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IFPI Vows to Sue Individual File-Swappers in Europe

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2003 - 4:51am.
Brussels -- The head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) on Tuesday issued a warning that his organization plans to file lawsuits against individual file-swappers in Europe. CEO Jay Berman said that the IFPI could begin to send out subpoenas as early as next year. "Lawsuits on a large scale have so far been restricted to the U.S.," he said. "This 'fight back' will almost inevitably have to take place internationally as well." Berman made the announcement during a speech in which he outlined the IFPI's global Internet strategy for next year. The news follows an announcement from the Canadian Record Industry Association, which this week announced that it will file copyright infringement lawsuits against individual Canadian file-swappers beginning early next year.
tags: Europe | IFPI | File-Swappers |

Report: Video Game Sales Up 7.2% During November

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2003 - 4:51am.
Port Washington, N.Y. -- According to sales data from New York-based NPD Funworld, video game sales rose 7.2% during the month of November, which along with December traditionally account for half of the industry's annual sales. Posting the largest sales increases were game developers Activision (up 46%) and Electronic Arts (up 29%). However, U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Tony Gikas said the 7.2% increase was lower than his earlier projection of 12.5%. NPD data also indicated that sales of Nintendo's GameCube console continued to prosper from a price drop from $149 to $99, as November sales were up 61% over a year ago.
tags: Reports | Sales | Video Games |

Intel Expected to Introduce Digital TV Chip at CES

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2003 - 4:50am.
New York -- Chipmaker Intel is expected to enter the digital TV market with the introduction of a digital TV chip that will reduce device costs for consumers, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Currently, traditional consumer electronics firms like Sony and Philips sell digital TVs, but PC firms like Gateway, Dell and H-P are also entering the lucrative market, where models currently sell for between $3,000 and $10,000. Industry analyst Richard Doherty of Envisioneering told The Times that Intel's digital TV chip has the potential to produce "lightweight 50-inch screens only 7 inches thick for about $1,000, perhaps as early as the 2004 holiday season." Intel is expected to announce the new chip at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which begins Jan. 8 in Las Vegas.
tags: CES | Intel | TV Chip |

Report: Set-top Box Sales to Jump 39% to 50.3 Million Units in 2004

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2003 - 4:49am.
London -- Sales of digital TV set-top boxes are projected to jump 39% to a record 50.3 million units in 2004, according to research from Massachusetts-based analyst firm Strategy Analytics. This follows a strong year in 2003, with sales rising 28% over 2002's figures and a total of 36 million set-tops will be sold. Currently, set-tops for satellite TV account for 61% of total sales -- a figure that is expected to flop by 2008 when cable TV set-tops will have a 47% market share, and satellite share will fall to 37%. Prices continue to fall at around 12% each year, with the average set-top box now costing just over $200 at retail level. While strong demand for satellite set-tops in the U.S. and Europe were credited with the market's rebound in 2003, to achieve success in 2004 Strategy Analytics says manufacturers must target key growth areas such as satellite in Europe and cable in Asia-Pacific.
tags: Reports | Sales | Set-top Box | Increases |

Nokia to Send TV Programs to Mobile Phones by 2004

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2003 - 4:48am.
Helsinki -- Mobile phone maker Nokia announced this week that it plans to work with Finnish broadcasters and mobile service providers to begin sending commercial TV shows to mobile phones by 2004. The Finnish company, currently the No. 1 handset maker in the world, said that by next fall it would employ the Internet protocol datacast (IPDC) to offer an initial 500 users in the Helsinki region trial TV shows. Nokia Ventures' Timo Teimonen said the pilot program was "a world class example of cooperation between telecommunications and media industry to further research the opportunities of broadcast services to mobile phones."
tags: Nokia | Mobile Phones | TV Programs |

Survey: 40% of U.S. Households Own DVD Player, 62% Have PC

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2003 - 4:47am.
Alexandria, Va. -- A recent survey on home entertainment behavior found that 40% of U.S. households now own a DVD player, up from 16% in 2001, and that 62% of U.S. households now own a personal computer. The report from the Virginia-based Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) also found that 54% of U.S. adults report having surfed the Internet from home in 2003, up from 38% in 1999. CTAM data also indicates that more than one third (38%) of U.S. households have a PC and a television located in the same room, up from 31% in 2000, and that 13% of adults have watched a DVD on their PC.
tags: DVD | PC | U.S | Survey | Households |

DG2L Technologies Releases MPEG-4 Digital Cinema System

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 17, 2003 - 4:45am.
New York -- DG2L Technologies, a developer of digital cinema and other digital media technologies, announced that it has created what it says is the first MPEG-4 based, end-to-end digital cinema distribution and presentation system. New York-based DG2L said that Entertainment Cinema Networks (ECN), a service provider to theatrical distributors of film, will use the DG2L Digital Cinema System to launch its digital film distribution service in India. The company said its digital cinema system incorporates an encryption engine as well as the industry's High Definition Content Protection (HDCP) security technology.
tags: Cinema | Releases | MPEG-4 | DG2L Technologies |