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Look Up! In the Cloud! It's Amazon!
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 29, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Best Buy May Shrink Stores
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 28, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Apple AirPlay May Stream Video
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 25, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Sony, Samsung Adopt Microsoft PlayReady
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 24, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Mits Dumps LCDs in Favor of RPTVs
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 23, 2011 • 1 comments
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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Japan Parts Shortage May Disrupt iPad 2
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 22, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Paramount Film to Be Legally Torrented
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 21, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Sharp Wins Energy Star Honors
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 18, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Netflix Gets Tired of Bottom Feeding
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 17, 2011 • 0 comments
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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TV Energy Labels Make Their Debut
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 16, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Japan Tragedy May Disrupt Manufacturing
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 15, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Standard Sought for 3D Glasses
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 14, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Disney Gives Bambi 2nd Screen Treatment
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 11, 2011 • 0 comments
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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Panasonic Debuts New Blu-ray Players That Open With a Wave
News
Thomas J. Norton • Mar 10, 2011 • 0 comments
Panasonic's name may evoke sound, but its reputation is built on video. Nevertheless, the company does produce audio products, though its U.S. offerings in that space differ from those of many Asian manufacturers. It has never been a major player here in AV receivers or stand-alone speaker systems, but instead puts most of its efforts into home theaters in a box (HTiBs), compact one-piece stereo systems, and related all-in-one packages. Panasonic's new 2011 introductions in these categories include a single sound bar (the fully-powered, $400 SC-HTB520, which includes a wireless subwoofer), four compact stereo systems, and three new Blu-ray HTiBs with 3D capability. Four new stand-alone Blu-ray players were also launched.
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Sony Enhances iTunes Movie Downloads
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Mark Fleischmann • Mar 10, 2011 • 0 comments
Though disc releases are festooned with special features, movies sold as downloads tend to be unadorned. However, Sony Pictures is beginning to add features to movies sold as downloads through iTunes.

You'll be able to search for actors and dialogue, choose clips to share on social networking sites, and find songs embedded in soundtracks. Not surprisingly, the latter will be linked for purchase in the iTunes music store.

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