October 2, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

It’s worth noting that despite all the hype over the launch of RealNetworks' so-far-legal DVD ripping program RealDVD, which the MPAA scarily warns could takedown the movie business itself, reviewers aren't all that thrilled about it.
In fact, among the few reviews I could find (most of the coverage has been about the dueling lawsuits and opinion pieces on who will win), reviewers seem to be recommending it because it might soon be illegal, so get it now, even though as the Dallas Morning News tech blog says “it's a bit cumbersome in parts but essentially works.”
Glowing.
U.S. News and World...Read More

September 10, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane and Hollywood producer Rob Fried (Rudy, So I Married an Ax Murderer) are the latest to take a stab at online, each with a new line of original Internet shorts.
MacFarlane debuted his new already-raved-about Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy web series today with the first of 50 shorts distributed in partnership with Google Adsense. The shorts, done in the spirit of Family Guy, are available on his site and YouTube for free, with the first 10 sponsored by Burger King.
On the other end of the spectrum in nearly every way is Fried’s new venture SpiritClips, which features 3-5 minute inspirational short films geared at the Oprah crowd. The first short, Sally, features Nancy Trav...Read More

September 4, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

It's iTunes rumor time again, with Apple planning a press event for
Tuesday and every Mac-devoted site
 and anyone else with an Internet connection speculating
on what's coming. On the video side, Apple is rumored to be adding high
def TV shows, according to Digg founder Kevin Rose quoting a source on
his ...Read More

August 21, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Made-for-Web crime series Coma, from Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, will get a Blu-ray only release this fall, skipping DVD altogether.

The Blu-ray release is a promotional one, with Sony putting a limited number of Coma discs in magazine inserts in October. The Blu-ray release will also feature music and movie content from Sony BMG and Sony Pictures.

Coma debuted on the Web Wednesday on Sony’s Crackle.com video network and will eventually move to YouTube, Hulu, AOL, Adobe along with mobile networks AT&T and the Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Video service.

The seven-part crime series was shot in HD in a style similar ...Read More

Industries: High-Def, Software, Studios/Suppliers

April 21, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Despite Wal-Mart's failed U.S. attempt at movie downloads, its two main international competitors are launching their own services overseas.
French retailer Carrefour, which lags behind Wal-Mart as the No. 2 retailer worldwide, is getting into movie and TV show downloads and rentals in Europe to deepen its entertainment focus. The hypermarket chain plans to begin selling downloads in France, Spain, Belgium and Italy, the company's International non-food head Christophe Geoffroy said Friday at the PEVE Digital Entertainment conference in Paris. Geoffroy offered no details on when the service will launch, what films the retailer will offer or any prices.
Carrefour's announcement comes a week after U.K. grocer Tesco ...Read More
Industries: Retail, Technology