MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

SILICON ALLEY INSIDER | Google Satellite Now Watching You From 423 Miles Up

MM&EG NEWS — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 02:01:09 GMT

Google Satellite Now Watching You From 423 Miles Up

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FORBES | Dell Apes Apple

MM&EG NEWS — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:09:22 GMT

Dell Apes Apple

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THE NEW YORK TIMES | How Many Reviewers Should Be in the Kitchen?

MM&EG NEWS — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:03:17 GMT

Digital Domain

How Many Reviewers Should Be in the Kitchen?

By RANDALL STROSS

Published: September 7, 2008

Web sites that welcome customer reviews have evolved significantly, producing work that increasingly approaches that of their professional forebears.

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VIDEOBUSINESS | September 8, 2008

MM&EG NEWS — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:51:56 GMT

VIDEOBUSINESS | September 8, 2008

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER | Google reigns as the world's most powerful 10-year-old

MM&EG NEWS — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:42:36 GMT

Google reigns as the world's most powerful 10-year-old

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REUTERS | Napster faces challenges within and without

MM&EG NEWS — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:06:37 GMT

Napster faces challenges within and without

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THE NEW YORK TIMES | Justifying the Cost of an iPhone

MM&EG NEWS — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:06:37 GMT

Cost of Living

Justifying the Cost of an iPhone

By M. P. DUNLEAVEY

Published: September 6, 2008

I don’t know how any of this stuff works, and I don’t want to pay for it. Yet, I am on the brink of buying an iPhone.

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PORTFOLIO | Saving TV

MM&EG NEWS — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:29:23 GMT

Saving TV

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PORTFOLIO | Zuckervision

MM&EG NEWS — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:27:55 GMT

Zuckervision

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THE WASHINGTON TIMES | Digital Copy

MM&EG NEWS — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:20:51 GMT

Digital Copy

Some people want to watch their movies on the go - on their laptops, their iPods and their iPhones - without hauling around boxes of DVDs. Studios have just the solution for this slice of consumers: "digital copy."

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CONSUMER ELECTRONICS DAILY | Panasonic To Ship Tru2way TVs In Time For Holiday Season, It Says

MM&EG NEWS — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:15:06 GMT

Panasonic To Ship Tru2way TVs In Time For Holiday Season, It Says

5 September 2008

DENVER -- Panasonic will have tru2way TVs on the market before the holiday selling season, said Senior Vice President Robert Perry. Speaking Wednesday to reporters at CEDIA, he said the OCAP-compliant TVs will deliver all cable services without a set-top box. On-demand video, pay-per-view and the ability to order services will be among the offerings.

Perry described tru2way as providing the "Holy Grail in the television business: TVs that connect directly to the cable system and make all content from cable system available on TV without a box." Tru2way expands viewing choices for consumers now limited to one-way delivery of services with current CableCARD TVs. Applications from a cable company can be downloaded to an OCAP-compliant TV that will work "like a small computer," Perry said. Applications are expected to include enabling food purchases and cable-service orders.

Panasonic has worked with CableLabs on the technology. At the show the company is demonstrating tru2way in action with the local cable headend from Comcast. Panasonic plans to start offering OCAP-compliant 42W and 50W plasma TVs this year, capping a year-long test in five Comcast markets. Panasonic formally will introduce the TVs "in a few weeks," Perry said, and they will be selling in multiple markets before Thanksgiving.

With tru2way, the cable industry is opening its digital video interface for innovation and development, said *** Green, president of CableLabs. "It's truly an open standard, is Java-based and uses the same API sets as Blu-ray," he said. "All the cable operators in the U.S. have adopted this as their technology, which means all the cable systems throughout the country work on a common interface, and all the MSOs are upgrading their systems to support this." For consumers, the positives are a single interface and remote control for cable and TV functions. The cable industry hopes the open development standard and an installed base of 38 million U.S. digital customers will be "a very attractive platform for developers to work on," Green said.

Panasonic plans to open a plasma factory in Amagasaki, Japan, in April. Perry said the factory will be able to make a million 42-inch panels a month. Despite LCD's growth, Panasonic remains committed to what he called plasma's superior technology.

"Plasma is a fairly immature technology," Perry said. "In terms of the price curve and driving down prices and improving performance, we've only just begun. The dramatic low price points we have today and the huge improvements in picture performance with plasma are nothing compared to what we're going to see in the future." Panasonic has a 50 percent share of the U.S. plasma business, Perry said.

Panasonic filled out its 2008 line with two models in its flagship PZ850 series. As is the rest of the line, the new 58- and 65-inch screen sizes are IP-enabled, allowing consumers to access VieraCast content from Internet sources including You Tube, Picasa, the Weather Channel and Bloomberg. They also feature 1080p resolution, 30,000:1 dynamic ratio, four HDMI connections, 24p native reproduction and an SD card slot. The sets will be available this month at $3,999 and $6,999. VieraCast programming can be upgraded without limit, because the Web-enabled TVs connect directly to Panasonic's server hosting all services, Perry said. When programming is added, the TVs automatically will gain access to it. -- Rebecca Day

HOULIHAN LOKEY | Media & Entertainment Weekly Report - September 5, 2008

MM&EG NEWS — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:10:09 GMT

HOULIHAN LOKEY | Media & Entertainment Weekly Report - September 5, 2008

MULTICHANNEL NEWS | Comcast Debuts Fancast Store To Compete In Video Downloads

MM&EG NEWS — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:16:03 GMT

Comcast Debuts Fancast Store To Compete In Video Downloads

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THE NEW YORK TIMES | Google at Age 10

MM&EG NEWS — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:03:43 GMT

Technology

Google at Age 10

By By Miguel Helft

Published: September 4, 2008

Google applied for incorporation 10 years ago. Where does the company stand today, especially compared to rival Microsoft? We take a look at the numbers.

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | Samsung Weighs SanDisk Buy As Chip Makers Seek Mergers

MM&EG NEWS — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:58:52 GMT

Samsung Weighs SanDisk Buy As Chip Makers Seek Mergers

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