JB Hi


James Martin/CNET

Xbox is pushing digital purchasing back into the bricks and mortar world with the announcement that Australians can now buy digital redemption codes for games and content through JB Hi-Fi stores.

According to Xbox Australia, JB Hi-Fi stores across the country have started stocking redeemable digital codes “for select game add-ons, season passes, consumables and full game downloads for the Xbox One console”.

From this week, consumers will be able to get access to codes for “the biggest current titles”, including Minecraft, Forza Horizon 2’s ‘Car Pass’, NBA 2K15’s ‘Virtual Currency’, and Grand Theft Auto Online’s ‘Shark Cards’.

Xbox is expecting to add more content as new titles are released, including titles from Microsoft as well as other publishers. There are also plans to add content from popular titles from the back catalogue of Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles.

Microsoft Australia Business Group Lead for Interactive Entertainment Jeremy Hinton said the new JB Hi-Fi distribution was “just another way” gamers could have “amazing choice” beyond the Xbox Live platform.

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JB Hi

TCL announced this morning that it would be selling its 55-inch Ultra HD TV for AU$4999, making it the lowest RRP for 4K in Australia.


(Screenshot via Nic Healey/CNET)

However, as was pointed out to CNET Australia via reader comments, JB Hi-Fi is selling the Hisense Ultra HD TV for just AU$4998 — and that’s the 65-inch model according to the website.

The recommended retail price for the 65-inch XT880 Ultra HD TV from Hisense is AU$6499. In fact, the JB Hi-Fi price is actually AU$1001 less than the RRP on the 58-inch version of the XT880, which Hisense lists at AU$5999.

CNET Australia contacted a JB Hi-Fi sales representative who confirmed the price on the website as being accurate.

Andre Iannuzzi, head of marketing for Hisense, told CNET Australia:

As a manufacturer Hisense provide Recommended Retail Prices, however they are just that — recommended. Australian retailers have the ability to sell products at prices that suit their businesses.

Of the six stores listed in the “Where to Buy” section of the Hisense website, JB Hi-Fi appears to be the only retailer currently listing the Ultra HD line up from the manufacturer on its website.

The low price from JB Hi-Fi does seem to make the 65-inch XT880 the cheapest Ultra HD TV in Australia by a significant margin, being AU$4001 less than 65-inch models from LG or Sony.

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JB Hi

JB Hi-Fi has quietly launched its very own ebook store in Australia, along with its own e-reading app for iOS and Android.


(Screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET Australia)

Tech retailer JB Hi-Fi has been moving into the digital space, first with music-streaming service JB Hi-Fi Now last year — and now with its very own ebook store, called JB Hi-Fi Now Books.

The books are available in EPUB format with DRM applied, which is compatible with most e-readers on the market (except for the Kindle) as well as Apple iBooks and JB Hi-Fi’s own brand new free e-reading apps: JB Hi-Fi Now Books for iOS and JB Hi-Fi Now Books for Android.

Neither of the apps feature built-in access to the store; instead, you purchase books on the website. These will be synced to your account and will need to be manually downloaded to the app. To install a book on an e-reader such as the Sony PRS-T2 or the Kobo, you will need to download and install Adobe Digital Editions.

In order to sign up for the website, you will need to provide your mobile phone number as your account name — as with the Now music service. If you are already signed up for Now, your account will work across both services.

So far, the selection looks reasonably sized and priced fairly, comparable to Kobo‘s Australian pricing — although the search engine could probably use a little work. The most expensive title on the home “What’s Hot” page was under AU$20, but we had better luck finding specific titles searching by author.

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JB Hi

After nine months, major retailer JB Hi-Fi has reversed its decision to exclusively stock Blu-ray products in-store, opening the floor for HD DVD players and titles.

While the chain has been selling HD DVD titles online since early this year, the decision to share physical store space with the competing format is a major setback for the Sony driven Blu-ray, in the ever see-sawing high definition format war.

Citing Paramount’s decision to go exclusively HD DVD as “the most significant paradigm change”, JB Hi-Fi marketing director Scott Browning said “movie enthusiasts would be deprived of too many popular titles” had JB remained Blu-ray only.

Toshiba, the primary backer of the HD DVD format claimed in a press release today that the decision “ensures consumers emerge as the winner as their choice of hardware and software is broadened”, although to many it may seem as an extension to an ongoing war that will only add to the confusion.

“More choice inherently means more confusion, particularly when we are discussing technology,” Browning concedes. “The challenge for us as retailers is to ensure consumers have all the facts evenly presented to draw their own conclusions.”

Browning believes that the ongoing problem of which format to buy will eventually sort itself out. “With early adopters the consensus is that they will probably have access to hardware that drives both formats in short term and accept the reality of two formats for now. By the time the early majority of adopters get involved a large part of the decisions will already be made via the popularity of both or either format.”

“I think the risk has passed where the consumer will be making a dud technology decision as both formats will be around for some time to come.”

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JB Hi

The war between high definition video formats Blu-ray and HD DVD has escalated today with major retailer JB Hi-Fi announcing it will only sell Blu-ray movies through its stores.

Speaking at the official launch of Blu-ray in Sydney today, Scott Browning, marketing director at JB Hi-Fi, said the format had the support from Hollywood and predicted that “content will be the king” for Blu-ray.

“Indeed this is the reason that we have decided to only stock Blu-ray products at JB Hi-Fi. The range of exciting new film and TV releases as well as the potential back catalogue means that we can deliver everyone’s favourite films on Blu-ray”, Browning said.

Browning added that the company intends to dedicate up to ten percent of store space to the new format, despite being forecasted to only account for three percent of sales. He said that many stores already stocked thirty Blu-ray titles.

Browning did concede JB Hi-Fi would consider selling HD-DVD movies online if there was “enough demand for it”.

Sony PlayStation 3 is due to launch on March 23, 2007, and is seen by many to be the key ingredient in ensuring Blu-ray’s success, due to the fact it comes with a Blu-ray player on board. The PS3 will retail for $999 and include a 60GB drive.

Competitor Microsoft, which has a stake in HD-DVD, will release its own HD-DVD player for the Xbox 360 a week later for $250. The most expensive Xbox 360 retails for $649.

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