Barry Willis

Los Angeles---Visionaries and vultures, pundits and panderers, gurus and geeks. They were all here at the Beverly Hilton for the first Networked Entertainment World Conference, a meeting of computer and software representatives, cable and online service providers, and film and television executives. Co-sponsored by Softbank Forums and the American Film Institute and attended by aspiring Web producers, game designers, and screenwriters (in addition to established industry types), the N:E:W conference was the first of what could prove to be an important annual event.

Ever wonder how all those short films you never heard of get nominated for Academy Awards? They have to run for a weekend at theaters in Los Angeles or New York in order for <A HREF="http://www.oscars.org/">Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</A> members to get a chance to view them. Those are the rules, the Academy stated on June 13, after deciding to exclude from Oscar consideration any film debuting on the Internet.

Are bulk discounts and revenue sharing arrangements with suppliers illegal? A group of independent video dealers thinks so. The dealers have teamed up to sue <A HREF="http://www.blockbuster.com/">Blockbuster Video</A>, the industry's undisputed leader, over what they claim are "illegal practices" that they contend have caused many of their colleagues to go out of business.

"Stunning artifact-free picture quality" is the sort of promotional hype that always accompanies the release of any new video product. In the case of <A HREF="http://www.vinc.com">V Inc.</A>'s new Bravo D1, it may be more than hot air. On May 9, the Fountain Valley, CA technology company announced the D1, described as the first DVD player equipped with MPEG-4 playback capability and a digital video interface. The D1 outputs both interlaced and progressive signals, and can scale its output to 480p/720p/1080i.