There is nothing clear about the future of full-length motion picture distribution on the Internet. The players include BitTorrent, Guba, Cinemanow, MovieLink, Vongo and Apple's iTunes store is looming. The studios are signing non-exclusive distribution deals with just about everyone, not wanting to be locked into one option until a clear winner steps forward. MovieLink has announced a move which could move it a step ahead of the pack.

According to this story from CNET News.com, MovieLink has acquired technology from Sonic Solutions which will allow users to burn downloaded movies onto DVDs. The software will include digital rights management (DRM) to limit the number of times a file can be downloaded. The studios haven't signed off on the technology yet, but if they do MovieLink will be the first online distributor to allow the burning of files onto DVD. This will allow customers to view the movies on their home entertainment systems. When I reviewed Cinemanow and MovieLink's offerings back in April I said this was a key hurdle, one it seems as though MovieLink will be the first to clear. Cinemanow does offer adult titles which can be burned, but not mainstream studio releases. The next step for MovieLink: Making their Web site viewable using Firefox, man is that annoying. — Brian Ward

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Technorati tags: movielink, vod, drm.