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Media
Information > Media DVD Coverage 
Archive
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| Updated March 14, 2005 DVD
NEWS DIGEST
1 -
Ray (Widescreen) Universal Studios Home Video
"The cost of the musical compositions can add up to more than we'd see in a royalty from a DVD sale," says a DVD distributor. "You'd have to be in a loss position on every single DVD that comes out." If a show was known for its music -- something like "Miami Vice," for example -- the search for rights could be endless. In certain cases, the DVD's producer decides to replace the music. "I've done three seasons of 'Felicity' and all the original music was pulled out and replaced with a new score," says the president of the DVD Group.
A new technology can block 97 percent of the DVD copying software pirates use without interfering with a disc's playability or picture quality. Several firms are expected to roll out new anticopying technology that has been years in the making. For Hollywood studios, the technology could help wring more revenue from DVDs, which have become a leading source of profit. Unauthorized DVD copying costs the studios about $1 billion out of the $27.5 billion London-based researcher Screen Digest estimated they collected from worldwide DVD sales and rentals last year. While
analog copying methods are time consuming—it takes two hours
to record a two-hour film—a DVD can be ripped in a few minutes.
Feb. 10 - New York Times: An Easier Way to Watch DVD's on the Computer A recently released media remote control is a small wireless device that is simple to install and use. In addition to common DVD one-touch functions like play, pause, stop, advance, mute and chapter, it features something else: DVD screen capture. Any image seen in a DVD can be saved as a digital snapshot in the JPEG or bitmap formats at the touch of a button. The controller works with three of the most common media players, Windows Media Player, WinDVD and PowerDVD. The controller comes with a plug-and-play infrared receiver, enabling it to work from up to 30 feet away.
A major toy maker is teaming up with a publisher on interactive DVD toys using classic children's books. The product is aimed at children three to seven years old and is designed to help with story comprehension and building vocabulary. Kids will watch a special animated DVD version of classic books that will give kids the option of playing games and interacting with the story, or just having the story read to them. The new product will be available in mass market toy stores and in bookstores this fall. "This will encourage book sales. It doesn't take away from reading. When kids see things on the TV that correspond to books, they read those books," said a publisher. Each story also has three additional play modes that let kids read the story and play other games. Each DVD contains more than 100 interactive questions and activities.
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