Movies

Blockbuster and Motorola announced this week that the Blockbuster OnDemand service will be coming to Motorola phones. Motorola handset owners will be able to access and download thousands of movies that are available through the OnDemand service.

Important to note, this is the first time Blockbuster has jumped on the mobile video bandwagon. Perhaps it will give Apple some competition? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Pricing information, when the service will be available, and which Motorola handsets will have this service has not yet been announced. Read more

Roku's $99 set-top player now supports streaming HD content.

Netflix is the first service to deliver HD content to the Roku player. They are adding many HD titles to the catalog available for streaming. There will be more content providers announced fairly soon.

If you already have one, no need to worry. Roku will deliver the new software to you free of charge.

To get started, order one directly from Roku.

Netflix keeps expanding in ways for their members to watch movies. Now TiVo and Netflix announce that their users can watch movies from Netflix on their TiVo DVR's. This is at no additional charge to current subscribers of both services. Some HD content has been added to the 12,000 movies and TV shows, with more standard and HD titles promised. Netflix joins TiVo extra features like Rhapsody music, Youtube video, Picasa and Photobucket.

After adding the movie to the Instant Queue via the Netflix website, with the TiVo you can browse the choices, read about the movies, and rate them.

As with Netflix on the Xbox 360, I wonder if will they add being able to choose movies from the TiVo?

I'm now curious whether the Comcast TiVo accounts can have Netflix too.

Check into streaming from Netflix to your TiVo at www.tivo.com/netflix.

Well, it looks like Blockbuster is finally embracing the future. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ’em – right? I say this because ON-DEMAND movies from Blockbuster appears to be a brick and mortar store killer. They have to do something in this new era of digital entertainment, and this is a step in the right direction.

The MediaPoint player from 2Wire is simple, clean and has HDMI outputs for quality signal transfer. The video-on-demand services in the market today are great, but lack the availability that consumers crave. What I mean is, a new release might not be available for 60 days with traditional on-demand services. Blockbuster is saying new releases will be available within 30 days on-demand. Rentals will start at $1.99, which means new releases will most likely be more. Comcast in my market charges $5.99 for HD titles rented on-demand. The exciting thing about this release is the competition that Blockbuster brings to the table.

Netflix' New Xbox Experience premieres nationwide November 19. This helps Microsoft achieve their long held goal of creating a set top box for television viewing. The Xbox 360 stands out from other Netflix-ready devices to let users instantly watch movies and TV shows streamed from Netflix.

According the the press release, "Netflix members simply add movies and TV episodes from a growing library of more than 12,000 choices to their instant Queues at the Netflix Web site. Those choices are automatically displayed on the TV screen via the Xbox 360 and, once selected, will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds." There is no additional monthly fee for Netflix members who are also Xbox LIVE Gold members.