Nov. 9, 2009 (Business Wire) -- NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) and MOD Systems^®, Inc., have taken the first step in changing the way consumers purchase, rent and play entertainment titles on electronic devices. NCR and MOD Systems today announced a digital kiosk download pilot that transforms the movie rental experience into a simple, three-step process: choosing from more than a thousand movies and TV shows stored in a kiosk, quickly downloading the title to a secure digital (SD) memory card, and playing the movie on a home television.

The pilots, being conducted in select BLOCKBUSTER® locations and other retail stores, are the first step in an ambitious initiative to leverage breakthrough portable digital storage technology. The NCR and MOD Systems pilots offer the potential to revolutionize how consumers download movies, TV shows, music, books, games and other digital content outside of the home, and then play them on home televisions, computers, and other mobile devices, regardless of brand.

NCR already provides consumers around the United States the latest DVD titles through thousands of BLOCKBUSTER Express™ branded DVD-rental kiosks. NCR’s existing kiosks – such as its new outdoor kiosk – are “digital download ready” and NCR expects to quickly integrate this technology to its existing kiosk base as digital download becomes more popular.

Digital downloads from a kiosk provide an enhanced alternative to existing home entertainment experiences. It:

• Offers higher quality playback over streaming content from the Internet (faster, no buffering delays)
• Allows for the portability of content to other devices inside and outside the home
• Added convenience - content is always available and there are no returns

The initial technical pilot will facilitate playback on a TV via a digital media player provided to trial participants, and future iterations will allow consumers to move digital content via the SD memory card to a number of portable electronic devices, such as laptops and mobile phones.

Rentals from the digital download kiosks will be tested at various prices. In a departure from existing rental services, consumers will have 30 days from purchase to watch the movie. Once they begin watching the movie, they have 48 hours to finish watching it before digital rights management (DRM) technology automatically locks the content to prevent further viewing.

The initial deployment will offer consumers a choice of more than 1,000 new release and classic movie titles, with the catalog increasing to more than 1,500 titles by early 2010.

“Digital download across our kiosk network is a key part of NCR’s entertainment growth strategy.