Blockbuster Working on Set-Top Box

An anonymous reader writes "According to the Hollywood Reporter and news.com, Blockbuster will soon be announcing yet another reason not to go to a rental store. A media-delivering set-top box is in the works for the company, leveraging the store's existing competence in the industry to provide a viable alternative to iTunes, Xbox Live, and Amazon. 'There was no mention of price or how such a service would work in the report. But let's think about this: to compete with Apple TV or Vudu, the device would have to cost around $200, and rentals of movies and TV shows should be around $3 to $4 each, which would be slightly cheaper than rentals of new releases from Blockbuster currently. The big advantage Blockbuster would enjoy over Apple TV, Vudu, and TiVo, it seems, would be selection.'" I still think they're kinda doomed.

Comments

Re:missing the boat

[Knowzy]

Bzzt, wrong. Blockbuster will still have to negotiate licensing agreements with the major distribution companies, just like everyone else in the game.

Blockbuster is planning on streaming their Movielink library which includes ~6,000 titles. Nearly double Netflix's Watch Instantly selection with 3,800 titles.

They have a huge head start in terms of licensing.

Re:Shhhh

[maeka]

I'm hoping we'll get the cool new codex from BlockBuster, after their failed launch (like we did with DivX).

DivX did not come from DIVX.

Re:missing the boat

[MushMouth]

Except Movielink doesn't have 6000 titles available for rent, they currently have ~1700. It appears that they have more available for purchase, but that is all they have for rent, which is most likely covered by a different agreement.

Re:Why the negativity?

[Gutboy]

Does everyone forget MovieBeam? It was a horrible failure. Why would anyone want to follow in their footsteps?