Hacking NetFlix

Controversy over Dog Fight Movie

There is a controversy brewing over Street Heat: Hood Fights: Vol. 2, which allegedly features scenes from a real dog fight.

From the description of the movie on the Netflix Web site:

In this second volume of violent scenes from the Street Heat DVD magazine, you'll experience even more ground-zero action from the hood, including an up-close and personal view of the madness inside the dog pit. It's a collection of urban carnage that's suitable only for the strongest of stomachs.

via the Pink Rabbit Says.

HD DVD & Blu-ray Anti-Piracy Techniques

BusinessWeek has a story about the anti-piracy techniques used by the new HD DVD and Blu-ray players, The DVD War Against Consumers.

Even more extreme is a scheme called BD+ that deals with the problem of what to do when someone cracks the encryption scheme. The players can automatically download new crypto if the old one is broken. But there's an ominous feature buried in this so-called protection mechanism: If a particular brand of player is cryptographically "compromised," the studio can remotely disable all of the affected players. In other words, if some hacker halfway across the globe cracks Sony's software, Sony can shut down my DVD player across the Net.

Thanks to Joe for sending this in.

Disney Selects CinemaNow for Downloads

Forbes: "Beginning today, CinemaNow users will be able to choose from 30 Disney titles, including National Treasure, The Pirates of the Caribbean and Chicken Little; the studio will also begin selling online downloads "day and date" with their DVD releases, beginning with the June 6 release of Glory Road."

Netflix Settlment Benefit Update

Several people have asked "When will we receive the free month or upgrade?" A Netflix spokesperson gave the following update:

The Class Benefit will become available to eligible Class Members following the Effective Date, as described in the Amended Settlement Agreement. The Effective Date depends on such factors as the pendency of any appeals and is therefore difficult to predict. All eligible Class Members who have registered for the benefit will be sent an email when the Class Benefit becomes available.

In other words, we'll get an e-mail when everything is settled (you can also check NetflixSettlement.com for updates).

Latest Netflix Envelope Ads

The latest Netflix envelope ads. The first one is for games (HedgeGames.com/flix) from the movie Over The Hedge, and the second is for the very scary looking movie Little Man.

NYTimes: Behind the Scenes at IMDB

The New York Times takes a look behind the scenes at the Internet Movie Database, "IMDB: From a Small Stream, a Gusher of Movie Facts."

In the story is another confirmation of the upcoming movie download service from Amazon:

Even so, Imdb's convergence moment may soon be at hand, say studio executives who have worked with Amazon on developing a download service that could let people burn DVD's on their desktops. Though Amazon and Mr. Needham decline to talk about plans, Imdb could play a more prominent role in the retailer's media strategy. Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Brothers are all involved in the project, executives close to the project have said.

Thanks to Joe for sending this in.

New Releases for May 30th, 2006

Click here for the full list of new releases this week (170).

Interesting movies include Date Movie, Freedomland, Queer as Folk: The Final Season, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Smokey and the Bandit, The Bunker, Numb3rs: Season 1, Joey: Season 1, and The Cheese Nun.

Netflix Adds Blu-ray

Tony discovered that Netflix has added a Blu-ray movies (you can find them in the "Blu-ray genre" under the Browse tab). To add Blu-ray titles click on "Your Account" and follow the steps to setup your account for Blu-ray.

The following is a partial listing of the Blu-ray titles available from Netflix:

Hastings: Movie Downloads by End of Year

Dave at Zatz Not Funny tipped me off to a Business Week story, Netflix: The Mail-order House that Clobbered Blockbuster.

Nevertheless, Hastings is hedging his bets by expanding Netflix into niches that will help it maintain an edge as new rivals emerge. He's positioning it as a film investor and source of high-quality content -- like Home Box Office for DVD rentals. He also wants to be a player in Web distribution, which it will launch by yearend even though Hastings thinks the market for downloading will be tiny for years.

Will we finally see the Netflix Player we first caught a glimpse of in July, 2005?

"Inside Netflix" Video on YouTube

Will tipped me off to a an old video (from when they only had 1 million subscribers) on YouTube that takes a look inside a Netflix shipping center.

There are also a number of Netflix-related videos on YouTube, including a user-created commercial for Netflix, the Netflix Challenge, and Netzpupz.com (this one may be offensive to dog lovers).