RealNetworks, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNWK) should have saw this coming when they release their new controversial RealDVD software.  While RealPlayer already allows you to download any video from YouTube or powered by Flash, RealDVD allows you to rip DVDs and make back up copies.  RealDVD was officially launched today.  Six major studios announced that they are suing the software company over the software.

These studios believe that many of Netflix and Blockbuster’s customers would just burn the movies that they rent with the RealDVD software, thus causing them to lose out on a great deal of money.  The lawsuit was filed at the U.S. District Court in L.A. 

“The incentive for the consumer is obvious and all but overwhelming,” stated a request by the movie studios.  The request was for a temporary restraining order. “‘Why,’ he or she may ask, ’should I pay $18.50 to purchase a DVD when I can rent it for $3.25 and make a permanent copy?’”

RealNetworks defends their software by saying it is legal.  RealDVD is sold for $30 per consumer at $20 for up to four licenses after that.  The software copy is locked into the original owner’s hard drive and does not alter the encryption technology used by movie studios already.  Copying one’s own personal copies of a DVD is “fair use” by law. 

The movie studios stated that RealDVD violates the Digital Millenium Copyright Act to bypass technologies that prevent the copying of a DVD without permission of the copyright owners.  The movie studios that are suing RealNetworks includes Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA)’s Paramount Pictures, Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE)’s Sony Pictures, News Corporation (NYSE:NWS.A)’s 20th Century Fox, General Electric (NYSE:GE)’s Universal, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) studio, and Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) Warner Bros.

TheWB.com is currently in Beta and is geared to launch on August 27.  Upon launch, TheWB.com will have full episodes of All Of Us, Roswell, Everwood, Blue Water High, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dangerous, Friends, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Smallville, The Wayans Bros., The OC and Veronica Mars.  TV producers, McG and Josh Schwartz will be releasing a couple of new shows on TheWB.com such as Sorority Fever. 

McG is the director and producer of Terminator 4, Supernatural, and the Charlie’s Angels movies.  Schwartz is the writer and producer of Gossip Girl, Chuck, and The O.C.

“The launch of TheWB.com represents a natural progression of the Warner Bros. Television Group’s digital strategy and complements our core business, which is based upon episodic storytelling, first-class distribution and providing value to partners through advertising in a premium environment,” stated Bruce Rosenblum, President of Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG).

TheWB set-up a Facebook application and a Facebook fan page as part of the launch.

“These hit shows still have an incredible amount of equity with their audiences, who grew up with these characters and went through significant events in their lives just as some of the characters did on the programs,” stated Brent Poer, General Manager of TheWB.com. “And now, through TheWB.com, users will be able to take an unprecedented level of control over their own entertainment experience by easily editing, remixing, and literally ‘playing’ with their favorite shows. We’re giving the users final cut.”

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) signed on as the charter sponsor for TheWB.com.  TheWB.com is a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX).

Related Links:
1. TheWB Beta
2. WB Press Release

Hulu is proving more and more everyday that they are not Clown Co. Hulu has just made a solid move for catering to those that prefer having RSS aggregation websites as their browser homepage.

Now Hulu has a way to add RSS feeds for several categories of videos on their site including: Recently Added Videos, Recently Added Shows, Highest Rated Videos, Most Popular Videos, Most Popular Videos This Week, Most Popular Videos This Month, Most Popular Videos All Time, Soon-To-Expire Videos.  Personally I’m going to take every one of these RSS feeds and add them to a separate tab on my current homepage, Netvibes.

There is also an Add Video check box that allows Hulu to embed the video within the RSS feed aggregation box.  This feature is not quite supported yet, but I’m sure it’s a work-in-progress.

What makes these RSS feeds interesting is that Feedburner powers them.  Feedburner is owned by Google and Google owns YouTube, a Hulu competitor. Oh, the irony.  No matter what you do on the web, it somehow connects to Google in some sort of degree.  Just like all of us are six degrees from Kevin Bacon, every Google competitor is 2 degrees away from Google.

Another interesting feature of Hulu is the ability to embed videos into social networks.  This will surely drive additional hits to Hulu.  Hulu is currently ranked 3,000 or so on Alexa and growing.  Below is a screen shot of Hulu in my Netvibes.

Great feature, keep it up Hulu team.

Hulu’s content is provided by Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) through NBC and warner Bros., General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) through NBC, MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM), Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE), and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF),

Blockbuster Inc. announced today that they would be acquiring Movielink LLC.  Movielink provides customers access thousands of movies that can be rented or purchased online.  Movielink is a joint venture between Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer Studios, and Warner Bros.

“Blockbuster is committed to keeping pace with the changing needs of customers by offering them an expanding array of convenient ways to access entertainment content,” stated Jim Keyes, the Blockbuster Chairman and CEO. “Our acquisition of Movielink, with its associated digital content, is the next logical step in our planned transformation of Blockbuster. Now, in addition to the entertainment content we provide through our stores and by mail, we have taken an important step toward being able to make movie downloading conveniently available to computers, portable devices and ultimately to the television at home.”

Blockbuster won’t be changing the operations of Movielink but will be making elements of the service available on blockbuster.com.  Movielink was started in 2002.