Audio Video News

The idea of watermarking high-resolution audio signals has riled audiophiles for months, ever since Verance announced that the controversial tracking signals would be incorporated into DVD-Audio discs. Now videophiles can get in on the action: last week, <A HREF="http://www.digimarc.com">Digimarc</A> announced that it is partnering with Hitachi, Macrovision, NEC, Philips, Pioneer, and Sony to form the Video Watermarking Group (VWM Group) to provide video copy prevention and play control solutions for digital recording devices.

Warner Bros. is in a bit of legal hot water due to its enthusiasm for tracking movie pirates. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie giant is being sued by a German company for allegedly pirating the company's anti-piracy technology. ...

WD, a Western Digital company and leader in storage solutions, today introduced My Cloud, a cloud-based hard drive described as a solution for organizing, centralizing, and securing digital content from computers and mobile devices. Once My Cloud is connected to the Internet, content stored on it can be accessed from any device without having to pay monthly fees or giving up control of personal data, according to the company.

Good thing this rumor doesn't have legs. If it did, we'd have to break them. Since early January, reports have surfaced that Microsoft is interested in acquiring peripheral-maker Logitech for close to $10 billion. Finally, Logitech chairman...

According to a new report from market research company <A HREF="http://www.instat.com">Cahners In-Stat Group</A>, DVD sales will reach new heights over the next several years. Cahners points out that the DVD market has grown from nothing in 1996 to more than 28 million units expected to ship worldwide in 2001, and it estimates that sales will exceed 60 million units in 2004.

Responding to rumors that it may pull out of plasma manufacturing, LG reaffirmed its commitment to the category in a press release issued today. In its entirety, it says:

The Internet is "more than a marketing medium---it's a revenue stream," says <A HREF="http://www.newlinecinema.com/">New Line Cinema</A>'s Gordon Paddison, one of a growing army of Hollywood promoters who are using the Internet to build interest in current films as well as those that are about to be released. Paddison has run several promotions on <A HREF="http://www.yahoo.com/">Yahoo.com</A> that have lured thousands of customers into theaters to redeem coupons available only on the Web.