Scott Wilkinson

Twentieth Century Fox announced on Friday that it will release content on the high-definition Blu-ray Disc format through its subsidiary, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC. This is hardly surprising—the studio has been a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) board of directors since October 2004—but they haven't committed to releasing titles on that format until now.

TiVo Inc. last week launched a new interactive advertising technology with ad campaigns from General Motors and The WB Television Network. The new technology enables advertisers to insert a customized "tag" in their commercial, replacing the generic ad tags previously used by TiVo's advertising clients. TiVo customers can select the tag and "telescope" from the traditional 30-second ad to view long-form content, request more information, or take advantage of new recording opportunities. It also ensures advertisers' traditional TV spots will be more visible in TiVo homes, whether viewed in normal play or fast forward mode.

At the award-presentation ceremony for its annual international design competition on July 4 at the Essen Aalto Theatre in Essen, Germany, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen bestowed its prestigious "red dot label for high design quality" on six Sony products. Among a record number of 1857 entries in 12 product categories, the international jury selected the following Sony products: HDR-FX1E HDV1080i camcorder, Qualia 001 Creation Box (a video processor/upconverter that is not available in the US), <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/videoprojectors/504sony/">Qualia 004 SXRD front projector</A>, Qualia 005 LCD flat-panel television, <A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/directviewandptvtelevisions/705sony/">Qualia 006 RPTV</A>, and DAV-SR4W wireless home theater in a box.

Mitsubishi made history yesterday during an event held at Ken Cranes Home Entertainment store in West Los Angeles, where they unveiled the first 1080p (1920x1080) DLP RPTV available to the public. With many Mitsubishi and Texas Instruments dignitaries on hand, shoppers got their first look at the 52-inch WD-52627 ($3699), which was available for purchase then and there. Also on display was the 73-inch WD-73927 ($7999), which won't be available until August. All in all, Mitsubishi will have nine 1080p models with sizes of 52, 62, and 73 inches in four product lines, which will be released in a staggered schedule over the summer.