Verizon and Coinstar, Inc. today announced the formation of a joint venture that will create a new choice for quality- and value-conscious consumers seeking a simple and affordable way to access the video entertainment they crave. The venture's services will offer all of the convenience, simplicity and value of Redbox® new release DVD and Blu-ray Disc® rentals combined with a new content-rich video on-demand streaming and download service from Verizon.
The joint venture plans to introduce the product portfolio in the second half of 2012. It will offer subscription services and more in an easy-to-use, flexible and affordable service that will allow all consumers across the U.S. to enjoy the new and popular entertainment they want, whenever they choose, using the media and devices they prefer. Additional brand and product information will be revealed in the coming months.
 

There are reports that Sony is increasing its LCD panel purchases from LG Display. Sony stopped their partnership with Samsung (Samsung bought Sony's stake in the LCD joint venture). An LGD official is quoted saying that future talks will also cover OLED TV panel outsourcing. LG Display is currently gearing up to start producing 55" OLED TV panels. Their 8.5-Gen pilot line will produce around 48,000 monthly panels - which probably won't be enough to outsource to Sony. But LGD already decided to increase their OLED TV panel capacity (by building a new fab or perhaps converting an LCD line). This will take at least a year and half.

Want to run Boxee on your PC or Mac? Then hurry up; Boxee is removing all copies of its PC-based app from its servers by the end of the day Tuesday to fully concentrate on the Boxee Box. The company announced the move late last year, and Boxee VP of Marketing Andrew Kippen confirmed Monday that the company is going through with its plans, despite some criticism from Boxee’s early adopters.

Remember that expansion into the gaming space that Netflix was talking about when it launched its Quickster DVD rental service last summer? Those plans seem to be canned together with the whole Quikster idea, according to statements by the company’s CEO Reed Hastings on Wednesday’s earnings call. However, the company may have another interesting product in store for its streaming subscribers: 3-D movies. “On streaming, that is definitely something we can do and we will be looking at,” Hastings said. The company is already offering 3-D Blu-rays for rent, but hasn’t said how well these titles are doing. Subscription plans for physical discs have been declining sharply, and Hastings said during the call that he expects these numbers to decline quarter-over-quarter “forever.”

Kaleidescape, a prominent manufacturer of high-end movies servers, has lost its latest battle in its eight-year war against the DVD Copy Control Association, the organization that licenses the Content Scramble System (CSS) for DVD players. The DVD CCA sued Kaleidescape in 2004, arguing that its products violate a licensing agreement that expressly prohibits the copying (ripping, archiving) of DVDs. Judge William J. Monahan of the Santa Clara County Superior Court in California issued the tentative judgment favoring the DVD CCA on Jan. 9, 2012. The ruling is subject to revision pending input from the two parties. If it stands as written, the DVD CCA can permanently prohibit Kaleidescape from selling DVD movie servers, unless the disc is present at playback (or some other authentication mechanism is in place) -- effectively killing the movie server category as we know it.. The DVD CCA also may collect court costs.

Boxee is rolling out some major updates to its connected television platform today, including a new software update to support the company’s Live TV stick product, which goes on sale today. The Boxee Box is a streaming set-top box featuring Boxee’s open-source media software, which transforms televisions into internet connected media centers. The company announced back in November it would be launching Live TV stick, a $49 addon that acts a high-powered HD antenna to give Boxee Box owners access to local channels like ABC, CBS, Fox, CW and NBC with no monthly fee. Boxee is betting that the combination of free basic live TV channels with videos from services such as YouTube, Netflix, Vimeo and others will be enough for many people to end their expensive cable subscriptions (a.k.a. cut the cord).

The Stop Online Piracy Act has officially been put on hold. U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) announced that the House Judiciary Committee, which he heads, "will postpone consideration of the legislation until there is wider agreement on a solution." Smith added that he has taken critics' concerns "seriously." "It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products," Smith said in today's statement. The statement from the House Judiciary Committee does not mention SOPA by name, but a committee representative contacted by phone confirmed that it does indeed refer to the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Lackluster 3DTV sales may be getting an unexpected lift. That's thanks to expected growth of Internet-connected TV shipments, according to U.K.-based Futuresource Consulting. The company forecasts such TVs will comprise 80% of all worldwide TV shipments in three years. Right now, connected TVs shipments are at 27% of all TVs shipped globally. When it comes to 3DTVs, shipments of 16 million units are estimated for 2011, growing to represent 50% of the market in 2015. But there might be an asterisk here. Futuresource says: "One of the key reasons behind the growth of 3DTVs is that consumers are purchasing the 3D function by default when looking to upgrade to higher-end models." The firm notes the public is "unaware of the in-built 3D capability at the time of purchase." Right now, Net-connected TVs have the biggest share of the market in Japan, where they represent 59% of all TV shipments last year. Looking at other big markets -- USA and China -- both are getting 29% share of Internet-connected television sets. Europe receives a 24% share.