snapshot 8/9/07

Blockbuster to buy movie download firm
Although Blockbuster Inc.'s Total Access program has been adding subscribers faster than Netflix Inc.'s DVD rental service, Netflix was able to tout that only it offered the ability to instantly download movies and TV shows to a computer. Not for long. Blockbuster said Wednesday it is buying the digital movie-download service Movielink, giving it a stronger online foothold to compete with its rival.

The Dallas-based video rental chain said it would continue to operate Movielink as a stand-alone service but eventually make elements of it available through Blockbuster's online-ordering, mail-delivery service. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.


Creative blames Q4 losses on iPod, Zune
Creative, most famous for its sound cards and media players such as the Zen V Plus, is blaming newly-reported fourth-quarter losses on competition from Apple and Microsoft. Losses in the period ending June 30th amounted to $19.3 million, a substantial increase over the $12.7 million lost in the same period last year. Sales have fallen 28 percent to reach $165.2 million. The company attributes this primarily to the continuing dominance of the iPod, which holds 68.9 percent of the US market, but additionally to the introduction of the Zune, and more recently Microsoft's price cuts to clear out stock. Despite it being a new product, the Zune currently holds 2.5 percent of the market.


Summer Sales Doldrums; Fall Product Parade
What do Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Toby Keith, Big & Rich and Rascal Flatts all have in common on this week’s Top Current Country Albums sales chart? Answer: They are all in line behind Taylor Swift who is No. 1 for the third consecutive week with an album that has now been on the chart for 41 weeks. Overall Top 75 current country sales were light again this week, just over 425,000 units. According to Nielsen SoundScan, year-to-date country sales remain down 29.3% through the week ending 8/5/07.
Despite country’s gaping sales deficit, the hopes of sales execs for an upbeat year-end finish are being bolstered by the slew of superstar product set for release in the final four months. Here’s a few of the biggest: Kenny Chesney (9/11), Rascal Flatts (9/25), Brooks & Dunn (10/2) and Carrie Underwood (10/23). Rumbles at the accounts (but still unofficial) indicate fans might find a Keith Urban Greatest Hits and a new CD from Josh Turner Nov. 6. Also watch for Nov. 13 releases from Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.


CreateSpace - Amazons answer to LuLu
Amazon has decided to get in on the POD game launching a POD book publishing service this week through CreateSpace, a company they acquired in 2005. CreateSpace will now let users create and sell their own books, CDs, DVDs, audio books, direct download video, and HD DVDs with a Blu-ray option in the works.



Survey: Consumers unhappy with video downloads
If you're among the folks wondering why Apple (AAPL) hasn't said much about the progress of video downloads on iTunes, Parks Associates offers one answer: Consumers aren't hooked.

Based on the results of a recent survey, the firm says consumers who have downloaded video don't like the selection – just 16 percent say it's "good." Only 13 percent feel the download was worth the money. The Parks numbers show that people who download pirated movies using peer-to-peer services are more satisfied than those who use paid services such as iTunes, but consumers aren't too satisfied with either method.


Research targets the holy trinity of audio streaming: quality, security, and DRM
Researchers at the University of Ottawa are publishing a paper in the International Journal of Advanced Media and Communication in which they describe a system that can serve live audio streams while performing resampling, live embedding of watermarks, data authentication, and quality of service validation. We take a look at whether this will change the face of streaming media, or simply provide more of the same DRM.

Although transcoding has already been solved, the paper provides a good introduction of past work on the remaining three problems: watermarking, QOS, and data integrity checks. It describes efforts that have addressed each of these issues but suggests that the earlier work fell short by viewing them in isolation. They also note that many of the watermarking efforts, while looking good on paper, have never been tested in the real world because they were not accompanied by actual implementations. With the review done, they announce that they plan to correct these shortcomings.