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.

The requirement that studios include managed copy on Blu-ray discs means that virtually all Blu-ray discs released after the first quarter of 2010 will offer consumers the ability to make one full-resolution backup copy, AACS-LA chair Michael Ayers said. Before the final license takes effect, studios, manufacturers and others who license Blu-ray must approve it.

Once it does take effect, it’s unlikely that most Blu-ray owners will be immediately able to make a copy—the current generation of Blu-ray players and other BD devices don’t have the ability to make managed copies, and hardware suppliers aren’t expected to get new players out until the first or second quarter of 2010 at the very earliest.

In addition, content owners will be in tight control of the backups made. Studios can choose to charge for the copy and can offer, or sell, additional copies.

Initially, managed copies can be made to recordable Blu-ray or DVD discs, as a download to a Windows Media DRM-compatible portable player or hard drive, on a memory stick, SD card or as a bound copy, such as a digital copy file on the disc, Ayers said.

Downloads to iPods, iPhones and other Apple devices are not approved, and the AACS-LA has not received a submission from Apple to make Blu-ray copies to Apple devices, though Ayers said Apple could apply at any time. The final AACS license allows for additional copying formats to be added.

The amount of limitations for the content really stresses the fact that the real solution is still yet to come: steaming to everything. Still, a step in the right direction – away from disc-based media. Thanks to VidBiz.

The players, announced previously at International CES, incorporate Ethernet ports and, in the case of the BD390, Wi-Fi capabilities to link with in-home networks to access the Internet.

The BD390 is being billed as the first-ever Blu-ray player to offer interactive download-to-own and Pay-Per-View options, allowing consumers to purchase content from Roxio CinemaNow through the player.

The BD390 also has 1GB of built-in memory for BD Live functionality.

Both the BD370 ($300 suggested retail) and BD390 ($400) began offering the Roxio CinemaNow service through a free, automatic firmware update on May 14.

The players also continue to offer access to YouTube, and Netflix streaming video content.

Both players include UBS inputs and will output a range of resolution formats including FullHD 1080p, with 1080p up-scaling for standard DVDs.

Kind of interesting how they keep adding features to all of the Blu-ray players to help prevent the disc format from going away completely. Thanks to Twice.

Both single-disc standard DVD versions, Friday the 13th Theatrical Cut and Friday the 13th Killer Cut, are priced at $28.99. The titles feature links to an online digital copy, presumably accessible through individual registration codes received after the $1.99 payment.

The Friday the 13th Blu-ray version, priced at $35.99, embeds the copy on disc for no extra fees.

Studios, including Warner, have been increasingly adding free digital copies to titles to boost their attractiveness. Warner is one of the few companies to now charge for the extra.

Some consumers will likely dislike this pay-for-copy strategy. But Warner earlier confirmed that the most robust users of digital copy are Blu-ray buyers, not DVD purchasers.

With the no-charge digital copy, Warner also further distinguishes the Blu-ray Friday the 13th over its two DVD versions.

What Warner doesn’t realize is that in a few years we may see all disc based formats fading out as VOD steps in. One can only hope, at least. Tip of the hat to VidBiz once again.

The app, which will be available for free at the iTunes store beginning this weekend, works on Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch, the Palm Pre, Google Android and BlackBerry. With it, consumers can transfer downloadable content and interactive features from their Blu-ray Disc to their phone. The phones also can be used as a remote control for a compatible Blu-ray player.

Blu-ray developers and consumer electronics companies have to add the BD Touch capability to discs and players to allow consumers to transfer content. “It’s just one line of code they have to put in,” Pantoja said. “We made it extremely, extremely simple.”

Backers say they intend BD Touch to be an affordable and simple add-on for developers. BD player manufacturers can add the capability through a firmware upgrade so the function can be added to players already in consumer homes. BD Touch backers say the mobile interactivity will help further set the format apart from DVD and make it more appealing to a younger audience that uses mobile phones more and more.

An interesting spin on interactivity for sure, and driving the usability of smartphones to do way more than call. Perhaps Blu-ray films will also see higher quality interactive elements to take advantage of the new app. Full story on Video Business.

Inkheart (pre-order May 19), a family adventure about books that come to life, is priced at $35.99 for the Blu-ray combo and $28.98 for the standard-definition single disc.

Warner joins a growing list of studios now offering combo releases in an effort to make Blu-ray more convenient, portable and therefore appealing to families considering the new format, including 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and MGM Home Entertainment with The Princess Bride, among other titles.

In addition to the standard DVD copy, the Inkheart Blu-ray combo also exclusively includes a digital copy of the film. [...]

Warner also will bow the title for Web-based and cable/satellite video-on-demand services, including Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iTunes and Amazon Video on Demand, day-and-date with its Blu-ray/DVD release.

With more releases like this one, there will most likely be more uptake for conversion with those still clinging fast to their DVD collections. Full story here.

Although consumers and retailers have expressed interest in seeing the pricing gap disappear, the major studios so far have only used equal or near-equal pricing for DVD and Blu-ray on a handful of titles. New movies frequently carry Blu-ray list prices of $34.99 to $39.99, and the high-definition version is usually priced $5 to $10 above the standard DVD version of the same title.

In June, E1 will release two films on DVD and Blu-ray, thriller Elsewhere (June 2) and Heather Graham-starring comedy Baby on Board (June 9), each at a $24.95 price point on either format.

[...]

Cinevolve is releasing some films on Blu-ray at $24.95, including upcoming releases of comedySisterhood (May 19) and filmmaker Jim Killeen’s documentary Google Me (July 21). However, the Blu-ray prices are still at a premium over the company’s standard DVDs. Sisterhood is priced at $22.95 on DVD, for example.

[...]

Treston is forging ahead with Blu-ray even though he doesn’t expect the format to last nearly as long as standard DVD has. Cinevolve also is working on digital download efforts. “We want to be as future-ready as we can be,” he said.

Yet Treston encourages other independents to get into Blu-ray to keep production costs down. “With more on board, it will lower the cost,” he said.

With Blu-ray prices falling, there are surely more shoppers out there ready to make the leap to compliment their new HDTV purchases. It is good news for Blu-ray, as the price premium for the optical disc has been the biggest obstacle for the new format to break into the majority market. (We’re still waiting for VOD to take over completely, but that will come in due time).

Full article here.