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Canal Plus chief: Amazon, Netflix will bring video-on-demand to France early next year
Amazon might be continuing its European HD streaming video invasion by arriving in France next March, according to Canal Plus' president, Bertrand Meheu. The executive is well-placed to have that info, as he says his company will be supplying Amazon with content for the service's launch on the Kindle Fire. If true, it's not known yet if it would be in the form of Lovefilm, which launched in Germany and the UK recently, or if it would be available on PCs, Macs, Xbox 360 consoles or Smart TVs as it is elsewhere. Canal Plus has been fighting to keep such competitors out of the notoriously protectionist country, but it was recently blocked by a state watchdog from hoarding VOD rights exclusively for its own networks. The company also said that Netflix would arrive in France by "early 2013" -- another credible claim, considering the huge amount of content it produces that the US streaming service would surely need.
Lovefilm introduces HD streaming in the UK and Germany, adds another nail in mail rental coffin
Lovefilm certainly seems to be on the charm offensive to secure those movie viewing eyes. Yesterday it was the announcement of an exclusive deal with NBCUniversal, and today it's HD streaming for its "Instant" service. Subscribers in the UK and Germany can suck up full 1080p content when viewing on a Mac or PC, and 720p when watching via Xbox 360 or Smart TV (UK only) at no extra cost. The HD library is rolling out now, and currently includes only a selection of films and TV shows, but is set to expand over the coming months. So if you're a paid up member, you can start browsing the library today, and hunt out those HD badges.
Don't forget: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comes to Blu-ray January 25th
Come January, if your recollections of 2010 leave you wishing for a full brain reformat, unfortunately science -- at least in its legal incarnations -- can't help you. Universal's decision to release Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on Blu-ray this coming January though will at least let you live vicariously through the trippy shenanigans of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Available for pre-order now from Amazon for just shy of $20, the 1080p version will ship as a single 50GB dual-layered Blu-ray disc and feature a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio soundtrack along with a host of extras, like interviews with the cast and short documentaries on the film's production. Now that you've been alerted, if you try to pull the I don't remember card come January, we'll know Frodo, Kirsten Dunst and Mark Ruffalo stopped by your crib in the middle of the night.
Cameron says the Avatar extended edition Blu-ray is the last 2D release left... for reals
Wondering when the Avatar Blu-ray release madness might end? Well James Cameron thankfully clarified at a recent press event that the Avatar extended edition Blu-ray on November 16th will be the last 2D, 1080p, iteration of his Blue Man Group epic before the 3D version arrives. He also slightly adjusted his previous November 3D Blu-ray release predictions made during a Wall Street Journal interview -- stating vaguely that the highly-anticipated format would instead arrive "maybe one, [or] two years out." That's much more in line with statements made by his Fox handlers (coincidence?) and now leaves Panasonic as the only party still claiming their anointed 3DTV owners will bring the Avatar 3D Blu-ray "experience" home sometime this year. Still, while we certainly don't know who at this point would fail the polygraph, we're not Na'vi enough to ignore how Panny's time line helps attract consumers to buy 3DTVs over the holiday season. As with most rumors though, only time will tell who in this debacle had the date right, so for now we'll content ourselves watching the Alien Anthology.
FeedFliks adds HD only filtering to its Watch Instantly search, bringing joy to lazy videophiles everywhere
For those who haven't heard of it, FeedFliks is a web-based tool that accesses Netflix's API to help obsessive subscribers get their "money's worth" from the movie service. Using the tool, visitors can view info related to their rental habits through easy to read charts and share their reviews with anyone on the web -- even if they aren't a Netflix subscriber -- for free. For an additional $8.99 per year, the site adds the ability for users to sync and manage multiple Netflix queues as well as set reminders to put those pesky envelopes back in the mail. Now the company has upgraded their search filtering system -- which is still technically in beta -- so videophiles can select that only HD Watch Instantly titles appear in their search results or easily view HD titles mixed in with other results via small blue HD icons. Best of all, using this refreshed search functionality doesn't cost a dime, so feel free to host all of the late night HD Netflix library search parties you want so long as we get invited. After all, with all the time we'll save looking for high-quality movies, what else are we going to do?
Sony signs up all six major studios for HD movies on PlayStation Network
Well, it looks like Sony has a little treat for PS3 users now that they're able to turn their consoles back on -- it's just announced that it has signed up all six major studios to deliver HD movies on the PlayStation Network (the first company to do so, as Sony is happy to point out). That includes 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and, of course, Sony Pictures Entertainment, which combined have an initial slate of 19 HD movies available to buy or rent -- including "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Star Trek," "District 9," "Inglourious Basterds," and "The Wizard of Oz," to name a few. Those are only available in the US at the moment, but Sony says it plans to also roll them out to the U.K., France, Germany, and Spain "soon."
Managed Copy hits Blu-ray Discs December 4th, but you still can't use it
The egg had to come before the chicken right? Well either way, one of 'em came first and in the case of the latest Blu-ray feature, Managed Copy, the Blu-ray Discs will come before the hardware. Less than five months since AACS was finalized and the details of Managed Copy were revealed and so far we've only seen one demo and not a single product announcement. This doesn't surprise us, but AACS-LA is apparently surprised because although all Blu-ray Discs sold after December 4th have no choice but to allow at least one copy to be made, the requirement to label the packaging as such has been postponed until Spring of next year. We'd expect at least a few products that support Managed Copy to be announced at CES and although we highly doubt any stand-alone Blu-ray players will sport this feature anytime soon, we do have our hopes on PC software and expect a few movie jukebox devices like Kaleidescape -- that we won't be able to afford -- will be announced at the big show in Vegas.
Zune HD pamphlet discloses HD movies coming to Zune marketplace
With TV shows, music video, and video podcasts already proliferating the Zune marketplace, it was really only a matter of time before Microsoft dipped its toes into HD movies -- not to mention kind of a logical step since Xbox Live was getting its movie section Zune-branded. BostonPocketPC writer Steven Hughes has uploaded pictures of an alleged pamphlet handed out at Best Buy's Zune HD showings that, among other things, make reference to finding Zune Marketplace content including HD movies. Ban on HDTV Media Center recordings notwithstanding, things are looking up for Zune 4.0 software. And here we thought Apple was late to the party with its movie service. [Via Zunited] Read - Pamphlet pics Read - BostonPocketPC
Apple adds HD video purchases to the iTunes Store
Apple's flood of announcements this month continues apace today with the addition of high-def movie purchases to the iTunes Store. Although HD TV shows were previously available to buy, HD movies were rental-only until now. HD flicks will cost you $19.99, and we're guessing they're the same H.264 compressed 720p quality as usual, so videophiles will probably want to stick to Blu-ray. Purchases will come with both an HD file and an iPod / iPhone-ready SD file, which is a nice touch, and Apple's also promising that HD rentals will now be on the store within 30 days of retail release -- better, but not perfect. It's all going live today with exclusive pre-orders of Quantum of Solace and Twilight, but honestly, we're still wondering when Apple will implement subscription video and really take it to Netflix.
VUDU's HD selection now outnumbers Apple TV's, Blu-ray might be next
For the fourth week in a row, VUDU leaves the flood gates open and continues adding HD movies to the its library in record numbers. Now with this week's additional 120 HD movies, it has replaced the Apple TV as the download service with the best selection of HD. According to VUDU, there are now 769 movies available (or coming in the next few weeks) compared to about 690 HD movies that are offered on the Apple TV. So at this rate, VUDU should also surpass Blu-ray's HD selection in about two weeks. Of course we are talking about quantity here, and not quality, which we're sure could be debated continuously. Unfortunately for movie fans, it's still not quite the ultimate solution, as there's no way to purchase movies in HD, rentals are still limited by 30 days and 24 hours, and worst of all, there is still about a 30 day window between when the latest movies are released on disc and when they show up on download services. But this does make us wonder what would happen if Hollywood eliminated the artificial differences between downloads and discs.
Amazon Unbox content going HD on TiVo
We had a pretty good feeling this would go down eventually, but we certainly didn't see a confirmation (of sorts, anyway) coming this soon. Jim Denney, VP of product marketing at TiVo, has been quoted as saying that although the current version of Amazon Unbox can't process high-definition content, TiVo and Amazon will jointly announce HD capabilities "in the not too distant future." Granted, the content -- whenever it does actually arrive -- will only be accessible by "cable subscribers" with adequate bandwidth, but it's not like that's any sort of surprise. Sadly, details beyond what you've seen here were left out, but at least you can sleep soundly tonight knowing that high-def Unbox material is most certainly on the horizon. [Via Zatz Not Funny]
How would you change the Apple TV (take 2)?
We've had our fun, now it's your turn. Considering that Apple just beamed out its (long-awaited) v2.0 software to Apple TV owners, we're quite interested in finding out what you love / hate about take 2. Head on over to Engadget Classic to give the world a piece of your mind on the matter, won't you?
Kaai and Soraa already working up Blu-ray successor?
Simmer down -- it's not like you haven't seen advancements in blue laser technology before, and even though the current format war may still be raging when either's successor rolls into town, Kaai and Soraa are already looking to the future. Reportedly, Khosla Ventures has invested in both of the aforementioned firms, and while company representatives aren't disclosing much at the moment, we do know that the duo is exploring ways to "exploit gallium nitride, which is also the basis for existing blue LEDs and blue lasers." Apparently, they'd like to concoct suitable replacements for conventional LEDs in the lighting market and make a showing in the optical data storage arena, too. But seriously, with 200GB Blu-ray discs, who needs to worry about the next best thing? [Image courtesy of DigitalHomeMag]
VUDU review: the HD perspective
VUDU's self-titled set-top-box has certainly made quite the name for itself in the few short months that it has been on the market. Whether or not that name is positive one, however, is most certainly up for debate. Soon after launching at $399, reviews came pouring in that seemed to harmoniously shout "meh," but we still had hope for it. Upon speaking with company representatives at CEDIA, we knew that potential was still untapped at its coming out party -- the only question was how much support would it get from studios when pleading for their precious content in high-definition. Needless to say, garnering said backing still seems to be an uphill battle, but we managed to wrap our paws around the now-$295 device and put it through the paces that we HD junkies care about. Follow us after the break for the full spill, won't you?
Engadget HD reviews VUDU's high-definition side
Yeah, the critics have already had their shot at the VUDU, but now that the latest software update has towed in support for HD streaming, Engadget HD figured it prudent to dedicate a review specifically to the high-definition capabilities of the movie set-top-box. Eager to see if it's worthy of being connected to your HDTV? Come on over, the water's fine.
HD movie downloads to trump Blu-ray / HD DVD? Not so fast.
We'll be the first to say we truly hope that HD downloads -- be it on one's computer or main HDTV -- take off, but we're not so certain the technology is poised to overtake either Blu-ray or HD DVD anytime soon. A opinionated piece over at Economist takes a look at the current state of the format war, and interestingly enough, even goes so far as to call both HD discs "interim solutions, if even that." Apparently, it expects both formats to soon be "eclipsed" by some alternative, most likely the instantly gratifying downloadable movie offered up by various carriers in the form of HD VOD. Of course, we also expect this outlet to gain traction once broadband speeds ratchet up across the nation, but our main beef with the article comes with the proclamation that "[HD DVD and Blu-ray] are marginally better than upscaled DVDs." We've expressed our true feelings about upconverting DVD players before, and quite frankly, unless one hooks up their high-definition movie player with composite cables, we simply can't see anyone not being able to tell the difference. [Image courtesy of GenerationMP3, thanks Paul F. and Daniel D.]
A look at VUDU's high-definition movies
Just a day after VUDU started pushing out its long-awaited v1.2 software update, a kind user has whipped up a spreadsheet documenting all 65 HD flicks that are now available (or will be shortly) for renting. Truth be told, we're not exceptionally impressed with the list, but hey, to each his / her own. Hit up the read link to take a peek at what you're missing out on (or what you're about to have access to).[Thanks, Brian S.]
VUDU beams out v1.2 update, enables HD streaming
Merely a day after the Apple TV (take 2) update was delayed, VUDU has apparently beamed out the v1.2 update for its self-titled set-top-box. According to users who have successfully downloaded it, the new build reportedly enables HD streaming and adds a new "Instant HD" speed setting along with a "Constant Audio" setting to "fix the popping issues" that some folks are experiencing. According to NA9D over at the VUDU user forums, the update has also made 64 (give or take a few) HD titles available for viewing (all are rental only at the moment, save for the third Bourne Identity), and while some of them are said to be new releases, some supposedly go back as far as 1972. For anyone with a VUDU STB in their abode, feel free to check things out and give us an idea of available titles in comments below.[Thanks, Brian S.]
Cox initiates HD VOD rollouts with HD Movies on Demand
We knew it would just be a matter of months before Cox Communications found the means to offer up HD video-on-demand -- after all, you can't lag behind your main competitors for too long without stepping up, right? Nevertheless, the company has announced that customers in San Diego can now access "more than 20 high-definition titles" via the HD Movies on Demand channel, and the library of HD flicks should hopefully grow as time goes on. On deck to receive the HD VOD luxuries are Northern Virginia and Oklahoma City, with other unnamed markets to get tapped "later this summer." So, for those San Diegans looking for a good HD movie to soak in on Independence Day, why not give Cox's latest offering a whirl and tell us how it goes?
DirecTV readying HD VOD for July launch?
Everything's not exactly peachy in the world of DirecTV, but for those looking for even a hint of hope in regard to seeing HD video-on-demand via satellite, that time has (finally) arrived. Apparently, DirecTV is readying an HD VOD service that will initially include "more than a dozen programming services" such as Food Network and Discovery Channel. Interestingly, it looks like the satellite provider will utilize "a broadband connection to allow consumers to watch on-demand content in real time," and hinted at partnerships with a number of carriers that would be given "complete control over their own channel, including content and marketing messages." It was also stated that eventually, customers with an HD DVR and broadband internet "would have access to more than 2,000 on-demand movies," many of which in would be of the HD variety. Reportedly, the service will hit the beta stages sometime this month, and if no major hiccups are incurred, it could be rolled out to subscribers as early as July.[Via DBSTalk]
