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Venom and The Equalizer 2 dropping on Blu-ray and DVD in time for the holidays
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Movies,
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ManCaveMovieNight #CollectiveBias
Simply hover over the image above to click-through to purchase either movie!
If you're looking for a couple of great movies to put under the tree or into a stocking this holiday season, Sony Pictures is releasing two of its most recent blockbusters on Blu-ray and DVD just in time. You can pick up The Equalizer 2, which sees Denzel Washington reprise one of his signature roles (and acting in the first sequel he's ever done!) right now at Walmart, while Venom will be released on December 18th, one week before Christmas (but you can pre-order it at Walmart as well!)
I'm a big fan of movies that are centered around comic book characters, and when Sony sent over copies of each, I fired up Venom right away for a fun movie night with the fam. If you haven't heard, Venom is the story of journalist Eddie Brock and his attempt to bring down Carlton Drake. Drake is the mastermind behind the Life Foundation, which Brock discovers is using symbiotic lifeforms that require oxygen-breathing hosts to survive and thrive. Brock accidentally comes into contact with a symbiote, and thus begins his transformation into the superhuman title character, Venom, who tries to control Brock's new abilities.
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IKEA reinvents HDTV with Uppleva (video!)
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Smart Home, Videos,
IKEA is coming to the rescue of wives everywhere who are fed up with the endless mess of tangled wires in the living room with its Uppleva HDTV. Yes, IKEA is making it's own HDTV, and it's pretty wonderful. First, the tech: 1080p LED display, Wi-Fi-ready, 400Hz, FM radio, DIVX HD, with three USB inputs and four HDMI inputs as well. So, what makes this television so special? It's the fact that the actual display part is just that - a display. All of the goods are built into the surrounding furniture, which is also part of Uppleva. For example, the television also has a Blu-ray player built-in - but it's located beneath the monitor, in the console area. All the wiring is built into the furnite, so it's not visible.
You can add in your own components, of course, and the wiring is handled the same way, allowing everything to be neat and tidy. Also cool? There is a vast array of colors and designs. Uppleva is modular, so you can build it out in any way you see fit. Expect it to launch in the fall for 6,500 Swedish crowns (that's $960 to those of us in the USA.) Wanna get a peek at how it works? Check out the video after the break.
Click to continue reading IKEA reinvents HDTV with Uppleva (video!)
Blu-ray finally overtaking DVD regularly in sales
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Movies,
Consumers are tending to favor Blu-ray over DVD when buying copies of top hits for home use, a nonprofit analyst group that tracks Hollywood reported Monday.
Overall consumer spending on home entertainment jumped nearly five percent from the same period a year ago, the Digital Entertainment Group reported, the first time consumer spending increased since 2008.
The DEG didn't explicitly say that a crossover between DVD and Blu-ray sales is occurring. But "for major box-office hits, sales of packaged goods often surpass 50 percent on Bluray in their first week of release," DEG said. In all, Blu-ray, electronic sell-through, and digital movie streaming all saw revenue growth.
Catalog sales of Blu-ray discs are also increasing, the DEG said, with year-to-date increases of more than 60 percent, led by Star Wars, Citizen Kane, Scarface and The Big Lebowski. Total household penetration of all Blu-ray compatible devices now stands at more than 33.5 million U.S. homes, DEG said, up 52 percent from a year ago.
Click to continue reading Blu-ray finally overtaking DVD regularly in sales
Trick or Treat! Redbox DVD Rentals now cost $1.20 rather than $1
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Movies,
It's Halloween, and with that, Redbox responds to the trick-or-treat question with a 20% price increase at its 34,000 movie rental kiosks that starts today.
So what's the reason for the 20-cent price hike?
Congress. Specifically, Coinstar cites the recent passage of the Durbin Amendment as the reason why it has to jump its rates (in addition to any other increased operating expenses the company's faced). For those uninformed, the Durbin Amendment comes with two major provisions with which consumers have likely come into contact.
The first provision slapped a limit on the interchange fees that banks are allowed to charge – essentially, the money that they make from retailers whenever a consumer uses a debit card to make a purchase. In response, banks have started to scramble to cover the lost revenue, including going so far as to tell customers that they will soon be assessed a fee for using their debit cards to purchase items.
Click to continue reading Trick or Treat! Redbox DVD Rentals now cost $1.20 rather than $1
Netflix kills plans to spin-off DVD rentals to Qwikster
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Internet, Movies,
This morning Netflix announced that, due to overwhelming feedback from its members, the company would no longer move forward with plans to separate and spin off the DVD business. Instead, it will stay as it has always been, as one service that offers both DVD rentals by mail and instant streaming of content as well. The DVD and streaming plans will still be billed separately, and there's not yet any word on if Netflix will still move forward with the planned video game rentals that would have been part of Qwikster.
Redbox offering free DVD rentals in exchange for access to your Facebook info
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Movies,
Redbox is trying to get Americans off their streaming movie services and down to the local kiosk on August 25th with a free DVD rental.
The movie-rental kiosk service is attempting to lure existing customers down to the local grocery with the free DVD rental, normally worth just a buck. And there's a catch, as well as a bonus.
The offer was emailed on Sunday. Redbox officials weren't available for comment over the weekend.
So far, Redbox hasn't indicated how many customers will receive the free code, or if it applies to frequent customers, occasional customers (like or family) or new, potential additions. The catch? Each user needs to access the code via Facebook, and signing in allows Redbox to access your personal information, including your Likes, and post an update(s) to your Wall.
Netflix announces separate DVD and streaming plans, price hikes for those who use both
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Home Entertainment, Movies,
Netflix subscribers, you're gonna wanna pay close attention, because the company has announces some new plans and price changes that will affect everyone. Here's the long and short of it--Netflix has decided to split their DVD rental service and Watch Instantly streaming service into two separate offerings, each with their own pricing models. First, Netflix Watch Instantly unlimited streaming now costs $7.99 per month, and that does not include any DVDs by mail. Unlimited DVDs now start at $7.99 per month, 1 out at-a-time, and it does not include access to Watch Instantly. In fact, none of the DVD plans include Watch Instantly access. Access to each service now starts at $7.99 per month, so if you want both, it will now cost you $15.98, which is up from the $9.99 that it would have cost you yesterday.
The new pricing goes into effect today for new customers, and existing Netflix members will see the new pricing go into effect on or after September 1.
Read More 
| Netflix Blog
Wii U won’t support DVD or Blu-ray movie playback
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Nintendo, Wii U,
Nintendo's hot Wii U console is set to ship next year, but one thing that won't be a part of the package is DVD or Blu-ray movie playback. According to Nintendo, customers already have DVD and Blu-ray players, and they are so cheap that you can get one easily without them bundling that into the Wii U software.
Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback capabilities. The reason for that is that we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn't warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies.
So yeah, Wii U will purely be a gaming console, just like Wii, as opposed to a whole-home entertainment strategies that you see with the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Gadget Deals of the Day: Creative 30% off site-wide sale
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, Movies, PC / Laptop, Storage, Video Games,
Here's today’s Deal of the Day list, where we bring the the top discounts on gadgets and consumer electronics for the day. The highlight for today is a site-wide sale at Creative offering 30% off all items with a coupon code:
- Creative 30% off sitewide with coupon code VALTINES
- Lenovo G460 Core i3 LED laptop - $499 + free shipping
- Seagate 1 TB external drive - $60 + free shipping
- The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series - $25 + free shipping
- Gamestop: $15 off 2 new games
Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread.
TV on DVD: January 25, 2011
Here are some of the TV on DVD options available this week:
- The Agatha Christie Hour (Set 2)
- Glee (Season 2 Vol. 1)
- Matlock (Season 6)
- MI-5 (Volume 8)
- Naruto Shippuden (Box Set 5)
- Pie in the Sky (Series 4)
- Sacred Blacksmith (Complete Series)
- Vampire Knight (Complete Series)
- Webster (Season 1)
- Wish Me Luck (Series 2)
- Zorro (Complete Series)
Make sure to also check out the DVD and Blu-ray film options for this week.
Read More | Amazon
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