Audio Video News

2017 was not a banner year for TV sales, despite growth for 4K (Ultra HD) TV and even 8K TV.

Several months into one of the biggest mergers the entertainment industry has ever seen, Seagram Company has announced that many of the film and video operations it acquired in its buyout of PolyGram NV will be absorbed into its Universal Studios division. A flurry of pink slips for PolyGram employees, a shuffling of Universal management following a box-office slump, and a hefty write-down for the current quarter are all part of the script.

Remember the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC)? They’re the folks who spent years hammering out the digital broadcast television standard that has brought high def and standard def to antenna-loving TV addicts around the nation. Now the standard-setting body is seeking proposals to replace the core transmission system for ATSC broadcasting. The ATSC 3.0 standard will use the latest in compression and transmission technologies to accommodate ultra-def video, mobile video reception, and greater efficiency in spectrum use. The process is just getting under way with a call for proposals, and several years will probably pass before the new standard emerges in final form.

In a move that reportedly caught <A HREF="http://www.circuitcity.com">Circuit City</A> CEO Richard Sharp by surprise, retail chain Sears, Roebuck & Co. has decided not to carry <A HREF="http://www.divx.com">Divx</A>. Apparently, the format's overwhelmingly negative pre-release publicity was taken seriously by the retailer.

Because they missed their opportunity to distribute the original film the first time around, <A HREF="http://www.cinemanow.com/">CinemaNow</A> and <A HREF="http://www.trimarkpictures.com/">Trimark Pictures</A> announced last week that they have acquired all rights to several spoofs of <I><A HREF="http://www.blairwitch.com/">The Blair Witch Project</A></I>, with negotiations already underway to acquire several more. The original <I>Blair Witch</I> film has been put on a fast-track schedule for release on DVD in time for Halloween, including the requisite "Newly Discovered" footage, Internet links, and other special features.

Retailers are not giving consumers accurate information about the transition to digital television, according to a report issued by U.S. PIRG, the federation of state-based Public Interest Research Groups.

Amazon and Google have rolled out security updates for their Echo and Home smart speakers to prevent a flaw in Bluetooth known as BlueBorne from making the speakers vulnerable to malicious attacks, according to press reports.