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BFI to digitize 10,000 British films as part of Film Forever investment plan
The British Film Institute plans to digitize and provide easier access to 10,000 British flicks as part of a new £500 million (approximately $800 million) "Film Forever" initiative. In addition to driving growth in the UK industry by investing in education, filmmaking and the like, the institute wants to put a mixture of free and paid content on its website, YouTube and VoD services. A BFIPlayer app will be providing a similar service to Samsung Smart TVs, PCs and mobile devices. Cinemas, DVDs and TV channels will also play host to the films, selected for digital rebirth by a bunch of experts and in part, by the general public. And, in the spirit of digitization, full details of the ambitious Film Forever enterprise (slated to run from 2012-2017) are available in e-brochure format at the source link below.
YouTube rental selection expanded; sadly, most films still lack explosions
Are you looking for yet another way to stream Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired? Netflix and iTunes not doing it for you? Apparently YouTube's first, tentative step into on-demand rentals (some sort of Sundance Film Festival cross-promotion early this year) went well enough, and the company's started offering an extended range of movie and TV episodes for your viewing pleasure. Depending on the flick, anywhere between $.99 and $3.99 will get you 48 hours access, paid through Google Check-Out. Not too many Hollywood blockbusters are on tap, but if you're in the mood for a documentary, indie, or foreign film, hit up the source link to see for yourself. Personally, we're holding out until Die Hard With A Vengeance becomes available.
YouTube introduces movie rentals, only independent titles for now
In an atypically low key beginning, YouTube is starting to roll out a new movie rental service. Currently stocked with only five titles from independent film producers, it won't be posing any threats to the Netflix empire any time soon, but plans are naturally afoot to expand what's on offer. Available between this Friday and the end of this year's Sundance Film Festival, the movies can be rented for $3.99 a piece through the Google Checkout payment system. Prepare your muscles to do some cringing though, as YouTube is said to be working on adding health, fitness and educational videos as well. Still, the focus seems to be on getting indie filmmakers more exposure -- and cash, "the majority" of rental revenue will go to the film producers -- and we can't really argue with that.
Netflix and Walmart sued over online movie rentals
Industry big shots Walmart and Netflix have both been named in a consumer lawsuit which accuses them of "trying to build a monopoly for online DVD rentals." The complaint, which was filed by San Francisco-based Andrea Resnick in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that both firms "unreasonably restrained trade, sending up prices." As the story goes, the duo decided back in 2005 that Wally World would shut down its online rental business and refer those customers to Netflix, and the plaintiffs allege that these actions would end up promoting Walmart's DVD movie sales. Netflix spokespeople declined to comment, though Walmart spokeswoman Daphne Moore did acknowledge that it had received the gripe and would respond to the court at the appropriate time.
Blockbuster tests movie download service, DVD rental kiosks
As Blockbuster flounders around in an attempt to determine what it really wants to be, we're seeing that it's finally taking advantage of that whole Movielink purchase from last year. A new download section on the company's website has gone live, encouraging XP / Vista users running Internet Explorer (feel alienated yet?) to simply pick a flick, download and watch. In related news, the rental outfit has announced an expanded partnership with NCR that will see 50 DVD rental kiosks deployed in a pilot test, which is separate from the download-only kiosks which are being tested in Dallas, Texas. Anyone tried out the new download service? Do you prefer it more / less than Netflix's Watch Now?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - Blockbuster download serviceRead - Blockbuster DVD kiosks
Netflix bringing streaming rentals to Macs, game console next?
Recent announcements on iTunes rentals certainly caused a stir amongst the neglected Mac-masses, but it looks like the online rental game is about to get a little more cutthroat for fanboys and fangirls everywhere. According to a new report (and backed up by an earlier blog post), streaming content for Netflix subscribers is headed to Mac screens in 2008 -- if everyone has their way. During the company's Q4 earnings call this week, the snail-mail service hinted that this would be the year that streaming rentals would come to Mac users due to the advent of DRM options that play nice with Apple's gear (namely, Microsoft's Silverlight technology). Combine this with news that the company plans to offer all-you-can-eat online rentals for $8.99 a month, its intentions to bring a STB to market with LG, and a possible game console partnership -- well, it all adds up to stiff competition for Apple and other challengers, despite what they say.[Via Mac Rumors]Read - Netflix: Mac Streaming Coming This YearRead - Instant watching on Mac, Firefox, and more
Netflix to loosen restrictions on internet viewing option
Granted, there are some out there who've been dodging the whole "limitation" aspect of Netflix's Watch Instantly feature for a good while, but for the honest, upstanding citizens abiding by the rules, things are (seemingly) about to change for the better. According to a recent report from the AP, Netflix is gearing up to banish the time limits for online streaming on all but its el cheapo $4.99 plan, meaning that subscribers to every other plan will be able to watch online content as much as they'd like. In case you haven't connected the dots quite yet, it's being suggested that the move will be made to fend off the looming competition from Cupertino, and while this would undoubtedly increase costs, it doesn't seem as if the firm plans on hiking rates (at least initially) to compensate. Now that's a change we can live with.
