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Xbox 360 to offer first-ever Netflix HD streaming

When Microsoft unveiled the plan for the new Xbox Live experience back at E3 2008, we were thrilled to hear that Netflix instant streaming was among the features announced.

That news just got a little sweeter now that Engadget HD is reporting that Xbox 360 owners will also be able to stream selected Netflix titles in HD.

While a list of HD-ready movies is not immediately available, some 300 titles will be ready for HD streaming when the service launches–along with the new Xbox Live experience–November 19.

Judging from the screen grab, it looks like the Netflix 360 player will gauge your Internet connection and decide whether or not your hookup can handle glorious high-definition content.

This is certainly big news for Xbox 360 owners, as no other device has the ability to stream Netflix in HD. Can you hear that? It’s the sound of a Roku player crying.

From: crave.cnet.com

Tags: NetflixHD, Xbox Live Experience, Xbox new experience, Xbox 360

Blu-ray Sale - Up to 55% Off on Amazon

Online retailer Amazon.com is gearing up for the holidays by launching a massive Blu-ray Disc sale including a number of recently released titles. The sale cuts prices up to 55% off list.

In total, 95 titles are included in the sale covering multiple studios like Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Anchor Bay Entertainment and others.

The marquee title in the sale is Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas re-priced at 43% off list at $22.99.

Other notable titles in the sale are 300 for $18.95, No Country For Old Men for $19.95, Short Circuit for $8.99 and National Treasure 2 for $19.95.

Click here to view and shop the complete list of all 95 Blu-ray titles on sale.

Amazon’s other Blu-ray promotions include the Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc player priced aggressively at $199.99 (more info or purchase from Amazon) and a buy three Blu-ray Disc movies and get a free Playstation 3 Blu-ray Disc remote control offer (view the list of eligible titles).

Thanks to TheHDRoom for the heads-up!

Tags: Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray sale, Amazon, Blu-ray Disc sale

No more Seinfeld and Gates ads!

I don’t know you but when I saw those ads, my first impression was: “Those ads resemble Vista - unfunny and complicated”. I think after that, Apple now will have tons of materials to make fun of Windows using their Apple vs Windows ads.

Source: valleywag.com

Remember those awful Microsoft ads with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates? Well, now you can forget them.

Microsoft flacks are desperately dialing reporters to spin them about “phase two” of the ad campaign — a phase, due to be announced tomorrow, which will drop the aging comic altogether. Microsoft’s version of the story: Redmond had always planned to drop Seinfeld. The awkward reality: The ads only reminded us how out of touch with consumers Microsoft is — and that Bill Gates’s company has millions of dollars to waste on hiring a has-been funnyman to keep him company.

Update: In a phone call, Waggener Edstrom flack Frank Shaw confirms that Microsoft is not going on with Seinfeld, and echoes his underlings’ spin that the move was planned. There is the “potential to do other things” with Seinfeld, which Shaw says is still “possible.” He adds: “People would have been happier if everyone loved the ads, but this was not unexpected.”

Tags: Seinfeldand Bill ads, microsoft, Bill Gates, Jerry Seinfeld

Radiohead’s new video - House of Cards - AMAZING!

Radiohead, one of the greatest bands of all times, has realeased a new video for its song “House of Cards” from the album “In Rainbows”.

No cameras or lights were used. Instead two technologies were used to capture 3D images: Geometric Informatics and Velodyne LIDAR. Geometric Informatics scanning systems produce structured light to capture 3D images at close proximity, while a Velodyne Lidar system that uses multiple lasers is used to capture large environments such as landscapes. In this video, 64 lasers rotating and shooting in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute produced all the exterior scenes.

Watch the making-of video to learn about how the video was made and the various technologies that were used to capture and render 3D data.

Explore data visualization and get a hands-on experience with the data.

Download an iGoogle gadget to view the video right on your homepage.

Add the Radiohead iGoogle theme and customize your page with their unique visual style.

PlayStation Video Store vs. Xbox LIVE Netflix

Source:  | Gizmo Republic

Sony isn’t sitting by to let Microsoft take credit for making Xbox 360 the entertainment center of your living-room’s universe. No sooner did Sony announce its new PlayStation Video Store at E3 this week that it was alive and operable on your PS3. All you need is an Internet connection and the latest firmware version 2.41 to access the Video Store.

Netflix on Xbox LIVE will have to wait for this fall’s update to the Xbox 360 Dashboard. LIVE subscribers will get access to complete Netflix’s library of streaming movies. The library is massive but consists of generally older films. The best thing about the Netflix deal is that if you’re already a LIVE subscriber the service costs nothing extra. The biggest disadvantage to Netflix is no HD and sub-DVD quality video.

PlayStation Video Store is a download service much like the one Microsoft already has in place. You can rent from a selection of about 300 movies and 1,200 TV show episodes. Sony promises its library will grow in coming months but for now selection is limited. Like Xbox LIVE, many movies and TV shows are available in HD. One key advantage to PlayStation’s system is that many titles are available to buy rather than just rent.

If you’ve bought into the PlayStation family you may even own a PSP to go with your PS3. Sony has maintained interoperability between the devices by making the movies uploadable to your PSP so you can watch on the road. If you’re buying movies through your PS3 don’t worry about your hardware 60GB limitation. You can easily upgrade the PlayStation 3 hard drive so archiving is made easy. (See: PlayStation3 Hard Drive Upgrades Made Easy)

Both are worthy and unique movie delivery systems for a game consoles. But as a user of both consoles and a home theater enthusiast who values quality over quantity, ease of use or scalability, I would personally not use either system… ever.

Despite PlayStation Video Store’s better quality HD video exact resolution is ambiguous. You won’t know if you’re getting 720P, 1080P or some mash-up of pixels your display is forced to scale. And forget lossless audio, downloads are highly compressed. As for Netflix…I’d rather trim my toenails with a Bowie knife than sit through a Netflix streamed movie over my Xbox 360.

Fortunately for console gamers the best option for high-def movies with high-res audio is still PlayStation 3. Sony is after all the winner of the HD format war and the PS3 is still arguably the best and most affordable Blu-ray player on the market.

Tags: PS3, Playstation Video Store, XBOX Live, Netflix, HD XBox 360, Dashboard, 1080p

PlayStation video download service is live

The long delay until Sony launched its video download service (actually more like a few hours), is over. HD and SD rentals, and SD purchases from an assortment of movie studios is now available in the Playstation Store by selecting the video button at the top left. Need to know what’s available in your region but aren’t near your PS3? Check out the website for a list of what awaits.

PlayStation video download service is live - Engadget

Tags: breakingnews, BreakingNews, e3 2008, E32008, playstation, playstation 3, playstation store, Playstation3, PlaystationStore, ps3, psn, sony, video store, VideoStore

Download Movies and TV series on your PS3 - TONIGHT!

Sony just announced the ability to download and watch television shows and movies via the PlayStation store. Jack Tretton (President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America) announced partnerships with big name studios like Sony Pictures, Fox Film & Televisions, Lionsgate, MGM, Disney, Paramount, and a few more.

Television shows will cost $1.99 per episode. Movie rentals will range from $2.99 to $5.99 and purchases will range from $9.99 to $14.99 (SD and HD).

The service will be fully integrated into PSN, meaning you can use your normal account to access everything. The media will also be portable, allowing you to transfer content to your PSP.

Netflix on Xbox 360 and new Dashboard details

Netflix

* For now, Netflix will only stream in about-SD resolution (DISSAPOINTING!)
* As Netflix transitions to HD, Microsoft said it stands to reason that streaming HD to the Xbox should be feasible. (Read: eventual.)
* Netflix will be for Xbox Live Gold members only, so you’ll be paying that $50 per year if you want it.
* Netflix video sharing ONLY works with other Netflix / Xbox Live Gold subscribers. You can’t share video with a Silver member, or who doesn’t subscribe to Netflix.
* Microsoft doesn’t seem to have concerns about redundant content between Netflix and XBLM, or Netflix cannibalizing XBLM sales. Makes sense — if you had content available to rent or stream with Netflix, you probably weren’t going to pay to
rent it on XBLM anyway.

Xbox Dashboard / Guide and Live

* “No functionality goes away” in new Dash — so you won’t be missing anything you have now.
* Microsoft’s Shane Kim says the company has “no plans to create a [Sony] ‘Home’-like environment. … It’s about delivering base functionality at the service level.” So it sounds like the avatars won’t have a Home-like virtual theme-park to run around in.
* No comment was made about Xbox price drops or how long it will take to get to the all-important $199 price point.
* There will be no increase in your number of Xbox Live friends. Psh.
* Don’t like the new Dashboard look or avatars? Sorry, it’s a mandatory update.
* Players will be able to rip any Xbox 360 game past, present or future from their discs to their hard drive. This may speed load times, but more importantly for those of us who can’t hear our vacuum and lawnmower over our 360, this means we can play games without a noisy disc-drive spinning.
* Microsoft didn’t have any comment on what it intends to do about the whole modded controller thing.
* The content Marketplace will be overhauled and revamped to ensure it’s easier to navigate and much more scalable for the huge amount of content it’s got.

New Transformers 2 Set Pics (Bumblebee!) (+Video!)

There are shots of the crew setting up shots, Michael Bay himself talking with some of the talent like Isabel Lucas, playing Alice and of course Shia in living color!

You can also check out Bumblebee as well in full action doing a 180 degree turn. Check out the pretty neat video below.

read more | digg story

Hollywood studios are changing their home-video strategy

Just read this information on the LA Times regarding Hollywood Studios adopting their current home-video strategies in order to catch-up with technology and customer’s demands.

It seems that Studio executives don’t expect any single technology — video on demand, digital downloads or Blu-ray — to replace the DVD cash cow. Because of this, they are planning new strategies that will benefit end users.

Here are some of the key things they are improving:

- Some studios are testing offering online and cable rentals on the same day as DVD releases to boost sales.
- Hollywood studios now want to open a new “window” — offering high-definition versions of movies for rental viewing in the home ahead of their DVD release — if the Federal Communications Commission grants cable and satellite companies permission to block in-home copying.
- Check more information here

Source: Dawn C. Chmielewski, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer