Blockbuster's Movie Download Box Runs Linux

DeviceGuru writes "In a better-late-than-never move, Blockbuster has introduced a video-on-demand (VOD) service accompanied by a 'free' set-top box (STB). Like TiVo, Roku's Netflix box, and many other modern Internet-enabled A/V gadgets, Blockbuster's new VOD STB runs Linux. But darn it; when will someone finally offer a reasonably-priced, open-platform STB that serves as an A/V gateway to multiple Internet-based services — one consumer-friendly, environmentally-designed, low-power gadget 'to rule them all,' if you will."

Comments

Boxee

[jmelloy]

Using Boxee on my AppleTV is like living in the future. Seamlessly plays my torrented files and streams hulu (with netflix Coming Real Soon).

It's fantastic.

Re:Boxee

[jmelloy]

It's haxored. http://code.google.com/p/atvusb-creator/ unlocks the rigorous protections (user: frontrow password: frontrow) and enables SSH. It also installs Boxee.

With SSH it's fairly straightforward to enable USB mass storage, and I currently have an external drive hooked up to the USB port. Making it run Linux is probably easiest by taking it apart and installing off your computer onto the hard drive.

Re:Boxee

[houstonbofh]

Is this not violation of dmca

Simply watching a movie might be... You need to ask a lawyer to know for sure.

Re:Boxee

[clare-ents]

They definitely run linux, and you can install from a USB stick. We know, we've lots and lots of them running as dedicated servers.

http://www.mythic-beasts.com/appletvdedicated.html

Re:Boxee

[actionbastard]

I'm tellin' Steve!

Re:Boxee

[synthesizerpatel]

boxee is just repackaged xbmc which has been rocking for many, many years before boxee came along.

xbmc is available for OSX, Linux, Windows, AppleTV and if you still have one thats chipped, original XBOX.

Installing boxee/xbmc on appletv is as simple as building a bootable USB device, and booting off of it -- you don't even need to open the box (or void your warranty..)

Re:Boxee

[Hurricane78]

Wrong. The media cartels fight so hard, because they have nearly no money left. :)
Wait some years, and they can't afford to enforce anything anymore and have no business left to get new money.

The more it hurts them, the harder they fight, but the quicker they go away too.
And downloading media does not hurt them a bit. Not buying anything from them does "hurt". (In reality it does not hurt too. It just does not make them feel good. :)

Re:Boxee

[Anonymous Coward]

I asked my lawyer, she told me to stop downloading porn. Moral: never date a lawyer

Dying Concept

[nurb432]

Now that this stuff is practical, our friendly ISPs are throttling/capping our bandwidth.

Re:Dying Concept

[shawn(at)fsu]

That could be good. before the only people who used their bandwidth were "teh evil pirates", now if joe schmoe and his mother are going over their cap maybe they will see that they need to keep pace.

/yes I know wishful thinking.

Re:Dying Concept

[Anonymous Coward]

Where the hell have you been during the whole Net Neutrality debate? This has nothing to do with Net Neutrality, which is about keeping your ISP from charging the websites you visit, when both you and said websites have already paid for service.

Re:Dying Concept

[MindlessAutomata]

They always did that. They always had to. Bandwidth is not infinite.

Now, however, they are just telling you what kind of caps they have instead of leaving you to guess. And the caps really aren't that bad; they're more geared to the hoarders and mega-uploaders which cause most of the problems. ...And yes, businesses should not be offering "unlimited" if it is not unlimited.

Re:Dying Concept

[cheater512]

No, because their infrastructure is designed for web pages and email, not video.

Now that video is becoming mainstream they are 'managing' their networks to prevent overload.

What they arent doing is increasing capacity.

Re:Dying Concept

[lysergic.acid]

wow, brilliant deduction! because, up until now we were all expecting to receive internet access for free.

anyone who's looked at broadband costs/availability in different parts of the world knows that ISPs in certain countries have a charge-more-for-less attitude. part of this is due to their being unregulated natural monopolies, thus being able to do whatever they want. part of it is due to pro-business/anti-consumer attitudes that dominate our culture. but at least part of the blame rests on ignorant members of the public who buy the "pirates are stealing your internet speeds!!!!11" BS put out by greedy ISPs, who all the while continue to oversell far beyond their network capacity.

bandwidth isn't a limited natural resource. if public demand for internet bandwidth increases, you just increase the network capacity and make more money. if you want to increase your subscription base, you need to upgrade your network to match the increase traffic load. that's just common sense. but some ISPs seem to want to increase their number of subscribers without matching increases in network capacity. and now they're trying to shift blame for the poor service quality on "power users" for actually using the internet connections they paid for.

so rather than upgrading their networks to conform to changes in internet usage like Japanese, Korean and European ISPs are doing, U.S. ISPs are instead wasting money on traffic monitoring & packet analysis/shaping technology. in other words, rather than increasing network capacity to meet public internet usage, they're trying to manipulate public internet usage to conform to their insufficient network capacity & business model.

it's no wonder many communities are establishing their own municipal WiFi/WiMax networks rather than getting reamed by commercial ISPs for subpar service.

Re:Dying Concept

[Lyrael]

Bandwidth is not infinite, I agree. The problem here is that they aren't limiting *bandwidth*, they are limiting the amount of data you can transfer in a month. Now, whilst this is also not infinite in a technical sense, in practice it is, as there is no way you will be constantly downloading at your bandwidth cap all month long.

Basically, I have no problem with them limiting and throttling bandwidth at peak times when their hardware is actually limited and can't handle everyone's downloading at once. I *do* have a problem with arbitrary caps on data transfers. It costs them no more money whatsoever for you to continue downloading for that month after you hit the cap, so long as you do it off-peak.

Re:Dying Concept

[lysergic.acid]

their infrastructure is designed for binary data--1's and 0's. it doesn't matter whether those 1's and 0's are used to make text or multimedia.

it's not like we're all still using dial-up connections and are expecting to stream HD-video over them. the reason streaming video and other bandwidth-intensive applications have become so popular is because the technology and infrastructure has progressed to the point where these are now practical uses of internet access. aside from rare companies like the BBC, who are early adopters in order to be technological leaders in their industry, most commercial companies aren't going to develop an application that depends on technological infrastructure that isn't widely available yet.

there's a symbiotic relationship between technology/infrastructure and application/usage. it's cutting-edge applications that gain popular usage which drive technological progress and infrastructure upgrades. but at the same time, it's the widespread adoption of new technologies and infrastructure upgrades that stimulate the development of new applications, and change the way people use technology. the public can't make use of technology that isn't available to them.

the reason ISPs in the U.S. are struggling, and their service quality is so poor is because of two things: shortsightedness and greed. greed drove them to oversell their networks by way too much. their shortsightedness caused them to think this business model was sustainable. the Japanese have already begun efforts to make 100 Mbit residential connections a nationwide standard. they saw where technology was headed, and they've been gradually making headway over the years to upgrade their infrastructure to keep up with demand. there's no reason why U.S. ISPs couldn't have done the same. it's because they've gotten used to abusing their monopolies that their networks have become overloaded. and they still think that they should dictate how consumers use their internet access.

Re:Dying Concept

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

Where the hell have you been during the whole Net Neutrality debate? This has nothing to do with Net Neutrality, which is about keeping your ISP from charging the websites you visit, when both you and said websites have already paid for service.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but caps are the back-door around network neutrality. You are capped for all of the internet, except the handful of 'partner' websites which don't count against your cap. We aren't there yet, but it is the next logical step. The ISP won't charge youtube anything for its customer's to download content - they will just threaten to cut them off until the next cycle starts which will cause the users to "self-censor" the places they go on the net. It's totally the users' decision, don't you see?

Re:Dying Concept

[Artifakt]

You know, once you get past 'Libertarianism as taught by Ayn Rand 101', you can stop shrinking complex issues into sound bites. The question here isn't just whether businesses should have a right to charge higher fees based on heavier use. It's also, "Should businesses have the right to charge more for some types of use that create the same load, than for others?", and "Should businesses take money from the government and then still demand a regulation free market?", and particularly, "Should businesses have a right to promise one thing and deliver another?".

Re:Dying Concept

[compro01]

Real competition or real regulation, pick. Also, it would seem incredibly likely that there will not be any real competition in the absence of some regulation to put an end to the regional monopolies that Comcast and the other cable COs frequently have.

Where's the Source?

[Anonymous Coward]

Since we know that question is coming...

The box is made by 2Wire and they provide source here:
http://www.2wire.com/index.php?p=437

Re:Where's the Source?

[Emperor Zombie]

So now people don't even read the title of the article?

Re:Where's the Source?

[Plutonite]

You've never really slashdotted until you've dived head first into the 5th page of comments on a story whose title you read only half of, and the subject of which does not interest you in the least. Then you will find, as your tired eyes browse, in a lively offtopic thread, surrounded by song and laughter, words to tickle your mind and taunt your intellect. And you will post. And you will say: I have been on slashdot today.

Re:Where's the Source?

[corsec67]

Yes, but does it run Linux?

A legitimate question is:

Can anyone modify the firmware and run the modified firmware on the device, or has it been TiVo'd?

Did somebody say xbox?

[Sj0]

Wow, I could have sworn somebody just mentioned the Xbox. Runs linux, connects to the internet, can run multiple services.

My little beast will have a place next to my TV set for many years.

Re:Did somebody say xbox?

[Nursie]

Or just use the vanilla Xbox360 to stream video from your linux server by using ushare, mediatomb or gmediastreamer.

Works a charm, even though my linux server is a 266MHz ARM box (NSLU2) with a 320GB disk attached. It can torrent at the same time.

Standardization needed

[Perspiring Blood]

If the format that the content is delivered in was standardized it would make hardware production costs dirt cheap since the circuitry could be tailored to the standard. There are plenty of OSS streaming Internet video standards and the extra circuitry could cheaply added to the "standard" DVD player. Then content providers could focus on their business model, pricing, product line and the like, and basically leave the tech to someone else.

Well...

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

There is Neuros, whose products fit the description pined for in TFS fairly well. The basic problem, though, is that the various internet video on demand pushers all want DRM which means that, at best, any box they produce will be "open box + big hostile blob" and will more likely be "closed box" or "closed box with API, if we feel generous". Because these guys seem to be shooting for the give them the razor, bleed them for the blades model, I wouldn't expect them to support multiple competing services, and the DRM wrapper will be enough to foil an legal multiservice boxes(and, in practice, make any illicit ones a pain in the ass to keep working).

For the immediately forseeable future, if you want an open, multiple service setup, you want a PC(in the broad sense, including mythTV, WMC, and aTV with Boxee).

Re:Well...

[Simon80]

http://www.neurostechnology.com/neuros-link-technical-specs The above seems to be exactly what the OP is looking for, in a $300 package, complete with 2.8Ghz x86 CPU and supposedly running a respin of Ubuntu 8.10. It's a bit large, though.

Easy. When investors go for a non-razor model.

[SuperBanana]

But darn it; when will someone finally offer a reasonably-priced, open-platform STB that serves as an A/V gateway to multiple Internet-based services -- one consumer-friendly, environmentally-designed, low-power gadget 'to rule them all,' if you will."

When investors are willing to embrace a model other than "get you on the refills", because the development of these devices (and their after-sale support/warranty) is supported by the revenue generated from the rentals.

My brain is a little fried, but examples that pop to mind immediately: Gillette was the pioneer here for product concept that has jumped product category after product category. Cartridge video games. Printers (first ribbon-based, then inkjet, then laser). iTunes. Xbox Live (a great example: Rock Band.)

open-platform?

[Puffy Director Pants]

I doubt it. How many of them would benefit by making it easier for their competition?

Re:open-platform?

[Skapare]

As long as it is the content distributors making the devices, this is a problem.

What's needed is for a company that focuses on making hardware and software to make such a box that incorporates a DRM that the content distributors can trust. Decrypting and decoding done in a hardware chip could accomplish that. Then they can get a device key that would enable decrypting the key that comes with the content package. There are other ways to do this, such as the content distributor encrypting the content package key with the single device unique public key (every unit has a different one, so the user has to send it to the content distributor as part of the purchase).

All this can be done without the OS itself ever handling any decrypted content. So it would be safe to not only run Linux, but even let users load their own custom OS (not necessarily Linux ... NetBSD might be fun, too). The DRM application would simply feed the keys into the hardware chip, and if the response to that is positive, feed the encrypted A/V stream into the hardware chip.

To be truly open, this device needs to also be able to handle non-DRM content. When in the non-DRM mode the hardware chip would not be doing any decryption. It would only be doing codec decoding. That way you can play your own movies and music, too. In the non-DRM mode, all outputs need to work (DRM protected content may not allow the analog output to work).

A user loadable OS would promote innovation. Geeks can experiment with new ideas. The manufacturer could then adopt them when it's done with GPL software such as Linux, if the creators publish it (since GPL means they have to provide source).

Really good hardware will include algorithms to decode all the major proprietary and non-proprietary formats, including DIRAC, OGG {Theora,Vorbis}, FLAC, MP3, MPEG2, MPEG4, H.264, DVB-{C,S,T}, ATSC, and anything else I didn't think of (there are too many minor ones). The box should also include Firewire {400,800}, USB, and eSATA-II jacks (all with support for flash sticks, hard drives, optical drives, cameras, camcorders, and phones), along with an RJ-45 ethernet 10/100/1000, an SMA wireless antenna jack (B/G/etc), dual antenna jack with built in DVB/ATSC/QAM tuner, cable-card slot, and an RJ-11 phone jack with a modem to dial up to buy authentication keys for those without broadband. The best box will have them all. Better boxes would at least allow all of them as options.

The first hardware manufacturer to do this and make sure it's fully open source, including the driver that passes the key package and content streams to the decoder hardware (the sealed part), would get a LOT of free publicity by the open source community raves. Although a lot of people do hate DRM, a market in transient products (e.g. movie rentals) would not function very well without it. By including such DRM capability, the manufacturer that makes such a device would have market potential for it well beyond just hackers. That would mean lower mass production pricing.

Re:open-platform?

[droopycom]

So basically, you want to have a black-box within the set top box that does the following:
- store some keys
- enforce DRM rules (eg: for online renting) (That would probably include to handle a secure communication channel to a server)
- decrypt the content
- decode content
- output the content through some protected video interface such as HDMI/HDCP (if the content was protected)

Guess whats inside the netflix box: a chip that can do all that, by running an OS, called Linux.

So, whats left to do outside the black box, in the open source part of the box ? Not much. Drivers to handle network connection, storage device and User Interface. When you already have a CPU running linux to do all the black box stuff, you dont want to add cost by adding another CPU when you have one that can do that and is already running linux....

Re:open-platform?

[JohnBailey]

Sssh! don't give the Dark Lord any ideas!

Which one.. Jobs or Ballmer?

AV Gateway

[BioNTechKid]

There are alot of products out there that pretty good as an AV Gateway.

There is the Hauppauge MVP that is easy to use and setup, and yes you can put linux on it (if it isnt already).
http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_mediamvp.html
It can stream almost anything but HD with an appropriate server.

A suggestion for the Ultimate at home Multimedia machine would be SageTV with its HD extenders that can play HD and almost everything I have found online. http://www.sagetv.com/hd_extender.html
(( Yes is it can play Netflix too !! ))

-BTK
 

Re:AV Gateway

[Ron_Fitzgerald]

The problem here is adding another peripheral to an already saturated software market. Here is a partial list of what types of software Blockbuster could just partner with...

Windows Media Center / Xbox Extender
SageTv
MythTV / MythBuntu
Media-Portal TVersity
LinuxMCE
TVedia
Beyond Media
CTPVR
CTPvr
J River Media Center
MainLobby
Cyberlink PowerCinema
CQC
Welltonway
Sesam TV
Nero Home Media
Intervideo WinDVD Media Center
nStantMedia
Sceneo TV-Central
Xlobby
GBPVR
Got all media
GameEx
Tvoon
Theatre@Home
MyTheatre
DVBViewer
Freevo
GeeBox
VDR
My Media System
LinuxMCE
xHub
Elgato EyeTV
Center Stage Project
iTheatre
MediaCentral
XBMC (formally Xbox Media Center)
Oxylbox
Elisa Media Center (Free)


If blockbuster would just create a plugin for any or all of these systems and use technology that is already around and in peoples homes, I think they would have a better chance at catching Netflix.

(some of this list courtesy of eirikso.com

Neuros Link

[Wesley Felter]

But darn it; when will someone finally offer a reasonably-priced, open-platform STB that serves as an A/V gateway to multiple Internet-based services â" one consumer-friendly, environmentally-designed, low-power gadget 'to rule them all,' if you will.

http://www.neurostechnology.com/neuros-link

Also runs Linux and a Web browser with Flash so it can access all the TV sites like Hulu.

Is this article a clever plant?

Boxee

[Doodhwala]

For something that works on Ubuntu and Apple TV, you might want to look at Boxee. It is not open source though. Invites from the main site take a while but you can get one faster from Fred Wilson's blog .

Re:What the hell?!?!

[Sj0]

I remember when the Karma Kap was still fresh.

Now we don't even get to see what our Karma is. "Your karma is lightly hazy with a touch of rain in the southern reigons"

PCH

[socsoc]

Isn't Popcorn Hour supposed to be the bee's knees with this stuff? They haven't released a Netflix component yet, but are supposed to be working on it. In the meantime, it seems like it's the best shot at an all-in-one device for the consumer. Plus it beats the pants off of most media players. How many of them can handle x264?

It's gonna be my Christmas present to myself. I am tired of screwing about with Windows Media Center and nix variations of that. A FreeNAS box and this and I will be set. With the way Comcast and AT&T have been acting recently, I don't want to depend on any video on demand type of system anyway. My last Netflix Instant Queue through 360 readjusted itself 3 times in the last 15 minutes. By the time it was done, it was unwatchable, hell the friggin credits were blurry.

Re:Dammit! I wish we could get a 5 minute edit but

[Zerth]

It is in the article, the box is $99 or:

Blockbuster currently is providing its VOD STB (made by 2Wire) free with an advance rental of 25 on-demand movies for $99. Thereafter, VOD titles are available for $1.99 each.

so for a limited time, it is $99 for 25 movies+free box or, equivalently, a $99 box with 25 free movies.

Since that works out to $4/each for the first 25 when they are normally $1.99, it is hardly a special. More like paying double for the first 25 to defray the cost of the box.

Re:What the hell?!?!

[hairyfeet]

Dammit is 4chan down again? Could you 4channers go irritate the users at Digg and Ars or at the very least uphold the high standards of trolling we have here at Slashdot?

You see, we here at Slashdot have a long and distinguished history of being a place where truly great trolls learn how to become legendary. Such past alumni include the GNAA, The Penisbird, and of course that guy that makes ASCII Goatse art. Our trolls then go on to long and rewarding fields in a variety of endeavors, such as upper management at Comcast, making policy at several government organizations like the FCC, and hey, do you know how thought up the "Vista Capable" program that caused countless PC consumers nothing but grief? That's right! A former Slashdot troll!

So in conclusion, please think of the past greats in the history of trolling whose footsteps you are following in before you post. Do you think they would be proud of you screaming "fag" like a 14 year old that just lost a deathmatch in Halo? No, they would hang their heads under their mighty bridges in sadness. Please think before you troll and one day maybe you could join those great trolls and have YOUR picture on the wall at the great trolling hall of fame(which is in the men's john at the Hooters in Newark, NJ). Good luck, and may you have a long and successful career in trolling here at Slashdot.

Combo Boxes

[tji]

There are several options for the combo box the post asks about.. Maybe not the ultimate box that will play everything, but there are several that will do multiple sources. What I use is a Mac Mini (Core Duo), to play several types of content:

- DVD's (the new full screen DVD and Front Row in Leopard are nice DVD viewing options).
- Movies, TV, and Music via iTunes.
- Broadcast HDTV via MythTV (running backend and frontend on my Mini running OSX)
- Netflix streaming movies via their Silverlight plugin
- Various video file formats via Front Row.
- There are various other video streaming services available, I don't use any of them at this point.
- Occasional special webcasts - like the NCAA basketball tournament early round games.

It's hard to beat the flexibility of an HTPC. I think the Mac Front Row interface + all the other options is hard to beat. Especially considering the small size of the device, quiet operation, built-in remote control functionality, etc..

Areas for improvement:
- Blue Ray DVD drive would be nice.
- Better Netflix streaming. Silverlight is okay, but could be better.
- Blockbuster, or other video streaming support.

Re:get a ZvBox

[gwait]

So, you're grabbing the analog VGA and converting it to HDTV broadcast, but you only support windows on the PC. (or Mac OS on Mac)..

WTF?

It "looks" like a hardware solution, why the hell would you care what OS is behind the VGA connector?
Some applet written in a non portable way?

I just want a box that can grab media files off a network server. Interface: Web browser.

Cue southpark sound track: "dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.."