Blockbuster to Offer Netbooks and Blu-ray Players In Store

In another curious move by the fledgling Blockbuster, they plan on offering ARCHOS 10 netbooks in store for $299. The dirt:

Blockbuster will add $299 Archos 10 netbook computers to its product offerings at 1,000 of its U.S. locations.The Archos netbooks will include an embedded link to Blockbuster’s Web site.

At less than 2.8 pounds each, the mini laptops feature a 10-inch ultra-bright LED screen, 1GB RAM and a 160GB harddrive. They also come equipped with Windows XP and a built-in Web cam.

I think they’re going to need more than a link to their site. Thanks VidBiz.

Also, the company plans on offering Samsung Blu-ray players which will feature the ability to steam the Blockbuster On-demand titles. Check it:

Blockbuster has reached an agreement to have its on-demand titles playable through Samsung high-definition televisions and Blu-ray Disc players.Owners of Samsung HDTVs, Blu-ray players and home-theater systems will be able to video-stream Blockbuster OnDemand titles as soon as this fall, Blockbuster said in a statement today. As part of the agreement, Blockbuster will sell Samsung Blu-ray players at “thousands” of its stores, the company said.

The efforts of the largest U.S. movie rental company to boost sales of digital content mirror competitor Netflix, which reached a similar agreement with Sony for its Bravia televisions late last week.

Thanks again to VidBiz.

Image Drops “Caves” – Free Film Available Digitally

In celebration of Earth Day, Image Entertainment has made the “Journey Into Amazing Caves” documentary film free on iTunes, Amazon VOD, and Blockbuster On Demand. First, a little background on the film:

Meet Dr. Hazel Barton and Nancy Aulenbach. These women are compelled to push their limits in hostile environments. They are cavers who risk fatal danger for the thrill of discovery. Barton and Aulenbach are extreme athletes and extreme scientists – scientists who gather their data in treacherous places where few dare to follow. In Journey Into Amazing Caves they travel to caves in Arizona, Greenland and Mexico searching for discoveries that may lead to cures for human disease.

The word from Image:

Journey Into Amazing Caves “reminds us that the planet is more than a solid sphere, where all life is stuck onto an impregnable surface,” director Steve Judson said. “The planet is a magnificently three-dimensional system, and although we rarely glimpse this extra dimension, knowing it’s there changes our thinking and enriches our world view. Journey Into Amazing Caves gives us one of those rare glimpses.”

Mitch Mallon, VP of digital sales of Image division Egami Media, added, “This is a great opportunity for Image to share the environmental benefits that digital distribution has to offer.”

Free films can never be a bad thing. Credit to VidBiz.

Blockbuster on the Way Out?

Blockbuster struggled to compete with Netflix for years, and now it finally looks like the war has taken its toll. According to Engadget, the company is near financial destruction:

In a recent SEC filing, the company made perfectly clear that there was serious risk that it wouldn’t be able to refinance its crushing debt load in order to stay afloat for a wee bit longer; in fact, it noted that said quandary raised “substantial doubt” about its “ability to continue.”

Not that anyone is really surprised, but competition is always a good thing.