Barry Willis

Audio Video News
TV Ownership Compromise
Barry Willis  |  Dec 01, 2003  |  Published: Dec 02, 2003

Give-and-take is the essence of politics. On Monday evening, November 24, demonstrating that it's better to compromise than to lose entirely, US lawmakers agreed to cap broadcast ownership at 39% of the national market of potential viewers—less than half-way between the old limit of 35% and a new one of 45% approved by the Federal Communications Commission last June. Some Democratic lawmakers decried the 39% deal as a betrayal by their Republican colleagues.

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Audio Video News
Industry Roundup
Barry Willis  |  Dec 01, 2003  |  Published: Dec 02, 2003

HP entering TV business? The line between the computer and consumer electronics industry gets blurrier by the day. During the last week of November, computer giant Hewlett-Packard announced that it would begin offering its own brand of large flat-screen TVs. Already in discussions with several Asian manufacturers, HP will deliver both LCDs and plasma display panels (PDPs) under its own name, probably by spring.

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Power Amplifier Reviews
Parasound Halo C 2 & Halo A 51 surround processor & 5-channel power amplifier
Barry Willis  |  Nov 30, 2003

In my student days, I coped with perpetual financial shortfalls in part by moving furniture. After a weekend of toting hide-a-beds and refrigerators to fifth-floor walkups, I would imagine a perfect world in which everything was designed to work with everything else. Not a world of bureaucratic regimentation, but one in which, by common agreement, every sofa would fit into every elevator and every table would slip through every open door.

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Audio Video News
Cablevision Raises Rates
Barry Willis  |  Nov 23, 2003

Cable rates are rising again, at least for subscribers to <A HREF="http://www.cablevision.com">Cablevision Systems</A>. On Friday, November 21, the New York-based cable provider announced that 2004 rates would go up an average of 3.2%, approximately 50% higher than the current rate of inflation.

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Audio Video News
Congress Moves to Restore Ownership Cap
Barry Willis  |  Nov 23, 2003

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell and his Republican-dominated agency have gotten their hands slapped by a year-end move by Congress to block proposed changes to rules limiting ownership of broadcast media by any single company.

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Audio Video News
Court Upholds DTV Tuner Mandate
Barry Willis  |  Nov 03, 2003

As of October 28, electronics manufacturers have little choice about whether to include digital tuners in new television sets.

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Audio Video News
MPAA Screener Compromise
Barry Willis  |  Oct 27, 2003

The Motion Picture Association of America (<A HREF="http://www.mpaa.org">MPAA</A>) has partially caved into demands from voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to release screening copies of movies nominated for Academy Awards.

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Audio Video News
MPAA to Soften Screener Ban?
Barry Willis  |  Oct 20, 2003

Movie studios, producers, writers, actors, and distributors are seeking a work- around of an edict issued only a couple of weeks ago by the <A HREF="http://www.mpaa.org">Motion Picture Association of America</A> (MPAA) that would ban free screening copies of Academy Award-nominated movies.

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Audio Video News
DirecTV's HDTV Push
Barry Willis  |  Oct 13, 2003

High-definition television (HDTV) and digital video recorders (DVRs) are moving quickly from elitist technologies to mainstream entertainment.

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Audio Video News
MPAA: No More Freebies
Barry Willis  |  Oct 06, 2003

Hollywood studios' efforts to win large blocks of voters in the annual Academy Awards may have backfired on them. Free DVD screening copies sent out to voters may have found their way into the hands of offshore pirates, possibly costing the industry millions of dollars in lost revenue.

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