Hasta La Gadget!

If the only thing standing between you and a full abandonment of physical media is the tedious task of ripping all of your CDs and DVDs, boy have we got the Lego-based gadget for you. Paul Rea whipped up this little beauty — it’s an Arduino-powered Lego arm that swings to pick up a disc, deposit it in the drive and then drop it (perhaps a bit too literally) into a finished pile. It’s not quite perfect — the arm is a bit loud as it moves, and anyone who’s ever owned CDs or DVDs may likely grimace as the thing tosses finished discs into a pile, but it’s an entertaining break from what can ultimately prove an arduous task.

Continue reading Lego CD / DVD ripper lets you drop your physical media — literally (video)

Lego CD / DVD ripper lets you drop your physical media — literally (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While its movie rental rivals Netflix and Blockbuster have struggled for varying reasons recently, it seemed like Redbox could be just the ticket for thrifty renters. That may be tougher now that it has announced Monday we’ll see a slight increase in pricing for DVD rentals, from $1 to $1.20, citing increased debit card fees. So far, nightly pricing for Blu-ray discs ($1.50) and videogames ($2) is staying the same, but with studios already pushing for longer rental delays, there’s fewer safe ports or those pursuing cheap, current movies. On the conference call, executives floated the idea of using the first sale doctrine to buy and rent retail discs if necessary. Overall, as seen above Redbox’s share of the disc rental market rose last quarter, while there’s still no word on plans to jump into online streaming.

Check below for parent company Coinstar’s full Q3 earnings report plus a FAQ that helpfully points out this is Redbox’s first increase in eight years and that discs reserved online will still be just $1 for the first night through November. The actual email customers are receiving is included after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Redbox’s $1 per night DVD rentals jump to $1.20 October 31st, Blu-ray and games stay the same

Redbox’s $1 per night DVD rentals jump to $1.20 October 31st, Blu-ray and games stay the same originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Netflix Contrition Tour 2011 continues today, as the company announced today that it won’t be spinning off DVD-by-mail rentals into a new company called Qwikster. While the plan for DVD operations to be separated internally appears to still be under way (no word yet on the promised videogame rental option), for customers things will stay the same, with one login and one website. While the retreat will probably prompt even more speculation about the company’s true plans, CEO Reed Hastings has issued yet another apology to customers, admitting Netflix may have moved too fast this time.

Another sticky issue that’s not so easily dealt with is the recent pricing change that took effect last month. While many speculated at the time about what percentage of customers would see higher prices as a result, spokesperson Steve Swasey reveals it affected about half of the company’s subscribers. For the rest who had signed up for the $7.99-streaming only package (an option selected by the overwhelming majority in the quarter before the change) prices didn’t go up at all. We have our own ideas about what the pricing should be, but it seems Netflix has finally realized not all customers got the message that it’s a streaming company now, and tacking DVDs onto its new primary offering for only $2 extra just didn’t work. Since all that uproar Netflix has announced a few new / expanded content deals for its streaming service, with Discovery and exclusive rights to previous seasons of The Walking Dead from AMC. But with renewed competition from the likes of Blockbuster and Amazon only time will tell if it can do enough to stop the subscriber bleeding. The Netflix Q3 earnings report is due October 24th — think that will be an interesting call to listen in on?

Continue reading Netflix backtracks on Qwikster, will keep DVDs and streaming under the same URL

Netflix backtracks on Qwikster, will keep DVDs and streaming under the same URL originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Over on Netflix’s official blog, company head Reed Hastings has announced in a surprisingly humble blog post and video (embedded after the break) that it’s splitting the DVD-by-mail business away into a new venture dubbed Qwikster. While the recent price changes already split the cost for each service, when this takes effect in a few weeks it will result in two different websites, two different sets of movie ratings and queues, and two different charges on customer’s bills. He admits two separate sites may make it more difficult to manage a presence on both, but says dropping the need for compatibility between the two will enable new features to balance that out. Another change? Netflix Qwikster (is there anything good about that name?) is getting into video game rentals, available for an extra charge similar to the existing Blu-ray disc option.

While the blog post blames a lack of communication for much of the backlash (and obviously cancellations), it’s about to become very clear that Netflix is “primarily a streaming company.” Also mentioned is “substantial” additional streaming content coming in the next few months. Whatever the company calls itself, charges, or changes on its website, if Netflix wants to talk its way back into subscriber’s good graces, starting with something new to watch is the way to do it.

Continue reading Netflix spins DVD-by-mail service off into Qwikster, says it’s ‘done’ with price changes (video)

Netflix spins DVD-by-mail service off into Qwikster, says it’s ‘done’ with price changes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Sep 2011 00:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Besides being a lightning rod for the Blu-ray vs. HD DVD wars, the Transformers series also racked up some of the biggest HD sales ever, and now we’ll see if the latest entry, Dark of the Moon, keeps up that trend. Paramount has announced it will be released September 30th in Blu-ray/DVD combo form for $29.99, with a “deluxe” release including Blu-ray 3D expected in “the coming months.” There’s no specifics on any extras included in this release, but it looks like PHE is going the Avatar route and saving those for later. For those anticipating the 3D release, hopefully this doesn’t equal a similar exclusivity period, but until the disc is actually announced we won’t assume anything. If 154 minutes of Michael Bay exploding things sounds like a good idea to you, check after the break for a press release and schedule that Friday off — you have somewhere to be.

Continue reading Transformers: Dark of the Moon Blu-ray due September 30th, 3D version later

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Blu-ray due September 30th, 3D version later originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 21:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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