Twenty members of Congress signed a letter sent to House of Representatives Internet and commerce panel chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) requesting that a federal law be drafted to legalize the use of the broadcast flag. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the members of Congress who signed the letter argue the broadcast flag is necessary to safeguard digital content from Internet piracy.

This past Tuesday Universal Studios released <I>The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift</I> day and date on standard DVD, HD DVD, and through <a href="http://ultimateavmag.com/news/040606industrynews/">CinemaNow</a> in a "downloadable DVD version" that can be downloaded and then burned to a blank DVD for just $9.99. The burned DVD is claimed to be playable "in virtually any DVD player," which means CinemaNow users aren't confined to watching the feature film on their computer monitors.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/706dve.jpg" WIDTH=148 HEIGHT=198 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>$25<BR>
The latest iteration of video expert Joe Kane's <I>Video Essentials</I>, the <I>DVE</I> DVD is already an industry standard. Revised and updated, <I>DVE</I> has everything you need to dial in your home theater, and more than a few patterns we use in our reviews at <I>UAV</I> to evaluate the performance capabilities of source components and displays. In addition to providing the test patterns, it also tells the less initiated how to go about making adjustments in a clear, concise fashion. For just $25 you can elevate the performance and accuracy of your entire system.

At the E3 gaming expo Microsoft announced a key strategic acquisition of content, landing a deal that brings Disney's feature films online for download through the Xbox Live service over the Xbox 360 game console. Included in the deal will be new and catalog movies from Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax Films.