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• IMMERSION’s “Event on a Disc”
  Time: 02:04 EST/07:04 GMT News Source: DVD Insider Posted By: Alex Harris

  With the nearly simultaneous explosion of both DVD and the Web, the convergence of all forms of media is nearing completion. Part of this convergence is the capability to create DVD titles and to link them to the Web, either through a computer or television. That is the principle behind iMMERSION New Media, Inc.'s ``Event on a Disc.'' Event on a Disc is a hybrid Web-enable DVD video that combines the rich media content of DVD with the immediacy and transactive nature of the Web.

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• ITV Digital Utilizes DVD Format
  Time: 02:02 EST/07:02 GMT News Source: DVD Insider Posted By: Alex Harris

  iTV Digital is one of the few cutting-edge video producers of business-to-business and business-to-consumer programming utilizing the DVD format in this exploding field of technology. iTV Digital, launched last August as part of Boca Raton's iTV (Information Television Network) expansion, has signed contracts with two new heavy-weight clients: Sun MicroSystems and The Federal Highway Administration.

  Because DVD's can store up to 25 times more information than a standard compact disc, a multitude of applications can be used simultaneously on one, interactive disc. The sale of DVD players has outpaced those of VCRs, CD players and home satellite systems in its initial year of sales by more than ten to one, making it the fastest selling technology in consumer history! The latest technology is also the ideal medium for corporate websites because a hybrid DVD-ROM can access the Internet keeping all the information up to date while supplying full-frame, full-motion video in a web-friendly interface. In short, it makes an excellent sales tool.

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• Cyberspace Prosecutor
  Time: 06:13 EST/11:13 GMT News Source: Yahoo! Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Jack Valenti, the Motion Picture Association of America's lobbyist to the stars, is quickly becoming the Internet's Kenneth Starr. High from victory in jailing a 16-year-old Norwegian for offering a way to run DVD movies on Linux, Valenti has been singing victory again in the recent battle over iCraveTV.com, a company of "cyberthieves" that was rebroadcasting television programs over the Net.

  Toronto-based iCraveTV offered television via the Net. Under Canadian law, such rebroadcasting is apparently legal - at least for cable and satellite broadcasters. ICraveTV claims the Net is just like cable - and that it, too, should have the right to offer TV.

  It is the nature of the Net that content in one location bleeds to another. Remember, this was the great promise of online speech: While China could silence dissidents in real space, it could not block protests of that silencing in cyberspace. The Net is global; as Electronic Frontier Foundation cofounder John Gilmore said, censorship it routes around.

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• The No. 1 Thriller of the Year, ``The Sixth Sense,'' Comes to Rental March 28
  Time: 06:00 EST/11:00 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  The $282 million box-office mega-smash and No. 1 thriller of the year, Hollywood Pictures' and Spyglass Entertainment's "The Sixth Sense," appears on VHS and DVD on March 28, 2000.

  The supernatural thriller, featuring international superstar Bruce Willis ("Armageddon," "The Siege") and, in a breakthrough performance, Academy Award(R) Actor nominee Haley Joel Osment ("Forrest Gump"), is expected to be one of the biggest titles of the year to go to the rental and the DVD markets. The film also will be available in a Spanish subtitled version on VHS. The DVD will be priced at $29.99 (SRP). Pre-book is Feb. 29.

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• DVD Genie 3.31 released
  Time: 10:49 EST/15:49 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Alex Harris

  DVD Infomatrix have released a new version of DVD Genie. Here is what is new in version 3.31:

  - I have tried to make DVD Genie as "Registry Complaint" as it can with regards to NT based operating systems. All calls use the bare minimum requirements under the NT registry security settings. Hopefully, this will make DVD Genie function better under Windows 2000.

  - The Matrox G400 Auto PAL/NTSC setting should be functioning again under Windows 9x, sorry about the mishap last version.

  You can download the new version here.

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• Ultera Brings Award-Winning Array Controller Technology to DVD Market with New DVD-R Multimaster
  Time: 10:47 EST/15:47 GMT News Source: DVD File Posted By: Alex Harris

  Ultera Systems Inc., the leading tape array controller and tape array system supplier, today announced its entry into the burgeoning DVD-Recordable market with its new DVD-R MultiMaster(TM) array controller, bringing a new level of performance and flexibility to small-scale DVD replication applications.

  Ultera Systems, an acknowledged leader of innovative, award-winning tape array controllers, is aggressively expanding its business into the DVD market, which is projected to outpace the CD-R format in the coming year. Not new to the optical arena, Ultera has deployed its advanced controller technology in optical storage applications for years, in thousands of installations worldwide.

  The DVD-R MultiMaster builds on Ultera's innovative array technology implemented in the company's CD-R MultiMaster, and allows up to 12 DVDs to be created in the time it typically takes to create a single disc. The unit supports up to 12 SCSI-based DVD-R drives from Pioneer New Media Technologies Inc., making DVD-R MultiMaster the ideal solution for companies with requirements beyond single DVD replication but without the need for costly, high-volume disc duplication.

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• Philips Consumer Electronics Using Genesis Chip in Three New High-Definition Televisions
  Time: 10:45 EST/15:45 GMT News Source: DVD File Posted By: Alex Harris

  Genesis Microchip (Nasdaq:GNSS) today reported Philips Consumer Electronics is using the Genesis gmVLX1A-X video processor in three new high-definition television (HDTV) sets.

  Philips recently introduced three new projection television models: the 55PP9701, 60PP9701 and 60PP9601. Each rear-projection television boasts superior high definition image quality and offers a variety of digital display and format-conversion modes. Other features include a "dual tuner picture-in-picture" display (for scanning other channels in a video window), automatic phosphor aging compensation (to avoid stationary image retention on the screen), PixelMax advanced optics system, and a wide range of connectivity options for the ultimate home theater experience regardless of whether the video source is standard-definition or high-definition material.

  The 55-inch 55PP9701 and the 60-inch 60PP9701 are widescreen sets (16:9 aspect ratio) while the 60-inch 60PP9601 provides a conventional 4:3 aspect ratio. Each television displays interlaced or progressive-scan video and relies on the gmVLX1A-X chip for critical video processing.

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• Columbia TriStar finally announces Men In Black
  Time: 10:43 EST/15:43 GMT News Source: DVD Review Posted By: Alex Harris

  We have just received official word from Columbia TriStar Home Video that the studio will release a Collector's Series of Men In Black. The special release will hit the streets on September 5 and will come as a limited release only! "Men In Black" is the action and fun-filled story of two alien hunters who save the Earth from invasions from Outer Space. As you can see in the movie, there is a dire need for that, as Aliens are everywhere, disguised, making us believe they were completely human. This movie has been a fan-favorite since its release almost three years ago, but a DVD release had been hampered by many obstacles in the past, but finally all these issues seem to be resolved and Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will clean up the earth from alien scum in this exciting upcoming release. No details are available yet, but we'll keep you posted!

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• Universal schedules The Dinner Game and I Married A Strange Person
  Time: 10:41 EST/15:41 GMT News Source: DVD Review Posted By: Alex Harris

  We just got some more information for some upcoming titles from Universal Home Video in. Scheduled for April 25 is The Dinner Game a film by Francis Veber about a group of friends who meet every Wednesday night to have dinner together. They also have game that goes with the dinner. Every week each one of them is challenged to bring along the dumbest person he can find. The resulting conversations are supposed to entertain the hosts and at the end of the night they vote for the idiot of the evening. Pierre, the host of the entire event is fully convinced that his champ will steal the show and win the title, but things go horribly wrong, leaving him stuck with his own "idiot".

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• Microsoft Selects QPS Que! DVD-RAM Drive for Windows 2000 Launch
  Time: 19:35 EST/00:35 GMT News Source: Business Wire Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  QPS Inc. said today that its Que!(TM) DVD-RAM Drive was selected by Microsoft to be part of the Windows 2000 launch in San Francisco last week. The drive was installed on a desktop and was used to demonstrate the playback of a DVD movie, using a desktop computer and Windows 2000.

  "We were thrilled to be chosen to participate in one of Microsoft's most important launches ever," said Pierre Abboud, QPS vice president. "QPS was one of only four companies selected in the `fun product' category to be part of the Windows 2000 launch. The Que! DVD-RAM Drive performed perfectly, I am pleased to say."

  The Que! DVD-RAM Drive for PC desktop computers is ideal for desktop publishing, archiving and presentations. With some additional hardware, it can be used to record any kind of data, including MPEG-2 files and DVD movies for playback on television sets or computer monitors in full screen.

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• Sony PlayStation2 seen to fuel Japan DVD market
  Time: 19:17 EST/00:17 GMT News Source: News.com Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Sony's launch of its new PlayStation2 video game console, the world's first with a DVD player, should give Japan's struggling DVD market a chance to finally take off, analysts said.

  Japan's DVD (digital versatile disc ) market has long suffered from weak turnover in both hardware and software, a vicious cycle as poor sales in one undermine sales in the other.

  "PlayStation2 will definitely open a new door for the DVD market," said Kazuharu Miura, analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research. "People will become more familiar with DVDs, and most importantly, we should see a wider range of software hitting the market."

  Japanese consumers, usually quick to pick up the latest new gadgets, generally have opted for traditional VHS video players over DVDs. Although DVDs boast superior audio and visual quality to conventional VHS or CDs, and offer higher data storage capacity, most Japanese have balked at the price for both the players and the discs themselves.

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• New DVD Genie (3.30)
  Time: 14:02 EST/19:02 GMT News Source: 3D Spotlight Posted By: Byron Hinson

  A new version of DVD genie has been release, version 3.30 Download it from here http://www.inmatrix.com/files/dvdgenie_download.html What's new in v3.30:

  * It seems that the Interlaced WinDVD NVIDIA mode is in fact a TNT fix-up mode. When enabled WinDVD speeds up on TNT/TNT2 cards to more or less the same speed as PowerDVD, which is to say, a lot faster ... Highly recommended for TNT based cards. Please note, that it may only be faster on Interlaced 29.97fps movies, and may introduce interlaced output otherwise.

  * New Force BOB/Weave mode for WinDVD.

  * New WinDVD audio amplification mode.

  * In an attempt to stop DVD Genie from GPFing when using Matrox cards under NT based operating systems, I am disabling the Matrox Auto-TV Mode support when running under NT.

  * DVD Genie will give notification if the Cinemaster edlog.dat file exists in the windows directory. See more information on this file in the on-line documentation.

  * Two new video tweaks for the Hollywood-Plus card for you to play with.

  * I believe I solved the reason why the ATI Player wouldn't always run when the Run ATI button was pressed or when the Auto-Region was enabled.

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• Hitachi Releases World's First Consumer Product With Dolby Headphone Technology
  Time: 04:05 EST/09:05 GMT News Source: Business Wire Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Dolby Laboratories, the world leader in multichannel sound, announced that the new Prius DECK 610N all-in-one desktop computer developed by Hitachi Co. Ltd. Digital Media Group is the word's first consumer product to incorporate Dolby Headphone, a unique signal processing system that enables standard stereo headphones to realistically portray the sound of a 5.1-channel playback system.

  The Prius DECK 610N, which incorporates MGI's Pure Diva software DVD player that realizes Dolby Digital 5.1 decoding and the Dolby Headphone process all-in-one software, will be released in Japan on Feb. 19, allowing buyers to experience cinema-quality surround sound via a personal computer.

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• Internet Science ``Faction'' Classic To Be Updated Utilizing Newest In Electronic Publishing Technologies
  Time: 04:00 EST/09:00 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  iMMERSION Media has pioneered a solution for Web-enabled DVD Video which combines the rich media content of DVD with the immediacy and transactive nature of the Web. It is called ``Event on a Disc.'' (TM)

  As a tool for advertisers and content producers ``Event on a Disc'' (TM) represents a new channel to drive traffic above the existing portals and gatekeepers to targeted Web sites as well as to gain valuable insights on consumer interests.

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• Sonic Solutions and Pioneer Team to Create World's First DVD-Audio Disc
  Time: 14:53 EST/19:53 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ:SNIC - news) announced today and will be showing later this week at the Audio Engineering Society Convention (AES) in Paris that it has collaborated with Pioneer to successfully create the world's first DVD-Audio discs with SonicStudio HD, Sonic's next-generation professional audio workstation, and DVD Creator AV, the DVD-Audio version of Sonic's award-winning DVD-Video production system. The Pioneer DVD-Audio disc demonstrates the advanced features of the new format - high-resolution sound, graphics, and interactivity - and is being shown at this year's AES convention.

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• Tesco challenges Time Warner on DVD pricing-paper
  Time: 14:53 EST/19:53 GMT News Source: Press Release Posted By: Byron Hinson

  British supermarket group Tesco Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: TSCO.L) has challenged Time Warner's (NYSE:TWX - news) Warner Home Video to end the practice of making digital video discs (DVDs) that only work on players bought in the same part of the world, the Daily Telegraph reported on Friday.

  The practice, known as ``zoning,'' has allowed substantial price differences to develop for the same discs sold in different countries.

  Tesco has begun selling players that can play DVDs produced anywhere when properly programmed, thus allowing customers to circumvent existing price controls, the Telegraph said. It also said that Tesco has written to Warner Home Video demanding an end to the zoning policy.

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• Plunkett & Macleane
  Time: 15:59 EST/20:59 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  The pretty awful Plunkett & Macleane will be getting a USA release at last (It has been out in the UK for a few months) the date is 21st March. It comes with an anamorphic transfer, trailer and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound for $24.95.

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• Warner DTS DVD Titles - More Details
  Time: 15:59 EST/20:59 GMT News Source: E-Mail Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Interview With The Vampire

  Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1
  Documentary
  Introduction by Anne Rice and Neil Jordan
  Commentary by Neil Jordan
  Stills gallery

  Twister

  Doby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1
  Two documentaries
  Two music videos
  Commentary by Jan DeBont and the visual effects supervisor

  Lethal Weapon 1-3

  Director's expanded versions
  Brand new Dolby Digital 5.1 remixes and DTS 5.1
  LW1 - 7 additional minutes
  LW2 - 4 additional minutes
  LW3 - 3 additional minutes

  All are due on June 6th at $24.95 retail. All are listed as "dual layer for optimal picture quality".

  Additional Warner releases due in June:

  Ken Burns' Baseball

  10 disc set in slipcase. $179.95 retail

  Also, three Shaft films, beginning with the original.

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• New Warner Releases On The Way
  Time: 15:57 EST/20:57 GMT News Source: DVD File/DVD Review Posted By: Byron Hinson

  Caddyshack: 20th Anniversary Edition will be released on the 4th April, thankfully it is coming on an  anamorphic transfer and includes a few special features such as, documentary with outtakes, rare footage, interviews and trailer. The other comedies due on this date are all anamorphic, plus include bios and a trailer each. Look for Big Bully, Stay Tuned, Major League 2 and Major League 3: Back In The Minors. Two thrillers out on 9th May in the form of Silent Fall and The Crush.

  Out on 23rd May is a reissue of Frank Oz's musical version of The Little Shop of Horrors, effectively the same disc just without the alternate directors cut ending. Producer David Geffen has the rights to the alternate ending which is faithful to the stage version, and its the fact he didn't give Warner permission to use it which has caused the reissue. Features for this disc now stand at a directors commentary, documentary, isolated music score, outtakes, deleted scenes with commentary, cast bios, trailers and TV spots.

  Warner are also releasing their first DTS discs, starting with remastered versions of old discs on 6th June. Interview With The Vampire will have a video introduction, directors commentary, making-of featurette, still gallery and trailer. Twister will sport directors commentary and 2 music videos, with both these titles containing DTS and 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtracks. RRP for these will be $24.95, whilst the previous versions of these will be discontinued.

  The 6th June should see a Lethal Weapon box set containing extended cuts of Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2 and Lethal Weapon 3, all of course anamorphic and containing 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks. These discs will also be available seperately, price for any of them is still unknown though.

  Again on 6th June is PBS title Ken Burn's Baseball, a 10 disc set featuring the entire series and DVD-ROM features for $179.95.

  In the distance and land of uncertainty, June could see Seven and Boogie Nights re-released in 2-disc special editions. Also on the remastering board are The Color Purple, The Goonies and Gremlins 2: The New Batch.

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• The Baby Einstein Company to Release Revolutionary 'Digital Board Books' on Interactive DVD
  Time: 19:20 EST/00:20 GMT News Source: Yahoo! Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  The Baby Einstein Company, leading producer of developmental media products for infants, today announced it will release revolutionary ``Digital Board Book(TM)'' versions of ``Baby Einstein(TM),'' ``Baby Mozart®,'' ``Baby Bach(TM)'' and ``Baby Shakespeare(TM).'' The announcement was made at the American International Toy Fair. All four DVD titles will be released in April.

  ``As a publishing format, DVD offers three extraordinary advantages: interactivity; the capability to store video, audio and print programming; and stunning digital playback quality,'' said Julie Aigner-Clark, founder and CEO of The Baby Einstein Company. ``The ability of parents to control the images and sound stored on DVD makes this emerging technology a revolutionary teaching tool.''

  According to Aigner-Clark, each ``Digital Board Book'' will feature three activity centers -- The Baby Einstein Home Theatre, The Baby Einstein Listening Center and The Baby Einstein Language Lab. The company's award-winning videos will be presented in the Home Theatre. DVD chapter cues will be encoded throughout the videos, allowing parents to repeat or skip particular parts of the programs.

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• VPD, Inc. Excited About the Sales Potential Of Video Buddy
  Time: 18:59 EST/23:59 GMT News Source: Yahoo! Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Video Products Distributors, Inc. (VPD), one of the nation's premier distributors of videos and DVDs, is excited about distributing Video Buddy(TM), the new interactive system for kids aged three to six. The company believes Video Buddy(TM) will be in great demand with kids by holiday 2000. Video Buddy(TM) is being launched for national distribution this week at the International Toy Center in New York City, as part of Toy Fair 2000.

  Video Buddy(TM), the breakthrough product developed by Minneapolis-based Interactive Learning Group, Inc., turns videos into interactive learning toys, allowing kids to interact with special videos of popular programs. Video Buddy(TM) turns TV/VCRs into fun, interactive play that challenges young minds.

  According to Marty Jorgensen, senior vice president, marketing and business strategies for VPD, ``The feedback we have gotten on Video Buddy has been outstanding. Video retailers are always looking for new, innovative products to present to their customers- especially family-oriented products. Video Buddy fits that need perfectly.''

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• NetFlix Launches 'All You Can Watch' DVD Rental Program
  Time: 18:55 EST/23:55 GMT News Source: Yahoo! Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  Continuing to transform the home entertainment landscape, Internet movie rental market leader, NetFlix, today announced the launch of its Unlimited Movie Rental service for an affordable monthly fee of $19.95. The new service enables subscribers to rent any number of DVD movies per month without incurring per-movie rental charges, shipping charges, or late fees. Customers can keep movies as long as they want. To introduce the service, NetFlix is inviting consumers to test the program for a free one-month trial period.

  ``Imagine watching whatever DVD movies you want, keeping them for as long as you want, and watching as many as you want, all for a flat fee of $19.95 per month,'' said NetFlix CEO Reed Hastings. ``We have a vast library of nearly 1,000,000 DVD movies that members get unlimited access to -- from the hottest hits to foreign art films. With so many great films available on DVD, this program enables us to provide our customers with an extraordinary movie rental experience.''

  ``Similar to AOL's transformation of the Internet with its unlimited access plan for a flat fee, NetFlix is changing the rules of the movie rental market,'' added Hastings.

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• Sony demo shows Playstation 2 as rival to DVD-Video players
  Time: 18:40 EST/23:40 GMT News Source: EETimes Posted By: Matthew Sabean

  "The picture quality of DVD-Video played by Playstation 2 is high, well comparable to that of dedicated DVD players," claimed Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) at the demonstration Thursday (Feb. 10) in Tokyo of DVD-Video using its Playstation2 gaming console, which is scheduled to hit the Japanese market on March 4. The feature could help make the new Playstation a rival to dedicated DVD-Video players.

  Manufacturers of audio/video systems were shocked last September when SCE disclosed that Playstation 2 would have a DVD-Video player function. A single console offering both game and DVD-Video functions at a price of 39,800 yen (about $365) could make Playstation 2 a strong competitor to dedicated DVD products. Sony hasn't yet announced the U.S. market price of Playstation 2.

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