entertainmentondemand
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Sainsbury's to close its digital entertainment business
First it was Tesco, now it's Sainsbury's. The British supermarket will soon be closing its streaming and digital storefront services, called Entertainment on Demand collectively. These covered eBooks, music, movies and TV shows, and digital magazines. In a note to customers, the company said it was a "difficult decision," made "following a detailed review of our service." In short, the numbers just didn't add up. Or, looking forward, it wasn't worth the investment to compete with more popular and aggressive services, such as Amazon, Apple and Netflix.
PlayStation Home lets friends watch free movies together now, UStream and radio next month
Sony's recently redesigned PlayStation Home project has always been about bringing online social experiences to the PS3 that mirror their real-world counterparts: hanging out in your apartment with friends, window shopping at the mall, Quincying. Now it can add one more notch to its virtual world experience belt by offering the ability to view full length movies for free, streamed by Sony's Crackle network. If you're a frequent user of Xbox Live's Netflix Movie Parties this may sound like old hat (were we the only ones using that feature?), but now all PS Home users -- in North America -- can do social viewing with up to 60 users or private parties with up to 11 at a time. Crackle's selection of movies and TV shows are available today, while live broadcast UStream events (Engadget podcast party anyone?) and musical stations provided by RadioIO are scheduled to debut in December. Press play on the video above for a quick preview or check after the break for a celebratory press release.
American Airlines rolls out in-flight Entertainment On Demand, lets you continue watching after you land
American Airlines gives its Boeing 767-200 fleet all the love -- first it sends some 10.1-inch Galaxy Tabs through the gate, and now in-flight streaming videos get the all-clear to board. If you'll recall, AA's been testing Aircell (Gogo) in-flight video streaming, and now the service has gone live on 15 of the transcontinental wide-bodies flying New York to San Francisco or Los Angeles. You won't need to purchase in-flight WiFi to access Entertainment On Demand, but it currently only works on "select laptops," with rentals for television shows priced at $0.99 and movies at $3.99. You'll also be able to access your purchased TV and movie content on your device for 72 or 24 hours, respectively, if your flight soars into its destination ahead of time -- pickins' are quite slim, though, with only around 100 vids to choose from presently. The airline plans to add the service to all of its WiFi-enabled aircraft -- while also expanding device support -- beginning later this year. Fly on for a demo video and press release, parked just past the break.
