Good Luck to Ya! (Blockbuster Will Unveil Set-Top Box)

Blockbuster wants to be sure it still has a connection to consumers once movies go digital, so it's apparently developing its own set-top box for the holidays, according to PaidContent. The device will deliver movies from the Movielink service that Blockbuster now owns. From the coverage in Home Media Magazine:

Analyst Edward Woo with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles said the set-top box device sounded ambitious, but wondered how consumers under pressure from the current economic downturn would receive it.

“Until I hear more concrete information, I'm not sure how receptive consumers will be and whether it will be different or better than other boxes out there or planned be out there,” Woo said.

Blockbuster downplayed posting a third-quarter (ended Oct. 5) net loss of $17.8 million and 2.7% decline ($33.6 million) in total revenue to $1.2 billion, citing a limited slate of movie titles and competition from Olympic telecasts.

Update: Venture capitalist Bijan Sabet thinks what we need is an open set-top box that will let anybody deliver content to it and build applications for it.