HdVod
Latest
Studio 3 Networks' epix is the new home of Lionsgate, MGM & Paramount movies
The joint venture formed by Viacom's Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate finally has a name -- Studio 3 Networks -- and today announced at NATPE '09 that its "next generation home entertainment service" with both broadband delivery and a traditional TV channel (possibly headed to a digital basic lineup near you) will be branded epix. Still most important about the new brand is that due to expiring content deals with Showtime, epix will have exclusive access to Paramount, Paramount Vantage, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Films released theatrically on or after January 1, 2008, plus all MGM, United Artists and Lionsgate flicks from the beginning of 2009 on and a release window two months shorter than the 11 months of other pay channels when it launches in the fourth quarter of this year. Still unclear is exactly where we'll be able to enjoy all 17 remastered* James Bond movies, the Indiana Jones series and more in crisp high definition, as Multichannel News caught president Mark Greenberg mentioning epix could find its way to the aforementioned digital tiers to boost satisfaction on HD content, but didn't set any quality expectations for an Internet or VOD experience. Prior to launch, expect VOD Internet access, while afterwards "authenticated" cable subscribers can get access to DVD extra-styled content online. Still, as Download Squad mentioned, first order of business should probably be buying up the epix.com, epix.net or epix.tv domain names since they're already taken.[Via Multichannel News & Download Squad]
FCC chairman "doesn't support" Hollywood's request for selectable output
In December of 2007, we candidly wondered if 2008 would be the year for selectable output control. We reckon we should re-pose the question with "2008" replacing "2007." Broadcasting and Cable is reporting that Kevin Martin doesn't support Hollywood's request for selectable outputs, noting that the final decision would have to wait for the next chairman. It's widely expected that Martin will step down just days before Obama is sworn in, but in the January 15th meeting on the topic, he'll likely stifle the MPAA's plans. For those unaware, SOC would enable content to hit HD VOD outlets before DVD, but in exchange, it would only be allowed out of the set-top-box via encrypted digital outputs. Obviously, those with older TV sets wouldn't be able to take advantage, thus the chairman's hesitation to allow it. Maybe next year, Big Content.[Via LA Times, image courtesy of DansData]
DISH Network adds The Dark Knight to 1080p on-demand movie lineup
Here's an indication of just how important The Dark Knight is to the movie / content industry. DISH Network has just pushed out a bona fide press release solely to announce that the aforementioned film is now available via its 1080p on-demand service. Customers of the satcaster who skipped out on the Blu-ray version and would rather just rent can spend their New Year's Eve trying to figure out if Batman's voice can possibly go any deeper without exploding for just $6.99.
Sky admits that HD Sky Player is coming, just not yet
Sky's web-based Player is a fine tool for catching Premiership football and the like, but the omission of HD is a sad one. With tons of other online video portals out there making the jump to high-def, there doesn't seem to be a valid excuse for Sky to wait hesitantly on the sidelines. According to Director of OnDemand Griff Parry, HD streaming channels via the internet "are coming," but the current player will remain SD only for the "foreseeable future." When asked why that was, he proclaimed that Sky couldn't "deliver it reliably to the majority of people." In other words, it would rather play things safe and deliver a consistent product rather than field the scads of troubleshooting calls from folks unable to remedy dropped frames. Sigh -- another opportunity pushed aside for the sake of convenience.
Hong Kong's now TV offering Disney / ABC shows on HD VOD
Last time we checked in with a la carte IPTV provider now TV, the Hong Kong service had just hit a half million subscribers -- three years later its adding content from Disney - ABC to the high definition video on-demand offerings. Lost, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Kyle XY episodes and more are available at the press of a button for a $7.70 / month (U.S.) subscription fee. The only question now is when one of the big providers Stateside will let us build our own channel lineup.
Cox brings 19 HD VOD channels to San Diego, California
Hate to get you all riled up for nothing, San Diego, but Cox is dropping a whopping 19 new high-def channels in your area. Too bad every last one of them is simply an HD On Demand channel. The carrier is now touting that locals have 67 HD channels to flip through, which is factual per se, but hardly indicative of the actual situation. Ah well, VOD is better than zilch, we suppose.
Buckeye Cable gearing up for HD VOD, Start Over-type service
Buckeye Cable, which serves upwards of 150,000 customers in the greater Toledo / Sandusky, Ohio area, is looking to make some pretty big changes. The carrier has just upgraded its SeaChange VOD infrastructure in order to "dramatically expand" its HD video-on-demand offerings, and on top of that, it's also hoping to launch a Start Over-type service to help those who notoriously show up late for their favorite show. Better still, the company is looking to expand its linear HD lineup by adding in 15 to 25 new ones over the next 9 to 12 months. Pretty big words for a "small" provider -- guess we'll have to wait and see if it delivers.
FiOS HD video on-demand library tops 1,000 title mark
Make room Comcast, Verizon's barged in on Project Infinity territory, staking its own claim of 1,000 high definition video on-demand titles available, two months earlier than it had previously planned. That puts it well ahead in the choices/channels debate, with the latest additions courtesy of Starz, Showtime and Sundance Channel. If you're willing to accept something less than HD for your VOD, there's a total of 11,000 items available every month (8,500 without an additional charge), but we're just settling in as the race to 3,000 high definition watch-anytime choices begins.
Nickelodeon's iCarly movie debuts early on HD VOD
iCarly iGo to Japan doesn't air until November 8, but it's available early on Comcast video on demand, along with four episodes in standard and high definition, plus behind the scenes clips. Enough to keep your tween from demanding a switch to another provider that has the Nickelodeon HD channel available? Maybe not, but we expect this won't be the last cross promotion run while Comcast uses Project Infinity to narrow the HD gap.
Comcast claims success on Project Infinity with over 1,000 HD choices
Someone tell Comcast it can forget that whole bandwidth cap nonsense and just take the rest of the year off after meeting its CES Project Infinity goal of over 1,000 HD choices available this year. Whether that's more or less HD than you get on satellite is open to a pretty loose interpretation, but doubling the amount of HD available last year is worth celebrating. We'd be able to cheer this a bit more loudly if just aired shows like MTV & CBS shows and Mad Men were more consistently available on HD VOD quickly, but we'll just roll that into next year's goal of 3,000 HD movies per month On Demand.
DISH Network's 1080p VOD service gets inspected, looks impressive
A couple of months back, we saw what was to come with DISH Network's 1080p video-on-demand service. Now, the cats and kittens over at Sound & Vision have a definitive writeup explaining the value of the aforementioned offering. At the time of review, Speed Racer was DISH's 1080p VOD movie of the month, so critics fired it up via the satcaster's set-top-box while comparing it to the version on Blu-ray. Obviously, DISH's 1080p isn't the same quality 1080p as what you'll find on a BD-50, but the results were pretty astounding, regardless. In fact, critics had a tough time deciphering between the two from a normal viewing distance, and while they were fully expecting to be underwhelmed by DISH Network's 1080p material, they were actually stunned by just how impressive it looked. Of course, the dearth of titles available at any given time means that this won't sway potential customers in and of itself, but you can rest assured DISH is looking to beef up its 1080p HD VOD lineup as quickly as possible.
DISH Network lands agreement to offer Sony Pictures material on-demand
Good news for DISH Network VOD fans -- you'll soon be seeing a few more options in the programming guide. Announced this week, the satcaster has inked a deal with Sony Pictures Television that will enable it to host the studio's films and other programming content on its video-on-demand platform (DISH On Demand) as well as its pay-per-view services. Best of all, the agreement covers SD and HD content, and if we're reading this correctly, it sounds as if some future films will be made available day-and-date with the DVD release.
MCV brings HD video on-demand to Guam
MCV has clearly studied the gameplan on delivering more HDTV "choices" with limited bandwidth: high definition video on-demand. Coming just a few months after HD broadcasts debuted on the island, HD VOD should be live for Guam residents on channel 999, with "music, movies and sports" available, which ones specifically apparently going to be a surprise. HD movie rentals are $5.99 a pop, GTA, would you like to respond?
BT Vision's added HD to its VOD
Hopefully our UK brethren have been enjoying the recent addition on high definition downloads to the BTVision IPTV service. 1080i, 5.1 surround sound packing licks are now available on your V-box for £2.95 or £4.95, conveniently marked with an "HD" tag to note the ihgher quality, and a warning that unlike their low-res counterparts, these need to download in full before the user can watch and begin their 24 hour rental period. The Other Boleyn Girl, The Hulk and Babe are among the leadoff hitters, so check it out (these 8GB~ downloads also rather conveniently don't count towards any kind of bandwidth quota, imagine that?) and let us know how it measures up to the rest.[Via HDTV UK]
Suddenlink rolling out HD VOD
Down in Lubbock, Texas -- which just so happened to get gifted with AT&T's U-verse a few days ago -- Suddenlink is attempting to stay competitive by rolling out HD VOD to its customers. It's unclear whether or not the rollout will affect more markets than this, but at least for those in the Lone Star state, you can expect lots of free SD material and "44 new high-definition [VOD] channels." As for costs, look to cough up between $0.99 and $3.99 for an SD film, while Hollywood titles in high-def will run $2.99 to $5.99. We appreciate this and all, but how's about some fresh HD channels while you're at it, Suddenlink?
AT&T makes HD VOD official, brings it to all U-verse customers
Call it a trial no longer -- AT&T is officially rolling out HD VOD to every last U-verse user in the United States of America. According to a quote by Rich Wellerstein, AT&T vice president of programming, "the demand for HD just keeps increasing, and so will [AT&T's] HD lineup and HD VOD library." The newly revamped VOD lineup will feature a slate of new releases in high-def, and the initial offerings will be expanded over the coming months and on "an ongoing basis." If you're curious as to what'll be available when you get home, try Charlie Wilson's War and Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins for starters.
Comcast, MGM team up on Impact VOD channel
If you can pull your eyes away from the Olympics, Comcast and MGM are launching Impact, the first video on-demand channel featuring only action programming. Need flicks and TV shows like Terminator, James Bond or Robocop a button press away at all times? Consider it done, as Impact will have 25-30 titles available every month from MGM's deep -- apparently deep enough satisfy this channel and MGM HD -- with "many" in HD. MGM is apparently in talks with other carriers about the adding the network, but it should roll out to Comcast systems throughout this week. According to Variety, the channel will also go online next year, allowing subscribers to stream movies to their PCs at no extra cost.[Via Variety]
AT&T exec talks U-verse, HD plans
Shortly after breaking the semi-magical 500,000 subscriber mark, AT&T's executive vice president of content Dan York sat down for an interview on the future of U-verse. The bigwig made known that U-verse TV's long-term HD plans were still undisclosed, though "north of 100 [HD channels]" were in its near-term sights. He also insinuated that HD VOD was still aways out, though he did acknowledge that "HD is clearly important to consumers." He also hinted that more substantial changes could come to the service once the really magical one million subscriber mark was passed, suggesting that it could leverage better deals and possibly more content by being able to claim a cool million on the roster. It's a fairly interesting read if you're interested in AT&T's take on IPTV -- we're just anxious to see it come to more places.[Via SmartBrief]
Mediacom joins the big boys with its Olympics HD package
Mediacom subscribers won't totally miss out on the Olympics (although you might be, unless you got up early to catch the U.S. Women's Soccer team take on Norway this morning), since the cable company signed up for the NBC HD VOD package seen on so many other systems. You should be able to grab more than 800 hours of HD on NBC, Universal HD and USA HD on the HDTV Family Package, and plenty of daily update from Beijing on video on-demand. Better get that DVR ready.
Comcast and Charter tout enhanced Olympics 2008 coverage
Just in case you thought only AT&T and DirecTV are the only ones lining up HD video on-demand offerings for the Olympics (scheduled to kick off tomorrow with women's soccer ahead of the August 8 opening ceremonies), as Comcast and Charter just dropped some details on their plans for the Beijing Games. For the most part HD VOD plans seem identical to the offerings from other providers, with 15-20 daily updates and highlights sorted by sport, while Comcast promises more than 700 hours of HD on NBC HD, Universal HD and USA HD, plus multiple live NBC feeds on Comcast Central. Charter however has highlighted a few different features , with plans to carry the NBC Olympics Soccer Channel and NBC Olympic Basketball Channel in HD on top of the NBC and Universal HD feeds, plus foreign language TV coverage. Since no one person can hope to keep up with all the coverage (and don't forget the 2,200 hours of streaming video planned for the NBC website), plan for HD VOD to be the lifeline keeping you updated with your sport of choice.Read - Comcast PRRead - Charter PR
