTunes, where you must shop for video within the application, AOL Video is as close as the nearest Web browser. The AOL Video interface is clean and well organized, and though there's a lot of content on the page, with the presence of definitive sections and scrolling logo-based buckets, it's easy to find what you need. The left-side column lists many video subgenres, including Celebrities, Comedies, Kids, and of course, Movies. You'll also get a link to a listing of all AOL's VOD Channels A-Z, where you'll see the logos of every network available on AOL, including Fox, A&E, MTV, the History Channel, and so on. The list is diverse and even includes esoteric brands such as Lime, National Lampoon, and TMZ.com. If this is to become a one-stop shop for video, however, it needs more major network content (not to mention a better sports section).
Fortunately, a wealth of free video content exists, both within the VOD Channels (Drama Rama, and so on) and from AOL users. Clicking User Created Videos actually takes you to the UncutVideo subbrand of AOL Video; unfortunately, that site's interface has a different look and feel and takes away from AOL Video's overall cohesiveness. You can find some interesting content (and submit your own) on UncutVideo, which is searchable by tags and is very much a user-driven community, like YouTube. However, you'll also find an uninspiring and plain interface.
Most TV shows costs $1.99 and can be previewed for 30 seconds. Movies are available starting at $9.99 (and up to $19.99)--not a bad price, though new movies will cost an exorbitant $19.99. More pressingly, AOL's movie section needs some work. First, you can't sort movies by genre and instead, get all of the offerings in one amorphous listing (conveniently, though, you can view all content in detail, grid, or list mode). Secondly, at the time of this review, the site offers only about 68 studio films (most coming from Sony Pictures and Universal Studios), and even the new listings aren't that new. Perhaps movies will be sortable by genre when there's a larger and more comprehensive collection (titles from Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox will be added soon). The site does list movies on the horizon (such as Jackass 2), some of which will be available on the same day as the DVD.
First, you'll need to sign in with your AIM or AOL screen name. You'll also need to have IE 6, Windows Media Player 10 (or higher), and the Hi-Q Delivery Manager installed before you can purchase and watch a video. If you're a first-time buyer, you'll jump to a screen that offers introductory details and the Hi-Q Delivery Manager download. "Hi-Q" is what AOL calls its high-quality TV shows and movies, and the download manager is a plug-in that manages your downloads (the back-end technology is provided by
Playback quality is generally very good (though the DVD quality on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that we purchased was subpar), and we had problems just getting video to play on two different Windows systems. On one system, the playback windows would turn green, then open multiple browsers with Infrastructure Failure messages (AOL recommends that you lower WMP's video acceleration setting--in our case, our video went from green to worse). On the other system, the Media Player had issues with Windows Media Player not "performing the requested action" (see AOL's response here). We finally got a movie to play back on a third system, but two out of three just doesn't cut it, especially considering the negatives already built into the service, including no option to burn to watchable DVDs (see CinemaNow), and new movie prices that are often higher than a DVD. At least Amazon's much-criticized Unbox works reliably.
We were able to transfer video (including the movie RV) onto a Creative Zen Vision:M. However, the site lacks an easy-to-access FAQ on the process (though we found one by searching). Basically, you'll get the option to download a portable version after the PC version downloads; once you do, the file can be transferred within Windows Media Player. Usage rights per the AOL FAQ: "TV shows can be played on three different computers and each computer can be synced up with two separate portable devices. Each TV show video can be used on up to a total of six different portable devices. Movies can be played on two different computers and each computer can be synced up with one portable device. Each movie video can be used on up to a total of two different portable devices."
Overall, AOL Video is a good place to find some cable TV shows and some user videos, but until movies are available (and categorized) en masse and playback performance becomes more bulletproof, check out some of the other movie services first. Ultimately, there must be a better way to watch these movies on a TV, whether they are streamed or played back on DVD. In general, we consider these stores/services to offer more convenience than value.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3out of 3 user reviews
So Aggravating I came here to complain
Pros: Nice old stuff, some free, good quality if you can get it to work
Cons: The license is unusuable, instructions poor, support abysmal, seems impossible to access
I was thinking I could watch on my Portable player and was planning to transfer the video, but obviously the license thing wasn't going to allow that. So then I went back to the site for information on playing on portable devices. There was help--with tiny little unreadable screen shots--which seemed to bear no resemblance to what I was seeing on my screen. It said to choose the portable download option. There wasn't one. No information as to whether that option was only available for some downloads. I googled to find help from someone who actually knew something and was dismayed to find problems with the site widespread and no one with any answers.
I believe in obtaining my media files legally, but as one of my friends said--the legal sites make it impossible to actually use what you download. If this site is any example, she was definitely right. Friend said go to torrent and get it with no hassle. I don't want to get it at torrent. I want it legal, but I want to be able to watch it in Windows Media Player, on my portable, and for that matter on my television.
It seems ridiculous that the safeguards for the owners are so poorly done that the user can't reasonably use the product. The product is easily obtainable at sites like torrent with no hassle--if I wanted to somehow abuse the rights of ownership.
out of 3 user reviews
AOL Premium Video is Horrible
Pros: good content
Cons: buggy downloader, license server always unavailable, can't play videos
out of 3 user reviews
Slick Interface and Big Video Selection
Pros: Cool-Looking Design, Easy to Use and Find Videos, Large Video Library
Cons: Somewhat Pricey New Releases
AOL can probably benefit from some good PR though. I didn't know that they could be so "hip". This site just amp upped their coolness factor by a couple of notches.
