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Blockbuster introduces set-top box

Blockbuster is now in the digital delivery market. A new set-top box is now being sold by Blockbuster which connects directly to your TV to download movies to view.

The MediaPoint digital media player is free with the pre-purchase of $99 worth of rental credits. This is approximately 25 movies. Additional rentals start at $1.99 each.

Blockbuster’s video-on-demand model is similar to Apple TV or VUDU. You don’t own the content you download, it is rented and you have 24 hours to watch the movie from the time you begin the film. (iTunes and VUDU both offer buy-to-own content as well.) In my opinion I would rather have unlimited number of movies through a subscription-based service. However I can see how some people would want to rent one at a time if they don’t watch more than ten movies a month.



The MediaPoint is manufactured by a company called 2Wire who is best known for making internet gateway routers. The player had HDMI, component video, composite video, analog stereo audio and optical digital audio outputs, a USB interface and an Ethernet port. Blockbuster says the video is DVD quality and that it doesn’t stream the video instead using “progressive playback.”

I think this is a smart little system for the casual movie viewer. It is practically free (with an investment in 25 rentals), and looks simple to use. For those of us who watch several films every month the subscription from Netflix seems more appropriate, especially since you can now get this through multiple devices. You can also spend just a bit more for the initial investment and get an Apple TV and use it for more than just renting video.

Whatever you chose, it looks like video-on-demand is here to stay and will only get better.

Source: Blockbuster

Blu-ray now at Redbox

Redbox will begin renting Blu-ray Disc movies through select Walmart locations. These rentals will be the same $1 per day cost as DVD rentals.

Rental kiosk competitor DVDPlay began offering Blu-ray rentals earlier this fall.

The McDonald’s owned rental kiosk operator will offer Blu-ray movies from DreamWorks Animation, Universal Studios, Funimation, Anchor Bay and Buena Vista.

Source: Home Media Magazine

More sub-$200 Blu-ray players

Last night I was at Costco and discovered they have three Blu-ray Disc player models for sale. One each from Sony, Samsung and Philips. The Sony and Samsung were mid-$200, but the Philips player is at $199. This is not a sale!

A lot of people had doubts about the prices of players coming down. A lot of this came from HD DVD expatriates who said there was no incentive for Blu-ray to drop their prices now that HD DVD is no longer competition. Clearly market forces show that where there are multiple companies in one market there is inherent competition, even without a competing market (which ad no competition because there was one HD DVD player manufacturer).



Now with players regularly priced below $200 we can expect an uptick in Blu-ray software sales as well. And this says nothing of the sales coming up for the holiday season.

Walmart is now said to be selling the Magnavox Blu-ray player on Black Friday for $128, the lowest price yet! Sure it’s not as low as the $99 fire sale of HD DVD players towards the end of the line, but we’re getting closer and closer to affordable Blu-ray players for everyone!

But lets hear from you. At what price did Blu-ray become worth it to you, or where would it need it to be? Will companies start phasing out DVD players next year?

Blu-ray player prices dropping

You don’t have to wait until Black Friday to get a good Blu-ray player under $200. Sears is now selling the Sharp AQUOS BDHP21U player for $179. This is not a sale price! This comes on the heals of the leaked Sears Black Friday ad listing the Sony BDP-S350 for $179.

The BDHP21U is a BD1.1 player meaning it does not have BD-Live features. By contrast, the previously mentioned Sony player now has a firmware update which enabled BD-Live (requires a 1GB minimum thumb drive). The Sharp player does have Quick Start which loads a Blu-ray Disc movie in as little as ten seconds.



This is a trend we’re seeing. I’ve even heard rumors of sub-$100 players by Christmas. I expect Blu-ray to really take off in 2009.

Memorex Blu-ray player $140 at woot

We predicted sub $200 Blu-ray players for this holiday season and we were right. Woot.com is currently featuring the Memorex MVBD2510 Blu-ray player for $140 + shipping as its deal of the day. This budget Blu-ray standalone from Memorex is a profile 1.1 player that support BonusView features, but not BD-Live. Get em while they’re still available, as this deal can get sold out or pulled off woot at any time.

Wal-mart will also be offering this same Memorex Blu-ray player for $128 on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), but that is sure to be a mad house as usual. To learn more about this player, check out our previous coverage of the Memorex MVBD-2510 in this article.

It’s time to upgrade your system

If you do not have a surround sound system, you really ought to get one. Evan an inexpensive home theater in a box style system is better than the crappy speakers that are attached to your TV. Those speakers are under 15W and not optimally placed, with drivers no larger than 3″.

Right now is a good time to buy. Black Friday is coming in just two weeks time! Add to that the depressed economy and stores are doing everything they can to increase revenues, including huge savings on audio/video gear.

If you don’t have an HDTV, this should be on the top of your list for Black Friday. K-Mart is offering a door buster Samsung 42″ plasma for $699, that’s hard to beat. But I assume most of you reading this already have a high-def display. So make sure to upgrade your sound.

While I would recommend to get an upgradable system, anything is better than those cheap TV speakers. By “upgradable” I mean a system you can swap parts out on. Home theater in a box systems (HTiB) usually don’t allow this. Usually the subwoofer holds the amplifier for the entire system and is connected with a proprietary cable to the receiver. This amp also doesn’t have enough power to handle upgraded speakers. Other HTiB systems have the amps in the receiver, but the subwoofer does not have an amp built in it. These also don’t have enough power for upgraded systems.

Don’t let that stop you though, get a system to hold you over while you save up for a better system. But make sure the system you get has digital audio inputs (at least one) so you can get surround sound from your cable/satellite receiver or game console.

Upgradable systems usually come separately, so you have to piece it together. This includes a receiver with 5 to 7 amp channels for 5.1 and 7.1 channel systems. Look for HDMI repeating ability. This means they accept audio and video over HDMI and send out an HDMI signal to your TV. If you have a source without HDMI you should also make sure to get video conversion so you don’t have to change the inputs on your TV.

Another feature to look for is automatic speaker calibration. This allows for quick and easy setup for optimum speaker levels and time delay.



The speakers you will get rely on your home set up. The most crucial speaker is the center channel as almost 80% of a movie’s soundtrack comes from this speaker. It determines how well you will be able to understand dialog, and it will prevent you from having to ramp the volume up to hear talking just to turn it back down during the car chase.

Next up are the front left and right speakers. Some people prefer floorstanding speakers. If you have the room these are the easiest to set up and they usually have good low-end response. But if you don’t have the space you can find good bookshelf or wall-mounted speakers. These speakers are from where most of the music and sound effects emanate. If possible the front three speakers should be from the same speaker manufacturer and model series for a transparent front soundstage.

The rear speakers don’t get used in most movies except for fly-arounds and other loud scenes where sounds come from all sides. This is what makes surround sound so cool! These don’t have to be as big as your front speakers, but for the best effect they should match the front speakers. Don’t worry about this too much though because most people don’t have room for matching speakers front and rear. You might look for dipole speakers for a wider rear soundstage.

Finally the subwoofer! This is the “.1″ channel in “5.1.” You will want an active, or powered, subwoofer. This means the amplifier is built in, or has its own outboard amplifier. This will allow you to change out the receiver and keep the same subwoofer. But what size should you get? This depends on how much bass you want and what size room you have. If you love your room shaking, get a bigger sub. If you just want low end sound representation a smaller sub will do. What matters most is determining the right size is room volume. Velodyne has a great chart on their website to help you determine what size sub is right for you. Do keep in mind that this chart is based on high-powered, high-output Velodyne subwoofers, but it should be pretty close for most subwoofers.

Get on this! You won’t regret it.

VUDU grows their HD library

VUDU has announced they now have the largest collection of HD content available to consumers with over 1,100 titles. They managed this rather quickly, having added 150 titles per week throughout the month of October.

VUDU sells a set-top box, much like AppleTV, which connects to the internet and streams video to your TV. Video is either rented for a 24 hour period, or purchased for storage on the box. They have two options for high-def: a instant-start HD format and their new HDX format, which is encoded at 1080p/24fps.



The box sells for $299, and if you buy it at Best Buy you receive $200 in video purchases free.