Movielink (now Blockbuster) and CinemaNow (now part of Sonic Solutions) are finally joining forces. The alliance announced today will let Blockbuster deliver downloadable movies to far more portable devices, set-top boxes and TV sets.

Kevin Lewis, senior vice president of digital entertainment for Blockbuster, said the company hopes to offer its content in as many places as possible. "We want it to be ubiquitous," he said. But there are limitations; Mr. Lewis said users expecting a "cinematic experience" might find that difficult to achieve on a mobile phone, for example.

Until recently, the only way to rent Blockbuster movies online was through the company's Download Store. That changed in November, when Blockbuster announced the availability of a digital set-top box from 2Wire Inc. that allows consumers to rent and watch digital videos and watch them directly on their television sets.

The partnership comes just two months after digital video and audio specialist Sonic Solutions acquired CinemaNow for $3 million from a group of investors that included movie studio Lionsgate and Internet gear maker Cisco Systems Inc. Novato-based Sonic will still oversee the technology powering CinemaNow's re-branded system.

The collection of offerings will be a combination of titles from Blockbuster and CinemaNow, a movie downloading service that Sonic recently purchased.

Blockbuster will sell the services, powered by Sonic Systems, under its own brand name. The two companies are also working with consumer electronic manufacturers to make the services compatible with Apple and Windows PCs apart from other devices. The download devices will be sold through Blockbuster's 7,500 stores, online at blockbuster.com and at other retailers.