Blockbuster considering set-top box for movie downloads
Trips to the video rental store may be a thing of the past sooner than thought.
Netflix and Blockbuster are already offering DVD rental service by mail. Amazon.com, Microsoft's Xbox Live, and Netflix deliver movies directly to the PC. TiVo, Vudu, and Apple TV--not to mention cable and satellite companies--are doing the same for TV sets. Local independent stores notwithstanding, the only major brick-and-mortar options left for renting discs are Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery, which is close to bankruptcy, and Blockbuster.
(Credit:
Blockbuster)
But The Hollywood Reporter says Blockbuster may be giving customers more reasons not to visit its stores. The rental chain is said to be making a set-top box that will allow video content to be streamed directly to a television. The announcement should come sometime later this month, according to THR
A Blockbuster spokeswoman said it is "talking to numerous companies" about ways it can provide "access to media content across multiple channels--from our stores, by mail, through kiosks, through downloading, through portable content-enabled devices--so it's not surprising that there are rumors out there."
The service would take advantage of video-on-demand technology from Movielink (which Blockbuster bought last year) that allows movie downloads from Universal Studios, Paramount, Sony Pictures, MGM, and Warner Bros.
There was no mention of price or how such a service would work in the report. But let's think about this: to compete with Apple TV or Vudu, the device would have to cost around $200, and rentals of movies and TV shows should be around $3 to $4 each, which would be slightly cheaper than rentals of new releases from Blockbuster currently. The big advantage Blockbuster would enjoy over Apple TV, Vudu, and TiVo, it seems, would be selection. Considering its longstanding relationships with the studios, it would likely have the largest library of films and TV shows to choose from. See my colleague John Falcone's excellent comparison of set-top rental boxes.
No matter the details of the how the device would work, this represents a new direction for Blockbuster and the video rental market. Money spent on DVD ownership and rentals has been decreasing steadily for the past four years, according to the Digital Entertainment Group, which tracks sales of disc media. And though there's no indication Blockbuster would eliminate its brick-and-mortar stores, a streaming video service would clearly cannibalize some of that business.
Assuming the report is spot-on, and Blockbuster attempts to make this transition to digital content, it's time to wonder how much longer physical media will be a factor for mainstream movie renters.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
"dream box device" for the license to own music-on-demand,
firstly, and then movies, etc, etc,.... why now are the SAME folks
getting the BIG PICTURE? :)
The pocket device is much more personal now and memory is
enough to beam-it-up to anything flat, without the boxy-
shape.
http://tinyurl.com/5v4f9x
For now I'm off to trade-in my 2004 Suburban for a 1948 Ford
pick-up remake that isn't hybrid but gets 32mpg!
SINK it all UP. For example, I want to explain to my parents,
who are well into their 70's, how to plug in the microphone to
the console and speak in a clear voice in order to receive the
content they remember or just puzzling solutions. I mean, this
is the vision and future of serious fun according to big
entertainment designers:
"On gaming: "What I want to get to is that point is where you can
talk to the game, and the game will talk back." Today, you can
kind of do that - "but I'm really rooting for the advancements in
artificial intelligence and voice recognition technology to really
become commonplace in the gaming industry. I thnk that will
really change the paradigm from the shooter type genres to a
more intellectually challenging (pause) shooter-type genre."
(Audience laughs.)"
2005 SIGGRAPH Keynote - George Lucas
http://tinyurl.com/5veva5
surpass WalMart for music sales?! Blockbuster will go the way of
the dinosaur -- won't be long now -- replaced by kiosks like
RedBox and iTunes/Apple TV/Mac Mini... and iPhone!
Apple.
media player activities I want. Apple TV/Mac Mini should be
merged into 1.
I like http://onlinerentdvds.com/ the most. Reason behind is their
detailed orientation about dvd business. Site first explains working
of a dvd rental system through images and then it tells you about benefits
above conventional system. Gradually it will take you to links of all the
provider sites that offer rental service like Netflix, Blockbuster, Intelliflix,
DVD Avenue, CinemaNow...I have seen some links for Games and Music. Probably
site owners are now adding more colors to this site.
- by manojcomverse May 12, 2008 9:23 PM PDT
- I have seen and compared many good DVD rental sites. Above all of them
- Reply to this comment
-
(9 Comments)I like http://onlinerentdvds.com/ the most. Reason behind is their
detailed orientation about dvd business. Site first explains working
of a dvd rental system through images and then it tells you about benefits
above conventional system. Gradually it will take you to links of all the
provider sites that offer rental service like Netflix, Blockbuster, Intelliflix,
DVD Avenue, CinemaNow...I have seen some links for Games and Music. Probably
site owners are now adding more colors to this site.