Can Amazon help save Hollywood’s dying DVD business?

Would the prospect of streaming your personal collection of movie titles anywhere, including your new Amazon Kindle Fire, entice you to purchase more flicks? Movie studios desperately hope so and are, according to sources, seeking to align with Amazon to make that vision a reality.

Sony, Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures are said to be courting Amazon in the hopes that the Kindle Fire-maker will join the UltraViolet alliance, and allow its customers to upgrade … Continue Reading

Sony gets in on Google TV with "Internet TV" sets and Blu-ray player

Sony announced its Google TV-powered Internet TV family in New York tonight, as well as a Blu-ray player with Google TV built-in.

The company has four Google TV sets on the way at 24-inches ($599), 32-inches ($799.99), 40-inches ($999), and 46-inches ($1,399). Thankfully, Sony’s official pricing is much more reasonable than the leaked prices revealed last week, which ranged from $1,000 to $1,899. The Google TV-powered Blu-ray player will retail for $399.99.

The 32-inch and … Continue Reading

DEMO: Metabeam brings movie and TV bonus features to your mobile devices and computers

Metabeam is one of 70 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Fall 2010 event taking place this week in Silicon Valley. After our selection, the companies pay a fee to present. Our coverage of them remains objective.

According to the Nielsen Group, 3 out of 4 Americans surf the Web while watching TV. The startup Metabeam is launching a new product at the DEMO conference today to take advantage of that trend.… Continue Reading

Roxio brings 3D photo and movie creation to the masses with Creator 2011

Jumping on the 3D bandwagon, Roxio today announced the release of Creator 2011 — the latest entry in its flagship media creation suite, and the first widely available consumer software that lets users create 3D photos and videos.

Indeed, the company appears to be betting big on 3D. According to Roxio, it was the most requested feature among its customers in a recent survey. Roxio representatives demonstrated to me how easily Creator 2011 can turn … Continue Reading

Redbox's $1.50 Blu-ray rentals in 13,000-plus kiosks now, across the US by fall

Redbox, the company behind those now-ubiquitous $1 movie-rental kiosks, has finally announced its plans for Blu-ray rentals. The company is rolling out $1.50 Blu-ray rentals to 13,300 kiosks over the next few months, and it plans to offer them at all of its 26,000  kiosks across the US by fall.

Redbox’s initial Blu-ray titles include “The Book of Eli”, “Green Zone”, and “Brooklyn’s Finest.” As always with Redbox, the selection will differ depending on the … Continue Reading