Gearfuse

Blockbuster is still the largest video rental store in the country but that’s not something to be proud of. People want content in their homes as soon as possible and driving to a store and renting a physical disc just doesn’t make the cut anymore. So, in an effort to save itself, Blockbuster has scrambled and partnered with dying DVR company TiVo.

While TiVo is in a much healthier state than Blockbuster, it only has 3.3 million subscribers, not a significant number. TiVo owners who have Blockbuster accounts will pay up to $4 to rent a movie, most with DVD-quality images. Customers will have 30 days to begin watching; once they do, they can view the video as much as they want for 24 hours. It will cost as much as $20 to buy a movie, but digital-rights software will prevent it from being copied to a DVD.

Essentially, Blockbuster is on its way out and wants to make one last stand. Remember the Alamo!

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If you’re a football fan with a broadband Internet connection, your weekend just got a whole lot better. The NFL has launched a service called “Game Rewind” that will retail for $19.99 for the season or $4.99 a week. The service lets you watch all the football games you can handle in HD quality with no commercials. Awesome, right? It doesn’t end there.

You’ll also get the ability to watch four games at once, chat with other fans and complete DVR functionality. Want to rewind to see that interception Drew Brees threw? You got it, champ. Keep in mind, this is a web-based service so you’ll need a way to bring out the picture if you plan on watching the games with your boys.

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Ordering pizza from the comfort of your couch while watching your favorite television shows on DVR is now a realization. That is, if you’ve got a TiVo. Now that Netflix has bailed TiVo out, TiVo is getting smart by offering its customers a crucial feature that’ll prevent them from leaving their seat: pizza.

A new Domino’s widget is available for US TiVo subscribers that allows you to order pizza right from your television. Sure it’s ridiculously awesome, yet absurd, but while it might not be as lazy as ordering Pizza Hut while playing Everquest II, it certainly will make shows like The Shield more enjoyable, if that’s even possible.

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Sony has introduced a DVR for the Playstation 3 costing about $140. It’s called the PlayTV and it hooks up between your PS3 and television and allows the console to record one channel while you watch another. You can even export videos to your PS3’s XMB menu in MPEG-2 video format, then watch it however you see fit.

Could it be that Sony released a DVR without DRM? I can’t believe my eyes.  No, it can’t be. I’m sure they’ll issue an update that’ll cripple the functionality with restrictions a month or two from now. There’s no word on U.S. availability and pricing at the moment, but no DRM? That’s just plain cool.

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This might look like a miniature Death Star but, in actuality, it’s a top secret spy cam. The DVR CamBall is the first ever digital video camera and MP3 player that’s as small as a ping-pong ball and able to record at 320×240 or 640×480 resolutions. What better way to sneak a camera into top-secret facilities than to roll it under the door. Unfortunately, once it’s out of your grasp their is little you can do to aim it.

That’s fine though, since this thing’s got the capability to hold up to 8GB of photos with an SD card. At $200, it comes with a couple of accessories including a tassel to wear the camera around your neck and an underwater case for snorkling shots that’ll turn you into a marine biologist in no time.

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A few years ago, the phrase DVR meant TiVo. If you were recording TV shows, you were TiVoing. Times changed, TiVo panicked and the company stopped offering lifetime subscriptions. Ever since then, TiVo’s charisma has been flawed and the company has been offering extras to subscribers to placate them year after year.

Thankfully, the company has realized the error of its ways and will now offer lifetime subscriptions again. Unfortunately, the price-tag that comes with it isn’t all that great. Be prepared to shell out $399. Not only that, the subscription is box-specific, meaning that you can’t upgrade to that Series 3 without shelling out more bucks.

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