PlayStation 3 owners have a new reason to enjoy their consoles, as Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has begun offering HD new release titles from all the major studios on the PlayStation Network. Titles reportedly can be rented for around $5 and purchased for $18-20.
Tech giant Google is rumored to be partnering with Dish Network in testing a new search service that will run on set-top boxes. The service, which would run on Google’s Android operating system, would enable users to search for content such as television shows and online video through their TVs. Using a keyboard, Dish Network subscribers would use the search service to create their own content schedule.
Here are your latest movies coming this week to Redbox. What do you think?
Capitalism: A Love Story Starring: Michael Moore
Genre: Special Interest, Documentary
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Hachi: A Dog's Tale Starring: Joan Allen, Richard Gere
Genre: Family
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Nine Dead Starring: John Terry, Melissa Joan Hart
Genre: Drama, Suspense
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Old Dogs Starring: John Travolta, Robin Williams
Genre: Comedy
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Planet 51 Starring: Dwayne Johnson (v), Jessica Biel (v)
Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Family
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Planet 51 (BLU-RAY) Starring: Dwayne Johnson (v), Jessica Biel (v)
Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Family
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Precious Starring: Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, Mariah Carey, Mo'nique
Genre: Drama
Release Year: 2008
movie details / trailer
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day Starring: Billy Connolly, Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Turn The Beat Around Starring: Adam Brooks, Romina D'Ugo
Genre: Drama, Romance
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Up in the Air Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Where the Wild Things Are Starring: Catherine Keener, Max Records
Genre: Action & Adventure, Family
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Best Buy has confirmed that its long-anticipated “Blue Sky Video by Best Buy” service will officially launch within the next few weeks. Best Buy announced several months ago that it would be launching a digital media store powered by Roxio CinemaNow technology.
The 82nd annual Academy Awards will air this Sunday, and it’s time to place your bets on the winners. There’s been a bit of controversy surrounding the awards this year, with a Hurt Locker producer being banned from the ceremony due to an ethically questionable email campaign. Also adding spice to the occasion is the fact that the directors of the two front-runners for the “Best picture” category, James Cameron (Avatar) and Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), are ex-spouses, though neither claims any acrimony with the other.
With a great crop of movies up for awards, and with hosting duties falling to the awesome Alec Baldwin and the acceptable Steve Martin, it should be a great night for the movies.
Below are our predictions for the winners in the major categories. Read the rest of this entry »
Manhattanite Susan Uman has filed a class action suit against Netflix and Warner Bros. over their recent agreement on a 28-day delay in new release availability at Netflix. The lawsuit calls the deal a “scheme to restrain trade” and claims that subscribers were “damaged in that they still pay the price Netflix previously charged for each of its subscription plans,” before the Warner deal and were “forced to pay artificially inflated subscription fees”.
Coinstar CEO Paul Davis recently spoke at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in San Francisco and gave his take on a number of important topics. Some of the items Davis covered included the possibility of other studios following Warner’s lead on delay windows, anticipated Redbox growth for 2010 and how much a title’s box office success will factor into its availability in kiosks. The highlights are after the jump.
Time to add "silver box" to the kiosk rainbow?
Kiosk company Vigix has rolled out its next generation of kiosks, which it is calling the “first true vending kiosk”. Vigix vice president of marketing, Ross Elkin, says that existing kiosks out there, including Redboxes, are really just glorified vending machines.
Vigix’s new machines include video screens for digital signage, a standard 110-volt plug and a greatly reduced footprint—only about two-square-feet. The machines offer hard-wired or cellular-based Internet access. Besides purchasing items directly from the kiosk, customers can also use the kiosk owner’s online store to shop.
An Indiana county prosecutor has sent letters to a dozen or so retail stores with Redbox kiosks demanding that R-rated titles be removed from the boxes. Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stanley Levco, apparently at the urging of one or more owners of traditional video stores, is threatening the retailers with criminal charges if the restricted titles are not removed.
TiVo has finally revealed its next generation of set-top boxes, both of which will further blur the lines between broadcast and broadband content. The TiVo Premiere will cost $299 and hold up to 45 hours of HD video, while the TiVo Premiere XL will cost $499 and hold up to 150 hours of HD video. The boxes will also support Netflix movie streams, Blockbuster On Demand, YouTube and Pandora.
