Blockbuster's Disappointing $99 video box

Blockbuster recently launched the MediaPoint player, selling it for $99 from its Web site. With it, your first 25 movie rentals are free.

The slim box made by 2Wire Inc. connects to your TV and your home broadband line. Using the included remote control to order a movie, it downloads so you can begin watching after a few minutes.

Blockbuster and others realize the days of the movie rental store are numbered, but Blockbuster's first box for playing Internet video on your TV doesn't measure up to the existing devices. The present line up:

http://www.blockbuster.com/ondemand

http://www.netflix.com

http://www.apple.com/appletv

http://www.vudu.com

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Blockbuster's NEW ON-DEMAND SERVICE

Blockbuster is now appealing to the larger audience that prefers watching entertainment on big-screen TVS.

To bypass the struggling video chain's 7,500 stores, Blockbuster Inc. will start renting movies and television shows through a new gadget that may give consumers another reason to avoid using the family car.

The new system relies on a small box that will connect to television sets. The box stores video after it's downloaded over high-speed Internet connections.

The player is made by San Jose-based 2Wire Inc. and it is built on the same concept as storage devices made by Apple Inc. and Vudu Inc. These devices are all meant to provide a bridge between the Internet and TVs.

Netflix Inc., a Blockbuster nemesis, has been trying to make the same leap with a video-streaming service that can be watched on TV sets through a variety of devices, including a $100 box introduced by Roku Inc. six months ago.

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Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.