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Redbox adding Blu-ray rentals

Even with the limited space within a rental machine, Redbox is making room for Blu-ray Discs to appear within the next few months.

Along with a new agreement from Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox, to include new movies 28 days after street date, is a partnership to provide Blu-ray Disc versions of popular movies. Rentals will incur a $1.50 rate per day.

Redbox rental kiosks account for 23% of the rental market, with 40 million DVDs renter per month. Owners of Blu-ray players hold 16.9% of Redbox customers.

Source: Home Media Magazine

Introducing Google TV

It seems like every consumer electronics manufacturer is adding more and more Internet-dependent features to every device. Practically every Blu-ray Disc player, HDTV, and smartphone streams internet radio, internet video, and features social networking apps. Navigating between all of the apps can be a challenge. Enter, Google TV.

Google TV is an Android operating system for the television powered by a modified Atom processor from Intel. Sony and Logitech have also joined in the endeavor, announcing a Google TV HDTV set and a Google TV set top box, respectively.

There are no specs provided for any of the hardware yet. Sony’s offering is called Sony Internet TV, and presumably will include a new line of LCD televisions apart from the current BRAVIA series. Also announced was a line of Blu-ray Disc players integrated into Google TV set top boxes.

Logitech does not have any model information available, but they are tentatively calling the variety of options eventually provided the “Google TV companion box.” This will be a stand alone set top box for use with any television, with Logitech Harmony compatibility built in. There is a hint that the companion box will require HDMI, so some TVs may not benefit. There is also a statement in the Logitech FAQs that cable and satellite boxes need an “HDMI output as well,” meaning these receivers may pass through the Google TV box. This makes sense considering the Google TV is supposed to search for television programs.

Google TV provides access to websites, and the Sony HDTV and Logitech companion box will support qwerty keyboards. But their main feature is using Google’s powerful indexing abilities to quickly find television programs, online videos, online audio streams, and even access recorded content on compatible cable and satellite DVRs. Internet video from Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand and Youtube will all be supported, with many more to follow. Google is working with multiple cable and satellite providers, but Dish Network will be compatible at launch in the fall of this year.

Because this is an Android produce, apps will be supported, though the extent of which hasn’t been detailed yet. Logitech claims they will have “video calling and a variety of controllers – even a Logitech smart-phone app.” The press release does mention Google TV will support Adobe Flash content.

Below you will find an introductory video from Google, and the press release.




SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (May 20, 2010) — Today at the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, leading industry players announced the development of Google TV—an open platform that adds the power of the web to the television viewing experience, ushering in a new category of devices for the living room. Intel, Sony, and Logitech, together with Best Buy, DISH Network and Adobe, joined Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) on stage to announce their support for Google TV.

Over the past decade, the Internet has created unprecedented opportunity for innovation and development across the world, but so far the web has largely been absent from living rooms. With Google TV, consumers will now be able to search and watch an expanded universe of content available from a variety of sources including TV providers, the web, their personal content libraries, and mobile applications.

Search across TV, Web, and Apps

Google TV is based on the Android platform and runs the Google Chrome web browser. Users can access all of their usual TV channels as well as a world of Internet and cloud-based information and applications, including rich Adobe® Flash based content – all from the comfort of their own living room and with the same simplicity as browsing the web. When coupled with the Intel® Atom™ processor CE4100, Intel’s latest system-on-a-chip designed specifically for consumer electronics, the new platform will offer home theatre quality A/V performance. Sony and Logitech said they would be delivering products based on the new Intel Atom processor and running Google TV later this year. While Google TV is designed to work with any TV operator, at launch the user experience will be fully optimized when paired with DISH Network.

Google TV expands video choice from the hundreds of channels available today through a pay TV provider to the vast storehouse of video content available through the web and streaming videos. The Google TV experience is complemented by the ability to watch streaming video from leading content platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and YouTube. Google TV will also have the capability to run apps from the Android Market.

To navigate the array of content that will now be available through a single device and on a single screen, Google TV introduces an integrated search experience to help viewers easily find relevant content across over-the-air and pay-TV channel listings, DVR, and the Internet, as well as a picture-in-picture layout to access multiple windows simultaneously. Google TV also features an innovative home screen to help viewers quickly organize their favorite content and personalize their TV viewing experience. Some of these features are only available with advanced integration from DISH Network.

Broad Alliance of Industry Leaders

Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman and CEO said, “We are very proud to be working with this distinguished set of partners, all of whom have decades of experience in hardware, design and retail.”

Sony announced plans to introduce “Sony Internet TV,” the World’s first TV lineup incorporating the Google TV platform. The first models are planned to be introduced in the U.S. market in the Fall of 2010 with the lineup featuring both a standalone TV model and set top box-type unit incorporating a Blu-ray Disc drive.

Howard Stringer, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Corporation said, “I am delighted to announce the unique alignment of Google’s rapidly growing, open source Android platform with Sony’s unparalleled expertise in the field of TV design and technology. The addition of ‘Sony Internet TV’ will further bolster Sony’s comprehensive TV lineup and will fuse new levels of enjoyment and interactivity into the TV experience.”

Logitech will introduce a companion box that brings Google TV to existing HDTV home entertainment systems, easily integrating with any brand of HDTV and set-top box. The companion box will incorporate Logitech’s Harmony® remote control technology, and will include a controller that combines keyboard and remote control capabilities. The company also has plans to introduce an HDTV camera and video chat for Google TV, along with additional choices for navigation and control, including apps to turn a smart phone into an advanced controller for Google TV and home-entertainment systems.

Gerald Quindlen, President and CEO, Logitech said, “We committed to Google TV early on because it aligns with our strategy to support open platforms that enable new immersive experiences in the digital living room. While Google TV enables seamless discovery of all your content, Logitech enables seamless control over how you experience that content. We look forward to continued collaboration with Google and the developer community to create new Google TV experiences that have yet to be imagined.”

The Intel Atom CE4100 processor will power both the Logitech and Sony devices. Paul Otellini, Intel President and CEO praised the collaborative effort and said TV as we know it was being “reinvented.” “Today marks the next step in the evolution of TV. TV’s are becoming smarter as a result of the microprocessor and the Internet. Traditional TV programming will be merged seamlessly with the infinite amount of content on the Internet to enable every viewer to determine what they want to watch, when they want it. This is Moore’s Law transforming television, powered by the performance of Intel microprocessors.”

DISH Network has been a key partner with Google on advanced integration development for Google TV. The two partners began a joint trial over a year ago with more than 400 DISH Network and Google beta users. Based on the continuous feedback from the trial, Google and DISH Network have built the optimized Google TV experience that seamlessly integrates traditional TV, DVR and web content.

Charlie Ergen, Chairman, President and CEO of DISH Network, said, “Google TV marks the next evolution in television, and we are excited to be the first to partner with Google to bring this experience to our customers. Only DISH Network Google TV customers will be able to enjoy a unified search across TV, DVR and web; easily find related content; and manage their entire TV viewing experience. Additionally, the advanced integration will allow developers to create new and exciting applications to enrich the TV viewing experience.”

Best Buy will bring their retail experience and consumer expertise to the project, with Google TV devices being sold at Best Buy locations nationwide later this year. “Every day, our 180,000 Blue Shirt store employees and Geek Squad Agents work with our customers to get them the best home theater experience possible”, said Brian Dunn, CEO Best Buy, “We are thrilled about the new and exciting experiences smart TVs, like Google TV, provide to our customers – and we are looking forward to showcasing those experiences in our store and ensuring customers get connected to all the products and services that bring those experiences to life.”

Finally, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 will be integrated directly into the Google Chrome browser on Google TV, enabling viewers to experience tens of millions of web pages with rich Flash content including games, animations, applications, videos, audio and more. Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO, Adobe said, “An open web ecosystem offers endless opportunities for creativity and innovation. Flash Player 10.1 extends the advantages of full web browsing and consistent, rich experiences to smartphones, tablets, netbooks and Internet-connected TVs. We’re thrilled to be part of the Google TV initiative with other industry leaders who share a common vision of enabling access to the best web experiences possible.”

Opportunity for Developers

The demonstration at I/O highlighted the unique opportunity developers have to help shape the future of Google TV. Today Google announced that they would soon release a set of TV specific APIs for web applications, encouraging web developers to begin building unique web applications for use on television sets. Later this year Google will also release an updated Android SDK, which will support applications built for Google TV.

Google also plans to open source the Google TV platform to help spur innovation in the industry and so that other developers can benefit from the project. The long term goal is to collaborate with the entire developer community to help drive entertainment in the living room forward and to introduce the next generation of TV-watching experience.

For more information about the project visit google.com/tv.

About Google

Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

About Logitech

Logitech is a world leader in products that connect people to the digital experiences they care about. Spanning multiple computing, communication and entertainment platforms, Logitech’s combined hardware and software enable or enhance digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

About Sony

Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and on-line businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading electronics and entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $78 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

Walmart to purchase Vudu

Three years ago, Walmart partnered with Hewlett-Packard to provide movie and television program downloads. This venture was canned within 10 months’ time. Now that video streaming has become much more widely accepted, Walmart appears to be leveraging what market share Vudu has to get back in the game.

Vudu launched in 2006 and has since gained partnerships with most Hollywood studios, as well as many independent providers, but they have also blown through most of their venture capital and have been looking for a buyer. With big players such as Netflix, Sony, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Best Buy competing for the online video market, Vudu has been struggling to keep up. The Walmart acquisition makes for a good match, bringing the quality-leading service (Vudu) with the market-leading retailer.

At the CES expo earlier this year, Vudu announced many new hardware partners and a new app service. It will be interesting to see how Walmart will leverage Vudu within their consumer electronic products from various manufacturers. The retailer has exclusive products made for them from companies like Sony; it makes sense they will add the Vudu app to the exclusive products at a lower price point than the competition. Walmart has been focusing on electronics every aggressively for the past few years, so they do have the ability to make a huge play into the video streaming market.

It seems one of the factors holding Vudu back was the hardware costs considerably more than comparable products. Walmart has the ability to subsidize the hardware for market penetration.

Because online media is “in the cloud” we’re not asked to make a commitment with one provider over another. The hardware prices have come down so much, or is included within HDTVs or Blu-ray Disc players, that even a hardware investment is negligible.

Netflix Watch Instantly to get surround sound

If for no other reason than I spent all of last weekend sitting on my sofa with a chest cold, I sure have been using my Netflix instant queue an awful lot lately. The video quality has been improving, and the high-definition video content looks very comparable to HD cable (like Heroes, for example, which is available the following day after it first airs on NBC), but I have been missing out on surround sound. Netflix currently provides only stereo audio on streaming video. While the timing of this development hasn’t been confirmed, it will be some time this year.

Netflix uses the Microsoft Silverlight video player, which supports up to 1080p video and 5.1 surround sound audio. Netflix is on task to add surround sound and closed captioning this year, but unfortunately 1080p video will have to wait for now. It had previously been announced plan that Netflix would add 1080p video this year, but later claimed that was a mistake. Video now peaks at 720p with a 5Mbps internet connection.

YouTube Rentals now available

This past Friday, YouTube and Sundance Film Festival made five full-length motion pictures available for online viewing as a paid rental. This is just the beginning of the future for YouTube Rental.

The rentals are available at YouTube Movies at a cost of $3.99 each. You will be required to open a Google Checkout account, if you haven’t already. When you select a movie to play you will be prompted to pay. A simple log in is all you need and your account will be billed.

The initial Sundance Film Festival movies will only be available through January 31st. They include three world premiers from this year’s festival, and two favorites from last year. The titles include: Children of Invention, Homewrecker, The Cove, Bass Ackwards, and One Too Many Mornings.

Watch this instructional video on how to rent movies on YouTube:

Sony introduces network media player

Most of Sony’s 2010 model HDTVs, and all of their 2010 BD players, include what they call BRAVIA Internet Video. Connected to a broadband internet, the devices will instantly stream movies, videos, music and more from Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, YouTube, Slacker Internet Radio, Pandora, NPR, Sony Pictures, Sony Music, and many more.

Coming in September, Sony will offer the SMP-N100 network media player which provides their BRAVIA Internet Video platform in a simple set-top box. With a suggested retail at $149, the device will feature DLNA, USB, built-in WiFi, DivXHD, and HDMI and component video outputs. The box will be about the same size as the AppleTV.

Sony’s new Blu-ray player line

Blu-ray Disc (BD) is commonly referred to as a “Sony” format, yet they have trailed behind other manufacturers in providing cutting-edge features. This is partly because Sony in so inwardly focused they rename universal features for their products. But 2010 bodes well for the Sony BD players.

Three new players will be coming starting in March to replace the three existing models. The basic model is the $199 BDP-S370 and features a new quicker start-up, all high-definition audio codecs, DVD upscaling, SACD for the first time in a Sony BD standalone player, DLNA, Gracenote, BRAVIA internet video streaming, and is WiFi ready (requires USB device).

The next level is the $249 BDP-S570 which adds on-board WiFi, and IP video scaling.



The flagship model comes in at $299 and is the BDP-S770. This is player supports 3D content, and receives a backlit remote.

An interesting feature the new models receive is an iPhone/iPod Touch app which enables control of the player from the hand held device. This app also features the disc’s cover art and other information, plus the ability to search for internet videos.

The BRAVIA Internet Video connects to Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, YouTube, Slacker Internet Radio, Pandora, NPR, Sony Pictures, Sony Music, and Sony’s own online store.

Update: Here’s a video from Sony demonstrating the new BDP-S570: