The LCoS shakeout has begun in earnest. Shortly after Philips announced that it would discontinue production of liquid-crystal-on-silicon rear-projection television sets (RPTVs), chipmaker Intel Corporation made an equivalent move, shutting down its LCoS product development program.
<I>Cary Grant, Eve Marie Saint, Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, Henry Fonda, Carole Lomabard, Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Montgomery Clift, Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Joel McCrea. Aspect Ratio: each film presented in aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition (two are anamorphic widescreen, the rest full screen), all Dolby Digital in mono except </I>North by Northwest<I>: Dolby Digital Surround 5.1. Nine films/10discs. 967 mins. 2004 Warner Bros. Home Video 39814. NR except </I>Dial M for Murder <I>and</I> Strangers on a Train Preview<I> Version: PG. $99.92.</I>
Yet another Internet-related company is looking to bring content - "with High Definition quality" - to your computer and TV screens. DAVETV, an acronym for Distributed Audio Video Entertainment, claims to be "a new kind of television broadcast network offering not only traditional programming such as movies, music, music videos and sports, but also new original content self-published by end users using DAVETV's secure peer-to-peer networking system."
They say you can't please all of the people all of the time, but Sony's newest DVD burner aims to do just that. Sony's new DVDirect (which Sony asks that you pronounce as "DVD Direct" even though they left out a "D" and a space) is "the first in the world capable of stand-alone, real-time DVD recording, as well as computer-attached burning." As such, Sony hopes it will appeal to those camcorder owners with poor or negligible computer skills who still want to be able to archive precious (and typically quite boring) family memories on DVD while at the same time fulfilling the needs of more computer-savvy members of the household.
At just 48 years of age, Drew Snodgrass had already become a digital dinosaur. While many of his contemporaries were in Circuit City drooling over 60-inch flat-panel HDTVs and the latest laptops, Drew and his wife, Chris Monty, curled up in front of a trusty 27-inch Sony wedged into a corner of the family room, a mass of wires running to a VCR and DVD player.
I love George Lucas. There, I said it. Even though I have to give him a lot of awards these days, it's not so bad 'cause I get to make fun of him in a way that he seems to like.
The much-discussed convergence of computers and home entertainment took a big step toward fruition with an October 12 announcement by Microsoft Corporation. Touting new products, new software and a website, Windowsmarketplace.com, for those eager to learn about digital entertainment, Microsoft also launched its own online music store. The announcement included the debut of two new logos—"Designed for Windows" and "PlaysForSure"—that the company hopes will assuage any doubts about the reliability of the new products.
Motorola parts with Proview: Motorola' plan to return to the television market after more than 30 years has been derailed by a rift with Proview International Holdings Ltd's Moxell Technology, the Chinese manufacturing company hired by Motorola to make its flat-panel sets. Proview is the world's largest assembler of computer monitors, according to the electronics industry press.