Posted 11/07/09 at 06:39:20 PM by Justin Kerr

The first Managed Copy enabled Blu-Ray disks will be hitting store shelves soon, unfortunately, it will be well ahead of any hardware that can make use of it. For those that haven’t heard of Managed Copy, it is a system that allows you to make legal copies of Blu-Ray disks, but spawned versions of the content are very heavily protected by DRM. Any user trying to play the copied version needs to contact the studios DRM servers which decide if you can watch it, and even how many times it can be copied.

Dedicated Blu-Ray hardware isn’t expected to implement this feature anytime soon, but PC jukebox software will likely be available within the next few months to take advantage of the fact that all disks sold after December 4th will need to be compliant. It remains to be seen if this is true of just new releases, or if the entire back catalog of Blu-Ray disks will eventually be updated. Either way, expect it to be a confusing mess until packaging updates roll along in the Spring.

Many wonder if Managed Copy will satisfy consumers ever increasing demands to “liberate” their digital content from the medium, but consumers historically haven’t embraced solutions that trade one DRM implementation for another. This is especially true when competing technologies such as those from Slysoft accomplishes the same thing, and without any additional usage restrictions.

Want to learn more about HD Video Encryption? Check out our White Paper for the low down.

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Posted 10/28/09 at 09:01:00 AM by Paul Lilly

Roku, makers of the popular Netflix streaming set-top box, has refreshed its lineup with a pair of new models, bringing the total number of set-top boxes to three.

On the lower end, Roku said it's "introducing a breakthrough price point" with its Roku SD player. Priced at $79, or $20 less than the company's original set-top box, the Roku SD unit connects to TVs using standard composite video and audio cables, but also includes both integrated WiFi (802.11 b/g) and an Ethernet port.

For HD buffs, the new HD-XR player takes things a step further by incorporating 802.11n dual-band.

"The Roku HD-XR is one of the first Netflix-streaming devices to embed next generation 802.11n dual-band wireless connectivity, making it easier and more reliable than ever to start enjoying movies, TV shows, sports, and the best online content available, all on the living room TV," said Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku.

Roku says the HD-XR player not only works with legacy routers, but can actually boost the WiFi range inside the house.

Both the Roku SD ($79) and HD-XR ($129) are available now.

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Posted 10/14/09 at 10:00:00 PM by Norman Chan

Possibly the media pirate's perfect movie and music streamer

 Yesterday, Western Digital officially announced the second generation of their WD TV HD media player. In our review of the original device, we loved its ability to play back almost any video we tossed at it, but lamented its inability to handle encrypted media files. Since then, Western Digital has issued a series of firmware updates that improve format compatibility (including DivX), but the new WD TV Live adds new hardware features as well. Most notable is the addition of an Ethernet port to connect the WD TV Live to your home network. That means you can not only stream movies from your desktop PC or NAS boxes to the WD TV Live, but also get video, music, and photo content from the internet. We received a retail sample of the new system, and tested it to see if these new features are worth the $50 price bump. 

Read on for our unboxing and impressions!

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Posted 09/23/09 at 12:00:28 PM by Paul Lilly

Perhaps Myles Weathers' biggest mistake was not calling it quits after stealing 2,000 Netflix DVDs instead of 3,012. Or maybe he should have been more careful about removing the DVDs from Netflix mailers in front of surveillance cameras. Then again, the whole idea is dumb to begin with, and we imagine the 49-year-old former postal worker is kicking himself pretty hard right about now.

Weathers, who worked at a mail processing and distribution center in Springfield, Massachusetts, was picked up by authorities last year after Neflix officials fielded a hunch that perhaps thousands of missing DVDs meant something shady was going on. Surveillance footage confirmed the suspicion when it showed Weathers stuffing the stolen DVDs into his backpack, but not before he managed to lift over 3,000 discs valued at more than $30,000.

Weathers pleaded guilty yesterday to federal theft charges and is scheduled to be sentenced December 23, 2009. His felony plea carries a maximum of 5 years in prison, but will likely receive 1 year, The Smoking Gun reports.

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Posted 09/16/09 at 07:56:30 AM by Paul Lilly

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Blockbuster plans to board up anywhere from 810 to 960 of its retail locations by the end of 2010. Blockbuster says the closures affect all unprofitable stores as it aims "to improve four-wall profitability."

Most of the closures will take place this year, with between 580 and 685 stores expected to be on the chopping block. The remaining unprofitable stores will shut down sometime next year, but there's still time to turn things around.

"All these stores are candidate stores," Blockbuster spokesperson Randy Hargove said in a phone conversation with Cnet. "Although we may in fact close that many stores, if we can renegotiate leases or remodel stores to make them more profitable, that number might go down."

Meanwhile, the company's kiosk business continues to grow and is set to explode this year. In a separate filing with the SEC, Blockbuster said it plans to have 2,500 units available by the end of 2009, up significantly from the 497 kiosk units now available. And by the end of the 2010, Blockbuster anticipates 10,000 kiosks scattered throughout the country in an attempt to "increase the points of distribution."

And maybe increase its stock price. Blockbuster shares are currently trading for $1.40, a far cry from the $45 Netflix shares change hands at.

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Posted 09/09/09 at 07:02:53 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Microsoft announced Wednesday it will work in tandem with the largest British retail chain, Tesco, to offer DVD-like features with digitally downloaded movies as part of a new “virtual DVD” service. The service is scheduled to debut in the UK sometime this fall. The ingenious plan is to let British customers download special digital copies of “certain home video titles” bought from Tesco.

These special downloadable copies will include interactive content and bonus material, both of which are usually associated with movies distributed on physical media. To boot, the downloadable versions will also provide some network-dependant features, including auto-updated trailers, games, ringtones, MP3s, and movie viewing parties with online chat. Microsoft revealed in a press release that the service will be based on Silverlight technology.

The company had announced Tuesday that Silverlight 4, the next iteration of its Flash rival, will include PlayReady DRM, making it possible for retailers and movie studios to provide digital movie copies with much the same rich interactive experience as offered by DVD and Blu-ray titles. Microsoft also said that it does plan to offer its virtual DVD service elsewhere.

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Posted 09/08/09 at 06:35:37 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Microsoft today announced that it plans to showcase some new Silverlight features at the International Broadcasting Conference (IBC) in Amsterdam (September 11–15). The new features, which include support for offline DRM and native multicast support, will be found in the next iteration of its Flash rival, Silverlight 4.

The support for offline DRM will be powered by the company’s PlayReady technology, allowing “movie studios and retailers to provide the same rich interactive experiences via digital copy and Internet distribution as consumers get with DVD or Blu-ray.”

 It not only aims to level the playing field – in terms of user experience - between digitally distributed movies and those distributed on physical media, but also enhance the user experience even further through “network-delivered updates, special offers and live events.” Microsoft has not given any date for the release of Silverlight 4.

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Posted 09/03/09 at 12:00:21 PM by Paul Lilly

It's too early to tell if a deal is in the making, but YouTube is at least talking to several major movie studios about the possibility of streaming feature films as rentals, CNet reports.

Studios said to be discussing licensing agreements with YouTube include Sony, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Warner Brothers. But at least one studio exec who claims to be familiar with the talks said no deals are imminent and that having these discussions isn't out of the ordinary.

"Why wouldn't the studios talk to YouTube," the exec said.

Why wouldn't they, indeed. With over 100 million viewers, streaming rentals has the potential to be a win-win proposition for both the Google-owned site and the movie studios. It would also be cause for concern for other streaming services, like Hulu.com and Crackle.com.

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