Audio Video News

Over the next four weeks Toshiba is embarking on an aggressive promotional campaign for HD DVD, timed to coincide with this Tuesday's release of the blockbuster <I>Matrix</I> trilogy, one of the most anticipated franchises to hit either HD format. The campaign will feature in-store rebates for HD DVD players, and will also have HD DVD promo trailers running in movie theaters with this summer's hottest movies, including, in a heavy dose of irony, Sony's own <I>Spider-Man 3</I> (wonder if anyone at Sony or the Blu-ray Association is wondering why he didn't think of that).

Copying music or movies? Don't even think about it, says attorney general Alberto Gonzales. He's supporting a new law that would make even attempting copyright infringement a new federal offense.

How would you feel about your video-on-demand service if you discovered the fast-forward function had been disabled? Viewers of the country's third-largest cable system will soon find out when they try in vain to skip ads on the VOD versions of ABC and ESPN.

Want your next PC to handle both Blu-ray and HD DVD? Both high-def disc formats will be accommodated in select build-to-order models from Hewlett-Packard.

A Samsung Blu-ray player has become the first to receive plug-and-play certification under the Simplay HD Testing Program.

This past week it was announced that Warner Home Video has extended its distribution agreement with Oscar-winning producer Saul Zaentz for another five years. Two of the crown jewels in the Zaentz portfolio, <I>Amadeus</I> and <I>One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest</I>, both best picture winners, will be hitting Blu-ray and HD DVD in February of 2008, just in time for the 80th anniversary of the Academy Awards.

Looking for a smoother way to switch between cable and broadcast channels? Next week Motorola will demo a dual-function cable box that also receives off-the-air channels. The product will surface at the annual convention of NCTA, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.