Nook Video: The next video on-demand network

Barnes & Noble won't just be releasing new Nook tablets on November 1st, they'll also be releasing a new Internet video on demand network, Nook Video.

Nook+ Video
When you think of Internet video on demand (VoD) services today, you think of Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, and Netflix. You don't think of Barnes & Noble. Well, start including them in the conversation. On November 1st, in conjunction with their launch of their new tablets, the Nook HD and HD+, Barnes & Noble is launching Nook Video. 

Nook Video will feature videos from Disney, HBO, Sony Pictures, STARZ, Viacom and Warner Brothers. These will be available in both the US and the UK. You will be able to both stream and download movies and TV shows in up to 720p HD. 

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These will all be stored on the UltraViolet-enabled Nook Cloud until you stream or download them. You will be able, of course, to watch them on any Nook Tablets. In addition, you'll be able to view them on other Android and Windows 8-powered smartphones and tablets, iPads, PCs and Macs, and as of yet unidentified TVs, DVD players, and media-extenders. I, for one, would be very surprised if it wasn't available on Roku devices. 

While a lot of people are saying this Nook Video is Barnes & Noble's answer to Amazon's Instant Video, I see the service as being more comparable to Apple's iTunes. For example, Amazon's streaming video is still not available on Android devices, except for its own Kindle Fire. In addition, Nook Video is a pure pay-as-you-go VoD service. It has no equivalent to Amazon's Prime or Netflix's all you can watch for one price video selection. 

Officially pricing hasn't been released yet, but sources tell me that TV show episode purchases will about $3 an episode, TV seasons will be in the $30 to $30 range, SD movies will be from $10 to $15, and HD movies will go from $15 to $20. In short, the list pricing will be in the same range as the other pay for content VoD services.

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