Entertainment advance.

Up until now, 11,000 movies, television shows and music videos on CinemaNow Inc.'s Web site could only be viewed on a computer screen or a download device.

Last week, CinemaNow announced a partnership with Macrovision, a software company, that would bring the company's digital content

The two companies are introducing the technology at International CES in Las Vegas this week with hopes that manufacturers of digital television sets, set-top boxes or network-attached storage devices will license the software.

Once equipped with Macrovision's software, the concept works a lot like a pay-per view option on satellite or cable TV, where users would pay incrementally for a show or a movie.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"But instead of having about 20 movies available on your satellite, we have about 10,000 videos available," said Curt Marvis, chief executive of CinemaNow. "Clearly, in everything we've seen, the biggest consumer desire is more and more content. Some people want to get that movie on a portable device; others want to store thousands of films. We're just making it easy for them to access the content."

CinemaNow's content can be downloaded to own, rented on pay-per-view, or burned to a DVD, with pricing ranging from $1.99 to $19.99. Its content is made available through licensing agreements with 250 producers and media companies, including Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., 20th Century Fox, Disney, MGM, Miramax, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Sundance Channel and Warner Bros.

Films and videos on CinemaNow's site draw about 1.5 million unique visitors every month. The company, founded in 1999, has 50 employees.

In December, Macrovision, based in Silicon Valley, announced a merger with L.A.-based Gemstar-TV Guide.

Staff reporter Booyeon Lee can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230, or at blee@labusinessjournal.com.