LATEST ADDITIONS

Barry Willis  |  Aug 15, 1999

Copyright hysteria is one of the entertainment industry's longest-running programs. Last week's episode featured an announcement by the recently formed Advanced Television Copyright Coalition (ATCC) that the group would exert legal pressure on <A HREF="http://www.tivo.com/">TiVo, Inc.</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.replaytv.com/">RePlay Networks, Inc.</A>, two Silicon Valley-based makers of personal video recorders (PVRs). These are hard-disk-based video recorders that allow users to easily shift viewing times and instantly zip past commercials if they wish. The machines' manufacturers will be asked to sign licensing agreements for the use of the group members' content.

Robert Deutsch  |  Aug 15, 1999

C<I>olm Wilkinson, Lea Salonga, Ruthie Henshall, Philip Quast, Michael Maguire, Jenny Galloway. Directed by John Caird & Trevor Nunn. Aspect ratio: 1.33:1. Dolby Digital 2.0. 148 minutes. 1995. Columbia TriStar VCI 88709. NR. $24.95.</I>

Barry Willis  |  Aug 09, 1999

A<B>ugust 10</B><BR>Vidikron of America, Inc. has now announced that it has obtained a credit line to replace its obligation to PNC Bank. As previously announced, Vidikron reported that PNC Bank had exercised its right of setoff against the funds in accounts maintained at the Bank. Vidikron says that with its new funding in place, the Company is now in a position to satisfy its obligations and continue its operations.

 |  Aug 08, 1999

Early last week, <A HREF="http://www.burst.com">Instant Video Technologies</A> announced that it has acquired Delaware-based Timeshift-TV, a developer of digital-video technology that allows users to "personalize their TV viewing experience by adding VCR functionality to live broadcasts." Similar in concept to recent products released by TiVo and RePlay, these digital recording devices are aimed at giving consumers more control over when and how they watch their favorite TV shows.

Barry Willis  |  Aug 08, 1999

A "land rush" of "big-ticket deals" is about to sweep through the TV broadcasting industry in the wake of a <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A> decision on August 5 to lift the limit on station ownership by any one broadcaster. Commissioners voted 4-1 for the change. Feeling the heat from satellite services and cable systems, broadcasters have been applying heavy pressure on the FCC to change the rules, established in the 1930s, that limit station ownership to one per company in any single geographic area. The rules were originally intended to ensure diversity of programming and editorial content.

Jon Iverson  |  Aug 08, 1999

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.technicolor.com/">Technicolor</A> announced that it has acquired a significant interest in Real Image Digital, a developer of digital-cinema technology. As part of the transaction, Technicolor is acquiring 49% of Real Image, with the option of picking up another 11.5% in the future on pre-negotiated terms. Real Image is partnered with the Sarnoff Corporation, which is currently developing technology to compress and encrypt film-quality images for theaters&mdash;a process that Sarnoff claims is many times more complex than video compression for the home-entertainment market.

 |  Aug 08, 1999

Early last week, <A HREF="http://www.valley-media.com">Valley Media</A>'s <A HREF="http://www.schwann.com">Schwann Publications</A> announced that they are introducing a new publication, <I>Schwann DVD Advance</I>. The company says the first issue of the bimonthly publication, dated September/October 1999, will list more than 3500 DVDs, sport an initial circulation of 10,000, and be available in retail stories and by subscription.

Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 03, 1999

The new DV-09 is Pioneer's first DVD player in its Elite line. More than simply an upscale version of a standard Pioneer DVD player, the DV-09 was built from the ground up to be a flagship product. It's also the first DVD player I've seen to have been certified under THX's DVD-player certification program (see sidebar, "THX DVD Players").

 |  Aug 01, 1999

Five hundred channels of television will soon be available to <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com/">EchoStar</A>'s DISH Network subscribers. On July 19, EchoStar chairman Charlie Ergen demonstrated DISH 500, a pizza-sized dish antenna capable of receiving signals from satellites in two locations. The demo took place at the <A HREF="http://www.sbca.org/">Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association</A>'s national exposition in Las Vegas.

Jon Iverson  |  Aug 01, 1999

Last week, the <A HREF="http://www.homepna.org">Home Phoneline Networking Alliance</A> (HomePNA) announced that new technology proposed earlier in March by <A HREF="http://www.lucent.com">Lucent</A> and Epigram (now a subsidiary of <A HREF="http://www.broadcom.com">Broadcom</A>) is now the basis for the 2.0 standard for 10 Megabit/second home networking technology.

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