11/03, 5:45pm
Best Buy deal to give online movies as bonus
Best Buy today struck a deal with Roxio to create a unique online and DVD hybrid movie service for the big-box retailer. The unnamed project hopes to give users buy once, play anywhere privileges: those who buy a DVD in-store will then have access to a CinemaNow-based portal for watching movies both on computers as well as on smartphones and Internet-aware Blu-ray players. Many of the movies will be new releases instead of reprints or old titles.
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10/21, 4:35pm
Insignia outs two BD players with Netflix support
Netflix this week partnered with Best Buy to endow the retailer's Insignia-brand Blu-ray players with the ability to stream Netflix movies and TV shows. This partnership has resulted in two Insignia Blu-ray players with this capability, including the Insignia Advanced Series Blu-ray Player (NS-WBRDVD) and the Insignia Connected Blu-ray Player (NS-BRDVD3). Either is Internet ready, though the former uses a Wi-Fi connection for access, with the latter relying on a wired Ethernet connection. Both are Energy Star certified and feature Dolby TrueHD sound capability. Either can upconvert standard DVDs.
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07/13, 2:15pm
Insignia portable HD Radio
Best Buy's in-house brand Insignia has recently released its first HD Radio device, the NS-HD01. The device picks up both analog and digital stations on the FM band and has 10 user-programmable presets. Power comes from a sealed lithium-ion battery that is recharged by a standard mini-USB connection and an included cable. On a full charge, the device is said to be good for 10 hours of playback, and the screen automatically dims to save energy.
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07/09, 10:25am
Best Buy, TiVo make a deal
Electronics retail chain Best Buy and digital video recorder maker TiVo on Thursday announced a partnership that will see Best Buy carry a specially developed TiVo set-top box that will let Best Buy advertise its products and services to TiVo subscribers, among other benefits. What TiVo execs are calling the biggest marketing move in the DVR company's history, will see Best Buy committing to a multi-year deal to advertise, promote and carry the TiVo devices, though no financial details have been released.
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04/08, 3:15pm
Philips Outsources HDTVs
Philips today revealed that it will stop its direct development HDTVs for North America. The Dutch firm now says it will outsource all of the work for both these sets and Magnavox models to Japan-based Funai. The company will handle both manufacturing sets as well as marketing them in the two western countries. The move is cited as necessary to turn around Philips' loss-taking HDTV business, which is successful in Asia and Europe but has struggled in the more competitive North American space through tight profit margins.
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02/07, 3:15pm
Best Buy digital converter
Big-box retailer Best Buy will soon join a special discount plan, meant to help push Americans over from analog TV to digital. Beginning February 17th, the company will start selling selling an Insignia-branded digital-to-analog converter box, eligible for a coupon program initiated by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This will cut the price of the converter by $40, making it a more reasonable $20.
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