Audio Video News

The first week of April was a tumultuous one for <A HREF="http://www.echostar.com">EchoStar</A>. On April 3, the Littleton, CO&ndash;based direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service abruptly announced that it would terminate any further effort to promote Internet access via StarBand Communications, Inc. The next day, the FCC ruled that EchoStar was in violation of federal regulations with its "two-dish" system for delivering local television signals. The week's one bright spot for the service was a settlement with Walt Disney Company that will keep Disney and ABC programming on EchoStar's menu.

Several months ago, I lamented about how my Scientific Atlanta cable box repeatedly refused direct orders to record Survivor. Week after week I would say, "Record all showings," and week after week I looked in vain through my recorded list. My...

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.

In spite of our <A HREF="http://hrrc.org/">guaranteed right</A> to make a personal copy of the CDs and videos we purchase, <A HREF="http://www.foxhome.com/">Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment</A> and <A HREF="http://www.macrovision.com/">Macrovision Corporation</A> announced last week that they have signed a one-year agreement to copy-protect all of Fox's DVDs produced in the US and Canada. Fox will also use the triangular "CP" (copy protection) logo in a substantial number of its trade advertisements to inform video retailers that its DVDs are copy-protected.

If you're planning to go out and see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader or Gulliver's Travels, which open in theaters this weekend, you might want to stop by a Blu-ray/DVD retailer on your way and pick up one or more select titles from MGM and Fox. In the packaging, you will find a coupon for up to $10 (Blu-ray) or $7.50 (DVD) of Hollywood Movie Money toward a ticket for either flick. Just look for titles with one of the stickers depicted above.

Click below for a list of applicable titles.

If you buy a SmartCast TV before the end of the year, Vizio is throwing in a free digital copy of Star Trek Beyond.