MIcrosoft has announced XBox 360 updates that will give interface a cartoon-like appearance and a deal with Netflix that positions the XBox as an Apple TV killer.
“When people turn on their Xbox 360s this fall, they’ll get an entirely new interface and Dashboard, an entirely new Xbox through the magic of software,” said John Schappert, [...]

There’s been a lot of discussion today about the Roku Netflix Player, focusing on the idea that Roku could its cheap Player to establish a foothold in people’s living rooms, and then add additional services to establish itself as a major Internet television solution.
According to a Forbes report, “Later this year, a simple software update [...]

The world of Internet video just got a lot more interesting.
The Netflix Player by Roku is the first product that lets you get Netflix movies and TV shows streamed directly to your TV screen. It also costs $100 and offers about 8 times the movie selection of Apple TV.
Best of all, if you’ve already got [...]

I’m a big fan of Apple TV - but it’s going to be a hard sell unless Apple gets more studios on board and builds up a library of long-tail content. Apple TV & iTunes currently offer less than 1,000 movies  - or about 89,900 less than Netflix:
The version of the iTunes Store reachable from [...]

Netflix and LG Electronics are reported to be prepping a Apple TV killer, a set top box that will let users stream video content from the Internet directly to HDTVs.
Netflix has 7 million members. If it can convince even a small percent of its members to try the service, it could quickly leapfrog Apple’s Internet [...]

U.S. video rental spending is well off its 2001 peak of $10.3 billion, but revenue from online subscriptions is beginning to put some steam back into the rental industry, according to Adams Media Research (AMR). AMR projects online subscription spending to increase by 41% to $1.9 billion in 2007.
“The five-year decline in the video rental [...]

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal (subscription), Blockbuster is introducing a holiday promotion that will let Netflix subscribers rent Blockbuster movies for free. Netflix members can exchange the tear-off flaps from red Netflix envelopes for free rentals at any Blockbuster store.
Blockbuster is using the promotion to boost exposure of its Total Access [...]