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Latest Gear Live Videos
HD DVD Movies Appear On Netflix, Ship April 18th
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Internet, Movies,
If you are a Netflix subscriber, you may be excited to know that you can now add HD DVD movies to your queue. Even better, some titles are set to ship on April 18th, just six days away. When picking movies, you can switch between the HD DVD and standard DVD versions by hitting the HD DVD button. You can also choose to default to the HD DVD version of any upcoming flicks by setting the option under Account Preferences. Oh, one other things. You will need to have an HD DVD player for these puppies as well - and those don’t come cheap.
Gallery: HD DVD Movies Appear On Netflix, Ship April 18th
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Officially Licensed Downloadable Movies
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Internet, Movies,
Two movie download services, Cinema Now and Movielink, have announced that they have entered into licensing agreements with major studios. Cinema Now has inked agreements with Sony Home Pictures Entertainment and Lionsgate Films, while Movielink has signed with Warner Bros., Universal, Sony Pictures, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox and MGM. Of the seven studios that Movielink has signed with, five are in joint ownership of the company. In addition, both companies have non-exclusive licenses with other studios and licensors.
With digital media comes heavy DRM implementation and Microsoft’s DRM software is the system of choice for both services. Rentals from either company are yours to watch as many times as you wish during a 24-hour period which begins the moment you first start to view a film. Purchased films are storable indefinitely, but neither company allows the movie to be burned to a DVD for playback on a standard player. Movielink does allow their movies to be transferred onto 2 additional computers for playback, with the copies being managed by their Movielink Manager software.
Cinema Now has better pricing with purchased movies being offered for $9.95 to $19.95 and rentals going for $2.99 to $3.99. Movielink on the other hand, charges more with purchasable movies going for $20 to $30, and rentals for $0.99 to $4.99. (All prices quoted are in US dollars.)
DRM complications aside, with purchases prices rivaling and often exceeding that of a movie on DVD, it’s doubtful that traditional rental services like Netflix and Blockbuster have anything to worry about . . . for the short term. Oh, and put away your trusty Firefox or other Internet browser as both services only work with Internet Explorer.
Read More 
| Cinema Now via Pocket-lint
Read More | Movielink
Gallery: Officially Licensed Downloadable Movies
‘V For Vendetta’ Phone: KTF Technologies EV-K100
Posted by Jared Hislop Categories: Smartphones, Movies, Rumors,
If you have seen the new movie ‘V For Vendetta,’ you would have certainly noticed the futuristic phones that the characters were carrying. KTF Technologies will be marketing the phone in Korea next week. The company claims the phone is compatible with Verizon and Sprint networks, and a spokesperson for the company told a reporter that it’s not a big deal to convert the phones to work in the US (though we are sure we won’t be seeing it here.) At the moment, the EV-K100 is the world’s thinnest wireless phone, measuring in at 7.9 millimeters, and 2.1 ounces. The phone features an internal antenna, built-in 1.3-megapixel camera, MP3 player, 165 megabytes of storage, and a 1.8-inch screen.
Read More | PDA Street
Gallery: ‘V For Vendetta’ Phone: KTF Technologies EV-K100
Newsflash: No One Buys UMD Movies
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Movies, Rumors, Video Games,
It’s a shock, we know. As it turns out, those Hollywood movie releases that have been released on UMD over the past year or so? It seems no one is interested in buying them. While we are not sure if this is a surprise to anyone buy Sony, it just makes sense to us that the media would sell poorly. I mean, why would I buy a movie that I can only play on one dedicated device - especially when that device isn’t my television? If Sony was smart about the whole idea, they would have done a bit more planning. If I buy Spider-Man: The Movie, I want the game in there as well. Or vice versa. Otherwise, I am buying the DVD and ripping it to my Memory Stick. Anyways, expect to see Wal-Mart drop shelf space for UMDs altogether very soon. Even better, know that Universal and Paramount Pictures have already stopped UMD production.
Read More | Playfeed
Gallery: Newsflash: No One Buys UMD Movies
The Bleeding Edge 007: PlayStation 3, MacBook Pro vs PowerMac, 802.11n
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Internet, Mods / Hacks, Movies, PC / Laptop, Video Games, Videocasts, Wireless / WiFi,
This week we go over PlayStation 3 news, 802.11n, and put the MacBook Pro against the Dual G5 PowerMac:
THE WIRE
PlayStation 3 News
802.11n Interference
Windows XP On Intel iMac
HEAD TO HEAD
MacBook Pro vs Dual G5 PowerMac
GIZMATIC
Archos AV700
Vaja Choice 5G and nano Cases
WEB GEMS
Make My Day DVD Interview: Enter contest here.
GIVEAWAYS
Don’t forget - in Episode 005, we told you about two giveaways we are doing on the show. If you didn’t see it, go download it to find out how you can enter to win an Xbox 360. Also, we have the results of the OHSO giveaway.
Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP
Length: 30:58
IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4
Gallery: The Bleeding Edge 007: PlayStation 3, MacBook Pro vs PowerMac, 802.11n
MPAA Spokesperson Verbally Attacked At SXSW
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Movies,
Now, this I love to see. The MPAA’s Kori Bernards faced a firing squad comprised of smart techies who lambasted the way that they implement DRM, made it hard to watch the media you purchase on your device of choice, and didn’t seem to care about fair use. This was a panel hosted by J.D. Lasica on The Future of Darknets, and it is just fascinating to watch the MPAA representative use corporate speak over and over to a group of people who see right through it. You can download the entire audio feed of the panel, as well as check out specific video clips of the talk. We are a ways away from the MPAA cooperating with us commoners.
Listen | Download Audio
Read More | Blogumentary’s Video Clips
Gallery: MPAA Spokesperson Verbally Attacked At SXSW
Which Titles Will Launch With Blu-Ray On May 23?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies,
In just a little over two months, Blu-Ray drops on us all. The Samsung BD-P1000 is the hardware player of choice on May 23rd, but what titles will you be able to throw into that player? Here is the none-too-exciting line-up:
- Resident Evil Apocalypse
- XXX
- A Knight’s Tale
- 50 First Dates
- Hitch
- House of Flying Daggers
- The Fifth Element
- The Last Waltz
Not exactly a killer launch as far as quality title’s go - we are guessing that Sony wants to provide a mixture of eye candy and mass appeal. Still, nothing says “No need to adopt Blu-Ray at launch” like this movie selection.
Read More | Sound and Vision via Gizmodo
Gallery: Which Titles Will Launch With Blu-Ray On May 23?
iPod Packaging Designed by Microsoft
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Apple, Internet, Microsoft, Movies, Portable Audio / Video,
There’s something peaceful and serene about Apple’s current iPod packaging. Their design works on the basis that less is more, and indeed it is. Now visualize in your mind just about any product from Microsoft, and the packaging it came in. Certainly a jarring contrast in styles isn’t it? The Microsoft packaging is a visual flurry of activity, bordering on a graphical trainwreck. This movie, certainly a parody, and rumored to be an internal Microsoft marketing movie (presumably to shake things up, if that’s possible), is quite humorous and sadly, very true.
Read More | The Apple Blog via OhGizmo!
Gallery: iPod Packaging Designed by Microsoft
Sony 200-Disc Standalone VGX-XL1 CD/DVD Changer for MCE
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Home Entertainment, Movies, Music, Rumors,
Sony has a Media Center PC available called the VGX-XL1 Digital Living System - quite a mouthful for what is essentially a run-of-the-mill Media Center PC. Sure, it has some additional bells and whistles, one of which is a 200-disc CD/DVD changer. At first glance, a 200-disc changer is nothing terribly new, but this one has the ability to sequentially rip 200 CD’s without having to be “babysat” during the process. Of course, when you’re not ripping CD’s you can use it to store your DVD’s for immediate access via your Media Center PC.
Right now the only way to get the changer is to buy the whole XL1 package which goes for a tidy $2,299.99 MSRP. In the rumor department though, there’s this one guy who talked to his friend’s mother who knows this janitor who cleans the Marketing Dept. at Sony who overheard…okay, it’s not quite that bad. However, rumor has it that Sony will be offering the changer as a standalone model when their new XL2 PC launches (no ETA on that yet). The changer connects via Firewire, so as long as your MCE has that (and what self-respecting MCE doesn’t?), you’ll be good to go.
Read More | eHomeUpgrade
Gallery: Sony 200-Disc Standalone VGX-XL1 CD/DVD Changer for MCE
Gear Live Forum member Ghost is wondering how King Kong was. If you are unfamiliar, it is a tale about an abnormally large ape that battles dinosaurs and falls in love with a human woman who just so happens to be infinitely smaller than he is. It’s out intheaters to much fanfare. Have you seen the movie? If so, drop your opinions on our board and let us know what you thought.
Read More | Gear Live Discussion Forum
Gallery: Forums: How Is King Kong?
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