Flixster may let you upload your DVD collection to the cloud

By Jeffrey Van Camp May 26, 2011

In a bold attempt to compete with Netflix, Deadline reports that Time Warner may use its newly purchased Flixter brand to start a cloud-based movie service. Chief among its assets will be the ability to let customers to upload their DVD collections to the cloud.

Consumers will be able to “upload your existing physical DVDs, have the ability to access them across multiple devices anywhere you want, have the ability to manage your collections with social aspects as well, go in, have friends see what movie collections they have, (and) see who has been watching those films,” said Time Warner CFO John Martin. He later called it a “very big idea” that will be unveiled in more detail soon.

Related Videos

Warner Bros. is doing very well. At that same investor conference, Martin said the company expects 2011 to be an “all-time record year.” It’s film business is churning along, but the main growth is coming from television, which is seeing high returns and accounting for about half of the company’s profits for the year. TV networks have picked up 27 series from Warner Bros. this fall, which includes 12 new ones, making the company, yet again, the top supplier of television programs.

While we like the idea of being able to upload our DVDs, actually doing it could be one of the most painful and time consuming tasks imaginable. Every DVD contains several gigabytes of movie and special features on it. It could take months to upload a substantial film collection. We imagine that Time Warner will let you simply prove that you own a DVD to unlock its content, but they’ll have to make some substantial deals with the other movie houses to do this. Some may remember MP3.com. About 11 years ago, the site let users prove they had CDs, which would unlock the MP3 versions for them. The RIAA sued the site and won–a ruling that may still be holding the industry back, as many new cloud-based music services like Amazon and Google Music force users to tediously upload physical copies of their music files.

What do you think about Flixter becoming a competitor to the likes of Xfinity onDemand, Netflix, Vudu, and Hulu?

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Computing

Logitech built Bolt to make wireless mice and keyboards work better

Logi Bolt is a new wireless connection standard designed by Logitech to connect business mice and keyboards.

Even though Bluetooth offers a convenient way for us to connect our keyboards, mice, and headphones to our laptops, the wireless protocol may not cut it in crowded office environments. Factors like congestion, reliability, and security may affect Bluetooth's performance in enterprise settings, which has prompted Logitech to deliver a new wireless standard called Logi Bolt. And like Logitech's Unifying Receiver for home use before it, Logi Bolt is designed to connect compatible Logitech peripherals -- like mice and keyboards -- to your business PC through the use of a USB adapter.

In designing the Logi Bolt standard, the company claims that it wants to address three key areas: "Secure wireless connection, robust wireless signal, and cross-platform compatibility for mice and keyboards." Logi Bolt peripherals are able to connect to PCs from up to 10 meters (33 feet) away, and like the Unifying Receiver, are designed to work in congested office environments with lots of mixed signals from other Bluetooth and Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

Computing

Home printer buying guide: How to choose a printer that best fits your needs

Whatever you need to print, there’s a home printer that can do it. But knowing how to choose a printer isn't always easy, given the sheer number of options on the market. To help, we’ve put together a quick-and-dirty buying guide for selecting a home printer, with simple explanations of some of the most common terms, plus recommendations that will serve the majority of buyers.
Inkjet or laser?

The first question all printer buyers must tackle comes down to a simple matter of what and how much you plan on printing. Inkjet printers use cartridges of ink that are applied wet to paper and rapidly dry, while laser printers use toner, a type of ink dust that bonds to paper for fast results and efficient resource use.

Mobile

WhatsApp now lets you make voice and video calls from your computer

WhatsApp messaging app

WhatsApp is now rolling out voice and video calling to desktop users, the company announced today. The messaging service, used by over a billion people worldwide, is improving the feature set of its desktop apps to match both its Facebook Messenger counterpart, as well as rivals from Apple's FaceTime and Microsoft's Skype.

WhatsApp says it is making this change due to a growth in voice and video calling that has happened over the past year. Due to the ongoing pandemic, a mix of social isolation, and lockdowns, more and more people have used the app to stay in touch in place of face-to-face communication. WhatsApp says this has reflected in "significant" growth, citing 1.4 billion voice and video calls made on New Year's Eve alone.