[April Fool's Day] Partnership with Sony, Movie streaming Add-on unveiled

April 1st, 2011 theuni

Today we are proud to announce an exciting new partnership.

In early May 2010, a representative at Sony Japan’s Home Theater and Console division expressed interest in using XBMC as a delivery platform for its newest content. After nearly a year of development, we have delivered a product that is suitable for deployment into millions of living-rooms, backed by Sony’s reputation for delivering high-quality standards-compliant hardware and software. We believe that within 3 months, we will have a new appliance on store shelves that will revolutionize the industry. The XBMC team is also excited to be a part of Sony’s Home Theater and Consoles division, where free-thinking developers are regarded highly.

What does this mean for XBMC? The sky is the limit. Combined with Sony’s impeccable reputation in tech crowds, we anticipate that the platform will be a quick success in the retail market. Sadly, the XBMC source will be closed in the future (all developers unanimously agreed to assigning a proprietary license), but we believe this is the right move going forward. As Jonathan Marshall, XBMC Foundation President put it, “While the free and open-source model worked well when we were all still in our parents’ basements, now that we’ve been showered with gifts from our new friends at Sony, we understand that it is not sustainable in the long-term; DRM is the way of the future.”

Top10Top 10

We realize that some may see this as abandoning our principles, so we have used our new partner’s influence to secure a special treat for XBMC’s existing users. For the next year, we are able to bring you the latest box-office top-10 movies in 1080p quality, some before the Blu-Rays even hit the store shelves. The best part is, they are free of charge! Just check out the ‘Blu-Ray Movie Streamer’ plugin, available now in the XBMC add-on browser.

We understand that not everyone will agree with our decision here, but we assure you, it’s for the best. Stay tuned for more as the details unfold!

  1. daul
    April 1st, 2011 at 00:48 | #1

    … Then I looked at what day it was.

  2. April 1st, 2011 at 00:49 | #2

    fooooooooooooool!

  3. April 1st, 2011 at 00:50 | #3

    good thing my cat woke me up, so I got this first :D

  4. April 1st, 2011 at 00:50 | #4

    and a happy 1st April to you as well!

  5. Akshay
    April 1st, 2011 at 00:59 | #5

    WoW! Also in unrelated news, iPhone5 will be running Android OS…

  6. Wannabe
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:03 | #6

    This is why I don’t browse the internet on April the 1st.

  7. daul
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:05 | #7

    I just checked out the Blue-Ray streamer and Tron Legacy was great! Good Partnership!

  8. brianfroelund
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:07 | #8

    Was just about to go get the plugin when i saw the date :D

  9. Elmouse
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:08 | #9

    Hahaha! That was funny! :D

  10. boykster
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:15 | #10

    “backed by Sony’s reputation for delivering high-quality standards-compliant hardware and software”

    This made me LOL ;-)

  11. April 1st, 2011 at 01:15 | #11

    I loved you till yet. Now finally even money ruined your mind and descisions for the future. Why dont build up your own compnay ? I would provide you with money for the xbmc. But not Sony.

    A sadly start for a day to hear that in your eyes the best opensource software gets a new Owner, Sony.

  12. patrick
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:17 | #12

    Certainly not what I needed to hear tonight. Almost when ballistic. Good thing its the 1st of April; I would have killed someone.

  13. ZombieRobot
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:18 | #13

    WTF this is insane mediaportal here i come i guess there goes the community

  14. April 1st, 2011 at 01:21 | #14

    1st April ? now im awake :)

    DRM is the way of the future ?? Noooooo, Jokes on 1st April is the way to gooo

  15. enorlin
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:28 | #15

    haha, this one had me going for a few seconds! scary!

  16. PatOso
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:28 | #16

    XBMC is not free soon?

  17. Chris
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:28 | #17

    I hate you lol, i was reading that thinking, oh for sure? do yeah i DL the plugin…thanks…Good one!!!!

  18. Keydon
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:37 | #18

    Damn nice one, youtube got me!

  19. BlueCop
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:38 | #19

    I for one welcome our new corporate overlords.
    So when will the ps3 port be done?

  20. flo
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:39 | #20

    hrhr, nice one. still a little bit shocked.

  21. Cypo
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:43 | #21

    Some one please tell me this is a 1st of April joke, its scarier than it is funny!

  22. aloz
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:44 | #22

    “The XBMC team is also excited to be a part of Sony’s Home Theater and Consoles division, where free-thinking developers are regarded highly.”

    “Sony’s impeccable reputation in tech crowds”

    “DRM is the way of the future.”

    A bit obvious, despite excellent delivery, but this is basically the funniest thing I’ve read all week. Well done!

  23. yellowman
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:45 | #23

    Haha, you almost had me until the “closed source”-part… Good one! ;)

  24. jerkstore
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:45 | #24

    trololol..
    i realized it was fake when you said sony had an “impeccable reputation”

  25. April 1st, 2011 at 01:46 | #25

    You bastards had me for a moment then… Shame the “DRM is the future” line killed it.

  26. Jeremy
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:47 | #26

    You almost had me guys. Nice one!

  27. John Zakhar
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:47 | #27

    You had me until “sadly, the XBMC source will be closed in the future (all developers unanimously agreed to assigning a proprietary license)”

    well played!

  28. xeno
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:48 | #28

    lol made me so mad til i noticed the date, nice one.

  29. anthonws
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:50 | #29

    Nice one… You almost got me :P eeheheheh

  30. Scarfa
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:51 | #30

    My heart sunk for a minute until I realized it was a joke. Damn I hate April 1st!!

  31. April 1st, 2011 at 01:52 | #31

    Don’t you ever do that again! I skipped 2 or 3 heartbeats. :D

  32. Vince
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:59 | #32

    Good morning to u too xbmc on this beautiful April 1st!

  33. ZombieRobot
    April 1st, 2011 at 01:59 | #33

    wtf damit you got me big time

  34. Fire69
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:06 | #34

    Damn, you really had me there for a moment!! :)

  35. migueld
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:06 | #35

    me too, scary!!!!! would have been nice to have the sony add-on nonetheless ;)

  36. e-we
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:10 | #36

    Hehe, I got as far as the closed source. Great one! Keep up the great work everyone involved!

  37. Tomn
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:10 | #37

    Totally had me until the free movie bit. Nice one.

  38. The Goose
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:10 | #38

    Almost started crying… untill I noticed the calendar and i awoke from this nightmare.

  39. Brad
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:11 | #39

    Had me going as well. Didn’t realize it was after midnight!

  40. Smart79
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:16 | #40

    shit…. it totally fell for it. Damn you theuni. ;-) I was REALLY scared!!!

  41. J-Son-Quarc
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:17 | #41

    YMMD.
    At first glance I thought: “Outrageous filth! That’s it! Good bye for ever!”.

  42. CuTN
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:22 | #42

    “The XBMC team is also excited to be a part of Sony’s Home Theater and Consoles division, where free-thinking developers are regarded highly.”

    is it just me or does this quote just give it away? xD When I read it it’s just DRENCHED in sarcasm

  43. supernashwan
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:25 | #43

    for a second i though this meant XBMC was coming to PS3….

  44. tjalfe
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:31 | #44

    Ohhh… the april fools :P Had me going in the first 7-8 lines :-D

  45. Mike
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:32 | #45

    Wow, I was just about to call you guys a bunch of sellouts, then noticed the date

  46. hugo
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:33 | #46

    Damn! Totally fell for that one…

  47. Bahndit
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:36 | #47

    LOL, had me going.

  48. Jason2025
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:37 | #48

    Ha, Hamid and Zombie Robo just got owned ;)

    Well done, I forgot it was April 1st, so you had me up until “XBMC Foundation President”. Then I was like “wait a second…”

    J\

  49. muzza
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:37 | #49

    Had me till the closed source bit, then I smiled and punched myself for being a gullible twit.

  50. toneman77
    April 1st, 2011 at 02:38 | #50

    For a second…you got me.but then I checked the date… won’t believe anything today

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