For owners of select TVs and Blu-ray players, Blockbuster OnDemand will function just as we've seen it before: as a broad on-demand film catalog with a decent selection of newer films. The press release is irritatingly indirect about which products will be supported, but Crave has parsed it for us:

LNB650 series, LNB750 series, UNB7000 series, UNB7100 series, UNB8000 series, PNB650 series, PNB850 series, PNB860 series.

In addition, it looks like virtually all 2009 connected Blu-ray players from the company will support the service, since they already support other, similar ones, including Netflix. Expect the relevant firmware updates and widget availability in fall of this year.

UPDATE: The official supported list turned out to be a bit shorter: BD-P1600, BD-P3600, BD-P4600, HT-BD1250, HT-BD7200, HT-BD8200.

[Blockbuster via Crave]

Blockbuster and Samsung Sign Agreement to Deliver BLOCKBUSTER(R) OnDemand Services to Select Samsung HDTVs, Home Theater Systems and Blu-ray Players

Millions of homes across America to gain access to BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand movies

Samsung products to also be sold at select BLOCKBUSTER(R) stores and online at blockbuster.com

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., and DALLAS, July 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI, BBI.B), a global leader in entertainment, and Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today announced they are joining forces to enable consumers to access Blockbuster's vast and growing library of premium digital entertainment via select new Samsung HDTVs, home theater systems and Blu-ray players. The new services will be available in the fall of 2009 and are expected to provide millions of homes across America access to Blockbuster's digital library of movies. Additionally, as part of the agreement, Blockbuster OnDemand will have preferred positioning on the Blu-ray interfaces.

The BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand service provides comprehensive on-screen search and browsing capabilities, as well as full details, ratings, trailers, and other information about each movie directly on the television, eliminating the need for customers to manage a viewing queue on their PC. Once a customer rents or buys a movie, they simply press play to begin instant viewing. Blockbuster's adaptive streaming technology ensures quality viewing with immediate and uninterrupted playback.

"This agreement underscores the growing opportunities around digital delivery and the plan to make the BLOCKBUSTER brand as available on screens as it has always been on storefronts. The Blu-ray players BLOCKBUSTER will feature represent the perfect bridge between physical stores and digital delivery by providing streaming digital access to the newest hit movies and high definition Blu-ray product, which is available in our stores and through BLOCKBUSTER By Mail," said Jim Keyes, Blockbuster Chairman and CEO. "We look forward to working with Samsung to showcase their select products in Blockbuster stores while making Blockbuster's digital library available in homes across America."

"Samsung constantly seeks ways to provide greater value to consumers through innovation and connectivity," said Tim Baxter, President of Samsung Electronics America. "Our strategic alliance with Blockbuster means that we will provide consumers another significant avenue to access rich content and a great viewing experience."

The alliance also includes the sale of Samsung Blu-ray players with the integrated BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand service at Blockbuster's thousands of participating corporate-owned stores and franchise stores and online at blockbuster.com, in addition to Samsung's existing retail channels.

The companies expect to have the BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand service integrated into new Samsung Blu-ray disc players and HDTVs by the fall of 2009. Consumers who already own select 2009 Samsung Blu-ray players and home theater systems, as well as Samsung LCD and Plasma HDTVs Series 650 and above, and Samsung LED HDTVs Series 7000 and above, can access the BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand offering at no additional charge by conducting a firmware upgrade (Blu-ray players and home theater systems) or downloading the BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand widget (HDTVs).

Nobody's overly excited about Best Buy rebranding an existing service and building it into their website, because, well, it's just not very exciting. That said, it is interesting to see one of the biggest sellers of physical media, i.e. DVDs, throwing their considerable weight behind digital distribution. Those aforementioned "select devices?" Probably just be a few LG web-connected Blu-ray players, and maybe a new marketing pitch for the Xbox, which already supports it.

Sonic Provides Broader Access to Digital Hollywood Hits
Roxio CinemaNow, Available on LG Blu-ray Disc Players, Launching Soon at BestBuy.com

Novato, CA (June 5, 2009) - Consumers will soon have more ways to conveniently access premium digital video content, including new releases from major Hollywood studios often on the same day the DVD is available in stores.

On the heels of the announcement that its Roxio CinemaNow® service is live on Blu-ray Disc players from LG Electronics - providing consumers instant access to digital entertainment in the living room - Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC), today revealed that Roxio CinemaNow will be available on select devices at Best Buy and instantly accessible through Bestbuy.com. These latest initiatives are part of a broader strategy to increase awareness for Roxio CinemaNow, build a compelling digital entertainment ecosystem and expand its reach onto a broad range of home and mobile electronics.

"The exposure Roxio CinemaNow gains through leading CE device manufacturers like LG and top retailers like Best Buy will help educate millions of consumers about the convenience and flexibility of digitally delivered video entertainment," said Dave Habiger, president and CEO, Sonic Solutions. "Consumers will be captivated once they discover just how easy it is to stream their favorite movies to their CE device or PC."

Roxio CinemaNow offers a broad selection of regularly updated premium content, including new releases from major Hollywood studios for rent or purchase. As well as providing access to Hollywood hits, Roxio CinemaNow offers a rapidly expanding ecosystem of compatible devices that provides consumers a more flexible digital entertainment experience through extended multi-device access and playback capabilities. Sonic's device ecosystem, powered by its new Roxio CinemaNow SDK (software development kit), is helping streamline the integration of turnkey premium entertainment delivery, management and sell-through services in next-generation digital home devices including portable media players, Blu-ray Disc players, set-top boxes, mobile phones, Web-connected television sets and PCs equipped with Roxio Venue™ software.

Sonic is at the forefront of digital video distribution, offering high-quality Hollywood movies, TV shows and music videos to consumers across multiple platforms. Sonic has relationships with more than 250 content providers and a content portfolio of over 14,000 titles that include new releases from major Hollywood studios and entertainment from independent distributors as well as broadcast and cable television networks.

About Sonic Solutions
Sonic Solutions® (NASDAQ: SNIC) is powering the digital media ecosystem through its complete range of Hollywood to Home™ applications, services, and technologies. Sonic's Roxio® products enable consumers to easily manage and enjoy personal digital media content as well as premium Hollywood entertainment on a broad range of connected devices. A wide array of leading technology firms, professionals, and developers rely on Sonic to bring innovative digital media functionality to next-generation devices and platforms. Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County, California.

Bloomberg says that Sony would be the first studio to support a wide launch of full length films on a video service such as YouTube. They currently offer 60 movies on Crackle, while MGM offers a small number of films on YouTube along with Hulu's selection of ad-supported flicks. And logically, Electronista thinks that most the initial films will be older ones, which would make total sense. [Bloomberg via Electronista]

SAN DIEGO, September 9, 2008 – Sony today announced that Amazon Video On Demand is now available live through the Sony® BRAVIA® Internet Video Link, offering tens of thousands of premium movies and TV shows.
Amazon Video On Demand offers immediate access to premium, commercial-free movies and television shows purchased or rented by users who stream them directly to compatible Sony BRAVIA televisions equipped with the optional BRAVIA Internet Video Link through an in-home broadband service.
Sony also announced that streaming high-definition content is now available on the service from Dailymotion and other providers at no additional cost.
“Consumers want immediate access to premium on-demand movies and top TV shows in their living room and the BRAVIA Internet Video Link service now offers one of the largest on-demand streaming libraries available,” said Randy Waynick, senior vice president of Sony Electronics’ Home Products Division in the U.S. “From high-quality, full HD movies on Blu-ray Disc™ players, to the immediate satisfaction of streaming feature-length videos directly to BRAVIA TVs over the Internet, we are in a position to deliver entertainment for any consumer taste.”
Amazon Video On Demand and Dailymotion channels add to existing BRAVIA Internet Video Link lineup, which already includes YouTube; CBS, Yahoo!; Sports Illustrated; blip.tv; CondéNet’s Style.com, Men.Style.com, Epicurious, Wired.com and Concierge.com channels; Sony Pictures’ Crackle, The Minisode Network, Timeless TV and Inside Sony Pictures channels; FEARnet; Ford Models; SingingFool; and VideoDetective.
Once a BRAVIA Internet Video Link is registered with an Amazon.com account, customers can purchase or rent programming directly from their TV or online at Amazon’s web site and begin watching the streaming content immediately on their BRAVIA television.
When a title is ordered, it is automatically added to consumers’ Amazon Video On Demand “Your Video Library,” providing easy access to purchased and rented content. A backup version can also be found in the library, which is accessible from the Sony BRAVIA Internet Video Link device user interface or on Amazon.com.
New to the BRAVIA Internet Link lineup, Dailymotion offers HD and standard definition content including videos from across Dailymotion’s most popular channels and categories such as comedy, extreme sports, news, music and independent film.
BRAVIA Internet Video Link users now also have access to select high-definition content from various existing channels including FEARnet, VideoDetective, Blip.tv and Sony Pictures Entertainment. High-definition content found on these channels, as well as Dailymotion, is free of additional charge.
Sony’s BRAVIA Internet Video Link module is currently available for about $300. It can be purchased online at sonystyle.com and Amazon.com, as well as at Sony Style stores and authorized retailers across the country. The module, used with a consumer’s existing broadband Internet connection, is compatible with the majority of Sony’s line of 2007 and 2008 BRAVIA televisions.

[Sony.com]

First, you have the MyNetflix plugin for Windows Vista Media Center PCs that turns the Media Center into a streaming frontend for the Netflix Watch Now interface. The developer of this app says that Media Center Extenders don't work "yet", which might mean that it's an issue with codec support (Netflix doesn't stream in the right video codec). They might even be able to fix this with a little bit of real-time video transcoding on your PC.

But what would you say if you could stream Netflix's Watch Now movies directly to your 360 at no additional charge? Would you be happy, or really happy? [Thanks Andy!]