Audio Video News

What's in a name? At the very least, lots of very expensive litigation for independent film-distribution site <A HREF="http://www.reeluninverse.com/">ReelUniverse.com</A>, which recently received a cease-and-desist demand from attorneys representing movie retailer <A HREF="http://www.reel.com/">Reel.com</A>, a subsidiary of Hollywood Entertainment Corporation, parent of <A HREF="http://www.hollywoodvideo.com/">Hollywood Video</A>, the second-largest video rental-and-retail chain in the US.

After the coming merger of <A HREF="http://www.aol.com/">America Online</A> and media giant <A HREF="http://www.timewarner.com/">Time Warner</A> was announced, the <A HREF="http://washingtonpost.com/"><I>Washington Post</I></A> ran a cartoon in which a man comes home to find every item in his house telling him "You've got mail!" AOL hasn't connected to the toaster yet, but may soon have its hooks in that other staple of American household appliances, the television set.

According to recent statistics released by the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A>, manufacturer-to-dealer sales of video products grew by 28.6% in December, totaling just under 5.6 million units and rounding out a year of growth in the category. The CEA also reports that total sales of video products in 1999 topped 60 million units, increasing by 22% over 1998. In addition, the numbers indicate that virtually every category (with the exception of direct-view color TVs) experienced double-digit increases for the year.

A coalition of Canadian broadcasters is seeking to permanently shut down <A HREF="http://www.icravetv.com/">iCraveTV.com</A>, a website that until recently had been retransmitting US and Canadian TV programming over the Internet. The site was on the receiving end of an <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?629">American lawsuit</A> filed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania late in January by a group of television networks, film studios, and professional sports leagues.

The Home Entertainment 2000 show, originally planned to be held in Rye, New York this spring, has been canceled. Show staff has received feedback from manufacturers and dealers, who feel that the rooms at the Rye venue are too small, and that a suburban location is not optimal. EmapUSA VP Jaqueline Augustine states that "We want to hold a successful show, and this venue could not guarantee our success."

In an effort to kickstart the digital feature-film production and distribution market, <A HREF="http://www.intertainer.com">Intertainer</A> and <A HREF="http://www.artisanent.com">Artisan Entertainment</A> announced last week a new agreement to co-develop, produce, and distribute five feature-length motion pictures, to be shot and edited completely in the digital format. Intertainer says it will showcase the films on its entertainment "on-demand" service, and Artisan will retain domestic rights to the features.

High school and college students whose parents may be wondering if little Ricky will ever stop playing with the video camera now have a scholarship program to call their own. The creation of the Zoom Culture Undiscovered Genius Scholarship program was announced last week at the Sundance Festival.