http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/links Latest links, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/18061 Less than a week after it went on sale, a court has issued an order temporarily requiring RealNetworks to suspend distribution of its DVD-copying product RealDVD. The action comes in response to a lawsuit brought against RealNetworks by the MPAA, alleging RealDVD enables users to bypass the Content Scramble System (CSS) used to protect DVDs from unlicensed copying. RealNetworks maintains that making a copy for personal use is permissible under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and points to Kaleidescape's successful victory over the MPAA in a case where KalRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:00:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-17852_3-10058435-71.html?tag=rsspr.6246918&part=ecoustics-cnet Featured links from the CNET Blog Network Gates-Seinfeld schtick more viral than 'I'm a PC'--The two Gates-Seinfeld commercials have enjoyed 4.3 million more viral-video views than Microsoft's replacement "I'm a PC" campaign, according to Visible Measures. Open source can still win in a down economy--Economics are on the side of open source--the best value for money means enterprises can continue to grow during the economic downturn. Marc Fleury's OpenRemote gets into databases with Beehive--The OpenRemote project kicks off a central, open-source database for managing home-automation codes. It's the product, stupid: branding firms and industrial design--Carl Alviani describes a trend that has been emerging for a while now: Not only do digital agencies like R/GA enter the branding domain, branding, marcom, and advertising firms also round out their services portfolio by adding product design capabilities. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:13:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/18034 Owners of Vudu set-top boxes got a little more out of their systems on Thursday when the company opened up availability of movie rentals in full HD, allowing users to view on-demand movies and other content in 1080p resolution. Vudu calls its new format HDX, a form of compression that shrinks files enough to offer HD content without download times, but also without the artifacts and quality sacrifice typically associated with high compression.The company employed a number of new technologies to make streaming 1080p video through home Internet coRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:10:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/18019 Movie rental service Netflix and Starz Entertainment have announced a deal which will make movies available from the "Starz Play" broadband video subscription service available for instant streaming to Netflix subscribers. The deal adds about 2,500 movies, television shows, and concerts to Netflix's instant-streaming library—pushing the total number of available titles to over 12,000."The coupling of Starz Play with our growing library of streaming content is an important step forward for both companies and for consumer choice," Netflix's chief content officer Ted Sarandos, in a statement. "Our deal reflects the creative ways we are workingRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/18006 Sometimes you just need a really bright projector. For situations where pitch dark isn’t an option and ambient light will wash out weaker projectors, Mitsubishi introduced the FL6900U on Tuesday, a high-brightness projector for the commercial and educational use that throws off a blinding 4,000 lumens.Besides that top-notch brightness rating, the FL6900U also projects images in full 1080p resolution, carries RS232 support for third-party control systems, an RJ45 jack for online control and management, and an array of different leRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:40:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17960 Market analysis firm Gartner says the number of IPTV subscribers—folks who subscribe to video services delivered over the Internet—is on pace to reach a total of 19.6 million subscribers worldwide by the end of 2008, which would represent a 64.1 percent increase over 12 million IPTV users in 2007. Gartner also projects that the IPTV market will represent $4.5 billion in business during 2008 (a 93.5 percent increase over 2007) and will climb all the way up to $19 billion by 2012.The new figures mean, statistically speaking, just over one percent of all households worldwide will subscribe to IPTV services. If GartnerRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/reviews/151452 The Slingbox Pro-HD is great if you're moving high-definition video around a fast home network--or if you aren't a perfectionist when watching remotely. Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:01:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17952 Although home theater fans may scoff at smaller displays that due double-duty as PC monitors, there's no denying to appeal of combo units for folks who are tight on space—for instance, in dens, children's bedrooms, dorm rooms, or one of those oh-so-tiny trendy studio lofts. For folks who are tight on space, ViewSonic has introduced its N2201W 3-in-1 display, combining a high-definition LCD television, DVD player, and PC monitor in one device."The N2201w's dual functionality provides customers convenience and value by adding a digital television to their home that will compliment any room," said ViewSonic'sRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17948 When competing high-definition disc format HD DVD threw in the towel in early 2008, most industry watchers were expecting a surge of consumer interest in Sony's victorious Blu-ray format. Now that the battle was over, market watchers reasoned, consumers would flock to the high-definition world, assured that their movie purchases would be compatible with future gear for a long time to come.Except it hasn't happened, at least not to the degree industry watchers expected. Several factors play into consumer's less-than-enthusiastic embrace of Blu-ray, including a general economic downturn, Blu-ray gear hanging on to comparatively high prices, and consumers turning to alternative sources of HD content like high-definition cabRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17934 General Electric has announced the formation of a new joint partenship with consumer electronics maker Tatung called General Displays & Technologies. The new company will produce, market, and service a new line of GE-branded high-definition televisions. However, these won't be your ordinary HDTVS: they'll support IPTV via cable, satellite, and fiber right out of the bos, and the company will partner with NBC Universal (in which GE owns an 80 percent stake) to create an "open platform" for delivery of digital content directly to the televisions via the Internet."We are developing advanced, Internet capabilities for content delivery toRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/guide/137 Got an Xbox 360? Use it to connect all the video, photos, and music on your home network and view them on your TV. In this step-by-step guide, we'll show you how to set up a UPnP sever on any Windows or Mac computer so the Xbox can access it, and then how to connect and browse your media. That way, when friends come over with their laptops, they can connect to your network and play their digital media too.To prepare, make sure your Xbox 360 is connected to your network either by Ethernet cable or by using the Xbox 360 Wireless Networking Adapter. From the Xbox's main menu, go to the Media tab and sign into your user account by selecting the Sign In button at the top. WINDOWS XP/VISTA...Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17913 Making a pitch to athletic iPod Shuffle users sick of fighting with tangled headphone cables, RCA on Friday released its new S2501 Jet Stream portable media player. The smallish PMP discards both wires and Bluetooth for proprietary Kleer wireless audio transmission technology, which RCA claims offers better battery life and audio quality.The thin, 3.63-inch tall player offers a 1-inch color LCD for browsing music, viewing photos and playing video, a splash-proof body with a clip, and 1GB of flash mRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17902 Though notebook owners have been able to wirelessly video chat on Skype for years now, the lack of standalone video phones usually made teleconferencing with anyone who wasn’t tech-savvy more trouble than it was worth. Asus took one step in cracking open the exclusive world of video chat to everyone on Thursday by announcing the AiGuru SV1, a standalone video phone that eases the woes of connecting.The SV1 connects to Skype via an internal Wi-Fi connection and uses an intuitive icon-based interface to supposedly make video calling intuitive and simple enough for anyoneRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:55:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17900 Sanyo has introduced its new PLV-Z3000 home theater projector, which the company claims is the first projector to offer 5:5 pull-down for the accurate frame-by-frame delivery of source video material. The new projector also offers a 65,000:1 contrast ratio, an exclusive 3D color management system, quiet fans, an advanced lens shifting function, 720p resolution…and a 120Hz refresh rate so even high-speed, action-filled material doesn't blur out.The PLV-Z3000 will replace the PLV-Z2000 in Sanyo's projector lineup, and builds in Sanyo's TapozReal HD technology with 14-bit digitalRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:20:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17899 After getting snagged at the $400 price point for years and budging no lower, even after the collapse of HD-DVD, manufacturers have finally broken through the old price barrier and pushed Blu-ray prices to an all new low. Memorex set the new bar on Thursday with the MVBD-2510, a budget player that will retail for $269.The no-frills machine offers support for Blu-ray Profile 1.1 (though the latest is 2.0,) which offers Bonus View, a picture-in-picture capability for playing director’s commentary and other extras alongsidRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17834 Break out the webcam and begin honing your finest acting skills: Digital Trends on Monday announced its Favorite Gaming Memory Contest. The contest is sponsored by iBUYPOWER and the winner will take home a Video Pro PC and $2,000 in American Express gift cards. We're looking for fun and creative videos that are less than three minutes long about your favorite video game memory or experience. Act it out, speak to the camera, or even animate your favorite video game memory for a chance to win. For the full rules, head to the Digital Trends contest page.The contest, hosted on YouTube, encourages amateur filmmakers to create their ownRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:29:22 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17814 As the race for the Presidency hits its long final furlong and divides America, spammers are using that to try and infect machines. Security company Websense has warned of a new wave of spam that offers a link purporting to show video of Democratic candidate Barack Obama having sex while visiting the Ukraine.That’s nonsense, of course. The company explains:“Users who click the link are shown a pornographic video taken from hxxp://homemade*snip*.com/.”“While the video plays for 14 seconds, malicious applications are installed on the victim's machine.”One of those applications allows remote control oRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17810 When it comes to universal remotes, setup is often the biggest headache. Between looking up TV codes in a tiny directory and entering arcane button combinations into the thing, a seemingly simple task can become quite the test of technical prowess. Universal Electronics’ new Xsight remotes circumvent that setup hell with one of our favorite methods – a Web client.The Xsight Colour and Xsight Touch both interface with the proprietary EZ-RC Web app, which makes adding, editing and deleting different device profiles from the remotes a simpleRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:20:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17808 AT&T has been teasing a new Total Home DVR capability for its U-verse customers for some time, but the company has at least officially announced the new unit, which enables users to play back up to five saved high-definition shows at the same time on different televisions around the house. The Total Home DVR is being rolled out in the San Francisco Bay area now, and should be available to all AT&T U-verse customers by the end of 2008—and the new features are available to existing customers as a software update, rather than requiring new hardware.Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:50:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17804 For those of you who gawked at Mitsubishi’s LaserVue television at this year’s CES in Las Vegas and wondered how much it would cost to get one for the living room, the time has finally come for that moment of reckoning. Brace your wallets, this one’s going to hurt. Mitsubishi’s first 65-inch LaserVue televisions will retail for $6,999.While that’s quite a ding to the bank account, it’s not entirely out of line with what other manufacturers are charging for LCD and plasma sets in that size range. Although the 10-inch deep laser sets won’t have quite the svelte form factors of their cousRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:35:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17789 RealNetworks is looking to get into the DVD copying business—only they hope to do it legally—with their new RealDVD application. RealDVD enables users to copy a standard DVD to a computer or portable storage device and watch them later without requiring the original physical disc. How can this be legal? RealDVD wraps the copy in digital rights management software (DRM) that restricts the copy to being played on the machine that performed the copy, and up to five machines authorized by a user using RealDVD."RealDVD gives consumers a great new way to get more out of their DVDs," said RealNetworks' chairman and CEO Rob Glaser, in a stRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:20:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17783 Hitachi may have shown off the first of its ultra-thin 1.5-inch thick displays at CES back in January, but in the mean time the concept hasn’t stopped growing – quite literally. The company’s latest release sticks with the slender form factor of its predecessors, but and bumps screen size up to 50 inches, making it the largest of Hitachi’s UltraThin line, and one of the world’s thinnest plasmas as well.According to Hitachi, the inclusion of plasma displays in the UltraThin line is no minor technical achievement, since the difficulties of slimming down plasma aRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17782 Home theater fans who have been looking for a way to push their high-definition video around their systems (and to different rooms) without the hassles of stringing cables (or drilling holes in the walls) have faced a choice between Ultra WideBand (UWB) and Amimon's Wireless HDMI (WHDI) technology. Although WHDI has been garnering industry support recently, video connectivity developer Gefen has gotten tired of waiting for a resolution, so it has decided to offer both UWB and WHDI products for folks who just can't wait to be wireless.First upRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17769 Leave it to Sony to win the battle for a high-definition disc format, then—just as the market starts to swing toward consumers with pocketbook-friendly prices—"lead" the industry by zig-zagging the other way. But that's exactly what Sony's doing—at least for the home theater crowd—at this year's CEDIA Expo, introducing a new Blu-ray player that'll carry a $2,000 price tag, rather than the $200 price tag consumers seek.And, while most LCD TV manufacturers are working on introducing sets with 120 Hz refresh rates to produce smoother, flicker-free images, Sony ups the ante once again, unveiling an LCD TV with a 240 Hz refresh rate.First up, the newRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17767 Electronics giant Sharp has unveiled a spate of new HDTVs at this year's CEDIA Expo, including new ultra-thing models, along with limited editions, deep color support, sets with 120 Hz refresh rates, and even a small 19-inch model aimed at folks with space constraints. And Sharp has partnered with NBC Universal to net-enable new Aquos TVs, giving Sony's Bravia Internet Video Link a run for its money.First, Sharp has announced Aquos Net, a new offering that will bring Web-based video content from NBC Universal to Aquos television owners via the television set's integrated Ethernet port.Read | Permalink | Linking Blogs Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:00:00 -0400