Blockbuster launches VoD service for TVs

Blockbuster has launched a compact MediaWire set-top box by 2Wire that will let users download movie rentals to watch directly on their television sets.  The player works in much the same way as similar devices by Apple and Vudu, where the box connects to the Internet to download the movie and then plays it to the TV.  So far, Blockbuster has been struggling with its 7,500 shops and has already closed hundreds in recent years, so it hopes this service will attract more customers.  However, Blockbuster does not believe on-demand video will start replacing its physical stores for many years to come.

Last year, Blockbuster bought up Movielink for $7.7 million to deliver movies on demand to PCs, however, the drawback was that movies could only be watched through the PC and certain portable devices with small screens.  This new service is targeted at the larger audience that prefer watching movies on big-screen TVs.  The MediaWire media player includes HDMI and component outputs for connection to HDTV sets. 

The MediaWire meida player is sold as a $99 package, bundled with 25 on-demand rentals.  Additional rentals will be priced from $1.99 each.  The on-demand service will start off with a library of 2,000 titles to choose from.  While this is much smaller than Netflix’s 12,000 library, Blockbluster promises to include more up to date titles that are not available on streaming services, such as movies released on DVD within the past 30 days.  On the other hand, Netflix has the advantage of offering unlimited viewing access to its library for a flat-rate fee.

One drawback with streaming services (including Netflix) is that the video quality depends on the speed and reliability of the Internet connection.  For example, if the DSL or cable modem loses synchronisation during a movie, this would cause a break in the playback.  With Blockbuster’s service, the movies is progressively downloaded to the MediaWire box such that the video quality is maintained throughout the movie.