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Xbox 360 officially the only console to stream Netflix -- sorry, PS3 and Wii

by Darren Murph posted Aug 11th 2009 at 7:27AM Breaking News


We actually had to brush the fog off of our spectacles to ensure that hazy conditions weren't clouding our comprehension abilities, but sure enough, that Netflix streaming that Xbox LIVE members have grown to love won't ever land on Sony's PlayStation 3 nor on Nintendo's Wii (PlayOn notwithstanding). At the very bottom of Microsoft's long list of details surrounding today's Xbox LIVE update, we're clearly told that the Netflix Watch Instantly integration is now an "exclusive partnership," with Microsoft going so far as to say that the "Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience, available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited plan subscribers." Of course, we'd heard rumors over the years that Netflix could sashay over to other consoles in due time, but it looks like the suits in Redmond had the foresight to lock things down while they still had a chance. So, are you reconsidering that Xbox 360 purchase, or just looking that much more intently in Roku's direction? Full blurb is after the break.

[Thanks, David]

Continue reading Xbox 360 officially the only console to stream Netflix -- sorry, PS3 and Wii

Sony embeds Blu-ray exclusives on The Da Vinci Code: Extended Cut

by Richard Lawler posted Mar 11th 2009 at 7:21AM

With sequel Angels & Demons ready to hit theaters in May, Sony Pictures is throwing in nearly a half hour of exclusive extra footage on The Da Vinci Code: Extended Cut coming to shelves April 28. Codebreakers can look forward to in movie BD-Live chat, a $10 coupon off tickets to the sequel, new director's commentary and a picture-in-picture mode allowing for eight different ways to watch the movie at once, we think fans (and with $700 million+ grossed worldwide there's more than a few of those) will find this hard to pass up.

Friday Night Lights S3 tackles DirecTV on October 1st

by Darren Murph posted Sep 19th 2008 at 7:34AM


Earlier this year, we heard that the struggling Friday Night Lights series would return for a third season, but in a rather peculiar way. Now, we finally know the start date for the aforesaid drama. Beginning on October 1st, DirecTV subscribers will be the only ones out there able to catch the third season on the satcaster's own The 101. The partnership was struck in order to keep the lightly watched show from going under prematurely, and for those operating sans DirecTV, you'll just have to be patient until it hits NBC in the coming months. Good luck resisting the urge to torrent -- you know Tim Riggins couldn't.

[Image courtesy of TVJab]

AT&T promises even more Olympics coverage on demand

by Darren Murph posted Jul 21st 2008 at 1:08PM


Maybe you haven't noticed, but AT&T is a big fan of the Olympics. It has already provided U-verse customers with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage during the run-up to the Games, and now it's vowing to give Olympics junkies everywhere even more footage that they'll never, ever have time to watch. On the U-verse front, we're talking about material which includes "a wrap-up of the best events of the day as well as on-demand access to between 15 and 20 unique events each day," while wireless and broadband customers will be able to tap into all sorts of other Olympics-related stuff. So, anyone plan on cloning themselves to keep up with all of this?

AT&T to offer exclusive USA Basketball VOD content

by Darren Murph posted Jul 18th 2008 at 2:55AM


Just a few months after AT&T announced that it would be offering U-verse customers exclusive access to Team USA's Olympics preparation, the carrier is trumpeting yet another similar agreement that will give its subscribers a look at USA Basketball. The new partnership will give AT&T U-verse users access to team content on demand, not to mention other material accessible via the web and AT&T mobile phones. Looking for specifics? Try "behind-the-scenes footage including selection of the team, USA Basketball Training Camp, exhibition game highlights, USA Basketball video segments, interviews with athletes and coaches and other vignettes."

[Image courtesy of Savannah Now]

Starz Play broadband video service comes to Verizon

by Darren Murph posted May 28th 2008 at 8:02AM


Starz Entertainment's own broadband video service is doing a special little jig for Verizon's customers, as the two companies have just inked a "comprehensive, multi-year agreement that will bring exclusive hit movies from Starz to Verizon's more than 8.5 million broadband subscribers and the full array of Starz products to Verizon's FiOS TV and FiOS internet / DSL customers." Of course, folks interested will still have to fork over $5.99 per month to access the subscription based service, but at least you can do so with the knowledge that "exclusive content" will soon be at your fingertips. Moving on, the two also expanded their current FiOS TV affiliation agreement, with the new deal securing delivery of all 16 Starz, Encore and MoviePlex premium channels, all of its HD channels and every VOD / HD VOD outlet. Now that's something we can really smile about.

Season 3 of Friday Night Lights to air on DirecTV's The 101 first, NBC second

by Darren Murph posted Apr 2nd 2008 at 7:31PM


It's not atypical to see shows ink exclusive deals with carriers every now and then, but this one's pretty bizarre. Apparently the third season of Friday Night Lights has been green-lit for production, but in an effort to "spread production costs while rekindling a series," all 13 new episodes will air first on DirecTV. In other words, by the time all non-DTV subscribers see S3 in early 2009, customers of the aforesaid sat provider will have already experienced the baker's dozen. Filming is slated to resume sometime this summer, and DTV users will have access to the new season on October 1st on The 101; sometime after the Super Bowl (in 2009), it'll broadcast on NBC. Weird, huh?

[Via Chicago Tribune, image courtesy of PopTheology]

AT&T offers exclusive Olympic footage via U-verse VOD

by Darren Murph posted Mar 20th 2008 at 11:31AM


Just over a month after we saw Verizon ink an exclusive deal to offer VOD viewing of a certain program, along comes its arch rival (one of the many, actually) pulling a similar stunt. Announced this week, AT&T will be the lone home for catching "exclusive episodes and behind-the-scenes footage of US Olympic Team hopefuls as they train for and compete in various sports." Rightfully dubbed AT&T Team USA On Demand, the new category of VOD content will "showcase episodes of USA Gymnastics Behind the Team," which will reportedly cover American athletes as they gear up for the summer games in Beijing. Unfortunately, we don't see this being available in high-definition, but it's surely a perk for U-verse subscribers who happen to be Olympic junkies on the side.

Paramount & Dreamworks HD DVD support ends March 4

by Richard Lawler posted Feb 28th 2008 at 11:11PM Breaking News

We don't know if Jeffrey Katzenberg got a text message, fax, e-mail or smoke signal indicating the format war was over, but Video Business has confirmed Paramount and Dreamworks Animation will (rather abruptly) to stop releasing HD DVDs after next week. If you were looking forward to Bee Movie on March 11, Sweeney Todd on April 1 or the just announced There Will Be Blood, those are cancelled. Into the Wild and the appropriately-named Things We Lost in the Fire will be Paramount's last reminders of its exclusive agreement. Not specifically mentioned was Star Trek: TOS Season 2, but don't hold your breath. Blu-ray release plans are still up in the air but we wouldn't be surprised to hear something soon. As far as HD DVD movies still scheduled, that leaves two from Universal (for now) and twelve from Warner Bros, who may have been the first to leave red, but will apparently be the last major studio out the door.

Read - Video Business
Read - High-Def Digest

Paramount and Universal to publish films on Blu-ray

by Darren Murph posted Feb 19th 2008 at 11:19AM Breaking News


Not a whole lot to go on right now, but German site HDTV Praxis has it that both Paramount and Universal will now make the obvious choice and publish their films on Blu-ray. Notably, this follows hints seen in certain Circuit City databases as well as word that we've received noting that both studios would indeed make things easy on everyone and simply support the one format still standing. Interestingly, DreamWorks isn't mentioned in the linked article per se, but we've all ideas it'll be following suit shortly.

[Thanks, Khattab]

Update: Universal's president Craig Kornblau had this to say: "While Universal values the close partnership we have shared with Toshiba, it is time to turn our focus to releasing new and catalog titles on Blu-ray." Thanks, Kiwi616!

Samsung expected to focus efforts on Blu-ray

by Darren Murph posted Feb 18th 2008 at 2:36PM


Not like it's any surprise or anything, but the company known for its fairly continuous stream of Blu-ray / HD DVD combo players is reportedly expected to hone in on Blu in the very near future. If you'll recall, we heard Onkyo make a similar statement earlier this month, and according to an unspecified Samsung official, it's looking to "show more interest in Blu-ray products than rival HD DVD." Unfortunately, that's all the firm would utter on the record, but really, it pretty much says it all. 'Course, it remains to be seen what will happen to the forthcoming BD-UP5500, but don't be shocked to hear that Sammy's next high-definition movie player only understands one of the two formats.

Niveus pledges allegiance to Blu-ray, bids adieu to HD DVD

by Darren Murph posted Feb 15th 2008 at 5:17PM Breaking News


Not like it's any huge surprise or anything -- after all, the HD DVD deathwatch is already in full effect -- but Niveus has just informed us that due to "customer demand and format war influences," it will be adding support for Blu-ray and "ceasing production of HD DVD-based servers." According to CEO Tim Cutting, "incorporating Blu-ray into its offerings has always been part of the plan, but the demand from its customers, market trends, and recent announcements expedited its decision to come to market with Blu-ray support sooner rather than later." Adding more salt to the wound, he continued by saying that "while it has stood behind HD DVD as a viable high-definition platform, company engineers have been running Blu-ray in its testing facilities and are very impressed with the performance and integration with its servers." Another one bites the proverbial dust, eh?

Lionsgate president expects industry to "unite behind Blu-ray" this summer

by Darren Murph posted Feb 13th 2008 at 8:32PM


As support continues to just fall in the lap of the Blu-ray camp, Lionsgate president and co-COO has been quoted as saying that his company "expects the industry to unite behind Blu-ray by the summer." This was uttered yesterday during a spirited investor call, and was followed up by his suggestion that this so-called unification could "drive the current HD market to triple in size from $300 million in 2007 to more than $1 billion this year." He also noted that 2008 would mark the first year in which it would see "meaningful revenue in digital delivery," and mentioned that "Blu-ray revenue in January [2008] was about seven times higher than last year." Of course, all of this probably speaks more about industry trends than anything else, but it's seems safe to say that at least one bigwig at Lionsgate isn't scared to pronounce his admiration for BD.

[Via Blu-ray, thanks Kiwi616]

Ask Engadget HD: Is it finally safe to buy a Blu-ray player?

by Darren Murph posted Feb 13th 2008 at 12:00PM Featured Story


When Warner made its move to support the Blu camp exclusively just before CES commenced, we still figured HD DVD had a fighting chance at staying alive for a good bit longer. Needless to say, it seems as if the Blu-ray bandwagon is getting more crowded by the minute, with Netflix vowing to only carry BD titles in the future just this week. We're not about to say the format war is all but done just yet -- after all, we've seen too many zany things happen to jump to such conclusions already -- but this week's Ask Engadget HD question is particularly timely.

"I've been holding off on buying a high-definition player of any kind until prices settled down a bit and one format looked to be in command. I realize a combo player would solve the dilemma, but since I'm looking to support one format or the other, I'm beginning to think now is a good time to finally buy a Blu-ray player. Is that the general consensus?"

Well, you heard the man -- is it? If you were still an outsider in this drawn out battle and were just dying to get in, would you take the plunge and pick up a BD player? Or would you store your wallet far, far away until the dust settled a bit more? Sound off below!

Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.

Poll: Did you cancel your Netflix account after the Blu-ray exclusive decision?

by Darren Murph posted Feb 12th 2008 at 11:45AM


In the aftermath of yesterday's blockbuster (ahem) move by Netflix to only stock Blu-ray titles in the future, we heard quite a bit of ranting that contained words like "finished" and "canceled." Still, we're interested in utilizing our super-duper scientific polling mechanisms to truly get a gauge on how many cancellation e-mails Netflix can expect thanks to its decision. Don't be left out!

Did you cancel your Netflix account after the Blu-ray exclusive decision?






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