LATEST ADDITIONS

The film industry's yearlong pursuit of DVD hackers has hit a roadblock. On Thursday, December 14, the California Supreme Court issued an order that may result in the dismissal of charges against several defendants accused of promulgating a DVD decryption code known as DeCSS. Developed last year by a 16-year-old Norwegian computer hobbyist to allow DVDs to play on Linux-based PCs, the code also defeats copy prptection. CSS (copy scrambling system) is built into DVD movies and software to prevent illegal copying.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.dishnetwork.com">EchoStar Communications</A> announced the availability of its optional 8VSB tuner cartridge, which enables customers who have the Dish Network Model 6000 satellite television receiver to receive off-air analog and digital broadcasts such as those in the High Definition Television (HDTV) format, where available. EC says that the cartridge is now available at participating Dish Network retailers for a introductory price of $100. After Jan. 1 the cartridge will be available for $149.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.2netFX.com">2netFX</A> announced its recently developed 10 to 36 Mbp HDTV-over-IP streaming technology. The company says that with the recent addition of a live high-definition encoder from Motorola, the new system is compliant with industry standard protocols enabling High Definition Television (HDTV) content to be stored for later delivery or multicast in real-time over standard corporate data networks, satellite and the Internet.