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ArchivesDigital Commerce SummitJan 31 2006 - 8:30am Jan 31 2006 - 6:00pm Etc/GMT Senators Propose Federal Ban on Sales of Violent Video Games to MinorsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 8:09am.
Washington - Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh on Friday introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act, which would create a federal ban on the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors. "Video games are hot holiday items, and there are certainly wonderful games that help our children learn and increase hand and eye coordination. However, there are also games that are just not appropriate for our nation's youth," said Senator Clinton. "This bill will help empower parents by making sure their kids can't walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content." The bill calls for a $1,000 fine or 100 hours of community service for a retailer's first offense, and $5,000 or 500 hours for each subsequent offense. It would also require an annual, independent analysis of game ratings; an annual undercover audit of retailers to determine compliance; the creation of a complaint filing mechanism; and an FTC investigation into "hidden content," like the "Hot Coffee" sexually explicit mini-game found in copies of "Grand Theft Auto" that were taken off store shelves earlier this year. The bill comes as similar statewide and local bans are routinely being struck down by the courts as unconstitutional restrictions on First Amendment free speech protections, although the Supreme Court has not weighed in on the issue. A federal judge earlier this month blocked enactment of an Illinois state video game sales ban; Washington's ban has also been overturned. The video game industry is additionally battling video game sales bans recently enacted in Michigan and California in the courts.
House Approves Feb. 17, 2009 Digital TV Transition, $1.5 Billion SubsidyAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 8:07am.
Washington - The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday voted on a digital television transition date of Feb. 17, 2009, the day when broadcasters will cease transmitting their analog signals and consumers will need either a digital TV or a special converter in order to receive a signal. Reuters reported that the deal, negotiated by Republicans in the House and Senate, would include a $1.5 billion subsidy, part of which would go to purchasing converters for those who can't afford new digital sets. The Senate had previously approved a $3 billion subsidy, and the House a $990,000 subsidy; the compromise bill must still be approved by the Senate. The subsidy has been a sticking point for the legislation, as current law requires that 85% of a market must be able to receive digital signals before broadcasters there are required to make the switch.
Report: Illegal File-Sharing Down 11% Since Grokster Supreme Court RulingAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 8:04am.
Port Washington, N.Y. - Illegal file-sharing in the U.S. has declined by 11% since the Supreme Court ruled in June that file-sharing networks could be held liable for copyright infringement, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group. The number of U.S. households that had downloaded at least one song from an illegal peer-to-peer service fell from 6.4 million households in June to 5.7 million in October. Prior to the ruling, NPD noted a steady increase in U.S. file-sharing throughout 2004 and 2005. Since the landmark ruling, which found Grokster and Streamcast Networks (Morpheus) guilty of copyright infringement, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sent cease-and-desist letters to a number of similar services -- prompting several to either shut down or shift business tactics. "It wasn't until the Grokster decision that substantial reductions in the number of households downloading music occurred," said NPD music industry analyst Russ Crupnick. "If this trend continues throughout the remainder of the fourth quarter 2005 and into next year, it would signify a solid victory in the music industry's efforts against illegal music file sharing in the U.S."
Carmike Cinemas to Convert 2,300 Screens to DigitalAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:59am.
Morristown, N.J. - Carmike Cinemas, which owns 307 movie theaters in 37 states, announced on Monday that it has signed an agreement with Access Integrated Technologies, to deploy up to 2,300 digital cinema projection systems throughout the U.S. Carmike and AccessIT's Christie/AIX unit will begin installing digital projectors in January, and expects the rollout to be completed by November 2007. Christie/AIX said it also signed agreements with Disney, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Sony and DreamWorks, and will act as the financing intermediary between studios and theater owners receiving the digital cinema systems. In addition, AccessIT plans a secondary offering of shares in the very near future to provide equity funding for the deployment.
Report: Online Holiday Spending Up 16% to $18.6 BillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:57am.
New York - Online holiday shoppers have spent $18.6 billion in the first six weeks of the holiday season, up 16% from 2004, according to data from Goldman Sachs, Nielsen/NetRatings and Harris Interactive. Some 19% of the 6,500 adults polled said that they have yet to start their holiday shopping. Consumer electronics was the second most popular segment, after apparel, with $2.8 billion in spending, while toys/video games accounted for $1.4 billion in online revenue. "As online retail continues to mature as a sales channel, shoppers are provided the luxury of waiting to make holiday gift purchases until the last couple weeks of the season," said Nielsen/NetRatings senior retail analyst Heather Dougherty. "Online retailers are extending shipping deadlines later each year, which provides ample time to comparison shop for the best deal. Price remains one of the biggest motivators online and is reflected in large spikes in audience traffic."
Grocery Store DVD Rental Kiosk Firm The New Release Raises $10 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:55am.
Houston - TNR Entertainment, a provider of automated DVD rental kiosks in grocery stores, announced on Monday that it has raised $10 million through a private placement of its shares with D.E. Shaw Laminar Portfolios. Houston-based THR's "The New Release" kiosks offer 200 movie titles and can store a total of up to 1,000 DVDs. The company has agreements to place its kiosks in Kroger, Safeway, HEB and Publix grocery stores. TNR plans to use the funds to more than double the number of DVD rental kiosks it operates within the next year.
Blinkx Launches Blinkx.tv To Go Portable Video Player ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:53am.
San Francisco - Blinkx, a searchable index of Web video, on Monday announced the launch of blinkx.tv To Go, a service that lets users to search for specific video content online and then sync it to their iTunes or personal video player software. The service will also allow users to search for video blogs and have their search results automatically and perpetually updated and downloaded to their iPod or other portable video player.
ReplayTV to Offer PC Digital Video Recorder SoftwareAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:50am.
Santa Clara, Calif. - ReplayTV, a developer of digital video recorders owned by Japanese consumer electronics firm D&M Holdings, announced on Monday that it has partnered with Hauppauge Computer Works to develop and publish a PC-based digital video recorder application. Santa Clara, Calif.-based ReplayTV said it will bundle the PC DVR software with Haupaugge's WinTV-PVR PC TV tuner/encoder PC cards beginning in 2006. The deal is part of ReplayTV's plan to exit the digital video recorder hardware manufacturing market and focus on providing advanced digital video recorder software for entertainment PCs.
Hauppauge "Wing" Software Transfers PC TV Shows to iPodsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:48am.
Hauppauge, N.Y. - Hauppauge Computer Works on Monday announced the release of its Wing software, which lets consumers record TV shows on a PC for playback on the Sony PSP, Apple video iPod or other portable video player. The $24.95 application, which is compatible with the Web-based TitanTV electronic program guide, can also convert existing TV recordings to formats compatible with the PSP and iPod.
Digimarc Licenses Watermarking Tech to Thomson for Digital CinemaAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:46am.
Beaverton, Ore. - Digimarc, a developer of digital watermarking technology, announced on Monday that French video equipment maker Thomson has licensed its technology for use in digital cinema, forensic tracking of pre-release movies, and authentication of video content. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Thomson provides equipment and technology to movie studios, broadcasters and other content owners and distributors.
Micronas Develops Dolby Virtual Speaker Digital TV ChipAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:44am.
Freiburg, Germany - Swiss chipmaker Micronas announced on Monday that it has added Dolby Virtual Speaker technology to its audio chip for digital televisions, which creates the illusion of five speakers when only two are present. The technology, which will enable surround sound from any audio source, whether stereo or 5.1 channels, will begin shipping in mid-range to high-end televisions in the second quarter of 2006.
Amp'd Mobile Signs Development Deals With Hollywood TV ProducersAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:42am.
Los Angeles - Amp'd Mobile, a youth-oriented mobile phone service that includes exclusive wireless entertainment content, on Monday announced collaborations with a number of Hollywood TV producers to create original programming for its service. Bunim Murray ("The Real World," "The Simple Life"), Quincy Jones' QD3 Productions, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's LivePlanet, and writer Donick Cary ("The Simpsons," "Late Night with David Letterman") will create a range of programming for Amp'd, such as animated shorts and features; mobile reality series; pay-per-view and live events; and location-based games.
Movielink Adds Content from here! NetworksAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:41am.
Los Angeles - Here Networks, a gay television network offered on cable and satellite systems, announced that it has signed an agreement to offer its programming on Movielink, a video-on-demand joint venture between a number of Hollywood movie studios. Titles from Here available on Movielink will include "Margaret Cho: Assassin," "Tides of War" and "Here Comedy Presents Kate Clinton."
The Orchard to Distribute Ringtones for EMI Music PublishingAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:39am.
New York - The Orchard, a provider of digital distribution services for independent music, announced on Monday that it has signed an agreement with the music publishing arm of major record label EMI Music. Under the deal, The Orchard will distribute master recording ringtones from EMI Music Publishing to mobile providers in the U.S. and Canada, through services including Dwango Wireless, 9 Squared, IAM Mobile, Mobilestreams, and Arvato Mobile and Hudson South.
eMusic Digital Music Service Adds One-Millionth TrackAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:37am.
New York - Digital music subscription service eMusic announced on Monday that its online catalog of downloadable songs has surpassed one million tracks. The service's one-millionth track is a live song from the Pixies, off a forthcoming digital-only album. EMusic also claims to have sold the first legal music downloads on the Internet in 1998, from Pixies singer Frank Black's side project, Frank Black and the Catholics.
OpenTV to Provide Set-top Box Middleware for VestelAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:35am.
San Francisco - OpenTV, a provider of interactive TV software and services, announced on Monday that Vestel Group, a large European maker of set-top boxes and other consumer electronics, will deploy OpenTV middleware on its next-generation set-top boxes. Vestel recently signed an agreement to provide set-tops with OpenTV software to Turkish satellite TV provider DigiTurk, which claims 800,000 subscribers.
AtomShockwave Launches AddictingClips Video ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 19, 2005 - 7:33am.
San Francisco - AtomShockwave, a distributor of short films and online games, on Monday announced the launch of an online directory of Web video clips. AddictingClips launched with more than 1,000 of "the Web's most entertaining and hilarious clips." The site is a companion to the company's AddictingGames directory of online games.
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