Blockbuster teams with Microsoft for mobile video

Movie rental chain Blockbuster said it is collaborating with Microsoft to develop new digital services that will extend the viewing experience to mobile handsets and other portable devices. "Eventually, we'll give customers instant access to any movie on any device with an Internet connection and a screen," said Blockbuster CIO Keith Morrow in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. "More immediately, we could use this technology to reach into airports. Travelers could quickly download movies from Blockbuster kiosks to their portable media players." According to Morrow, Blockbuster will develop its mobile video efforts on top of Microsoft's Live Mesh data synchronization software platform, envisioning services that would enable consumers to begin watching a film on one connected device, press ‘pause' and resume viewing on another device in a different location.

Blockbuster has touted its mobile video development efforts for some time--in January, CEO Jim Keyes said [1] the company is at work on a microSD chip enabling consumers to sideload digital video content onto portable devices, adding that over-the-air download options are under consideration as well. Late last year, Keyes stated [2] Blockbuster was negotiating with mobile handset makers to create new video technologies enabling wireless subscribers to view movies on the move. "We're talking with virtually all of the major manufacturers about the opportunity to provide greater mobility and convenience," he said at that time.

For more on the Blockbuster/Microsoft collaboration:
-read this Dallas Morning News article [3]