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Audio Video News
Sightsound’s Movie Download Patent Has Hollywood's Attention
Barry Willis  |  May 09, 1999

While the music industry reels from the explosion of freely traded music on the Internet, the looming possibility of a video equivalent has made Hollywood extremely interested in a small startup company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. <A HREF="http://www.sightsound.com/">Sightsound.com</A>, as it was named by partners Authur Hair and Scott Sander, has what appears to be a secure patent on technology for digitally downloading movies over the Internet.

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Audio Video News
Majority of CBS Primetime Lineup to be Presented in HDTV Beginning This Fall
 |  May 09, 1999

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.cbs.com/">CBS</A> announced that <A HREF="http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com">Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America</A> will sponsor the most extensive digital broadcast programming package ever, underwriting exclusively the costs associated with producing the majority of the CBS Television Network's primetime series entertainment programming in HDTV, beginning this fall and running through the 1999/2000 television season.

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Audio Video News
House Passes Satellite Broadcasting Reform Bill
Barry Willis  |  May 02, 1999

Direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television service might soon gain a competitive edge against cable, thanks to broadcasting-reform legislation passed by the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, April 26. The bill, which won near-unanimous approval in a vote of 422 to 1, lifts restrictions on the transmission of local television signals by satellite services, which is one of the primary advantages held by cable companies. Representative Robert Brady (D-PA) cast the sole dissenting vote. So-called "local-into-local" retransmissions are banned by the <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A>, whose arcane regulations have been upheld by Federal judges, as happened in Miami last month in a <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?392">case</A> brought by major networks against <A HREF="http://www.directv.com/">DirecTV</A>.

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Audio Video News
Digital Light Processing Technology Aimed at HDTV
 |  May 02, 1999

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.ti.com/dlp">Texas Instruments</A> announced that it has signed an agreement with <A HREF="http://www.hitachi.co.jp">Hitachi</A>, which will use TI's Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology to develop the world's first all-digital, large-screen, high-definition rear-projection television. Hitachi plans to release the new television in Japan and the US in the second half of 2000.

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Audio Video News
Cheaper, Flatter, Faster
Jon Iverson  |  May 02, 1999

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.westaim.com">Westaim Advanced Display Technologies Inc.</A> announced that it has unveiled a flat-panel display with 2 million colors using Solid State Display (SSD) technology. The company says the 5" high-contrast, full-color prototype display has a TV-like viewing angle and full motion video that is 20 times faster than the liquid-crystal display technology.

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Audio Video News
The Frighteners is Supernatural on DVD
Derek Germano  |  May 02, 1999

M<I>ichael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin, Jeffrey Combs, Dee Wallace-Stone, Jake Busey, Chi McBride. Directed by Peter Jackson. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Surround (French). 110 minutes. 1996. Universal Home Video 20286. Rated PG-13. $24.98.</I>

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Audio Video News
DirecTV Teams with TiVo for Personalized TV
Barry Willis  |  May 02, 1999

TV fans "will never have to miss another minute of their favorite shows," said Larry Chapman, executive vice president of <A HREF="http://www.directv.com/">DirecTV</A>, in announcing his company's investment in <A HREF="http://www.tivo.com/">TiVo Inc</A>. The direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) provider has bought a 10% interest in TiVo as part of its campaign to expand its line of services.

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Audio Video News
NAB '99 Marks Sea Change for Broadcast Industry
Barry Willis  |  Apr 25, 1999

The television-broadcasting industry is undergoing a metamorphosis. Some observers at last week's <A HREF="http://www.nab.org/">National Association of Broadcasters</A> convention in Las Vegas called it a "generation change" embodied by a new group of energetic "digital content providers"---with a different concept of entertainment---gradually replacing older producers and executives. Other reporters have pointed to technological developments such as high-definition TV and the nascent trend toward interactivity as motive forces behind the 60-year-old industry's growing transformation.

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Audio Video News
Plasma TV Breaks the $10k Barrier
 |  Apr 25, 1999

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.plasmavision.com">Fujitsu</A> announced a price reduction that brings their Plasmavision 42 below $10,000. According to the company, this move makes the technology more accessible for both corporate customers and home-theater enthusiasts. The new suggested list price will be $9995 for the PDS 4203, which was first introduced in January 1998 for $10,999.

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Audio Video News
The Stanley Kubrick Collection Heading for June DVD Release
 |  Apr 25, 1999

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.warnerbros.com">Warner Home Video</A>, in partnership with <A HREF="http://www.CTHV.com">Columbia TriStar Home Video</A> and <A HREF="http://www.mgmhomevideo.com">MGM Home Entertainment</A>, announced the June 29 release of <I>The Stanley Kubrick Collection</I>, a compilation of nine of the legendary director's most powerful films. The collection will be available on both VHS and DVD two weeks before the theatrical debut of <I>Eyes Wide Shut</I>, Kubrick's final feature. Warner says the collection is the first extensive review of Kubrick's major works in a format and package design approved by the late director, which guarantees a faithful presentation of his exacting vision.

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