Blockbuster working on TV set-top box
Cory Bergman April 10th, 2008
Blockbuster, which has long been criticized on Lost Remote for taking forever to adapt to change, is working on a set-top box to stream movies directly to TV sets, says the Hollywood Reporter. The effort, powered by Movielink, would compete with Apple TV, TiVo, Xbox, Netflix, to name a few.
Update: BoingBoing Gadget’s Joel Johnson says, “I never want to touch a piece of proprietary hardware to access content again. There’s no need! We’ll be able to stream HD content soon enough; in the interim, even these browser-based solutions could pre-fetch and cache it. The only reason companies like Blockbuster and Vudu want dedicated hardware is because it locks you into their service. They’re recreating the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war for streaming digital media. How silly is that?” (Thanks for the link, Aaron!)
4 Comments Add your own
1. Rob Bingham | April 10th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Sigh… I have to agree with Phil Swann at tv Predictions, who has said on several occasions that people are tired (don’t have room for) of set top boxes. Why does Blockbuster think they do can pull off what Apple, Tivo, Xbox and Netflix have failed to do? There is no outcry from the public for another box on the entertainment center.
2. Aaron | April 10th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Hahahahaha… too little too late for that strategy, I’m afraid. Unless they’re planning to give away the box for free, how in the world will they compete with the value-adds you get with an XBox 360, PS3, or TiVo?
Blockbuster’s only hope is to price the box as close to $0 as possible… otherwise there’s nothing they can do to convince consumers to buy yet another STB.
3. Aaron | April 10th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Take 2: Click my name for Joel Johnson’s excellent take on BB Gadgets.
“I never want to touch a piece of proprietary hardware to access content again. There’s no need! We’ll be able to stream HD content soon enough; in the interim, even these browser-based solutions could pre-fetch and cache it. The only reason companies like Blockbuster and Vudu want dedicated hardware is because it locks you into their service. They’re recreating the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war for streaming digital media. How silly is that?”
4. Safran | April 10th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Do not want.
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