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Netflix formally launches $7.99 streaming-only plan, bumps unlimited DVD plans by a buck or more
Well you had to know it was coming: the streaming-only plan Netflix unofficially rolled out last month is now being officially deployed. Thankfully the company opted to go with the lower of the two prices it was toying with, $7.99, which pits it squarely against Hulu Plus. However, the prices for all unlimited plans that include DVDs have jumped by at least one dollar, meaning you'll now be paying $9.99 for a one DVD at a time plan (though the $4.99, two DVDs a month offer will still give you a penny back from your Lincoln). So, it's a cheaper option for trailblazers who have abandoned physical media and a dark day for everyone else.
Nikon debuts Android-powered stereoscopic picture frame, 2D to 3D conversions for a monthly fee
2D to 3D conversion techniques -- whether cinematic or otherwise -- don't have us jumping for joy, but Nikon's new NF-300i display sounds like a concept we could get behind. It's a 7.2-inch digital photo frame running Android 2.1 on an autostereoscopic (glasses-less) screen, which sports a special double-density lenticular lens to display images at full WSVGA resolution (800 x 600) whether in 2D or 3D modes. It pulls down images from the cloud to 4GB of internal storage over wired ethernet and 802.11 b/g WiFi, or via USB port if you happen to have MPO files just sitting around for some reason. The notion is that Japanese users will sign up for Nikon's new My PictureTown 3D conversion and hosting service for ¥19,550 (about $244) a year or ¥1,995 ($24) a month and get all their JPEG vacation photos spirited to the device in glorious 3D, and that's also the only way you'll likely ever see one of these screens -- Nikon's loaning, not selling the NF-300i as part of those membership fees.
New NPD report to factor in digital, used, mobile and rental sales
Changes to the NPD Group's reporting practices sent a few waves through the game industry earlier this month. Now, NPD's Anita Frazier has explained some of the reasoning behind the change. Frazier notes that NPD has "long acknowledged" that its coverage of only "new physical sales of hardware, software and accessories" doesn't accurately represent consumer spending in the game industry. Furthermore, with new physical sales dwindling this year, Frazier notes that the old NPD reporting practices "caused unnecessary angst" for many industry followers. In other words, sales of physical game copies simply don't account for all the money pumped into the industry anymore. As such, the NPD will soon release the debut issue of its new report, Games Industry: Total Consumer Spend. While the report still includes data on sales of new games, accessories and hardware, it will also feature data on "used games, rentals, mobile apps, social network games, and digitally acquired content in the U.S." NPD has had plans to track downloadable sales for over a year now, though this marks the first time we've heard of plans to track so many other forms of spending. Depending on how comprehensive the report is, it could have hefty ramifications for anyone looking to follow industry trends.
Redbox expanding game rentals to 'thousands' of its kiosks
Redbox has been playing around with video game rentals from its disc-spitting kiosks for a few years now, but the company has decided the program is ready for the big time, and will reportedly expand the program to "thousands" of its 24,000 machines around the country. Rentals cost $2 and let you take the game home for just one day, which, given the apparently shrinking lengths of popular titles, is more than doable, depending on the game and the day. If you want to find a box near you, you can punch your zipcode in on the company's official website and see if there are games in your neighborhood to be rented. Most of them seem to be at 7-Elevens or other convenience stores, which seems pretty convenient if you ask us.
Xcom Global international MiFi / data rental service review
A few months earlier in the year, we covered the arduous process of staying connected while traveling abroad. One of the ways we mentioned for jetsetters, backpackers and common tourists to stay jacked in while situated far from their homeland was a MiFi rental service from Xcom Global. The company has only been operating for a matter of months, but we recently took their services for a spin in order to give you a more detailed look at what to expect. The long and short of it? These guys are the guys to contact when you're about to grab your next passport stamp. Read on to find out why.
NBC Universal says 99-cent rentals would 'devalue' content, News Corp calls them a 'short-term test'
ABC and Fox may have been willing to part with their TV shows for 99 cents a pop on the new Apple TV and at Amazon, but don't be surprised if NBC Universal fails to join their ranks. "We do not think 99 cents is the right price point for our content," said CEO Jeff Zucker at an investor conference earlier this week, noting that NBC shows are indeed present on iTunes for those willing to shell out $1.99. That's not the only bad news for video-on-demand enthusiasts, as News Corporation is apparently reconsidering its stance -- though subsidiary Fox is presently dishing out 99-cent shows, president Chase Carey called its involvement a "short-term test." Guess that brave new world of cheap streaming is still a ways off, eh?
Amazon streaming 99-cent ABC and Fox shows... right now (update: purchases, not rentals!)
Eager to get on the new Apple TV's cheap 99-cent TV show rentals but not so pumped to wait four weeks for it to ship? No worries: Amazon's also now offering 99-cent rentals purchases of various ABC and FOX shows, which means a whole host of Amazon VOD-compatible devices just got some cheaper streaming options as well -- and hey, Roku just cut prices on its entire lineup of Amazon- and Netflix- compatible players, so you can get in the game for as little as $60. Of course, the Apple TV also features day-and-date movie rentals, local streaming, AirPlay, and that slick iPhone / iPod touch Remote app, but only your heart truly knows if those are worth an extra few bucks and a month of fevered desire. Update: As our astute commenters are pointing out, these are actually listed as 99-cent purchases, making this a far better deal entirely. We don't know if that's for real or just an error right now, though -- we're double checking and we'll let you know. Update 2: Yep, we've confirmed that these are 99-cent purchases, making this a much better deal than Apple's rental model -- although only you can decide whether you actually need permanent streaming access to Dollhouse Season 2. [Thanks, Stephen]
Blockbuster filing for bankruptcy next month? Probably.
It's not official, but rumor that Blockbuster is preparing to file for bankruptcy in September is certainly believable. Expected even. According to several sources speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Blockbuster chief executive Jim Keyes along with representation from Blockbuster's senior debt holders met last week with the six major movie studios to announce the company's intention to enter a mid-September bankruptcy. Meetings that no doubt hoped to secure an uninterrupted flow of new content from Hollywood as Blockbuster restructures its $920 million in debt and closes another 500 of its 3,425 US stores. In its fight to remain relevant in the age of digital downloads / streaming, Blockbuster has lost $1.1 billion since early 2008. It's expected that Blockbuster's debt holders will likely own a substantial portion of the company when all is said and done. We call dibs on those Archos 10 netbooks.
Apple reportedly in talks with networks for 99 cent TV show rentals
We've already heard rumors that Apple was working to convince networks to offer 99 cent TV show rentals on iTunes -- and possibly on a forthcoming Apple TV / iTV as well -- and it looks like things might now be starting to firm up a bit. According to Bloomberg, "three people familiar with the plan" say that Apple is now in "advanced talks" with News Corp about offering Fox TV show rentals for 99 cents apiece, and it's reportedly talking with CBS and ABC-parent company Disney as well, although the state of those talks apparently aren't as clear. No mention of streaming-only episodes this time around, but those same people familiar with the matter do say that the episodes would only be viewable for 48 hours.
Is your local Redbox hiding a touch of Blu?
If you're like some of us, and Redbox's Blu-ray availability search came up empty even after the company announced it's expanding high definition rentals to all locations, it may be time to look again. At several locations in Michigan, and also experienced by our friends at HighDefDiscNews, even though the official search page still says there's no BluBoxes to be found, checking the Blu-ray category of local Redbox kiosks online (as seen above) reveals they've already added a few movies as recently as this week. It's like the state motto says "If you seek $1.50 Blu-ray rentals, look about you," or something like that.
Blockbuster including games in its by-mail rentals
It's almost inspiring, the way that Blockbuster bravely marches on, despite such moves as boning Total Access and cutting back on its new movie purchases. And the latest bid for relevance? If you're receiving your, um, "blockbusters" via snail mail you'll soon be able to add your Xbox, PlayStation, and Wii games to the mix (and by "soon," we mean "now"). Ready to add the latest installment of Splinter Cell to your copy of The Bucket List? Well, you should probably get out of the house more. Or you can click the source link to get started. [Thanks, Kevin]
iPhone's App Store 'Try Before You Buy' section isn't exactly what you're hoping for
We love Android's 24-hour app return policy, so when we heard about Apple opening a "Try Before You Buy" section in the App Store, we grabbed the closest iDevice in our proximity to see what exactly was up. Only, it isn't exactly what we expected given the name. Located under Features -> Free on the App Store, the new section serves only to highlight the free / "lite" edition of apps with premium older siblings. A smart and organized section, sure, but the for-pay programs without a demo will still be a risk your iTunes account will have to take. Them's the breaks; might as well add it to your personal iOS 5 wishlist alongside widgets and a new notification system.
Redbox rolling out $1.50 Blu-ray rentals at 13,000-plus kiosks, nationwide by fall
It's really no surprise that Redbox is going nationwide with its $1.50 Blu-ray rentals, at every step along the way of its Hollywood dealmaking, the company has pointed out its aim towards procuring a supply of high definition movies, and now the day is finally here. The high definition disc packing kiosks currently number 13,300, and the plan is to have Blu-ray in all 26,000 locations by the fall. While we spotted plenty of Blu-ray enabled locations with a San Francisco zip code, other areas in the Midwest and East Coast weren't so lucky. The site points out a few of the movies on offer, including Green Zone, Book of Eli and Bounty Hunter, but there's no way to check which movies are in stock at each box. Of course, at this price, we might be willing to take our chances until Redbox gets things straightened out, or starts offering an online competitor to Netflix.
Redbox updates site for Blu-ray search, most kiosks still not updated for Blu-ray find
The good news is now there's a dedicated page on the Redbox website for finding kiosks stocked with $1.50/night rental Blu-ray discs, but the bad news is... we can't find one anywhere near our zip code. Apparently if we did live on such hallowed ground, it would even point out recent Blu-ray movies added to the kiosks making the decision to watch Matt Damon in The Green Zone tonight as easy as possible. Hit the source link to begin your own search for high definition movies, hopefully it turns out better than ours so far.
Blu-ray and digital distribution not enough to hedge DVD's 2010 decline
Despite 2009 being the best box office year of all time hitting a record $10 billion, the Digital Entertainment Group has announced that the home media market continues to lose ground when compared to last year. The first six months of 2010 still managed to earn $8.8 billion for Hollywood, which is still a lot, but it is down 3.3 percent when compared to the first half of 2009. This is despite the fact that Blu-ray revenues were up 83 percent over the same period hitting a new record of $982 million for both sales and rentals. And digital distribution was also up to new heights gaining 23 percent and hitting the new record of $1.1 billion (which includes sales and VOD). Sales were actually almost flat in the second quarter, but it would've taken a lot to make up for the lost ground in the first quarter. This is obviously a white whine as not many industries would complain about only earning over a billion dollars a month and actually transactions were up 2.3 percent, which does indicate there might be a trend towards renting vs buying during hard economic times. The 30 day value rental window imposed by Warner and others might help explain why the second quarter fared better than the first, but one quarter alone isn't enough to call the practice a success. Full release with many more details after the jump.
Next Apple TV to offer 99 cent streaming episode rentals?
We've already had some indication that the next Apple TV might boast a low, low $99 price tag, and it looks like Apple might be working to make TV shows cheaper as well. According NewTeeVee, Apple is now trying to convince networks to let it offer rentals of episodes of TV shows for 99 cents. Like movie rentals, you would have 30 days to watch an episode after you purchase it, but the shows would reportedly be streaming-only, and not actually downloaded to the Apple TV, which would certainly line up with the cloud storage model we've heard about. Not many more details than that, unfortunately, nor is there any word that the rentals would extend beyond the Apple TV.
Blockbuster avoids bankruptcy for now, but not NYSE delisting
Things stateside haven't gone the way of Blockbuster Portugal (yet) but while the Blockbuster was able to make arrangements with creditors and avoid bankruptcy this week, it will be forced to delist from the New York Stock Exchange after a proposed reverse stock split fell through. Even the extension on debt payments it was able to negotiate hasn't satisfied analysts, with our old friend Michael Pachter telling Reuters "there's nothing on the horizon that makes it look like Blockbuster is going to be more profitable." Ouch. A substantial amount of debt has long been a problem for Blockbuster as it tries to adjust to a changing marketplace with Redbox and Netflix, and with shares trading at .18, has now made its existence more precarious than ever.
Paramount, Redbox keep DVDs and Blu-ray discs in kiosks the same day they go on sale
It looks like not all of the remaining Hollywood studios are putting the 30-day brakes on providing movies to Redbox, as Paramount has concluded after a ten month study that it has "minimal" effect on DVD sales. Dennis Maguire, President of Paramount Home Entertainment says the company is "allowing the consumer a choice of how to consume our movies while maximizing the profitability of our releases in the home entertainment window" while Redbox prez Mitch Lowe looked forward to joint marketing programs. That puts another studio on deck to provide the Blu-ray rentals we're expecting to see later this year and is a pretty sharp contrast to recent deals with Fox and Warner delaying low cost rentals to protect their day one sales and premium rentals on video on-demand.
How-to: stay connected while traveling internationally
It's a harsh reality that every avid traveler faces, and unless you're fortunate enough to have been born in a generation where you're not expected to check your inbox every half-hour, glance over Twitter updates every 7.23 minutes seconds and tell the world where you're at this very moment via Foursquare, you've probably found yourself wondering how on Earth you're going to remain connected once your swipe that passport and leave the comfy confines of a native network. Staying connected while traveling abroad is no easy task, and while the internet may feel ubiquitous to tech-savvy smartphone owners who remain planted within the borders of their home nation, the world wide web suddenly becomes a whole lot less easy to track down once you plop down on foreign soil. Looking to splurge on a little international travel this summer, but can't figure out how you're going to (affordably) upload those Twitpics and YouTube videos once you get there? Fret not, young jetsetter -- we've got the keys to keeping you connected whilst overseas just beyond the break.
Redbox CEO suggests $1.50 rate for Blu-ray rentals
Along with the repeated indications Redbox would expand its Blu-ray rentals this year, there's been hints that it would have to raise prices beyond its standard $1 / night DVD rate. Home Media Magazine reports President Mitch Lowe mentioned during his keynote address at the Entertainment Supply Chain Academy Edge conference that the likely price is $1.50, which seems low enough to keep customers happy and -- judging by the recent slew of deals -- will apparently keep Hollywood studios happy also. to that end, his speech also cited NPD data indicating customers said they wouldn't rent or purchase many of the movies they obtain at the kiosks any other way, while 41% of customers rent before making a decision to buy. Also on deck for Redbox are sales of catalog titles for $5 / $7 / $9 -- so let us know, would you appreciate the option to buy, not just rent, from your nearest vending machine?
