movies

[itvt] has just published the first in a new series of columns, collectively entitled PERSPECTIVE, from the iTV Doctor, Rick Howe. The series will discuss Full Service Network (FSN), QUBE, Video Jukebox, Sega Channel and other ground-breaking interactive TV efforts, and the impact those deployments still have on interactive television today.

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we are following:

Epix, a subscription-based multiplatform (linear, VOD, online) premium programming service which is a joint venture between Viacom, its Paramount Pictures arm, MGM and Lionsgate, said last week that it has tapped ChoiceStream to provide movie recommendations to users of its EpixHD.com service (note: the latter is available to authenticated customers of Cox, Mediacom, Charter and Verizon FiOS TV).

DVD rental/OTT video company, Netflix, and Relativity Media, the financing and production company behind such current-release movies as "Get Him to the Greek" and "Grown Ups," said Tuesday that they have signed a long-term agreement, under which major theatrically released films owned by Relativity will be licensed exclusively to Netflix for streaming to its subscribers on its "Watch Instantly" service during the pay-TV window (note: Netflix subscriptions that include the "Watch Instantly" service are priced from $8.99 per month). Until now, such films have been distributed via Relativity's studio releasing partners to premium TV channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz.

Struggling video rental chain, Blockbuster, said Tuesday that the latest Philips Blu-ray players, the 5320 and 7320 (note: the devices are built by Funai Electric-subsidiary, P&F, which is the exclusive licensee for Philips consumer television sets and home theater systems in North America), feature its transactional VOD service, Blockbuster On Demand. "Blockbuster On Demand gives customers instant access to the very latest new releases on the same day as DVD and Blu-ray," Bruce Anderson, Blockbuster On Demand's SVP and general manager, said in a prepared statement. "These new Philips Blu-ray players are a great way for you to enjoy the latest hit movies or cinema classics and we are excited to enhance that experience." 

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) contacted [itvt] Wednesday to let us know that it has launched a free, downloadable iPad app in the iTunes Store and on its own NFB.ca Web site. According to the organization, the new app--which it says has the same features as its existing iPhone app, but has been optimized for the iPad--allows users to view over 1,000 NFB documentaries, animated shorts and trailers, streamed over both WiFi and 3G, and includes a selection of content in 3D and HD.

Key features of the new iPad app, according to the NFB, include:

Cable industry-owned VOD content aggregator, iN Demand, contacted [itvt] Wednesday to share with us the list of first-run movies that it is premiering on cable VOD platforms this month. According to the company, most of the titles will be available day-and-date with their DVD release, one title will be available in advance of its DVD release, and around half of the titles will be on cable VOD platforms weeks before they are available through Netflix and Redbox. All the titles will be offered in both standard- and high-definition, iN Demand says.

The new-release movies that iN Demand will be premiering on VOD this month, according to the company, are:

Interactive production company, Tool of North America (note: for more on Tool, see the interview with its digital executive producer, Dustin Callif, that was published on itvt.com, June 9th, 2009), has teamed with "technology-infused" creative agency, Domani Studios, to develop an application, dubbed "Touching Stories," that contains four interactive live-action short films shot by five Tool of North America directors and designed specifically for the Apple iPad. According to the companies, the app allows viewers to "navigate, unlock and reveal unexpected variations" in each of the films by "touching, shaking and turning" their iPad. The app is available in the App Store, free of charge.

XStreamHD, a company that is developing a satellite-delivered 1080p HD movies-on-demand service, said Tuesday that it has signed a long-term satellite service agreement with EchoStar's EchoStar Satellite Services subsidiary. XStreamHD says that it has been working with EchoStar for the past two years in order to complete operational testing of the transport technology that underlies its service: it is using capacity from the EchoStar-leased AMC-16 satellite, which is located at 85 degrees west longitude and which it says enables it to offer "exceptional coverage" across North America. According to the company, the new agreement will allow it to increase its capacity on the AMC-16 satellite as its transport needs grow over time.

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been on the road the past few weeks, we are covering recent news stories in summary/round-up form. We apologize for any inconvenience to our readers. We will resume our regular format and publishing schedule tomorrow (Tuesday).

The [itvt] editorial team is on the road this week, so we are covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

The [itvt] editorial team is on the road this week, so we are covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

Canadian cable MSO, Rogers Communications, has now officially launched Rogers On Demand Online, its initial implementation of the "TV Everywhere" distribution model, following a beta period that began last November (note: the "TV Everywhere" distribution model--which was originally championed by Time Warner chairman and CEO, Jeff Bewkes--seeks, via authentication technology, to make programming that pay-TV customers have already paid for through their cable, satellite or IPTV subscriptions available to those customers on multiple Web sites and platforms, and thus aims to head off the threat posed to pay-TV services by the increasing availability of over-the-top programming).

Playcast Media, a start-up with offices in Israel and London that was founded by two Harmonic veterans--Guy De Beer, who previously managed that company's VOD product lines, and Natan Peterfreund, who was previously its principal scientist and who is one of the originators of the H.264 compression standard--has signed an MOU with a large Portuguese pay-TV operator whose identity the company has not disclosed, the Israeli business news service, Globes, reported late Wednesday.

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue: