As the economic downturn has hammered companies’ advertising budgets, many businesses have turned to user-generated web content to get their messages out on the cheap rather than shelling out thousands of dollars to ad firms. Tech companies, including Amazon and Nokia, also are turning to crowdsourcing to spur fresh ideas, hosting contests this summer […]
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Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen a lot of new content offerings announced by companies like Netflix, Amazon and YouTube as they look to directly target the living room via entertainment devices. Indeed, the adoption rate of hardware devices like the Xbox 360, PS3, TiVo, Roku, VUDU, Apple TV and broadband-enabled […]

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When I wanted to find out who were technology sector’s top ranked CEOs, I reached to Glassdoor, a Sausalito, Calif.-based company that that tracks employee satisfaction. They obliged and sent us a list of top ten top ranked CEOs of publicly traded technology companies. CEOs are included on the list if and only if […]

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I was still working at Forbes.com when Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix started shipping DVDs via US postal service. Later, when I moved to San Francisco for the first time, like Webvan, it became and indispensable service, for there was little time for me to visit Blockbuster. In (approximately) ten years that have passed, I moved […]

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Just got this email from Netflix sating they are increasing my Blu-ray access from $1 to $4 per month. What the hell? I have to pay 4 times what I was paying before? Way to screw your most loyal customers Netflix! Sure, the $1/month might have been a low-cost enticement to get people to sign-up for Blue-ray movie rentals, but you can’t just increase the price 4-fold overnight. I think we Blu-ray fans would be much more accepting if the price increase was more gradual. Here, read the email in all it’s glory…

You are receiving this email because you added unlimited Blu-ray access to your account for $1 a month. The number of Blu-ray titles has increased significantly and will continue to do so. As we buy more, you are able to choose from a rapidly expanding selection of Blu-ray titles. And as you’ve probably heard, Blu-ray discs are substantially more expensive than standard definition DVDs.

As a result, the monthly charge for Blu-ray access is increasing for most plans and will now vary by plan. The charge for monthly Blu-ray access on your 3 DVDs at-a-time (Unlimited) plan will increase from $1 a month to $4 a month. The price of your 3 DVDs at-a-time (Unlimited) plan is not changing and remains at $16.99 a month.

The new charge for Blu-ray access will be automatically added to your next billing statement on or after April 27, 2009 and will be referenced in your Membership Terms and Details.

If you wish to continue unlimited Blu-ray access for $4 a month, you don’t need to do anything. If not, you can remove Blu-ray access anytime by visiting Your Account.

If you have questions about this change or need any assistance, please call us anytime at 1-888-923-0898.

-The Netflix Team

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Ever since I sat down with Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, at our NewTeeVee Live conference this past November, I have a new-found appreciation for the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company and its plans to capture the video-over-broadband market. (Watch his conversation with Chris Albrecht and me, in which he talks about the broadband […]

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I have a Blu-ray player on my Christmas list that I hope to get. Santa Claus hasn’t failed me yet. I also have a subscription to Netflix and planned on upgrading it to the Blu-ray package for an additional $1/month should I stay off Santa’s “naughty list” this year.

This would give me access to Netflix’s massive Blu-ray library. Apparently, I shouldn’t get too excited though. According to this CNET article, Blu-ray movies discs aren’t being delivered as quickly as regular DVDs.

Continue reading Christmas Blu-ray player + Netflix = A Very Blue Christmas…

Tags: blu-ray, blu-ray player, christmas, CNET, movies, netflix, santa claus

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Making its first foray into on-demand video, Blockbuster has started offering customers a small box made by 2Wire that, when attached to a TV set, can play the company’s videos once they’ve been downloaded the movie over a broadband line.

The move is an attempt to blunt the success of such competitors as cable companies, with their vast on-demand offerings, and Netflix.

If you do it, let us know!

More at The Washington Post/The Associated Press.

Tags: 2wire, blockbuster, netflix, on-demand video

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The Napoleon Dynamite problem is driving Len Bertoni crazy.

Bertoni is a 51-year-old “semiretired” computer scientist who lives an hour outside Pittsburgh. In the spring of 2007, his sister-in-law e-mailed him an intriguing bit of news: Netflix, the Web-based DVD-rental company, was holding a contest to try to improve Cinematch, its “recommendation engine.” The prize: $1 million. 

Cinematch is the bit of software embedded in the Netflix Web site that analyzes each customer’s movie-viewing habits and recommends other movies that the customer might enjoy.

Did you like the legal thriller The Firm? Well, maybe you’d like Michael Clayton. Or perhaps A Few Good Men.

The Netflix Prize goes to anyone who can make Cinematch’s predictions 10% more accurate. That sounds like an awfully big prize for such a small improvement. But, in fact, Netflix’s founders have tried for years to improve Cinematch, with only incremental results, and they knew that a 10% bump would be a challenge for even the most deft programmer.

They also knew that getting to 10% would certainly be worth well in excess of $1 million to the company.

The competition was announced in October 2006, and no one has won yet, although 30,000 hackers worldwide are hard at work on the problem. Each day, teams submit their updated solutions to the Netflix Prize Web page, and Netflix instantly calculates how much better than Cinematch they are. (There’s even a live “leader board” ranking the top contestants.)

More at the New York TImes.

Tags: cinematch, netflix, netflix prize

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A report from research consultancy TDG predicts that portals like Microsoft’s Xbox Live and Sony’s PlayStation Network will soon become formidable competitors to incumbent Pay TV services.

Leveraging broadband-enabled game consoles as the next-generation video platforms — and bypassing cable and satellite TV operators, these companies will offer a compelling alternative to traditional TV programming by providing a more immersive, interactive video experience.

The launch of Microsoft’s Experience and the Xbox Live Netflix streaming video service is a perfect example of how potent these services will soon become. There is little doubt these services are finally ready for prime time.

Even before the launch of Experience, Microsoft’s Xbox Live had amassed some 15,000 movies (1,000 of which are HD) and some 13,000 TV shows for download-to-own. The Netflix partnership adds 12,000 movies and TV programs to the mix, all for free streaming to Netflix subscribers.

Sony’s PlayStation Network has collected close to 1,000 movies and hundreds of TV programs for download-to-own. It has also announced plans to expand dramatically its video library in the next few months in order to compete with Xbox Live. 

Many thanks to Advanced-Television.

Tags: download-to-own, experience, microsoft, netflix, playstation network, sony, xbox live

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Get ready for a new look for Xbox Live this week when Microsoft debuts a completely new look for its gaming platform.

The date: November 19.

The new look will include customizable avatars, an iPod-like display and easier viewing of Netflix downloads.

According to Microsoft, the upgrades are meant to turn a somewhat static user interface into “a social media entertainment hub.”

So tune in later this week and let’s hear how you like it (or how you don’t).

Get more at USA Today.

Tags: avatars, ipod, microsoft, netflix, xbox live

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Roku representatives have responded to rumors on its online forum board regarding when it will launch streaming HD services and announced, earlier than they’d like, that it will team up with Netflix to bring HD content to its subscribers.

Compared to the recently announced Xbox and Netflix tie-up that will also see streaming HD content to the Xbox, Roku will use different Advanced Profile encoding to deliver the HD content at significantly lower bit-rates. 

In related news, CNet reports that Netflix has decided to stop selling used DVDs to its customer base, instead deciding to focus its attention on its rental by mail and Watch Instantly services.

“As you know, our core business is delivering great movie rentals to you on DVD by mail and instantly to the computer and TV, so we’ve decided it makes sense for us to focus exclusively on that,” the company stated in a Netflix blog post.

More on the streaming from Electronista (and thanks for the photo).

Tags: CNet, netflix, roku, streaming HD, xbox

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To Buy or Not To Buy?

I am stuffing my mattress. No gadgets for me
I am a Gadget Junkie, so I will keep buying
My company buys gadgets for me

Today’s launch of a $400 touch-screen e-Reader from Sony had me eager to whip out my credit card, but the mess on Wall Street stopped […]

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DVD-rental kiosks are popping up everywhere, from grocery stores to gas stations and at just about every McDonald’s in between.

The trend is expected to be a lucrative one, too: Adams Media Research predicts that there will be about 24,000 DVD-rental kiosks by 2010 and that they’ll bring in approximately $760 million in revenue.

Now you know why Blockbuster stores across the country are shrinking and Netflix is feeling the heat, too.

When you say “I want my DVD,” what do you do?

Do you check out your cable system for an on-demand DVD treat — personally, I’m always amazed at how many movies I’ve never even heard of … how about you?

Read more about it in the Houston Chronicle.

Tags: adams media research, blockbuster, dvd kiosk, mcdonald’s, netflix

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Earlier today, I spent a delightful hour with Vinnie Mirchandani, a well respected analyst in the enterprise software industry, mostly because he knows how to figure out the impact of big technological trends on software. Accompanying him was George Gilbert, formerly an enterprise software analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston, a Wall Street firm.
While […]

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Blockbuster to roll out DVD rental kiosks!  Yes, in another tactical shift, Blockbuster will begin testing 50 DVD rental kiosks to compete with Redbox, which rents DVDs for $1 per night.

According to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, Blockbuster plans to roll out 10,000 kiosks over the next 18 months. The kiosks are designed for DVD rentals, but could include digital downloads and sales of movies in the future.

In related news, Netflix is reportedly testing charging a premium for Blu-ray movies. This service would allow users to order Hi-Def movies from its Blu-ray library for a premium.

Blu-ray discs cost 25% more than standard DVD titles, but offer superior definition. Netflix has not announced how much more a subscription including Blu-ray would cost, but Netflix subscribers report paying an additional $1 to $2 per month for the HD, according to InformationWeek.

Tags: Blockbuster, blu-ray, dvd, netflix, rental kiosks

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The recent flurry of announcements regarding devices that can be used to play movies and other video-based content, delivered via the Internet, on the TV has many in the industry believing that the tide is finally turning. The numbers, however, tell a somewhat different story.

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If you were thinking of starting a set-top box company that delivers video content to the TV, let me stop you right there. There are already numerous players vying to dominate your digital entertainment future, and three of them are big names that you already know. Those three are also well-funded, well-equipped, and well on […]

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According to Yahoo News, Microsoft Corp said today that its Xbox 360 console will sell better than the Sony PlayStation 3 over the lifetime of the machines.

“Xbox 360 will sell more consoles worldwide this generation than PlayStation 3,” Don Mattrick, a senior vice president at Microsoft’s Xbox division, said at Microsoft’s news conference before the start of the E3 video game industry trade show. Microsoft said the Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3 in the United States by 5 million.

Yeah, well you wouldn’t be forgetting the Wii now would Wii? The Nintendo Wii might just kick both your butts in worldwide units sold. Still, the PS3 is a more applicable comparison to the Xbox 360. The Wii is for the casual gamer where as the Sony PS3 and Xbox 360 are for your hardcore gamers. Actually, I’ve been eyeing a PS3 just so I can have a Blu-ray player.

In related Xbox 360 pwn’ing PS3 news, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game console will be able to stream thousands of movies over the Internet, thanks to a deal with Netflix. It was announced today at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles. This deal will give Netflix’s 8 million subscribers the ability to stream movies on a TV instead of a computer.

And don’t forget the Netflix-backed startup called Roku already sells a small streaming device that connects to TVs.

The Netflix streaming service offers 10,000 movies and TV shows. Your move Sony…

Tags: blu-ray player, Netflix, sony playstation 3, Sony PS3, streaming, streaming media, streaming tv, streaming video, Xbox 360

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Blogged about the intriguing Netflix/Roku deal back on May 20, but now an interesting piece on VentureBeat makes it even more (and more!) interesting.

The new Roku box (doesn’t look like much, does it?) lets you stream any of Netflix’s 10,000+ “Watch Now” movies (movies that can be watched immediately over the internet for free with your subscription) to your TV set instantly. However, a new wrinkle may make the device even more attractive — with a simple software download, other services beyond Netflix will soon be able to use it, according to Forbes.

This changes the device from a nice little purchase (it’s only $99), into a potential Trojan horse for digital content in your living room. Of course, it entirely depends on what other services reach agreements to use the device. Roku would only say that other “big name” providers could bring their services to the device with a simple update.

At the same time, Netflix plans to release another box featuring its “Watch Now” service in conjunction with LG later this year. There’s also an intriguing rumor that the service could come to Microsoft’s Xbox 360. 

Tags: Forbes, LG, Microsoft, Netflix, Roku, VentureBeat, Xbox 360

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