For the last few months, we’ve been watching the progress Epix, a joint venture between Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM studios to create a new web destination and sister TV channel for all of their movies. The project has been compared to Hulu, the web television joint venture between News Corp (FOX), General Electric (NBC), and Disney (ABC).

The Epix project, while similar to Hulu in many ways, is different in one big way: only those with access to the Epix TV channel can access EpixHD.com. Instead of being ad-supported, it is carrier-supported. Now finally, after months of testing, Epix and EpixHD.com are launching to Verizon FiOS customers. But even if you’re not a Verizon customer, Epix is making sure that everyone can get access, at least for a short while.

At 8:00 PM on October 30th, FiOS customers will find that channel 395 (895 for HD) will begin airing movies from the libraries of the three partner studios, starting with Ironman, Cloverfield, and a stream of the Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour. At the same time, they will receive access to EpixHD.com’s library of movies, which rotates based on what’s airing on the TV channel.

This is all great news for Verizon customers, but where does that leave the vast majority of us who are not FiOS subscribers? While EpixHD isn’t open to all (yet – we’re still hoping), it is opening up to everyone for the next 72 hours to those who request an invite code. However, the first 200 Mashable readers to retweet this post with the hashtag #EpixExperience and follow @EpixHD will be sent 30 day invites to EpixHD.com via direct message.

EpixHD still has a ways to go: its movie library is incomplete and a lack of an option – even a paid one – for non-Verizon customers holds it back. However, the movie studios seem to have the right idea for digital distribution and are heading in the right direction.

Tags: Epix, EpixHD, hulu, invites

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