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Flexplay attempts to revive Divx

Some people just don’t learn from history at all. This time Flexplay Technologies is bringing the exact same Divx technology we all despised in 1998 back. Like a reoccurring nightmare, this 48-hour lifespan disc just won’t quit.

If you remember, Divx was introduced in 1998 and about six-months later it was discontinued. You would think companies would have figured out that this technology just wouldn’t work, but in 2003 Buena Vista created the EZ-D disc with the same properties only it would play in any DVD player, not just special Divx players. Again, less than six-months later this attempt failed miserably. Now we have Flexplay (who developed EZ-D in 1999) trying again using the sales channel of Staples (the office supplies store).

The problems are two-fold. The first is this disc is temporary so you have 48-hours to view the content once the seal is broken. The second is this disc is temporary, and in this overly-consumeristic society we’re concerned about the amount of waste we’re producing. In both cases, this is an idiotic move.

Never mind that DVDs are already cheap (in the $10 range), so this $4 to $6 price is outrageous. Hell, when you rent a movie from Blockbuster you get it for five-days, not two! Not to mention the title availability is going to be minimal with only Paramount, New Line, DreamWorks and Warner Bros. on board.

Flexplay Is at least trying to quell the fears of the environmentally minded by providing recycle bins at the place of purchase or postage-paid mailers for recycle. But honestly, most consumers don’t recycle their aluminum cans and they actually pay a fee for those when they buy them. If the movie studios were actually committed to protecting the environment - as they all say - they would abandon this technology right out.

There must be a tax shelter for idiotic business plans.

Credit: Home Media Magazine

Netflix announces set-top box

The leader in online video rental is now expanding to hardware. Netflix has announced a set-top player for their “Watch Now” movies (about 10,000 titles). This player is built by Roku and will retail for about $99.

Currently all subscribers to Netflix with the $8.95/mn. package have unlimited access to stream movies, and this carries over to the hardware. There is no additional subscription charge. Before this you were confined to Windows based PC viewing with Internet Explorer web browser. I never took advantage of Watch Now exactly for this reason.


The box is small and unassuming. The 5-inch x 5-inch x 1.75-inch player is black with a simple Roku logo on the front, but it has HDMI, component video, s-video, composite video, stereo audio and optical audio on the rear. It connects via ethernet on the back panel or with built-in wireless-g network.


The downsides for streaming video over receiving the DVD in the mail may be a deal-breaker. Most titles are not in widescreen, they don’t have surround sound audio and worst of all the picture quality is not close to DVD quality.

You cannot add movies to your queue from the TV. You simply browse your existing queue of Watch Now titles. Netflix separated the DVD queue and Instant queue a while back, but all DVDs added to your DVD queue are automatically added to the Instant queue. The movie buffers for about a minute before it starts playing.

While I would never consider this box at this quality on my normal movie watching 50″ screen, I am considering picking this up for my bedroom to watch things quickly when nothing is on TV (which is most of the time).

Day-and-date movies come to iTunes

PRESS RELEASE: May 1, 2008—Apple® today announced that new movie releases from major film studios and premier independent studios are available for purchase on the iTunes® Store (www.itunes.com) on the same day as their DVD release. New releases and catalog titles will be available from 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lionsgate, Image Entertainment and First Look Studios. Movies purchased from iTunes can be viewed on an iPod® with video, iPhone™, Mac® or PC or on a widescreen TV with Apple TV®, with new releases priced at $14.99 and most catalog titles at $9.99.

“We’re thrilled to bring iTunes Store customers new films for purchase day-and-date with the DVD release,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We think movie fans will love being able to buy their favorites from major and independent studios.”

New releases available for purchase on the iTunes Store this week, concurrent with their DVD release, include “American Gangster” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” Other popular titles now available for purchase include “Juno,” “Cloverfield,” “I Am Legend,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Alvin and the Chipmunks” and “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.”

Pricing & Availability
Movie purchases and rentals from the iTunes Store for Mac or Windows require iTunes 7.6.2, available as a free download immediately from www.itunes.com. iTunes movie purchases and rentals require a valid credit card with a billing address in the country of purchase. iTunes Movies are available in the US only and are $9.99 (US) for library title purchases and $14.99 (US) for new release purchases and $2.99 (US) for library title rentals and $3.99 (US) for new release rentals, and high definition rental versions are priced just one dollar more with library title rentals at $3.99 (US) and new release rentals at $4.99 (US). Short films are available to rent for 99 cents (US). Movies can be previewed, purchased and watched on iPod classic, iPod nano with video, iPod touch, iPhone and on a widescreen TV with Apple TV.

Blockbuster Online

One of my biggest criticisms of Blockbuster Online’s service was how it dealt with high-def titles. While they carry Blu-ray and HD DVD movies, these were different titles than the same movie on DVD. They would not automatically send the Blu-ray version of a film, you would have to select that specific title.

Recently (and I’m not sure when) they have finally come to parity with Netflix in this regard. They now allow the user to receive Blu-ray, HD DVD or both instead of the DVD version.

My friend just walked me through the process of setting this up, and it’s fairly simple. In the account settings you chose an option for high-def, and they confirm you have a high-def player, high-def TV and supporting cables and then you select which hierarchy you would like, and you’re ready to go.

I’m still waiting to find out how much this rate hike will be for Netflix, but I am certainly taking another look at Blockbuster Online.

Editor’s note: You can also discuss DVD Rental Services with us at http://dvdrentalforums.com

Netflix plans to raise prices for Blu-ray subscribers

An upsetting move from Netflix who recently lowered subscription rates, President and CEO Reed Hastings recently announced a rate hike for Blu-ray subscribers was in the works.

Purchasing Blu-ray DVDs costs more both at retail and wholesale than standard definition DVDs, and consumers are used to paying more for high-definition content in every other channel, including video rental stores, video-on-demand, and cable channels. Because of the higher cost of Blu-ray and the consumer expectations around high-def content, we are planning on implementing a modest monthly premium for access to Blu-ray some time this year.

He did not give any information concerning when this increase would take effect or how much it will be. I hope it’s no more than $1.00 per month.

While I do agree that Blu-ray is a higher quality product and worth the extra cost, I feel this is not a competitive move while Blockbuster is offering this for free, plus they include free rentals when you return a movie to a store location. While I prefer the Netflix service, if Blockbuster starts offering more features for less I might have to revisit that option.

Blockbuster expands Blu-ray to all US and Canadian stores

Last year, Blockbuster Video scandalized the “format war” by choosing Blu-ray for 1,700 of their stores across North America. Yesterday they announced they will be expanding to all corporate stores in the US and Canada. Franchise stores are not included, but can opt-in if they’re willing. With nearly 5,200 stores in the US, this is a big boost for the Blu-ray business.

Not only will they feature Blu-ray rentals and purchases, they are also pushing Blu-ray by displaying a kiosk with a 42″ HD television and a Sony Playstation 3 playing Blu-ray content. Another example of the industry now fully embracing the winning format.

While this is all good for some, locally there have been five Blockbuster franchise stores close in the past several months. It is beginning to look like the brick-and-mortar video rental shops are increasingly less sustainable. With Movie Gallery filing bankruptcy in October of last year, and their subsequent closing of 500 stores, they too are looking to online rental and video downloads to increase their business.

Press release

Netflix streaming to PS3, Xbox360

This seems too good to be true, but I’m hearing that internet-connected Sony Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox360 consoles will both stream movies directly from Netflix. This amazing feature costs nothing above your existing Netflix subscription fee.

The Xbox360 user will use their existing Xbox LIVE account. “You can choose from over 7,000 movies and TV series, and your choice starts playing on your TELEVISION in as little as 30 seconds.”

The PS3 requires a one-time purchase of a specially-formatted DVD for $3. “Now you can watch movies from Netflix instantly by using your Internet-connected Playstation 3. Simply insert a special Netflix disc into your PS/3 to enable instant movie streaming. The disc is available from Netflix for a one-time fee of $3.”

Source: Seanbajuice