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Netflix Program Suppliers Play Hardball
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 30, 2011  | 
Netflix recently announced it would start investing in original programming. Now producers who license their content to Netflix are retaliating against a partner that they increasingly see as a competitor.

Both Showtime and Starz have announced that they will withhold shows from Netflix.

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Audio Video News
Look Up! In the Cloud! It's Amazon!
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 29, 2011  | 
The latest cloud-based content initiative comes from Amazon. Its Cloud Player will enable users to store their music libraries on the web and access them from broadband-connected computers or Android devices.

"Now," says Bill Carr, Amazon's veep for movies and music, "whether at work, home, or on the go, customers can buy music from Amazon MP3, store it in the cloud and play it anywhere."

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Audio Video NewsThe Big Picture
3D Glasses Standard: Too Little Too Late?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 29, 2011  | 
Yesterday, Panasonic and Xpand, makers of mostly commercial active-shutter 3D glasses, announced a standard synchronization protocol for this type of eyewear called M-3DI. The new standard is intended to improve compatibility between 3D TVs and home projectors, computers, and digital cinema, a problem that has plagued the current 3D marketplace since its inception over a year ago.
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Audio Video News
Best Buy May Shrink Stores
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 28, 2011  | 
In a rough economic climate where many of its competitors are closing stores, Best Buy may downsize some of its stores, redirecting attention to online retailing.

That doesn't mean Best Buy is giving up on its brick-and-mortar stores, which allow consumers such niceties as salespeople and the ability to pick up items purchased online. But the store is reconsidering its square-footage requirements and "redefining the optimal big-box store size," CEO Brian Dunn said in a phone conference with analysts.

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Audio Video News
Apple AirPlay May Stream Video
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 25, 2011  | 
Apple's AirPlay wireless audio streaming technology is finding its way into an increasing number and variety of products. What next? Possibly video streaming.

An unconfirmed report in the business press says Apple is in talks to license AirPlay to consumer electronics manufacturers for video streaming. AirPlay is already capable of video streaming but so far has been licensed only for audio streaming.

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Audio Video News
Sony, Samsung Adopt Microsoft PlayReady
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 24, 2011  | 
A new form of digital rights management from Microsoft has been adopted by Sony and Samsung, among others. Its first high-profile use is in the Sony BDP-S380 Blu-ray player, available since February.

PlayReady DRM allows downloading and streaming of video, audio, games, and images on multiple home and mobile devices. Supported formats include MPEG Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), AAC+, Enhanced AAC+, H.264, Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Windows Media Video (WMV). Embedded licenses allow content to play without a constantly active broadband connection.

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Audio Video News
Mits Dumps LCDs in Favor of RPTVs
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 23, 2011  | 
Over the past several years several major TV makers have discontinued their rear-projection TVs to concentrate on flat panel TVs. Mitsubishi is going in the opposite direction, dumping its LCD line in favor of rear-projection sets.

Mitsubishi's RPTVs use both Texas Instruments DLP technology and its own Laservue technology.

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Audio Video News
Japan Parts Shortage May Disrupt iPad 2
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 22, 2011  | 
Reports about Japanese manufacturing disruptions continue to trickle in and an early casualty may be Apple's just-launched iPad 2. Japan supplies no fewer than five key parts for the tablet everyone desires.

Missing pieces include flash memory, random access memory, electronic compass, touchscreen glass, and battery, the latter from Apple's own Japanese factory.

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Audio Video News
Paramount Film to Be Legally Torrented
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 21, 2011  | 
Movies get torrented. However illegal that may be, it's just a fact of life. Now get ready for the curveball: An Australian horror film is about to be legally distributed by BitTorrent as a means of getting people interested in the Paramount DVD release.

The film in question is The Tunnel, produced by Distracted Media. It will be released as both BitTorrent and Paramount DVD on May 19. The disc will have two hours of content not found in the torrent including an alternative ending and a making-of documentary.

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Audio Video News
Sharp Wins Energy Star Honors
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 18, 2011  | 
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding Sharp the Excellence in Energy Efficient Product Design Award for 2011. The award ceremony will take place in Washington, DC on April 11.

Sharp Aquos Quattron TVs beat the voluntary Energy Star efficiency standards by 67 percent. Fifty-one Sharp LCD TVs are Energy Star certified along with all of its Blu-ray players.

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Audio Video News
Netflix Gets Tired of Bottom Feeding
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 17, 2011  | 
Netflix distributes a huge amount of video programming and a rapidly increasing percentage of it via streaming. But in the race for hot new titles, it tends to lag behind cable/satellite VOD and disc release. Now Netflix is looking to improve its game by licensing original content and streaming it ahead of competitors.

The first property Netflix is eyeing is House of Cards, a remake of a BBC thriller of the same name, this time starring Kevin Spacey and directed by David Fincher, who directed The Social Network. Netflix is bidding $100 million for two seasons of the series in the hope that it may do for Netflix what The Sopranos did for HBO and Mad Men did for AMC.

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Audio Video News
TV Energy Labels Make Their Debut
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 16, 2011  | 
The yellow energy efficiency label already decorating store displays of air conditioners and refrigerators will also be required for TVs and cable/satellite boxes starting this year.

The familiar EnergyGuide label includes model, estimated yearly cost compared to similar models, and estimated energy usage for the particular model on display.

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Audio Video News
Japan Tragedy May Disrupt Manufacturing
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 15, 2011  | 
While human misery is the most horrifying outcome of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the natural disaster also has implications for the manufacturing of consumer electronics.

Japan makes finished CE products like TVs as well as components such as LCD panels and chips, which it supplies to manufacturers all over the world. The disruption may result in shortages and higher pricing for these products and parts.

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Audio Video News
Standard Sought for 3D Glasses
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 14, 2011  | 
There isn't a unified standard for 3D glasses. That's a problem for consumers and the Consumer Electronics Association is looking for a solution.

CEA has started the process of building a standard for 3D eyewear. Interested parties are invited to make their initial proposals by March 31, 2011.

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Audio Video News
Disney Gives Bambi 2nd Screen Treatment
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 11, 2011  | 
Disney's latest video release of Bambi will use Second Screen technology to simultaneously display the movie and derivative features on multiple platforms, including TV, computer, or iPad.

Download the Disney Second Screen app and you'll be able to sync a broadband-connected computer or iPad to the movie as it plays on your primary video display. Then you can "dive deeper into the film by engaging with fun interactive elements like animated flipbooks, galleries, photos, trivia, and more," says the press release.

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