HD Feed Streams

Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, HBO Video, New Line Entertainment and Warner Home Video stood up with Toshiba at the Computer Electronics Show here and pledged that movies such as “Million Dollar Baby,” “Harry Potter 4: The Goblet of Fire,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Full Metal Jacket” and “Jarhead” (not to mention box office clunkers like “Sahara” and “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”) would come out this year on HD DVD discs. In all, these five studios represent more than half of the movies ever made, said Nancy O’Dell, host of Access Hollywood and ersatz syndication TV celebrity who served as the emcee for the event at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Europe’s Studio Canal and the Weinstein Co., responsible for hits such as “Shakespeare in Love,” also will come out with movies in the HD DVD format, according to the HD DVD Promotion Group. Toshiba, the prime backer of the format, unfurled two HD DVD players–a $499 model and a deluxe $799 model–that will hit shelves in March. Toshiba also showed off a prototype Qosmio notebook with a built-in HD DVD drive. Pricing, availability and specs on the notebook will come out later this quarter. “HD DVD is now playing,” said Yoshiihide Fujii, CEO of the Digital Media Network Co. of Toshiba. “HD DVD delivers a quantum leap in how consumers view video.” By May, nearly 50 titles will already be out, Fujii said. One of the chief advantages of the format, as compared with the Blu-ray format supported by Sony and others, is that it is compatible with existing DVDs, executives said. Thus, consumers can buy a HD DVD player and use it to play existing DVDs. Some companies will produce dual-sided discs that will contain an ordinary DVD movie and an HD DVD version. “Many consumers have made a significant investment in DVD libraries,” said Greg Hart, Amazon.com director of North American music, DVD, computer and video games, and software. Amazon began to take pre-orders for Toshiba’s units Wednesday. Customflix.com, a company Amazon acquired that burns DVDs for independent and small filmmakers, will give independents a potential opportunity to sell HD versions of their movies to the public. Microsoft and Intel back the format. “We have to make sure that content is easier to buy rather than to pirate,” said Don MacDonald, vice president in Intel’s Digital Home Group. Many companies, though, will support both. Hewlett-Packard, the largest PC maker behind HD DVD, will also support Blu-ray. Studios will also issue movies under both formats. “It’s too early too tell” which will win, Matt Lasorsa, executive vice president of marketing at New Line Home Video, said in a brief conversation after the presentation. “The ideal solution would be a universal player.” The audience got a chuckle out of the suggestion that all of the kinks in home networking aren’t ironed out yet. Kevin Collins, a senior program manager at Microsoft, told the audience of about 200 reporters that he was going to show them how phenomenal HD DVD viewing was. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get the movie on Toshiba’s HD DVD player to play after several attempts. Collins, however, did manage to get movies running on Toshiba’s Qosmio notebook.

Warner Home Video (WHV) has announced the release of the first title in the HD DVD and DVD Combo Format (HD DVD on one side and Standard Definition DVD on the other): “Rumor Has It,” which will debut May 9, day-and-date with its Standard Definition version. In addition, WHV will release three new HD DVD titles: “GoodFellas” and “Swordfish” on May 2 and “Training Day” on May 9. “We are pleased to be continuing our rollout of new HD DVD titles,” said Stephen Nickerson, Senior Vice President, Market Management. “But what is really exciting is the release of the first title, `Rumor Has It,’ in the HD DVD and DVD Combo format. Purchasing a disc now in this format is the ideal choice that gives consumers the greatest flexibility in viewing options: If they own an HD DVD player, of course, they’ll get all the benefits of HD DVD and be able to play the disc in existing DVD players. If they’re considering a future purchase of an HD DVD player, they can still enjoy the movie until they upgrade.” “GoodFellas,” “Swordfish” and “Training Day” will sell for $28.99 SRP; “Rumor Has It” will be available at $39.99 SRP. “Rumor Has It” is director Rob Reiner’s clever romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine and Mark Ruffalo; “GoodFellas” is Martin Scorsese’s powerful film exploration of mob life starring Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci; “Swordfish” is the cyber-adventure from “Matrix” producer Joel Silver starring John Travolta, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman; and “Training Day” is the gripping, action hit starring Denzel Washington in his Oscar(R)-winning performance and Ethan Hawke. All bonus materials on the Standard Definition versions of each of the four titles will be included on the HD DVD versions. WHV began its rollout of HD DVD titles on April 18 with “The Last Samurai,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Million Dollar Baby.” WHV expects to announce shortly additional titles to be released in May. Warner Home Video HD DVDs offer resolution six times higher than standard definition DVDs, extraordinarily vibrant contrast and color in addition to beautifully crisp sound. HD DVD also provides a new level of interactivity, giving instant access to extra features with the debut of a seamless menu bar that allows viewers to enjoy features and settings without leaving or interrupting the film.

Great news today if you are one of the many that use Tivo.  Tivo will start to sell digital video recorders with dual tuners that allow users to record two television programs simultaneously.

The new feature can help TiVo boxes compete against generic recorders provided by cable and satellite television operators, which are often distributed for free with a cable TV subscription and have dual tuners.

I hope it will not cost too much and will come out soon.  Let me know if you happen to be one of the lucky ones that get to try this early.

Apple’s iTunes U program enables colleges and universities to post audio and video educational content online. While some universities restrict access to posted content specifically to their students and faculty, the University of California, Berkeley has done one better — it’s announced that Berkeley on iTunes U is available to the public, as well as all UC Berkeley students. “As a public university, UC Berkeley has a tradition of openness,” said Obadiah Greenberg, product manager for webcast.berkeley in a recent statement. “It really speaks to our motto - ‘Fiat Lux,’ Let there be light.” Webcast.berkeley is the university’s local Web site that delivers course and event content as podcasts and streaming video. This semester, webcast.berkeley has offered 30 courses as podcasts. You can listen to individual lectures or subscribe to courses. Also available for download are symposiums and presentations on a wide range of topics in the arts, journalism, politics and other subjects. Visitors can also get a taste of U.C. Berkeley campus life by taking an audio tour of the university and listening to highlights of the football season.

Administrative Law Judge John Spooner reached his decision in the case of Toquir Choudhri, a 14-year veteran of the Department of Education who had been accused of ignoring supervisors who told him to stop browsing the Internet at work. The ruling came after Mayor Michael Bloomberg fired a worker in the city’s legislative office in Albany earlier this year after he saw the man playing a game of solitaire on his computer. In his decision, Spooner wrote: “It should be observed that the Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper, providing a combination of communication and information that most employees use as frequently in their personal lives as for their work.” He added: “For this reason, city agencies permit workers to use a telephone for personal calls, so long as this does not interfere with their overall work performance. Many agencies apply the same standard to the use of the Internet for personal purposes.”

Aren’t we all relieved to know we can go back to surfing the web at work without getting into too much trouble with the Man.