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NBC and News Corporation's joine online video venture, dubbed 'Hulu', has acquired Chinese online video site Mojiti in a deal worth around $10m (4.9m).

Mojiti doesn't actually host videos itself but allows users to annotate and customise existing videos from other sites. TechCrunch suggests it may be used as the basis for Hulu's forthcoming video site.

The BBC is reportedly in talks with Microsoft over allowing the corporation's content to be downloadable via Xbox Live, as Microsoft looks to turn the console into an entertainment hub in people's living rooms.

In the US, Microsoft currently offers a video on demand service through content deals with Warner Bros, MTV and others. It apparently now plans to expand this service to Europe.

Tipped, a new site launched last week, provides people with the chance to view and share tips on the best places in their local areas, from bars and restaurants to shops and hotels.

Music discovery/recommendation site MyStrands has launched a version of its service dedicated to videos, allowing users to create music video channels based on their preferences and viewing history.

No surprises to see NBC heading over to Amazon’s Unbox online video service, following the content owner’s decision to ditch a deal with iTunes.

Amazon has catered for NBC’s variable pricing demands, with new shows likely to be priced more highly than older ones. Apple refused to budge on its fixed price policy, which appears to have been the dealbreaker.

NBC’s dispute with Apple over the company’s fixed pricing policy for downloads of its TV shows from iTunes is well worth tuning into.

The conflict is based on NBC’s demands for more control over the pricing of its content in iTunes, while Apple is insisting that variable pricing simply isn’t an option.

Well, here’s the kicker: Apple has already rolled out variable pricing in iTunes. It just depends on where you live. And, it’s frankly a bit of an outrage...

Etail solution provider Pangora surveyed hundreds of UK online customers about their experiences of delivery, site quality and customer service, and firms with no high street presence came top in most categories.

Apple has launched its video downloading service in the UK, allowing viewers to buy TV programmes from its iTunes store.

The company is initially making 28 series available via the site, which will compete with the catch-up TV services of UK broadcasters.

The company, which launched a beta version of its site in the UK in June, says its US version will have 5m tickets in its index when it goes live.

Is there any future for DVD rental companies? Yet another UK firm, ChoicesUK, is about to call in the administrators, having previously complained about the threat of piracy in the entertainment industry, along with ‘unseasonably hot weather’.

While piracy may have played a role in the company’s demise, it is more likely that it has been ground down by pureplay online DVD rental firms, including one operated by mighty Amazon, which launched its service in late-2004. For starters, online DVD rental pureplays have much lower overheads than ChoicesUK, which seems to have been strangled by the costs of maintaining 170 shops and 1,800 employees.

But hold on. I’m starting to wonder whether the pureplays themselves will last the distance, in the face of changing consumer behaviour.