Mark Fleischmann

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Ears On
Networks Fight FCC Indecency Fines
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 19, 2006
ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC are challenging the Federal Communications Commission's "indecency" enforcement in federal court. They state: “We are seeking to overturn the FCC decisions that the broadcast of fleeting, isolated—and in some cases unintentional—words rendered these programs indecent. The FCC overstepped its authority in an attempt to regulate content protected by the First Amendment, acted arbitrarily and failed to provide broadcasters with a clear and consistent standard for determining what content is indecent. Furthermore, the FCC rulings underscore the inherent problem in growing government control over what viewers should and shouldn’t see on television. Parents currently have the ability to control and block programming they deem inappropriate...." The Parents Television Council fired back, calling the suit "utterly shameless." Programs involved include ABC's N.Y.P.D. Blue, CBS's The Early Show, and Fox's telecast of the Billboard Music Awards. Under new-ish chairman Kevin Martin the FCC has recently levied $4 million in new fines and revamped its website to encourage more, uh, public participation.
Continue Reading >
Audio Video News
Networks Knock ‘Skinny’ Verizon
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 15, 2015
Pay-TV bundles bulging with never-watched channels have been the bane of consumer groups. They’ve long supported the concept of à la carte cable, which would let subscribers buy just the channels they want. Verizon’s FiOS Custom TV package isn’t exactly à la carte—but it does put the typical pay-TV bundle on a drastic diet. And that “skinny” package, as some call it, is making some networks very unhappy.
Continue Reading >
Audio Video News
Networks Lure Binge Viewers
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 25, 2017
Once a year, House of Cards fans cancel all social obligations and hole up to bingewatch the new season of the Netflix original series in an evening or two or three. Other networks want a piece of that action.
Continue Reading >
Audio Video News
Networks to Keep Analog Until Bitter End
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 06, 2009
Several major TV networks have announced that they plan for their owned affiliate stations to keep analog signals on the airwaves until the final deadline in June.
Continue Reading >
Audio Video News
New 3D Channel to Make DirecTV Debut
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 14, 2011
Hungry for 3DTV programming? If you're a DirecTV subscriber, you'll soon have a new option called 3net, a joint venture of Sony, Discovery Communications, and IMAX. The channel will offer one-hour original programs shot in 3D.

3net made its debut last night at 8 p.m. and will operate 24-7. New programs will air every night at 9 p.m.

Continue Reading >
Ears On
New Disc Formats Disable Managed Copy
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 27, 2006
Initial Blu-ray and HD DVD titles won't support the managed-copy feature, according to a report from PC World. The interim agreement on content-security features that will allow hardware and software to hit the street this spring won't support the flag that would let users make a legit backup copy, transfer content to a media player, or move it around a home network. This temporary lack of functionality may not be a dealbreaker for early adopters. In fact, managed copy is just a future option that would allow the studios to give users some flexibility. Even when it eventually does become available, that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be used. But I thought you'd like to know.
Continue Reading >
Audio Video News
New DVD Format Coming, Shoot Us Please
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 20, 2007
Why should blue lasers have all the fun? HD DVD and Blu-ray will get some competition next month when New Media Enterprises drops its first red-laser-driven HD VMD players and titles on an unsuspecting world.
Continue Reading >
CEDIA 2015
New GoldenEar SuperSub Is Inertially Balanced
Mark Fleischmann  |  Oct 15, 2015
The paired active and passive drivers on GoldenEar Technology's new SuperSub XXL are "inertially balanced both horizontally and vertically," Sandy Gross told showgoers.
Continue Reading >
Audio Video News
New Pirate Bay to Pay File Sharers
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 08, 2009
Let's say you've just paid $7.7 million to purchase Pirate Bay, a Swedish site popular with copyright-oblivious torrenters all over the world. What new business model would you devise to make it a legit business? How about paying people to engage in file sharing?
Continue Reading >
Ears On
New Rootkit Hazard Taints European DVDs
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 23, 2006
At least two German-language DVDs have a DRM-related security flaw reminiscent of the XCP CD rootkits that have recently shaken U.S. consumers. According to Heise Security, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Edison contain Alpha-DVD, developed by Settec, a Korean company spun off from LG. The rootkit program announces itself in a user agreement. When installed, it redirects DVD-burning functions to itself to prevent illegal copying. However, it also "manages to affect the operation of CD/DVD burning applications with some DVD writers, regardless of whether the copy-protected disc was present or not," says Heise. Settec now offers both an update and an uninstaller. Alpha-DVD is not quite as insidious as the infamous XCP rootkit—it hides from the Task Manager but not from the OS. Even so, it still poses a hazard to consumers. "Our message to software companies producing any software (not just copy protection products) is clear," says Finnish security firm F-Secure, whose rootkit sniffer is pic of the day. "You should always avoid hiding anything from the user, especially the administrator. It rarely serves the needs of the user, and in many cases it's very easy to create a security vulnerability this way."
Continue Reading >

Pages

X