It's exciting technological times for our friends across the pond as tomorrow (Friday) night will see the launch of coast-to-coast entertainment goodness courtesy of Studio 3 Partners' (Paramount/Viacom, MGM and Lionsgate) bouncing bundle of joy, EpixHD. And in light of this momentous occasion, yours truly has had the irrefutable pleasure of conversing with Emil Rensing, head of online for Studio 3, to get the scoop on just what it is we're missing out on here in the UK.

Available nationwide to those subscribed to the Verizon FiOS system, EpixHD promises to furnish those lucky souls with a veritable feast of audio/visual delectations, kicking off with an impressive line-up tomorrow night. But behind the glittering launch (Iron Man, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and re-patriated Queen of Pop, Madonna, will all be present to usher in this next-gen entertainment medium) lies a (thankfully) forward-thinking model that not only has an eye on the media consumption zeitgeist, but to its certain evolution, too.

What EpixHD will bring is a premium television channel which will provide on-demand streaming and television with the addition of original content. Movies licensed directly from the studios, which have up until now had a year-long wait for cable network premiere screenings, will debut after only 8 months. Musical content, too, will feature heavily, as will comedy exclusives. And with some interesting sounding creative partnerships in the pipeline, EpixHD will be offering original programming to its viewers aswell. But that's not quite all, folks, as there will be a component, namely the 'Private Screening' feature, that'll integrate social media into the bargain to boot, enabling simultaneous multi-party viewings coupled with a real time chat platform.

Entertainment envy aside, this is great news for the future of visual media. As previously stated, the evolution of our consumption is natural and undeniable, and it is perilous to ignore this. To have content on-demand that is so highly personally usable makes previous viewing seem positively archaic. It's become less of a frivolous luxury and more of an accepted necessity to use media in this way. After all, 'on-demand,' for all its petulantly instantaneous and selfish connotations, is a suitable terminology indeed for what we rightly expect from today's technology. And, to paraphrase lyrics sampled by the mighty EPMD, you've got to give the people what they want.

So, don't fight for your right to partake, simply subscribe and you, too, can enjoy a whole world of entertainment in your living room from 8pm tomorrow night, ET.

Want to try it out? U.S. readers can DM us for VIP invites by following us on Twitter (@latemag) or DM me directly by following @fi_wilson. It's first come, first served, so get messaging!

For more information, check out EpixHD's website.