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iTunes movie rentals finally work across multiple devices
Somehow, Apple went until 2017 before adding one of the most basic features to iTunes. You see, for the past nine years, when you'd rent a movie via the app, you'd have to watch it on the device the rental originated from. So, if you rented Manchester by the Sea on your commute, watched a few minutes and then wanted to finish bumming yourself out on your big screen at home, you were out of luck. With the latest version of iTunes (12.6) and "rent once, watch anywhere," that's changed.
Warner Bros. to ditch 28-day release delay for rental stores?
Warner Bros. may have doubled its 28-day embargo on new releases for kiosk operators (even if they side-step it), but endangered bricks-and-mortar rental stores could be treated to the exact opposite. A rumor coming from Home Media Magazine's unnamed sources suggests the WB is going to ditch the embargo for these locations altogether, starting on October 30th. We have no idea why this break would be offered to the relic stores, although we doubt they care if it gets a few more bodies through the door. Warner Bros. has a recent habit of quiet implementation, but just to be sure, we've reached out for confirmation and will update you if-and-when we hear more.
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.
Digiboo movie kiosks now do wireless, still insist on Windows
So far, Digiboo's movie kiosks have been severely limited by a couple of factors, before you even get to the fact that their content is SD only. Firstly, they've required users to carry a USB stick on their person, and secondly they've only been able to transfer rentals to a Windows device. Today, however, the company has cleared a major hurdle on its passage to relevance, by allowing wireless transfers to any "Windows-enabled PC, laptop or tablet." This should make Digiboo's next step -- Android support, which is promised to come this month -- a whole lot easier.
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.
'Hundreds' of Cablevision iO TV on-demand rentals now last 48 hours, procrastinators rejoice
Last we heard from Cablevision, it was bringing its Optimum App live TV streaming to Windows and Macs. Shifting directions to its more "traditional" cable offerings, the company now has good news for folks who've been generally bummed out about the 24-hour viewing window allotted with movie rentals on its iO TV service. Just in time for your weekend movie marathon, the company has announced that "hundreds" of its on-demand movie rentals will now last for 48 hours with unlimited viewing -- huzzah! As usual, content pricing starts at three bucks, and you'll be pleased to know that all that extra time comes at no additional cost to your subscription. Better yet, the amount of titles part of the deal to grow over time, and you'll find all the details in the press release after the break. Perhaps most notable is all the time you'll have to grab more microwaveable popcorn.
Walmart to unleash its Vudu magic on South America, Europe, Asia
Walmart's Vudu service will be dipping a toe in foreign waters for the first time, with a planned expansion that could see it landing in as many as 30 new countries. Mexico will be the first to get the service -- some time in June -- before it continues in a southerly direction toward other Latin American states. The rest of the expansion will cover Europe (including the UK and Ireland) and Asia, but won't happen until later on in the year. While Netflix has already beaten a path away from US shores, Walmart clearly hopes its strong retail presence (5000 stores in 26 countries) will help it earn more than just a tourist visa.
Sky Store replaces Sky Box Office in the war against everyone else
In the face of increasing competition from movie services like Lovefilm, Knowhow Movies and iTunes, Sky has reportedly decided to reinvent Box Office as Sky Store. Rather than the limited number of pay-per-view titles each month, it'll be repositioned as an online movie library with over 1,000 titles to view on your set-top-box, desktop or mobile device. New releases will be priced at £3.50 in standard-definition or £4.00 ($6.30) in HD. Back-catalogue titles will be priced at £1.99, with discounts on that figure on an infrequent basis. Sadly the service is only available to the five million or so subscribers with Anytime+, those who currently remain using SD services will get to keep the old-school Box Office.
Disney films begin storming YouTube's magic video kingdom
Looking for something fun to do with the family over the holiday weekend? Why not huddle up in front of the old laptop with some Pirates of the Caribbean? Or perhaps Alice in Wonderland and Pixar's Cars are more your speed? The Google-owned video streaming site announced today that movies from Walt Disney Studios have begun creeping their way into its rental selection. The selection of films is the first of hundreds from Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks.
Warner Bros. signs distribution deal with Lovefilm, ahead of Netflix's UK arrival
With Netflix creeping ever closer to its UK doorstep, Lovefilm is readying its defense -- beginning with Warner Bros. Today, the Amazon-owned streaming and rental service announced a new, multi-year partnership with the Brothers Warner, promising to deliver "wider choice and more access" to content across multiple platforms. Under the deal, users will be able to access a range of Warner Bros.' recent and forthcoming titles on their iPad, PlayStation 3, and, as of later this year, their Xbox 360, among other devices. The agreement will go into effect this December, with films like The Dark Knight, The Hangover, Gran Torino and Sex and the City 2 all available for exclusive viewing. Beginning in 2012, customers will be able to rent Warner Bros. titles 60 days after retail release, either via Lovefilm's DVD and Blu-Ray subscription service, or the studio's WarnerFilms channel. Intrigued cinephiles can whet their appetites with the full PR, after the break.
Blockbuster Express kiosks hike rental rates to keep offering new movies
In a continuation of the worst fad ever, it appears NCR's Blockbuster Express kiosk biz is the latest to come down with a case of price hike-itis, following competitors Redbox and Netflix. Of course the cause behind this is the studios, who are pushing for higher rates on new release movies or delayed windows. The 3-2-1 pricing structure it has been testing kicks in on "Hot Movies" in the first month they're available (sound familiar?), renting for $3 the first night (additional nights are still just $1 each, Blu-ray discs still cost $1 extra the first night), dropping to $2 after a month and then to $1 after 90 days. Expect the squeeze to be continually and evenly applied to your video rental options as long as Hollywood believes it increases sales.
Redbox's $1 per night DVD rentals jump to $1.20 October 31st, Blu-ray and games stay the same
While its movie rental rivals Netflix and Blockbuster have struggled for varying reasons recently, it seemed like Redbox could be just the ticket for thrifty renters. That may be tougher now that it has announced Monday we'll see a slight increase in pricing for DVD rentals, from $1 to $1.20, citing increased debit card fees. So far, nightly pricing for Blu-ray discs ($1.50) and videogames ($2) is staying the same, but with studios already pushing for longer rental delays, there's fewer safe ports or those pursuing cheap, current movies. On the conference call, executives floated the idea of using the first sale doctrine to buy and rent retail discs if necessary. Overall, as seen above Redbox's share of the disc rental market rose last quarter, while there's still no word on plans to jump into online streaming. Check below for parent company Coinstar's full Q3 earnings report plus a FAQ that helpfully points out this is Redbox's first increase in eight years and that discs reserved online will still be just $1 for the first night through November. The actual email customers are receiving is included after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Google Videos rental app makes fleeting cameo in Market, portends of an imminent release
The original Google Videos is going to be mighty huffy about this. Not only has it endured repeated attempts on its life following Big G's acquisition of YouTube, but now its very identity has been humiliatingly copied and pasted onto an entirely different service. The new Google Videos is a movie rental app that will give Android users in the US mobile access to the 3,000+ premium titles that are already available to rent on a desktop. So far, no one has been able to break out the popcorn except a few lucky Xoom owners, but last night the app mysteriously became available to everyone else in Android Market, too. Unfortunately, those quick triggers who managed to install the app before it disappeared were rewarded with a riveting succession of server errors, but at least it gives us hope that the real-deal will be with the masses in short order. Google Videos is dead, long live Google Videos.
Google is blocking Android Market movie rentals on rooted devices because of copy protection
Rooting your Motorola Xoom won't stop you from getting an LTE hardware upgrade, but it will throw up a roadblock if you're trying to watch movies rented from YouTube / Android Market. Android Central points out a Google support document that details the "Failed to fetch license for [movie title] (error 49)" message users will see when they try to play a movie on a rooted Android device. Only Xooms with Android 3.1 have access to the service right now, but once support rolls out to all Android 2.2 or higher devices in a couple of weeks some will have to choose between their superuser privileges and Google's nascent movie offerings (at least until someone figures out a workaround anyway). So far rooting and jailbreaking hasn't put a stop to other movie rental services for mobiles (iTunes, Netflix) so even if Google blames the movie studios for the policy, it seems like an odd restriction for the company behind the "open" platform to have.
Editorial: Engadget on Google Music and Movies for Android
Google dropped an amazing amount of stuff on us this morning, up to and including using your phone to turn off a lamp and a tablet to control a giant wooden labyrinth. Move past the flash, though, and the news with the most immediate impact to Android users is the release of the Music Beta by Google, plus the availability of movie rentals on the go. Now you can take your tunes all up into the cloud and pay too much to bring some movies along with you. That all sounds great, but we have somewhat mixed feelings about the whole thing. Check 'em out below.
Android Market launches movie rentals, thousands of titles available to your PC, phone or tablet
Google just announced movie rentals in the Android Market at its I/O conference. Chris from the Android services team just hit the stage at Moscone and demonstrated renting movies on the Android Market from your phone, tablet or PC with a single click. "Pinning" mirrors the experience with apps and books, you can select it on your PC and download to the device in the background for offline viewing. Movies are live in the market right now, support on all Android 2.2 or higher devices is expected "in a couple of weeks" and tablets will get support bundled with their upgrade to Android 3.1. On the PC, it ties back to the recently expanded YouTube rental service with the same restrictions (30 days to watch, 24 hour window once you start watching) and pricing, making that per-movie VOD price a bit easier to swallow with its cross-platform support and we even spied a few HD selections for $4.99. Keep an eye on the liveblog for more information. %Gallery-123218%
YouTube ready to start renting video on-demand movies from major studios?
According to entertainment website The Wrap, Google's YouTube has finally locked up all the studio deals to get itself fully into the online movie rental game. The report indicates it could launch as soon as this week with movies from majors including Sony, Warner and Universal, as well as smaller entities like Lionsgate, Kino Lorber and other independents. This doesn't appear to be a challenge to (now bigger than Comcast, but still smaller than HBO) Netflix, with the unnamed studio exec quoted in the article saying how happy they are to see a new entrant renting (and eventually selling) movies that's not using a subscription model. Apple currently leads the online VOD market after jumping in with iTunes back in 2008, so obviously that's a main target but without the important info (pricing, picture quality and content) it's hard to tell how much of a challenger this is. VOD rumors have swirled around YouTube for quite some time and it rolled out $3.99 rentals of indie movies a little over a year ago, here's hoping they go the whole way and offer nothing less than 3D and 4K streaming to start. Update: The store currently shows a slew of Weinstein produced movies (Scary Movie 4, Death Proof) and a few Lionsgate flicks (Made, Reservoir Dogs) available for $2.00 or so but most have been up since 2009 so keep an eye on this page for any new flicks. [Thanks, Rocco G.]
L.A. Times sees possible competition for Netflix coming from Walmart, Best Buy, Vutopia and more
Until Amazon launched its Prime Instant Video service earlier this year Netflix was almost completely alone on the subscription video streaming mountaintop, but an article this weekend in the Los Angeles Times suggests there could be competition on the way. There's plenty of rumoring from analysts and the typical "people familiar with the matter, but their sources have been on the money in the past and indicate retailers like Walmart and Best Buy are seriously considering angling their Vudu and CinemaNow efforts in the subscription direction instead of VOD like they've done so far. Meanwhile Hulu Plus is reportedly considering expanding its movie selection, and Amazon is likely to puff up its offerings while iN Demand, the PPV baby of the cable companies, is considering expanding its 200~ title Vutopia service. Still, according to the article no one's signed any of the big checks necessary to take on the 20-million subscribers strong behemoth yet, but don't be surprised if serious competition arrives shortly.
Spot movie rental kiosks aim to beat Redbox on price and convenience
Since Netflix is experiencing new competition to its popular movie distribution model it only fits that Redbox should too and the most interesting entrant we've seen in the movie kiosk business is "Spot. The Difference". It recently test launched 25 boxes in Riverside County California and currently beat Redbox's pricing by renting DVDs and Blu-ray discs for $1 / day each, or 89 cents if rented in pairs. Of course, just winning on price isn't enough to keep us from sticking with our coupon codes and smartphone apps, but the company has fixed our main beef with the red boxes by designing a kiosk with two slots, one for rental, and another for return. That way you're not waiting behind the people of Walmart as they skim through every disc in the box when all you want to do is return Glee, Season 2, Volume 1 and be on your way. It also claims to fit more movies in a smaller space, but really, you had us at express disc return slot.
Zediva mashes up Netflix and Redbox for $1.99, four hour-window DVD streaming rentals
Netflix and Redbox have been the new hotness in rentals for the last few years but both have significant drawbacks. With Redbox, it's the box and the morons who are constantly standing in front of it paging through every single movie in the thing and for Netflix's Watch Instantly it's a lack of new releases available for instant viewing. Now there's a new startup, Zediva, that takes on both of those issues by sticking with DVDs, but instead of shipping them to customers or placing them in kiosks, just streams them on demand from one player, to one viewer (unlike Netflix, sometimes movies are "rented out" if there are no copies available at the moment -- renting a flick gives you control of the DVD player, with fast forward and reverse, for four hours) for $1.99 a rental or 10 for $10. Apparently it's been in beta for a year but is now available to all and is currently offering new release DVDs the same day they go on sale by simply purchasing them at retail. There's no HD content yet but it claims Blu-ray titles will be offered soon. The Associated Press talked to a copyright lawyer who points out the case of a hotel that implemented a similar system but was sued into oblivion before calling Zediva "cute, but illegal" so if you decide to check it out, we'd recommend getting through that 10-pack of rentals with haste. Update: We did recommend haste, didn't we? Zediva's registration is now listed as "temporarily full" and prospective users are being asked to join a waiting list. Thanks, Ialo!
