Audio Video News
Industry Forum Addresses Convergence
 |  Apr 04, 1999

Industry leaders met in Virginia last week to discuss convergence trends in the consumer-electronics, telecommunications, and computing industries, and how these trends are affecting manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. The Convergence Forum, hosted by the <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A>'s Communication and Information Technology (CIT) and Integrated Home Systems (IHS) divisions, took place at the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) Spring Conference.

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Audio Video News
Animetronic Fuses Japanese Animation and Electronic Music
 |  Mar 28, 1999

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.platinument.com/">Platinum Entertainment</A> and <A HREF="http://www.pioneer-ent.com/">Pioneer Entertainment</A> announced plans to jointly develop and create <I>Animetronic</I>, a series of multiple-format music and video releases that combine Japanese animation with original, new electronic-music compositions. Terms of the partnership were finalized at the Winter Music Conference in Miami by Steve Devick, Platinum president and CEO, and Yosuke "James" Kobayashi, president of Pioneer Entertainment.

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Audio Video News
Comcast and MediaOne Soon to be One
 |  Mar 28, 1999

Eventually, a few multinational conglomerates will own 90% of the world's businesses. Case in point: Cable companies <A HREF="http://www.comcast.com/">Comcast</A> and <A HREF="http://www.mediaone.com/">MediaOne</A>, already among the largest in their field, made a move in that direction last week when they announced a merger valued at between $53 and $60 billion. Comcast will acquire MediaOne, described by the <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/"><I>New York Times</I></A> as "the sole surviving independent cable company." The resulting company will be the nation's third largest.

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Audio Video News
Warner Bros. and MGM Negotiate Early Termination of Video-Distribution Agreement
 |  Mar 21, 1999

In an effort to regain full control of its video library worldwide, <A HREF=http://www.mgm.com">Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer</A> announced last week that it has entered into an agreement with <A HREF="http://www.warnerbros.com">Warner Bros.</A> for an early termination of its existing video-distribution agreement with Warner Home Video. The original agreement with WHV was to end in May 2003.

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Audio Video News
Faroudja Experiences Mixed Results from Recent Patent Suits
 |  Mar 14, 1999

Last week, video-technology developer <A HREF="http://www.faroudja.com">Faroudja</A> announced the resolution of a patent dispute with <A HREF="http://www.snellwilcox.com/">Snell & Wilcox</A>. In the dispute, Faroudja alleged that S&W's Interpolator infringed a patent held by Faroudja as well as two patents licensed by Faroudja from General Instrument on an exclusive basis in certain fields.

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Audio Video News
DTV Summit Concludes
 |  Mar 07, 1999

Four major industries banded together last week to focus on the business issues necessary to bring digital TV to the American consumer. More than 300 people attended the fourth DTV Summit, which was sponsored by the <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> (CEMA) in conjunction with the <A HREF="http://www.mstv.org/">Association for Maximum Service Television</A> (MSTV), the <A HREF="http://www.nab.org">National Association of Broadcasters</A> (NAB), the <A HREF="http://www.ncta.com/">National Cable Television Association</A> (NCTA), and the <A HREF="http://www.sbca.com/">Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association</A> (SBCA). The one-day summit featured leaders from the consumer-electronics, broadcast, cable, satellite, and retail industries discussing their latest plans and strategies for the DTV transition.

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Audio Video News
DTV Sales Figures for 1998
 |  Mar 07, 1999

Based on DTV-sales data released by the <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A>, <A HREF="http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com">Mitsubishi</A> is the market-share leader in digital televisions sold in the US for 1998. According to its own figures, Mitsubishi sold 9639 units, which constitutes 73.2% of all units reported by CEMA to have been sold last year.

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Audio Video News
Creating Video in a Digital World
 |  Feb 28, 1999

As the professional-broadcast industry readies itself for the technology transformation brought about by the rapid growth of digital-media distribution, the need for a single, high-resolution digital master format is becoming essential. In an effort to fill this need, Sony Electronics, in collaboration with LaserPacific Media Corporation, has unveiled the 24 Frame Progressive (24p) High Definition Post Production System.

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Audio Video News
Divx Discs Top One Million in Unit Sales
 |  Feb 28, 1999

Read it and weep, fans of open DVD: more than one million Divx discs have been sold since the official launch of the pay-per-view format on September 25, 1998. The magic number was reached over the weekend of February 20-21, according to an announcement released last week by <A HREF="http://www.divx.com/">Digital Video Express</A>.

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Audio Video News
Universal and Columbia TriStar Join for International DVD Distribution
 |  Feb 28, 1999

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.cthv.com/">Columbia TriStar Home Video</A> (CTHV) and <A HREF="http://www.universalstudios.com">Universal Studios Home Video</A> (USHV) jointly announced an agreement to distribute USHV DVDs outside North America. According to the companies, the agreement represents a milestone in the international expansion of DVD. CTHV, the first major Hollywood studio to release films on DVD outside the US (i.e., in Europe, Latin America, and Japan), is now joined by USHV as one of the few major studios releasing its movies on a consistent basis internationally.

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