Blockbuster offers video on demand with 2Wire box
SFGate: The Technology Chronicles — ... other customers understand how to do this," said 2Wire's Jonathan Symonds, vice president of product management and marketing. The box will be equipped with 8 gigabytes of flash memory, which can hold several standard definition movies or at least one high definition movie, which will also be available through Blockbuster ONDEMAND. Users will have 30 days to store the movie but once they begin watching, they will need to view it within 24 hours. The 2Wire box can be purchased through www.blockbuster.com Posted By: ...

Blockbuster Set-Top Box Takes on Netflix
NewTeeVee — ... Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI, BBI.B) is taking Netflix head-on and announced today the availability of its new set-top box that will deliver video content directly to TVs. The BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND service will use 2Wire’s MediaPoint set top box, and will offer rentals a la carte — including new releases like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Smart — as opposed to a subscription model like Netflix. Available now at Blockbuster.com (and at select real world locations), the box will cost $99. Well, ...

Blockbuster MediaPoint video-on-demand box announced
SlashGear — ... Blockbuster have announced their on-demand set-top box, the MediaPoint, using 2Wire’s streaming video player.  The MediaPoint box itself will be offered “free” to anyone who buys the $99 package “25 first-run movies, TV shows, foreign or classic films” in advance; individual titles cost $1.99 each after that. ...

Blockbuster Jumps Into Set Top Box Fray With $99 MediaPoint
Podcasting News — ... For a limited time, the MediaPoint digital media player is available “free” with the advance rental of 25 BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND movies for $99 at www.blockbuster.com. ...

Blockbuster Launches New Set-Top Box
WebProNews Feed — ... content. The MediaPoint digital media player by broadband device maker 2Wire is available to Blockbuster customers for $99 and includes 25 movies. After the initial 25 rentals, movies are available for $1.99 each. Unlike subscription-based services, such as Netflix, Blockbuster on demand will allow customers to have access to more recent releases and will be available to those who do not subscribe to its DVD mail service, Blockbuster Online."The MediaPoint digital player, featuring BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND , is entertainment made easy. We are bringing Blockbuster, and the ...

Blockbuster Unveils VOD Set-Top Box
Alice Hill's Real Tech News - Independent Tech — ... : Beginning today, for a limited time, the MediaPoint digital media player is available free with the advance rental of 25 BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND movies for $99 at http://www.blockbuster.com/ . Unlike subscription-based services, which typically offer movies years after their release, BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND includes hot new releases, many available within weeks of leaving theaters. After the initial 25 rentals, movies are available for as little as $1.99 each. The players will begin shipping in time for the holiday season. Once again, another broadband-connected device set to push ...

Blockbuster Takes On Netflix, Apple With Direct-To-TV Player
InformationWeek - All Stories And Blogs — ... makes it possible for Blockbuster subscribers with a high-speed Internet connection to rent videos online and play them on their home TV. To lure customers, Blockbuster is offering the player at no charge for people who rent 25 online Blockbuster movies in advance for $99. After the initial rentals, movies are available for prices starting at $1.99 each. "The player is simple to use, delivers ...

Blockbuster VOD Going to Blu-ray Players
NewTeeVee — ... , Blockbuster said it will expanding its on-demand video rental service into Blu-ray players in the first quarter of next year, as the company goes toe-to-toe with ...

Blockbuster is Planning Video Services on Top of Live Mesh
ReadWriteWeb — According to the Dallas Morning News, Blockbuster, the beleaguered video rental chain, is planning to use Microsoft's Live Mesh platform to deliver streaming video to desktops and mobile devices. The article is weak on specifics, but Blockbuster seems to be planning to use Live Mesh specifically to allow users to start watching a movie on one TV and then to continue the movie on another TV or mobile device later on. Bockbuster's CIO Keith Morrow also mentioned a parental notification system that would alert parents if a child tried to watch a movie during homework time. ...

Why You Should Wait To Buy a Set-Top Box [NewTeeVee]
GigaOM Network — ... idea of having this content on a digital tap, serving it up without ever needing to get off the couch. Don’t be fooled! While these devices and services are definitely getting better — and even approaching awesome — this holiday season is not the time to buy. There are a lot of entrants in the set-top box space, but big names you’re already familiar with will grab most of the attention this season. Apple, Netflix and now Blockbuster all have set-top box solutions ready to pump piping hot video content to your ...

Amazon videos available on the Roku player
Amazon & the online retail blog — Amazon Video on Demand announced Monday that its content would be available on the Roku digital video player. Previously, Roku only supported the Netflix digital delivery service. Amazon.com's video service, which includes more than 40,000 titles, is already available via PC, MAC, the Sony Bravia and TiVo. The online movie rental business is an increasingly crowded space. Amazon Video on Demand competes with Netflix , Blockbuster , Verizon's Starz Play , Apple , Real Player , Comcast , and even Microsoft's Xbox . The Wired blog ...

Blockbuster and Sonic Offer Movies over Internet
I4U News — ... until Blockbuster did the same. The services will be offered on the PC, PMPs, Blu-ray players and PVRs as well as mobile phones. The Blockbuster branded service will be powered by Sonic's CinemaNow SDK and will be available on both windows and Mac computers. I say this every time a firm launches a streaming movie rental or download service; if it offers first run titles the day you can get them in the movie store it will be successful. I doubt that will happen, but we can hope. Via Blockbuster Posted on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun ...

Blockbuster To Offer Content On More Devices
WebProNews Feed — ... , to expand the ecosystem of interoperable devices offering the Blockbuster service. The devices will include PCs, portable media players, Blu-ray Disc players, set-top boxes, mobile phones and Internet -connected television sets. The two companies will make their digital libraries of content available under the Blockbuster brand offering 10,000 premium films and 40,000 digital titles."Blockbuster is a ubiquitous entertainment presence in the physical world. Through this alliance with Sonic, we plan to become a ubiquitous presence in the digital world as well. Our goal is to ...

Blockbuster Expands Its Online Rental Plans [NewTeeVee]
GigaOM Network — ... After watching Netflix storm this year’s CES by announcing a bunch of partnerships for its streaming movie service, Blockbuster is making its own digital distribution moves. Blockbuster said today it will expand its online movie rental service reach to a number of Internet-connected consumer electronics devices through a new partnership with Sonic Solutions. Through this deal, Blockbuster movie rentals would be available through PCs, mobile phones, broadband TVs, Blu-ray disc players and more. Blockbuster ...

Netflix Posts Good Earnings in a Sluggish Economy
Ubergizmo — ... because people needed entertainment and possibly had more time for it. Might this be true for DVD rental (in general) as well? May be, but chances are that rival Blockbuster is still somewhat in troubles and that Netflix's superior service and operating cost advantage will help it even more in a troubled economy. In hard times, efficiency pays. ...

Headcount: Blockbuster Taps Exec for Digital Unit
Contentinople: — ... named Robert "Bob" Barr as their new VP of Blockbuster.com . Barr "brings significant experience in the areas of strategy formulation, product innovation, and interactive marketing," says Blockbuster's spokesperson Keith Morrow in a statement. The new executive will spearhead the Website's digital-download service, a feature implemented when the company integrated its ...

Blockbuster to add video games to Web rental service
Webware.com — ... Coming soon to subscribers of Blockbuster Video's Total Access service are video game rentals. On Wednesday the company announced it would be adding gaming titles alongside movies to its movies-by-mail monthly service as part of a pilot program. This ...

Blockbuster to offer online video game rentals
901am — ... An upcoming pilot program from Blockbuster Inc. will offer consumers one-stop shopping for their online video game and movie rental needs during the second quarter. ...

Week in Review: News, Views & Scary Press Pics
Contentinople: — ... of its set-top box hardware after reportedly reducing its work force by 15 percent. On Wednesday, Feb. 11 , Blockbuster Inc. , scrambling to keep up with Netflix Inc., said that it ...

Nanocrowd Has a New Take on Movie Recommendations
ReadWriteWeb — ... stack up against the other guys?  Time will tell, and the site is still being actively developed (in fact logging in to save movie lists isn't supported quite yet), but so far, we like that we can dive in and have a list to take with us to Blockbuster (they have a recommendation engine too, by the way) in five minutes or less. ...

Apple Offering HD Movies On iTunes
TechWeb — ... would be adding more HD movies soon. Apple has been offering prime-time television shows on iTunes in HD format from all four major networks since the fall of 2008. Movies and TV shows downloaded from iTunes can be played on an Apple Mac, iPhone and some iPod models, as well as a Windows PC. The films can also be played on a digital TV through the Apple TV set-top box. Apple is not alone in trying to entice people with HD content. Netflix and Blockbuster also offer HD movies online. Video viewing on the Web is rising steadily, ...

Apple Offering HD Movies On iTunes
InformationWeek - All Stories And Blogs — ... would be adding more HD movies soon. Apple has been offering prime-time television shows on iTunes in HD format from all four major networks since the fall of 2008. Movies and TV shows downloaded from iTunes can be played on an Apple Mac, iPhone and some iPod models, as well as a Windows PC. The films can also be played on a digital TV through the Apple TV set-top box. Apple is not alone in trying to entice people with HD content. Netflix and Blockbuster also offer HD movies online. Video viewing on the Web is rising steadily, ...

Blockbuster to bring content to Apple
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) — ... The VCR's arrival spawned the movie rental shop, the biggest of which (In Scranton, anyway) was Blockbuster. Today, services like On Demand, ...

Blockbuster Integrates OnDemand Service Into TiVo
Contentinople: — ... TIVO) to offer its library of digital movie titles on TiVo digital video recorders (DVRs). Blockbuster is integrating its Blockbuster OnDemand service into several Internet-connected DVRs -- including the TiVo Series2, Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL  -- by the second half of 2009. The video rental company also plans to sell the DVRs at thousands of its stores scattered throughout the U.S., as well as launch an aggressive cross-marketing campaign to boost sales online at blockbuster.com. The partnership is a step forward for Blockbuster's OnDemand service, a feature ...

Blockbuster might close up shop; online rentals may be to blame
SlashGear — ... I love Netflix as much as the next gal, but it seems these online video rental and streaming services are really knocking a dent in the brick and mortar rental industry. It’s so bad that Blockbuster is fairly positive they ...

Blockbuster’s financial outlook? Not so good.
VentureBeat — ... Blockbuster just might be on the ropes. The Dallas, Tex. movie rental chain said in a recent SEC filing that it ...

Recession is Latin for Tough Love
The Foundry — ... A recession hurts, but it can also send signals on how to correct an ailing economy. Companies that cease to be competitive will go bankrupt or lose a significant portion of their market share. One leading example of these forces at work is the relationship between Blockbuster and ...

Best Buy breaking into movie downloads?
VentureBeat — ... Details are still sketchy, but Variety’s sources say Best Buy will probably follow in the footsteps of Blockbuster by forging a partnership with movie download service ...

Blockbuster Survey Reveals Most Popular Sci-Fi Stars
OhGizmo! — ... had all those catchy phrases like “Make it So.” Other categories includes best sci-fi villain, Darth Vader naturally. Favorite sci-fi dude was David Tennant from Dr. Who. My favorite category is hottest sci-fi babe. The winner of the category was Seven of Nine. Yeah she was hot, but way down in fourth place is the hottest sci-fi babe ever — Caprica-Six from Battlestar Galactica. She almost made me wish for an invasion of robots. [ Block Buster ] ...

News Bits: Microsoft Hits Accelerator With Zune
Contentinople: — ... to add about 1,000 sports video clips to its site, along with breaking sports news stories. FoxSports.com says it produces more than four hours of Web video content daily. Blockbuster Inc. says it'll soon launch a pilot program in Cleveland where customers will be able to order video games through ...

Blockbuster horning in on game rentals
CrunchGear — ... basically sewed up the entire games-by-mail thing, Blockbuster is launching a game rental pilot program in the U.S. Where is the first place that gets these exciting 360, Wii, and PS3 games? Is it Austin? Dallas? Denver? ...

Blockbuster Offers Summer Escape Pass
OhGizmo! — ... week. The company is offering a summer escape pass that sells for $10 and is good for a week. The passes are being sold for a limited time and allow customers to rent unlimited games and moves over the week. The catch is that you can only have one video or game out at a time. If you are a big movie fan that means you had better be prepared to up your gas budget so you can hit Blockbuster several times per day. New passes can be purchased each week. [ Blockbuster ] ...

Blockbuster and Samsung to Deliver OnDemand Service to Samsung HDTV and Blu-ray
I4U News — ... Blockbusters on-demand service provides on-screen searching and browsing with full details, ratings, trailers, and other information about each movie on the TV directly. To play a movie from the library the user simply hit splay on the remote and films can be rented or purchased. Blockbuster stores owned by the corporation will also be selling Samsung Blu-ray players. Some select older Blockbuster devices can be upgraded with new firmware to access the on-demand offerings. Via Blockbuster Posted on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun ...

Blockbuster to begin selling the Archos 10 netbook in stores
Liliputing — ... all, Blockbuster and Archos are both kinda, sorta, in the media and entertainment business. Nevermind the fact that normally when you purchase an Archos 10 you get a free credit at the Archos Media Club which lets you download music and movies from a service that competes with Blockbuster’s video store. It’s not quite clear from the press release whether you get that Archos Media Club credit when you purchase a Blockbuster model. But you do get an “embedded link to www.lockbuster.com.” ...

Apple TV: What happens now?
The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) — ... Some price adjustments for rentals would also be welcome. It is cheaper to rent Blu-ray titles at Blockbuster overnight then get the same title from Apple. Yes, you have to go get it, but the picture quality is better on the Blu-ray disk. ...

Four Tools for Online Streaming Video Discovery
ReadWriteWeb — If you're like us, you've been known to unwind by watching streaming shows and movies on sites like Hulu, Hulu, Hulu, Hulu, Netflix and Sidereel. In one night we can traverse multiple video and TV networks in our ongoing quest to discover the best streaming content. While most of these services offer a selection of titles, there's always room for further discovery. Below are four services that take the guess work out of your evenings: Sponsor Jinni: After a long road to public launch, movie recommendation ...

Sony HDTVs Now Come with a Side of Meatballs
Digital Trends — ... the movie for free to U.S. buyers of its Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players starting Monday. People who buy that equipment will be able to watch the movie in any 24-hour window from Dec. 8 until it is released on DVD and Blu-ray disc on Jan. 5. Sony’s move highlights the way that movies are increasingly becoming available on TVs that connect directly to the Internet as the entertainment industry strives to come up with new business models. Amazon.com Inc. and Blockbuster Inc. offer movies for rental or purchase on certain Internet-connected TVs, while ...

Experts Say Blu-ray Players are Here to Stay
Digital Trends — ... under $100, but still pricey enough to hold a trustworthy value. “Black Friday this year we’re going to see a bunch of mainstream Blu-ray players at $99,” he claims. “And the ones a step-up from those will probably be at a $150 price point.” Willcox also believes Blu-ray sales will pick up speed because of their new compelling streamin g features. “We’re going to see more ‘hybrid-players’ that are smaller and portable and are partnering with companies like Netflix , Blockbuster Online , and Vudu ,” he says. “These features will prolong Blu-ray’s life ...

A Path to Save Blockbuster?
Technologizer — ... While entering my selections into the kiosk — Star Trek and Angels & Demons — I couldn’t help but wonder why Blockbuster wasn’t doing the same thing. Heck, it costs you $5 to rent these same movies at their stores no matter whether you return them the next day or however long your local store allows the movies to be out. ...