HDTV

With Blockbuster hanging by a thread and Netflix clearly positioning itself to exit the movies-by-mail business at some point down the road, buying a Blu-ray player might not seem like the smartest move.

Unless, of course, that player is a mere 50 bucks. While supplies last (and they never seem to last long these days), Best Buy has the refurbished Samsung BD-C5500C Blu-ray player for $49.99 shipped (plus sales tax in most states).

Update: Sold out! If you're still keen on this model, Tech for Less has it for about the same price: $43.97, plus $7.70 … Read more

Can anything slow down the Call of Duty franchise?

In its first five days of availability, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 generated $775 million in worldwide sales, helping the game set a new revenue record over that period, Activision announced today. The previous record-holder, Call of Duty: Black Ops, generated $650 million during its first five days of availability last year.

The Call of Duty franchise has now generated a whopping $6 billion in revenue over its lifespan, making it one of the top entertainment properties in the world.… Read more

Microsoft could launch a follow-up to the Xbox 360 next year, a new report claims.

Citing sources, the U.K.'s Edge Online says that Microsoft has already provided major studios with "target boxes" that feature the same specifications as the Xbox 360's successor, and should hand over the first developer kits by the end of December. Based on that timetable, the publication's sources say, Microsoft should be able to get the new console on store shelves by the end of 2012.

Interestingly, as new rumors emerge on the next Xbox, its launch date keeps getting pushed up. In April, video game blog Kotaku cited its own sources who said that both Microsoft and Sony would be launching their next consoles in 2014, and at that time, Microsoft hadn't even decided which components its next console would come with. Last month, another gaming publication, Develop, reported that Microsoft was planning to launch the next Xbox in 2013.… Read more

Netflix has notched another key deal with a movie studio to bolster its streaming service when it launches in the U.K. and Ireland next year.

Earlier today, Miramax and Netflix announced a multiyear licensing agreement that will bring many of the studio's top films, including "Pulp Fiction," "Good Will Hunting," and "Gangs of New York," to the streaming service.

This is the second movie deal Netflix has announced this week for its European streaming service. On Monday, Lionsgate said that Netflix will be the exclusive provider of its first-run films streaming in … Read more

Netflix now has a key partner it can count on as the company prepares to enter the European market.

Lionsgate today announced that it has signed an agreement with Netflix that will make the rental company the exclusive provider of its first-run films streaming in the U.K. and Ireland. However, as with previous deals Netflix has signed with studios, Lionsgate won't immediately provide the films to the streaming provider. Instead, Lionsgate's new and upcoming titles, including "The Hunger Games" and "The Expendables 2," will make their debut on Netflix "within one year … Read more

Given its history, this was hardly a sneak attack: the latest entrant in the Call of Duty franchise, Modern Warfare 3, has set a record for launch-day sales.

According to the game's publisher, Activision, Modern Warfare 3 generated over $400 million in revenue and sold 6.5 million units in the U.S. and U.K. in its first 24 hours on store shelves. By hitting that mark, Modern Warfare 3, which launched Tuesday, easily outpaced its predecessor and the former leader, Call of Duty: Black Ops, which generated $360 million on its launch day last year. Call of … Read more

Apple isn't the only company thinking seriously about reinventing the television, Sony CEO Howard Stringer has revealed.

According to the Sony chief executive, who spoke yesterday with The Wall Street Journal, his company has a "tremendous amount of research and development going into a different kind of TV set." Stringer declined to provide details on what his company's television might offer.

For Stringer and Sony, the stakes are high in the television business. Over the last several quarters, his company's television operation has continued to drag down earnings, due to Sony losing money on every … Read more

Each year around this time, a new Call of Duty game hits store shelves. But this year, the stakes are even higher with expectations of sales breaking all entertainment-industry records.

Today, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was made available to gamers who want to play the title on all major consoles or the PC. As with previous iterations of the famed franchise, Modern Warfare 3, which was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision, puts gamers into the role of a soldier fighting through battles in the first-person. The game is available for $60.

Even before Modern Warfare … Read more

All the recent speculation about a possible Apple television has prompted Jean-Louis Gassee, an Apple exec from way back who's now general partner of venture-capital firm Allegis Capital, to offer a provocative vision of what Apple's set might do.

For example, Gassee isn't so convinced that Apple will want to develop an "integrated television" that features many of its services. After all, he says, consumers don't typically replace televisions "after 18 months" like they do with a smartphone or tablet. What's more, he's not sure Apple will want to get … Read more