Blockbuster – the once dominant, now prehistoric video rental company where you used to rack up incredible late fees (and anger towards their employees) – is not only still kicking, but seems to be positioning itself for a 21st century “comeback” of sorts via a new partnership with Motorola. Talk about two companies who could use some new-found success (read: brick-and-mortar / RAZR). The exclusive deal aims to further “Blockbuster’s digital strategy by providing its library of premium digital entertainment to mobile devices for the first time.” → Read More
Movie piracy is a problem, but it’s not as huge of a problem as music piracy was this past decade. While certainly the size of the movie files and the need for fast broadband connections to get them in a reasonable amount of time plays into it somewhat, also helping is the fact that there are some fairly decent ways to get movies quickly, for a pretty fair price these days. And now Hollywood is apparently trying to change that.
The studios are starting to rally around a horrible new idea: Keeping new releases out of Redbox and more importantly, Netflix for 30 days. Let me repeat that: They think Netflix shouldn’t be able to ship many new movies to you until 30 days after they’re released on DVD. → Read More
For whatever reason, PNY has teamed up with Blockbuster to bring you gobs of flash memory and discounted movie rentals. That’s right, folks, when you pick up a 4GB or 8GB Attaché from PNY you’ll be given a code for 50 percent off your next OnDemand rental from Blockbuster.com. → Read More
Two great tastes that taste great together! Blockbuster and Archos are teaming up to sell a $299 Archos 10 netbook to consumers who just can’t be bothered to “shop around” and “not go to a freaking Blockbuster for computer hardware.” What’s next? Electric toothbrushes? → Read More
What did I say when the Blockbuster OnDemand service launched last year? I said something about not discounting the service because the company has a lot riding on it, that’s what. This partnership between Blockbuster and Samsung which will place the service on the majority of Samsung’s new video gear implies that the service broke through to the mainstream and is here to stay. → Read More
Widgets and gadgets are the latest trend to hit HDTVs. Vizio is upping the game by equipping its soon-to-be-released HDTVs with an impressive suite of Internet applications and video streaming sites. So much so, that this portfolio will place them on top of many people’s wish list as these TVs will be better equipped than a TiVo or even Windows Media Server. → Read More
Wow. That was fast. A few years after Gamefly 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?
Nope. Cleveland. That’s right: the heart of Ohio’s blightland gets to rock out with it’s controller out with Blockbuster’s online game rental service.
There will be an incremental monthly fee and they’re planning on rolling out the the rest of the country this year. Until then we can all envy Cleveland. → Read More
Remember BlockBuster? For you younglings who don’t, it was a poplar retail chain that rented “videos” and “DVDs” to people, in person. It’s still around, but no one really uses it anymore. Anyway, BlockBuster just inked a deal with TiVO, which also isn’t doing too well—it currently has its smallest subscriber base since 2005—to bring BlockBuster-branded streaming movies to TiVo. Movies will cost up to $4 to rent. → Read More
Blockbuster Inc’s (BBI) stock is down a whopping 77% on the day and trading around $.22. It seems that the company has hired a bankruptcy firm to explore the possibility of a reorganization. Update: Turns out Blockbuster isn’t filing for bankruptcy after all. Damn rumor mill. → Read More
Blockbusters Video’s mail rental program is about to get a shred of awesomeness in the form of game rentals. The program will slowly be rolled out starting with a pilot program with select subscribers. You know what this could mean though right? There will finally be a reason to subscribe to Blockbuster instead of Netflix. That is, of course, if the price is right and the game selection sufficient. → Read More
Blockbuster made good on it’s word to launch a streaming media platform before the end of 2008 and now BB is launching a computer-based movie streaming service just like Netflix. Actually, I’m sure a PR tool will be quick to point out via a nasty email that this service isn’t ‘just like Neflix’, but come on, it is. → Read More
Dave Zatz quickly ordered-up the Blockbuster OnDemand streamer when it launched and now states that the device isn’t ready for primetime. (his words, not mine) While I won’t steal all of his thunder, the above image is popped up when he tried to play his first rental. I’ve only rented one flick, the latest Indiana Jones installment. The initial download automatically restarted a few times while attempting to retrieve a license. During the download, video can be watched but transport controls (rewind, fast forward) are disabled – so I waited for the completed download watching. Later in the evening I was greeted by the above DRM error message, requiring a few hard reboots (and WPA2 key reentries). → Read More
The BlockBuster OnDemand set-top streamer is now available and for those interested in the nitty gritty, here are some of the first screen caps and product shots by Dave Zatz. So far it seems like the set-top box is just your average, post-beta but not quite production ready device. The big surprise for me is that Blockbuster OnDemand is not purely a streaming service. Video can be played back while streaming, without transport controls, and/or once the download has completed. I assume this is why they’re beginning (?) with only “DVD quality” content, since it’s being queued up on (a limited amount of) solid state storage. Still, for $99 with 25 movie rentals, it’s not a bad price but the rumored PS3 integration would knock it out of the park. → Read More
Blockbuster went official with plans for a set-top streaming box last week and now the company CEO is stating that the same capability will soon be available in Blu-ray players as well. Allegedly this option will be available in the first quarter of 2009 but what player is going to have the option? The Playstation 3 perhaps? → Read More
It wasn’t that long ago, that Blockbuster semi-announced plans to enter the crowded realm of movie streaming devices and sure enough, here is the device. The 2Wire manufactured device, dubbed MediaPoint, doesn’t require a Blockbuster subscription and for a limited time is “available for free with the advance rental of 25 first-run movies, TV shows, foreign or classic films from Blockbuster On-Demand (previously Movielink) for $99″ So, in other words, the box is $99 and comes with 25 movie rentals. After the initial investment, the movies will cost between $1.99 and $3.99. I still hold true to my original point that even though Blockbuster is entering the digital streaming world after Vudu and Apple TV, along with all the Netflix clowns of Roku, Xbox 360, TiVo, the LG Blu-ray player and Samsung Blu-ray player, don’t count Blockbuster out just yet. → Read More
This is the perfect time for Blockbuster to jump into the niche market of video streaming devices – seriously. We already have TiVo, Vudu, Roku, LG Blu-ray player, Samsung Blu-ray player, Xbox 360, Apple TV, Dish Network and cable’s On-Demand service (miss any?) so why not add another option for consumers. Blockbuster is looking to pop-out a similar streaming set-top box as soon as this holiday season and with all kidding aside, this streamer might have chance. → Read More
Blockbuster will deploy an in-store download service in the coming months. The program, initially available only in Dallas, will let consumers download movies onto a portable device in, as Blockbuster’s CEO James Keyes hopes, under 30 seconds. So far, only Archos-made portable media players are compatible with the as-yet unnamed service. No details regarding what movie studios have signed up, but Keyes said he would love to have “everyone” on board. Okay, terrific. While the technology itself seems fun enough, what benefit is it to me, exactly, to go to a brick-and-mortar store to download a movie when I can already do that from home, either on iTunes or some other service? Blockbuster will have to offer something above and beyond in order to get me to visit the video rental store again. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
