DVD rental kiosks have been lighting up pharmacies and supermarkets across the US, but it seems that UKers and Irish lads / dames will soon have the great, great privilege of interfacing with Movie Booths in the near future. This particular unit doesn't seem all too different from other variations we've seen, boasting a simple touchscreen display and a built-in android tasked with fetching your selected title and spitting it out for a nominal (read: undisclosed) fee. Apparently, trials have been deemed a success in outlets like Tesco, Centra and Applegreen, thus paving the way to see these pop up everywhere by the year's end. Any chance we'll see a Blu-ray Disc or two popped in there?

[Via Pocket-lint]

If you're a live event nut but live in the sticks, listen up: Sony is about to bring live performances to digital theaters with its new Hot Ticket program. Sony will broadcast Broadway shows, concerts, and sports events to around 500 digital theaters, live and in HD digital projection for about $20 a seat. The venture will launch with Cirque du Soleil's final performance of Delirium from London and for the two of you who haven't seen it yet, Rent's final Broadway performance will be shown in September. We have to admit, though, this could create some fun SuperBowl parties with rival factions on either side of the aisle, Congress style.

Well, would you look at that? After a mildly uncomfortable wait, the very first Netflix set-top-box has landed (the Xbox 360 with plug-ins notwithstanding). Thanks to Roku, users can finally tap into (a portion of) the Netflix library without having to wait for physical discs to arrive -- and for just $99.99, no less (though unlimited access to online films still requires an $8.95 or higher monthly fee for the traditional service). Better still, the HDD-less Netflix Player can even utilize a wireless signal to pull in streams, though your miles may vary on actual performance. As for ports, you'll find HDMI, component, composite, Ethernet, S-Video and a Toslink optical audio jack. Initial reports are looking pretty positive from here (save for the glaring lack of HD support), but feel free to dig into the reviews below to get a better feel of what this box really has to offer.

Read - Roku Netflix Player officially introduced
Read - PCMag review (4 out of 5)
Read - CNET review (7.7 out of 10)
Read - Wired review ("...just shy of totally amazing.")

Just weeks after the rental giant announced an expanded dedication for Blu-ray and even tried selling HDTVs in a test location in Dallas, now the firm is attempting to boost profits by digging into the surging video game market. Presumably in hopes that rental junkies and casual gaming fans alike will actually venture into Blockbuster in order to buy their next Wii, DS, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, the outfit has announced a new focus that will push the retail video game / game hardware aspect in all of its US-based corporate-owned stores. This includes consoles, a more fleshed out array of games and all the accessories your wallet can handle. Heck, it's even offering up an exclusive 40GB PS3 bundle ($499.99) with the Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray Disc, a PS3 remote, Transformers (the game) and a rental card giving purchasers a free PS3 game / BD rental per week for 12 weeks. Color us completely enthralled.

[Via Joystiq, image courtesy of Portfolio]

It may be exceptionally easy to use, but rolling out Apple's iTunes movie rental service to Europe will be no easy task. This according to a piece just published by the The New York Times. Despite known collectively as Europe, the EU's 27 member countries remain a patchwork of convoluted regulatory fragments related to digital media. For example, in The Netherlands, it remains uniquely and ambiguously legal to download, but not upload, copyrighted material. Release schedules also vary widely across Europe -- sometimes releasing the same day as in the US or months later. Notably for Apple, a distributor of content must secure individual licenses to films in every country they wish to do business. No easy task given Apple's rental agreements cover all the major and many smaller studios. This lack of coherence makes a pan-European iTunes rental agreement daunting, to say the least. Fortunately, commissioner Vivian Reding of the European Commission, plans to make a proposal mid-year that would streamline digital commerce efforts across European borders. Remember, Viv is the force responsible for stomping out the EU's ridiculous roaming rates. In other words, we can expect more than just lip-service in the months ahead. Unfortunately, given Apple's history of trouble with the EU over pan-European iTunes pricing and DRM, you can bet they'll tread the EU waters carefully (read: slowly) as they attempt to go live.

Tossing out the idea of renting / leasing the battery of an electric car isn't exactly revolutionary, but it sounds like GM may be hitching a ride on the ever-growing bandwagon. Reportedly, the firm is mulling the idea of allowing Chevy Volt buyers to "rent the vehicle's battery as a way of pricing the automobile at a comparable level to a traditional, petrol-driven family [motorcar]." Apparently, GM is hoping to get ten years of life from the battery packs and to price the Volt like a "traditional mid-market car." Notably, no further information regarding potential contracts or sales strategies were divulged, but considering the launch date for this sucka is just around the corner, we're sure relevant decisions will be made soon enough.

[Via AutoblogGreen]