Because we just don’t have enough set-top boxes to choose from, Blockbuster will be tossing their hat into the ring. According to the Hollywood Reporter:

The home video giant is developing a set-top device for streaming films directly to TV sets and is expected to announce the offering sometime this month. The device is believed to be a stand-alone product akin to Apple TV as opposed to embedding a Blockbuster-branded service in such existing devices as Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or TiVo.

How many boxes are people willing to connect? The BBC is onto something by making their web content available via the Wii (in the UK) and perhaps one day I’ll be offered Netflix Watch Now on my Xbox 360. As a TiVo owner, I also have a variety of standard def Amazon Unbox content to choose from… For some reason, I’m much more tolerant of low-rez video when I can stream unlimited quantities for a fixed price (Netlix) or free-with-commercials (Hulu).

Along those lines, I’ve been thinking of replacing one of my TiVo units with a small form factor computer for basic ATSC DVR capabilities (or maybe clear QAM HD), plus the ability to watch web video. (And if I’m feeling flush, perhaps I’ll add a Blu-ray drive.) Though, I’m holding off for now… It looks like there’s a small chance I might be able to extend Netflix Watch Now from the office Vista Media Center to the living room Xbox 360.

Flickr’s long rumored video feature has arrived. I’ve gathered the details that Webware, Techcrunch and Wired have outlined:

• 90 second clips maximum - nothing longer initially at least.
• 150MB size maximum
• Uploads for Pro users only for the time being at least ($25/year for pro membership)
• Anyone can view the videos although you can still control the privacy of the videos like you do with photos.
• Videos show up alongside photos
• Videos can be shared, embedded individually or as part of sets.
• Video includes tagging, geotagging
• Search videos by tags, and descriptions
• Uploads directly from camera phones.
• Upload from web, uploadr, e-mail or API
• Option to view videos full screen.
• API for third party developers - yeah!
• Licensing options including creative commons.
• Support for English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese.
• 700 kbps
• 12 FPS, keyframe every 12 (fixed)
• Scaled within a 500×500 box with aspect maintained
• Audio is 44.1 kHz, steroe, 44kbps
• 2pass VBR, 700 kbps
• Photostreams are now coined MediaStreams to better describe the collection of photos and video.

(more…)

Earlier this week, Simon left a comment wondering how he might archive an Amazon Flash video. Like most problems, there are a variety of solutions. And my preferred method for simply grabbing Flash video (versus a Flash animation) found on an Amazon, YouTube, etc is via the free Real Player. While there’s a Mac OS X beta available, I’ve never gotten it to work and exclusively rely on Real’s PC counterpart. I haven’t always a fan of Real given their past install methods and bloat… However, while Real still adds to your system overhead, I find them much more neighborly these days.

A periodic roundup of relevant news… that Dave hasn’t had time to cover while attending CTIA:

• XM now available on Blackberry: Orbitcast
• PlayStation Store 2.0 coming soon: PC World
• HP introduces 500GB $300 Linux NAS: Gizmodo
• Is Comcast increasing HD video compression: The Consumerist
• Roxio Toast update fixes TiVoToGo audio/video sync: Mac Observer
• Nokia N810 Hava placeshifting client preview: Internet Tablet Talk
• Brighthouse returns HD channels to CableCARD: Gizmo Lovers

Ed Hardy of Brighthand demos Redfly with AT&T Tilt (4:51)
Newer Samsung phones with guest appearances from Laptop Mag and PC Mag (2:32)
MagicJack, the $40 VoIP dongle (3:08)
Motorola WiMax router and Femtocell (2:22)
Motorola’s DVB-H PMP (1:38)
Plantronics fashion bluetooth headsets (0:31)
Thumbplay allows free video sharing to mobile devices (3:05)

There’s good news out today if you’re an Xbox owner and into the console’s content downloading features. Microsoft has done a deal with producer and agent Peter Safran to create short, scripted shows for the Xbox. Yes scripted, not reality TV. Saffran says he’ll focus first on horror and comedic fare, appealing to the male, 14-34 demographic. No word yet on the advertising model (Pre-rolls? Interstitial commercials? Product placement?), but new shows should be available to the Xbox Live audience by this fall.

I’m still skeptical of the Xbox-as-Trojan-horse theory, mainly because I don’t know any who own an Xbox except for Dave. I know a few folks with PlayStations (there’s a PS2 in our house), and increasingly I hear friends say they’ve picked up the Wii to play with the kids. But certainly Microsoft is doing a good job of continuing to expand the range of entertainment available on Xbox Live. Are there enough people like Dave around to watch it?

Dear Flixwagon & QIK,

I’m flying into Vegas for CTIA with my multimedia powerhouse Nokia N95. Not only will I be attending ShowStoppers as a civilian (blogger) Monday night, I’ll also be stationed within the Symbian booth during the show for my day job. If time and technology permit, it’d be fun to offer some live video streaming from the floor. What happens in Vegas, doesn’t have to stay in Vegas… as Scoble taught me a few weeks ago. So, please drop me a line if you’d like to hook me up with your alpha software.

Otherwise, my dear readers, keep an eye on YouTube (and ZNF, of course). As the show progresses, let me know what you’d like to check out and I’ll do my best to sneak away and provide coverage. And if you’ll be attending CTIA, drop by and say hello.

Dave Zatz
davezatz@yahoo.com

Update: Both QIK and Flixwagon have kindly granted me pre-release access to their services. Keep the “alpha” status in mind when checking out my CTIA coverage, because it’d never be user error. Both provide embeddable Flash widgets, which I’ve dropped into our ZNF Videos page (tab up top). The QIK widget should broadcast anything I’m filming live, otherwise you’ll see an archived video of my last shoot. You can also text chat with me (one-way). The Flixwagon widget offers similar functionality (though I’m not sure about chat), plus the ability to navigate through archived content. You can also directly access my Flixwagon and QIK pages.

I’ve already been asked to seek out the Sony Ericsson XPERIA and Blackberry 9000, plus I’m going to try and attend a Sprint luncheon demo on Tuesday (although they haven’t told me what exactly they’d be demoing - WiMax?). I’ll try to find interesting things to shoot tonight at ShowStoppers and will also show you my little Sling demo station later in the week.

Warner’s new music service proposal has the blogosphere all abuzz this AM. It’s mostly been a narrow-minded, short-sighted reception, which emphasizes challenges the music industry faces in winning back paying customers. (Threatening college students with lawsuits hasn’t been a good marketing strategy.) The recording industry’s album sales revenue model doesn’t work within the current digital landscape, so why shouldn’t we give them some credit and leeway in exploring alternate distribution (and money-making) methods? The relative success of services like Rhapsody, Pandora, and Last.FM prove there’s a demand for legal, unlimited access. So, why not offer consumers a higher tier broadband package or subscription iPod for something similar?