Firmly in the rumour section, but the iTunes Store has been down for a few hours this morning, and we're getting a few reports that it's due to movies going live.

While it's been a little bit longer than we expected, the fact is that we are expecting movies any day now, so this could be promising.

Stay tuned for more. 

NBC's scheduled coverage of the 2008 Olympics is absolutely breathtaking in its scope: It's broadcasting over 3,600 hours of the world's greatest athletes performing feats that reveal how shapeless and amoebic the rest of humanity is--that's 1,000 more hours than the last 12 Summer Olympics combined. The internet is a huge component of their nearly omniscient coverage. You can even download and watch full-length events. But NBC has a fat red warning on the page: If you've got metered or capped broadband, you might want to think twice before downloading. It's the first shot by major media in the next great battle for the internet's future. Here's why you—and most media companies—should be worried about the new wave of internet pricing.

AU: Obviously this is all US-centric, but it's worth watching considering how bad our broadband situation is down here...

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Dish Network is upgrading their boxes' firmware to display 1080p resolution. Given the lack of 1080p network source material, the existing 720p/1080i compressed HD signals, and the fact that there's no standard limiting the compression quality--1080p can be compressed... Read More »

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Subscribers hoping that Netflix would get into the pay-per-view space will be slightly disappointed, as its CEO reiterates that they will always be in the subscription business. Reed Hastings says, "We don't plan to enter the pay-per-view segment, where Apple, Amazon, Sony and others focus, or the ad-supported segment, where Hulu, YouTube and others compete," which is probably a smart idea, seeing as all those companies are already crowding each other for the limited amount of room. Best to stay put where you're in good shape. [Hollywood Reporter]

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Blockbuster may be planning in-store download kiosks, but their recent beta-testing of Movielink downloads seems like they're aiming for at-home downloads as well. They've picked 500 Total Access customers to test out the US$2 rental, US$8 purchase system from Movielink, which will allow customers to rent when flicks hit video-on-demand, and buy when they hit DVD. It's fairly interesting that Blockbuster will charge extra for movies when Netflix is going with a free, albeit limited, streaming service. We'd like Blockbuster to follow suit. [Dallas News]

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Today Amazon is launching a beta of Amazon Video On Demand, which will stream TV and movies from all the major studios (save for Disney/ABC, which is still in bed with Apple) and take the place of Unbox. The service will instantly stream rentals or download purchases to your PC. But Amazon also has plans to bring it directly to TVs via Sony's Bravia Video Link. Could couch-based Amazon shopping on your TV be far behind?

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