Studios (and partners) Leaving Money On The Table

The title pretty much sums it up, and this isn’t a new topic here at ZNF. The movie studios’ antiquated release window cycle doesn’t fly in the digital age. Which is costing them and their partners. Their attempts (including Netflix’s malleability) to coerce folks into purchasing content, starting with physical media, by delaying movie rentals … Read more

Aluratek’s Cinepal – PMP, but No Broadband

Aluratek’s got an interesting mid-tier product on its hands. When I first read the specs of the Cinepal, I was less than impressed. It’s a portable media player without the broadband connection. However, seeing it in person and talking to one of the product guys, I’ve had a bit of a change of heart. The … Read more

How Paramount Stole Christmas

I hope my fellow Zatz Not Funny readers are having a wonderful holiday season. Among other goodies, Santa kindly left a few Blu-ray movies under our tree. One nice thing, in theory, is that each disc is bundled with a free digital copy. Since I’m heading out to Los Angeles for business next week, I … Read more

Tom’s Favorite Films of 2009

dead-snow

I’m always in search of a good flick. And MoCA Tom, one of my go-to sources for movie recommendations, put this list together for me. They’re not necessarily the best films of the year, but the ones Tom most enjoyed. Presented in no particular order and without regard for year of premiere. While keeping in mind his penchant for zombies, sci-fi, and just about anything else over-the-top. (He hasn’t yet seen Avatar.) For more drama and art house fare, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Anything we missed?

Outlander
SciFi sleeper hit of 2009. Not sure why this didn’t get more press.
DVD • Blu-ray • Netflix • IMDB • Rotten Tomatoes

Taken
Liam Neeson’s a total bad ass. His character is Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars meets Jules from Pulp Fiction.
DVD • Blu-ray • Netflix • IMDB • Rotten Tomatoes

Up
I love Pixar movies. The best part is always the intro movie before the main movie. If you don’t cry in the first 15 minutes of this movie, then you have no soul.
DVD • Blu-ray • Netflix • IMDB • Rotten Tomatoes

Star Trek
I’m sick of the whole re-boot/remake that is going on in Hollywood. However, this is the one that they got right.  The casting for this movie was phenomenal. Carl Urban was awesome as Dr. McCoy.
DVD • Blu-ray • Netflix • IMDB • Rotten Tomatoes

The Hangover
Laugh out loud funny. Who hasn’t had a night like that in Vegas?
DVD • Blu-ray • Netflix • IMDB • Rotten Tomatoes

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Turkey Weekend TV Online

Thanksgiving weekend is a time for turkey, travel, and television. Beyond the requisite football, we get the start of TV holiday specials – a mix of sentimental schlock and comedy classics. If you’re watching online, the options are wide-ranging. Here are a few to get you started. Hulu Hulu for the Holidays is underway, with … Read more

Will Netflix Jump The Shark?

Netflix has enjoyed a long run as both a consumer and investor darling. And those investors may very well cheer Netflix’s exploration of delaying new release movie rentals to cut costs. I understand their desire to maintain good relations with the studios and to avoid costly, time consuming litigation. But us consumers aren’t feeling the … Read more

Best Buy in the Digital Content Biz

Ryan Lawler over at Contentinople has put two and two together and come to the conclusion that Best Buy is taking aim at the digital media space. The clue trail actually started last fall with Best Buy’s acquisition of Napster for music, but then last week Lawler noted that Best Buy’s partnership with TiVo and … Read more

Digital Media Bytes

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs: LTE on the Streets of Barcelona Parts of of Barcelona that are decked out in an LTE network which Motorola deployed the network over the last two weeks specifically for mobile broadband demonstrations throughout the Mobile World Conference. Hauppauge & MSFT Bringing Windows 7 HD-PVR … Read more