Blockbuster Blog

Posts in ‘Updates’

Gifts for Movie Lovers

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 2:29 PM | Posted by:
Category: Games, Movies, Updates | Tags: , ,

It’s the holiday season (and has been since before Halloween, if local store displays are any indication), and I’m here to help you find presents for the people in your life who love movies. Why? Because I’m a giver.

Blockbuster Online Gift Subscriptions
Sure, you can be all cynical and claim I’m just shilling for my company. And you’d be partially right, Scrooge — the rent doesn’t pay itself.

But I really do think these are great gifts. I’ve given them to people before, and they’ve showered me with praise and affection for it. Instead of just getting one present, your giftee gets to have movies delivered for as long as you choose. It makes an especially awesome gift to go along with a Blu-ray player, since we don’t charge extra for Blu-ray rentals.

Find out more about gift subscriptions on blockbuster.com.

But what if, for some strange reason, gift subscriptions aren’t really your thing? We have gift cards and all sorts of other ideas on our Gifts Page.

Electronics
Speaking of Blu-ray, that seems to be the go-to gift this season. If you’re looking for a player to buy, I think the Playstation 3 is the best, since you get a player and game console all in one. Two excellent things that are combined to make one unbelievably cool thing — like a liger.

I also like Samsung Blu-ray players, especially since you can order movies from Blockbuster On Demand on them.

And where else can you order movies from Blockbuster On Demand? Oh, only the world’s first/best DVR. It’s one bad mother… Shut yo mouth! I’m just talkin’ about TiVo.

Must-Have Blu-rays
So you’ve got a player, but you need movies to give with it. Yet again I have your back. Here are some I would recommend to start off a killer collection:
Planet Earth (every Blu-ray owner should have this)
Star Trek
Casino Royale
The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration (This is all three movies)
The Dark Knight
Pirates of the Caribbean

Games
If you’re looking for some advice on video games, check out my Video Games for the Holiday Season post.

Movie Merchandise
What to get for the film freak who has everything? I like to go with movie merchandise (or “merch,” as we say in the business). Luckily, we have all sorts of merch in our stores, including framed film cells, posters, and collectibles. We also have a Holiday Gift Guide to give you more ideas. Find a store near you.

In addition, I’ve scoured the internets to find other quality movie merchandise:

Star Wars Flash Drives (Decapitate your favorite Star Wars character and store data on his corpse!)

Star Wars: 1,000 Collectibles: Memorabilia and Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away (A coffee table book with pictures and anecdotes about all the fantastic Star Wars collectibles)

Tauntaun Sleeping Bag (Yeah, this is a very Star Wars-centric section. I won’t apologize for it.)

Team Edward James Olmos Shirt (Stick it to Twilight nerds while repping BSG)

Zombiepocalypse Scooby Doo Shirt (Currently sold out, but would make the perfect gift for yours truly)

Really Pricey But Undeniably Cool Serenity Model

Movie-Inspired Art Prints

Update on Digital Content

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 11:17 AM | Posted by:
Category: Updates | Tags: , , , ,

I posted a while back about all the new stuff we’re doing with digital content, and I wanted to update you good people now that some of it has launched.

We’ve been working on so many cool, techy things lately — movie rentals on TiVo DVRs, rentals and purchases on Samsung electronics, sharks with lasers on their heads, and transporter technology so I can beam from place to place like Captain James T Kirk. Since the status of the last two is classified, I’ll stick with TiVo and Samsung.

BLOCKBUSTER On Demand on TiVo
Last week, we rolled out BLOCKBUSTER On Demand on TiVo DVRs. That means you can now rent and watch movies and TV shows from your Series2, Series3, TiVo HD, and TiVo HD XL boxes. Prices range from $2.99 for older movies to $3.99 for new releases.

How do we do it? Well, it involves the internet, as well as some other technical stuff. I believe beams of light are in the mix, somehow. It’s all very complicated.

All content is in standard definition for now, but we’re working on getting HD going. If you already have a TiVo box, you just need to do a software update to get the service.

Here’s more info.

BLOCKBUSTER On Demand on Samsung
BLOCKBUSTER On Demand was also released on Samsung devices last week. It’s available on newer models of Samsung plasma, LCD and LED TVs, as well as select Samsung Blu-ray players and home theater systems. You can rent or buy movies right from your Samsung device — rentals range from $2.99–$3.99, and purchases start at $7.99.

One really excellent feature is that you can start watching on one Samsung device and continue on another. So if you begin watching a movie on your Samsung Blu-ray player in the living room and only get halfway through, you can finish watching it on the Samsung TV in your bedroom (that’s just an example; I in no way know what kind of TV you have in your bedroom). It’s crazy, mindboggling wizardry, as far as I’m concerned.

More information.

We’ve got even more sweet stuff coming in the near future, including movie downloads on select mobile phones and a much-clamored-for iPhone app that will let you manage your online Queue. Stay tuned for details!

Let’s Get Digital, Digital

Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 3:00 PM | Posted by:
Category: Updates

I’m not going to lie to you people: I’m a fairly lazy person. Especially after work. It takes a monumental effort for me to get off the couch once I’m home. So while I enjoy visiting our stores and “walking the wall” (industry insider term!) to find a movie, I don’t often go during the week.

Luckily, we’re living in the future these days (although we’re still without jetpacks), so there are a number of ways to have movies beamed directly into my house. Here are some of the ways you can get digital movies from BLOCKBUSTER:

Available Now
Downloads
We have thousands of movies and television shows to download to your computer at blockbuster.com/download. You can buy or rent everything from new releases to classics. The quality is good — it looks and sounds pretty much like a DVD.

You can usually begin watching a movie within a few minutes of starting a download. Best of all, it’s legal, so you won’t have the feds breaking down your door in the middle of the night just because you had to watch The Wizard on your laptop last week.

Set-Top Box
You know what’s even easier than downloading movies to your computer? Ordering and downloading them right from your TV. And we just happen to have a BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand set-top box that lets you do exactly that.

Just hook up the box to your TV and your network connection, and you can rent movies from an on-screen guide. And right now you can get the box for the price of free when you prepay $99 for 25 rentals. Is it some sort of crazy dream? No, it’s all true! And you can order one of your very own on our website.

Coming Soon
Samsung TVs and Blu-ray Players
Pretty soon, you won’t even need to have an extra piece of equipment to order and watch digital movies from BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand on your TV. Starting this fall, select Samsung HD televisions, Blu-ray players and home theater systems will have an integrated BLOCKBUSTER movie store.

Just connect the TV or player to the internet, and start renting and buying movies from the nifty onscreen menu. Movie rentals will range from $1.99-$3.99. You’ll be able to buy TV episodes starting at $1.99, and movies from $7.99-$19.99. I saw a top-secret demo of this at a meeting a few weeks ago, and it is really, really cool. I totally want one (this is a completely unsubtle hint to our Digital team in hopes of getting some awesome swag).

More info from TechCrunch.

TiVo
Say you aren’t planning on buying a new TV or Blu-ray player anytime soon, but you do have a TiVo box. Don’t fret: you’ll also be able to get BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand in the fall.

Movies will be available to rent for $1.99-$3.99 a piece through your TiVo Series 2, Series 3, TiVo HD or TiVo HD XL box. Even if you’ve had your box forevs, you can just do a software update, and you’ll have access to sweet, sweet digital movie goodness. If you don’t have a TiVo, you’ll soon be able to buy one at thousands of BLOCKBUSTER stores around the country.

More info from Engadget.

In the Future
While I can’t discuss specifics yet, we are working on more and more ways to make it easy to watch movies from BLOCKBUSTER at home or on the go. To that end, we’re exploring partnerships with a number of different companies to put our digital movies on new devices, some of which you may already have in your home. Stay tuned to this blog and our Twitter feed for news.

Welcome to the Blockbuster blog!

Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 9:00 AM | Posted by:
Category: Updates

We created this blog to keep you informed about new happenings with Blockbuster Online and the company as a whole, as well as to share musings and news about movies and television shows.

We’ll also feature regular posts from Bob Barr, General Manager of Blockbuster Online, that will discuss developments in the company, provide behind-the-scenes looks at our business, and introduce you to some of the great people that make Blockbuster Online tick.

We’ll be posting a couple of times a week, so make sure to check back regularly. For more frequent updates, please follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/blockbuster_com.

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