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Owning On-Demand DVDs: Consumers collecting and owning DVDs to build personal movie libraries instead of renting (26FEB04) (NYTimes)
Regarding how people can collect large quantities of movies in personal collections, the New York Times reports in one example: "How can one person accumulate such quantities? Kyle Schember knows. A recording engineer by trade, he spent two years collecting DVD's for a wealthy Los Angeles businessman." The Times quotes Schember as stating, "He had just built a theater in his house with projectors and seats for 20 people. He wasn't the type to get in his car and go shopping, so he said to me: 'I want to build a big collection. Would you be interested?' Twice a week I worked on it - one day was for shopping, the other for arranging.'" In another example, the Times also cites Todd Robertson by reporting, "Every night at his home in Des Moines, Todd Robertson watches a couple of DVD movies. Every few months he queues up a themed marathon he says might last 24 hours.... 'For me, the whole point is to build the perfect library of films,' he said. 'If films came on something else, that's what I'd collect. DVD is just the format that's doing film the most justice.'" -
Downloading HDTV Clips: FootageBank launches enhanced web site offering full motion HDTV clips (25FEB04) (PRWEB)
The news announcement states, "FootageBank, the only footage company specializing in High Definition (HD) native content, announced today the launch of its newly enhanced web site www.footagebank.com where customers can now search and preview motion clips online." -
Online-Based TV Channel: Baseball pitching expert launches PitchingTV.com internet TV channel on TV Worldwide Network (25FEB04) (MWire)
The news announcement states, "The PitchingTV.com Channel, at www.pitchingtv.com will offer on-line video-based training and instruction with robust multi-media programming featuring interactive live and archived streaming media content in both free and pay-per-view formats. Programming will include features on coach's tips, throwing techniques, 'teach-the-teacher' pointers, technical analysis, injury avoidance and rehabilitation measures, including professional presentations from physical therapists, medical and legal experts. PitchingTV.com will also highlight news and commentary along with coverage of national coaching conventions in addition to promotional programs produced by sponsorship entities interested in reaching the target demographic of baseball and pitching coaches, parents and players of all ages." -
Broadband Set-Top: Xiiva Systems intros Xstb-100 IP Set-Top Box for TV, VOD, internet, email via DSL (27FEB04) (PRWEB)
The news announcement states, "Xstb-100 provides an elegant and powerful means of delivering sophisticated interactive digital television including multicast and on demand video along with Internet access with selectable multiple language support. The built-in Java based web browser provides the user a complete web interface to surf the net compose and receive email, gaming as well as a host of other applications, from the comfort your living room without the need for a computer. The Xstb-100 box also supports sophisticated video-on-demand and IP multicast system, with full 'trick-play' functionality such as pause, play, rewind, and fast forward." - Set-Top Details: Xiiva Systems' Xstb-100 IP Set-Top Box specifications (PDF) (27FEB04) (Xiiva)
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Downloading Movies: Bill Gates wishes MovieLink had more movies but sees how movie industry wants people to be in the paying habit (24FEB04) (PCMag)
In discussing digital rights management (DRM), PC Magazine quotes Bill Gates as stating, "So we get caught in the middle between the extreme, 'protect content at all times' versus 'the content wants to be free' thing, and we have to provide the appropriate legal -- but easy to use, reasonable -- model that exists there. Things are moving forward. Take movies. I wish Movielink had a few more movies than it did, but at least that's the movie industry -- a little bit, some better than others -- trying to get a habit of paying for it before it comes [to be a habit] that you should not have to pay for it. And the fact that everybody and their brother is getting into the music download business -- hey, that's a good thing. It needs promotion, we need to move people over, you know, to this new model rather than the no-pay model, and maybe we'll get there. Maybe we'll get those habits moved back." -
Broadband TV Games: AOL Broadband UK to have interactive broadband version of 'Millionaire' TV gameshow (27FEB04) (Netimperative)
Netimperative reports, "AOL Broadband customers will soon be able to play 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' online, following a deal between the UK ISP and the popular TV game show's production company Celador. The new broadband video version, however, offers a monthly top prize of £5,000." -
Interactive TV Games: Fancy A Flutter channel on Sky Digital to have 'Blockbuster' interactive TV gameshow powered by NDS (27FEB04) (Netimperative)
Netimperative reports, "Classic 80's TV game show Blockbusters is to make a comeback as a fixed odds game on the Fancy a Flutter games channel, courtesy of a partnership with FremantleMedia. The Sky Digital channel, a joint venture between gaming group Rank and interactive TV software developer NDS, has licensed the Blockbuster game show title from FremantleMedia to expand its growing portfolio of fixed odds games." -
Growing Up Telewebbing: Today's teenagers have PCs on all the time, with 3-4 chats, talk on cell phones, and with TV on the PC (24FEB04) (AlwaysOn)
AlwaysOn cites Google CEO Eric Schmidt as stating, "I believe that consumers are going to behave in a way that makes sense to them, and we understand what that way is. It makes no sense to us, to Google. If you look at teenagers today as a generalization their computers are on all the time. They're on their mobile phones all the time. They have three or four chat sections going on at the same time. They're doing their homework at the same time, and they have some form of television on their computer as well. These are people who are going to grow up, whether you like it or not." -
Personal Portable Video Player: $99 Handheld ZVUE PVP device uses HHe video format, to use MPEG4 video in future (23FEB04) (PCMag)
On the full-review page, PC Magazine reports, "The ZVUE plays MP3 and JPG files. As for video, it uses a highly compressed, rights-protected, proprietary video format called HHe and will offer MPEG-4 in the near future. WMA support is planned, but no start date has been announced. Implementation of MPEG-4 (and WMA) should be by download; early buyers with nonfunctioning USB jacks will need to return the units." As to how you get the video into the ZVUE, "Content on the initial HHe cards (also called Zcards) includes music, extreme sports, and sports-tips videos; the cards cost $5 to $15. This initial lineup of rap videos and skateboard documentaries should appeal to the ZVUE's targeted buyer: teenage boys." -
Waiting For Wi-Fi: Consumer electronics with Wi-Fi including Wi-Fi enabled TVs, stereos, DVD players not ready for primetime (18FEB04) (BWonline)
BusinessWeek reports, "At the same time, predictions that 2004 will be the year the wireless home finally gains traction seem to be overstated. The verdict of experts after the Consumer Electronics Show was that most of the Wi-Fi-enabled products displayed there aren't quite ready for prime time, in part because no single device exists for managing a household that includes Wi-Fi-enabled TVs, stereos, and DVD players." BusinessWeek quotes Intel communications laboratory director Kevin C. Kahn as stating, "The consumer-electronics industry historically hasn't been real good at standards and interoperability. Look at the piles of remote controls people have lying around." -
Interactive TV Movies: 'Movieoke' concept by Anastasia Fite is fun activity for TV viewers to act along with favorite DVD movies (25FEB04) (NYPost)
The New York Post describes "Movieoke" as where: "Participants choose a scene from a movie they want to act out and borrow the DVD from the video rental store upstairs." The Post further reports that the DVD movie is set up where "[t]he scene, with subtitles, is then projected onto a large screen, while the performer stands in front, acting along." The Post also reports, "Costumes are optional. Props are encouraged. And screw-ups are inevitable." -
'Movieoke' allows TV viewer to act out scenes from DVD movie playing in background with sound muted & subtitles turned on (27FEB04) (PlainDealer)
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, "By all accounts, it started last fall in New York as the brainchild of Anastasia Fite, the 24-year-old manager of the Den of Cin, the basement theater of an East Village video store and pizza place that's become a popular singles hangout. On Wednesday nights, on a stage set up in front of a screen, movieokeists get to act out a scene from a movie borrowed from upstairs." Then "[t]he big-screen scene ... is projected onto a monitor in front of the 'actor,' with big subtitles, so there is no need to memorize lines. Props are encouraged, costumes are optional, and goofs are welcome. Major devotees play more than one part in a scene." -
DVR Harddrive Booster: Maxtor and other harddrive manufacturers working on providing six media streams for DVR harddrives (25FEB04) (CNET)
CNET reports, "Advanced DVRs are part of a growing convergence of computer and entertainment technologies. Stephen Baker, an analyst at market research firm NPD Group, said DVRs in the future could even manage information from so-called smart appliances, such as Internet-connected refrigerators that are communicating about their repair needs. The DVR machine, in effect, would act like a data traffic cop. The home 'needs a central authority to direct where all these streams of content go,' Baker said. 'You don't want the information that your refrigerator is sending regarding its compressor over the Net to interfere with your cable TV signal.'" -
TiVo Price & Storage: TiVo to have $50 rebate and new TiVo model to have 140 gigabyte harddrive (25FEB04) (CNET)
CNET reports, "Late last year, TiVo passed the 1 million subscriber mark, the point in the consumer electronics industry at which a product is viewed as a mass-market device. This often leads to a price drop for products, as higher demand allows companies to take advantage of economies of scale and negotiate lower rates with manufacturers, then pass that cost saving on to consumers." -
The Real TiVo: Lance Olanoff turns to WeaKnees.com to hack and upgrade harddrive on Lance's TiVo (25FEB04) (PCMag)
PC Magazine's Lance Olanoff writes, "I've spent many envious minutes listening to people talk about TiVo-ing their favorite shows, and I've wanted to get in on the action for quite some time. I'm also aware that many people think TiVo needs upgrading -—- myself included. With that in mind, I turned to WeaKnees.com, a TiVo upgrade and parts company. WeaKnees.com takes TiVo Series 2 systems, and throws in another hard drive, bumping up the storage capacity from 80 hours (at lowest visual quality) to as many as 320 hours." -
DVR Harddrive Boost For HDTV: Echostar and DirecTV DVRs to have 250 GB drives for recording HDTV while including copy-protection (17FEB04) (Wired)
Wired reports, "The beefier hard drives are necessary because signals for high-definition TV, or HDTV, carry far more information per frame than standard TV. For example, one HDTV standard in the United States (1080i) calls for images that are 1,920 pixels by 1,080 pixels, refreshed 60 times a second. By comparison, standard analog TV in the United States is 500 dots by 525 dots. But while the huge storage will please consumers, another 'feature' of the new generation of machines may not: Under pressure from Hollywood, the manufacturers will include copy-protection schemes that will prevent users from sharing recorded programs or playing them on other devices, like a PC." - TiVo Raises The Volume: DirecTV to continue to "aggressively market the DirecTV DVR with TiVo" (01MAR04) (BWonline)
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Set-Top DVR: Standalone DVRs could be supplanted by set-top recorders from cable & satellite providers (18FEB04) (ParksAssociates)
The news announcement from Parks Associates states, "The stand-alone digital video recorder (DVR) will be supplanted by set-top recorders provided by television service providers, according to [the Parks Associates report] Multimedia Networks in the Home: Analysis and Forecasts. As cable and satellite operators enter a new phase of heightened competition to attract and retain customers, DVR set-tops will be a key differentiator and the platform from which service providers offer a host of new services, including on-demand content. The report predicts that the number of deployed set-top boxes with time-shifting functionality will grow six times between 2004 and 2008 to reach nearly 25 million U.S. households." -
TiVo Tracking Privacy: Phillip Swann says TiVo users are getting paranoid over TiVo privacy concerns (23FEB04) (TVWeek)
Television Week's Phillip Swann writes, "TiVo has been frequently criticized in the past for releasing subscriber samplings and for its recent partnership with Nielsen to provide aggregate data to the TV industry. Privacy advocates and some consumers are concerned that digital technology makes it all too easy for TV services to collect information on what we watch and when we watch it. The mere suggestion that a company may release this data puts some people in a lather.... However, ... privacy 'hystericas' ... believe they must oppose the release of all subscriber data to ensure that no one's personal information will ever be revealed. Like many other special-interest groups, they live by the credo that if you give them an inch they will take a mile. In other words, permit TiVo to release subscriber samplings and they will try to release your personal data next. This is the position of paranoids." -
DVR Versus DVD Recorder: BSkyB having phenomenal success with Sky+ set-top DVRs but DVD recorders could crash the party (18FEB04) (Independent)
The Independent reports, "BSkyB has been trumpeting the phenomenal success of its Sky+ set-top-recorders. But the latest DVD products look set to crash the party." - Open-Standard EPG: Freeview working on seven-day EPG for free digital set-tops in the UK (19FEB04) (PVRUK)
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DVDs As On-Demand TV: Rachel Rebibo says "With a DVD player, I can set my schedule and turn it off anytime ... It's my choice" (30JAN04) (WashPost)
Rachel Rebibo says "With a DVD player, I can set my schedule and turn it off anytime ... It's my choice" -
DVDs As Lifestyle Choice: TV viewers dumping broadcast, cable, satellite TV and instead watching DVDs of TV shows and movies (30JAN04) (WashPost)
The Washington Post describes how Rachel Rebibo uses DVDs: "With a DVD collection, Rebibo is able to schedule her own television lineup without commercial interruptions or a stinker of a show ruining her night. 'I don't want TV to be the focal point of my life,' she says. 'With a DVD player, I can set my schedule and turn it off anytime. It's my choice.'" Like other DVD collectors, the Washington Post reports Rebibo has a "massive DVD collection" including "debut seasons of the NBC series 'Law & Order' and its spinoffs, 'Criminal Intent' and 'Special Victims Unit'; five seasons of HBO's 'Sex and the City' and the now-canceled WB and UPN series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'; the first two seasons of Showtime's 'Queer as Folk'; and the first season of HBO's 'Six Feet Under.'" Rebibo also owns "some episodes of the old CBS 'Twilight Zone' series, Cartoon Network's 'Powerpuff Girls' and the long-defunct ABC series 'My So-Called Life.'" -
Backing Up DVDs: Jim Lynch gets upset about protecting his ability to conduct DVD copying (24FEB04) (ExtremeTech)
ExtremeTech's Jim Lynch writes, "I own more than 200 DVD movies. Why would I need software like DVD X Copy? Simple: I'm lazy and somewhat of a 'coffee table slob.' I have a six disc DVD player in my living room, so at any given moment I have a number of discs in my player. When I add new discs to the player, quite often I won't immediately put the previously-viewed discs back in their boxes. Most of the time, I just stick them on something on my coffee table and clean them up later. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that they get knocked around on the table until I get around to putting them away. This wear and tear can cause scratches that prevent the DVD from screening properly. It's happened before, so being able to back up my favorite DVDs is important to me." -
Replacing 240 Million TV Sets: Americans have seen the big picture and it is flat (01FEB04) (TechNews)
The Washington Post reports, "Indeed, sales of flat-panel televisions of all kinds more than tripled last year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. In 2003, 657,000 flat-panel TVs were shipped to dealers from manufacturers, up from 191,000 the year before, pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the hands of giddy retailers -- especially during the frantic television-buying season leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, the biggest TV-watching day of the year." -
Home Theater: US retailers ordered $12 billion of home theater electronics including TVs, receivers, DVD players in 2003 (29JAN04) (WashPost)
The Washington Post reports, "Last year, U.S. retailers ordered $12 billion worth of home theater electronics, including television sets and screens, speakers, receivers, sub-woofers and DVD players, says Brad Jones, communications manager of the Consumer Electronics Association in Arlington. That was nearly double the 2002 total of $6.5 billion for hardware alone; it does not count the first recliner, curtain or popcorn machine." -
HD Picture More Than Meets The Eye: Stephen Manes discusses buying HDTV for the home (01MAR04) (Forbes)
Forbes' Stephen Manes writes, "TV used to be so easy. You bought one, you took it home, you plugged it in, it worked. Now, as anybody who has struggled with modern remote controls can tell you, that era has gone the way of Howdy Doody." - Fine-Tuning HDTV: Stephen Wildstrom discusses video projectors, DVD on HD, HDTV receivers, 720p and 1080i (23FEB04) (BWonline)
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Does HDTV Make Me Look Fat: Beauty magazine editor says "HDTV is a nightmare" (23FEB04) (BTH)
Broadcast Enginneering's Behind The Headlines reports, "The image-obsessed television business is worried that a growing HD audience will see more reality than it wants: the wrinkles on once-ageless actors, the cracks in set walls, the brush strokes on painted backdrops. To avoid turning off viewers, televisionÂ’s illusion specialists in makeup, set design and lighting are finding new ways to counter HDTV's less-forgiving eye." -
UK DTV: Digital TV growth in UK still leaves UK government's target for 95% penetration by 2007 as a distant prospect (23FEB04) (Netimperative)
Netimperative reports, "Nearly 17 million homes will have digital TV by 2005, according to Continental Research's Spring 2004 Digital TV Report; the total for digital owners is currently just over 12 million. However, the growth still leaves the Government's target for 95% penetration by 2007 as a distant prospect, the report said." -
Strung Up Paying More For Cable TV: Rob Pegoraro says cable TV prices have remorselessly ratcheted up every year (22FEB04) (WashPost)
The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro writes, "When I awoke more than a week ago to hear that Comcast, the cable giant, proposed to buy Walt Disney Co., I couldn't help wondering: If this company could find enough change under the sofa to buy one of the biggest names in Hollywood, haven't I been paying too much for cable? ... Meanwhile, cable prices have remorselessly ratcheted up every year, as if they were college tuition rates, health care premiums or property taxes. This has been good for Comcast, which netted a 38 percent 'operating cash flow' margin last year on its cable services. But what about the rest of us? Why do cable rates stay so high?" -
Videogame Academics: Princeton University to hold "Form, Culture and Video Game Criticism" conference on March 6, 2004 (26FEB04) (NYTimes)
The New York Times reports, "... since 2000, game studies has begun carving out its own territory. Universities in both the United States and Europe offer graduate programs in game studies, and conferences devoted to games, like the one at Princeton, are becoming more common. A professional organization, the Digital Game Researchers Association (www .digra.org), links developers with academic researchers. Scholars can publish in three peer-reviewed journals and contribute to game studies Web logs (ludology.org, ludonauts.com, terranova.blogs.com and buzzcut.com). The field's snappy new name is ludology, from ludus, Latin for game." The New York Times goes on to report, "Now game critics are rephrasing the fundamental questions that Aristotle gave to literary studies about 2,300 years ago: What is the purpose of a game? How do we describe the experience of playing a game, or game play?"
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