The multimedia upgrades for the newly refreshed Xbox Dashboard continue today with YouTube and the latest addition of UK-based video-on-demand service Blinkbox.
Through Blinkbox telly-addicts and movie-fans can preview, rent or buy over six-thousand TV shows and film titles including recent faves Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows 2, Captain America and The Hangover II from studios such as 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios and Warner Bros., as well as a number of indy companies such as Aardman Animation – the Bristol-based creators of Wallace & Gromit. Movie rentals range from free (mostly ‘goldie oldies’) to 1.99p (The Dark Knight and Twilight included) and up to £3.49 for new releases and are viewable for unlimitedly for a 24-hour period.
Unlike its Sony flavoured rival, the Playstation 3, Blinkbox through the Dashboard and Xbox LIVE can be gesture controlled and is supported by Kinect. This means voice can be used to navigate categories and genres, search by actor, directot or title and pick out you movie of choice. There’s no need to reach for the remote or get up and physically put in a DVD. Perfect. Because the last thing you want to be doing this Christmas is being active!
Apple iPad owners can also enjoy the delights of Blinkbox, sans the hands-free, as the VoD service just quietly surfaced on the App Store.
Blinkbox is part owned by supermarket chain and online retailer Tesco, and the pair recently unveiled plans to make digital video content more freely accessable, rewarding the DVD and Blu-Ray buying UK public.
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