Audio Video News

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell has asked major networks to boost their digital programming to at least 50% of their prime-time schedules for next season. He asked broadcasters in major markets to make sure they can transmit digitally by next January without degrading their analog signals. He also asked electronics manufacturers to include digital tuners in coming generations of television sets—in 36" or larger sets by 2005, in 25" or larger sets by 2006, and in 13" or larger sets by 2007. Tuner requirements have been contested by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which claims that it does not want TV design to be "dictated by Washington."

The film industry lost one of its legends on March 27, when writer-director Billy Wilder passed away at his Beverly Hills home. Wilder had been suffering from pneumonia. He was 95.

In the era of DVD, videotape gets no respect—some might say deservedly so. But according to the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) VidTrac program, considered by some to be the most accurate video rental point-of-sale tracking technology, the 2001 year-end rental revenue market share for VHS was 83.4% while DVD accounted for 16.6%. This variance means that VHS rental spending outpaced that for DVDs by $5.6 billion.

Proving to be one of the brightest spots in HDTV broadcasting, <A HREF="http://www.hd.net">HDNet</A> is adding another sport to its lineup of regular high definition television broadcasts. The company says that it has finalized plans to broadcast 80 Major League Baseball games in HDTV during the 2002 regular season. HDNet says the broadcast schedule begins with the Detroit Tigers&ndash;Minnesota Twins game on April 13.

May 1, the federally-mandated deadline for US television stations to begin digital broadcasting, will come and go without the full participation of many, according to a March 18 report in the trade journal <I>Multichannel News</I>.