HMV today marks its move into the digital marketplace with its appropriately-named on-demand rental service ‘HMV On-Demand’. From the iTunes Store to the Android Marketplace, Amazon’s LOVEFiLM Player to Blinkbox, it’d be fair to say that online movie rental services are far from in short supply.

What with super-fast broadband finally making its way to the masses, the convenience of digital downloads and a culture moving ever further into the digital age, that we’re seeing HMV shift its focus from retail to the online marketplace is a sign of the times. We’ve recently seen other high-street chains such as GAME begin to stock digital download codes, WHSmith develop an Android tablet to be relevant where e-books slowly replace paperbacks. 

Powered by on-demand service FilmFlex (whom also run Virgin Media's film rental service), HMV On-Demand is launching with a quite generous library of titles available to rent, from the diabolical (The Zookeeper), to the thought-provoking (The Tree Of Life), by way of all-time classics (Full Metal Jacket). The partnership with FilmFlex is a notable one and ought to ensure the service is shelved with everything from the very latest releases to the best in independent cinema thanks to the thirty-something partnerships the firm has with major distributors. Rentals are fairly priced at £3.99 for the hottest releases, ranging to £0.99 for the not-so-hot. Though with no opportunity to 'Buy To Own' and the fact that the service requires you to install the soon-to-be-defunct Microsoft Silverlight, does HMV On-Demand really offer anything new over its competitors?

Source: HMV on demand