digital media wire

archives

events

about us

resources

privacy

news tips

contact us

home

===================================================
DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- February 4, 2002
===================================================
To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com

o Electronic Ink Developer E Ink Gets $25 Million from Toppan Printing
o Microsoft, ContentFilm Screen Movie in Theaters Using Windows Media
o SEC Investigating Online Ad Firm L90; Sale to EUniverse Delayed
o Report: U.S. Web Penetration Climbs to 54%
o Pressplay Adds Britney Spears, Boy Bands Through Deal With Zomba
o Latin Portal StarMedia Network Delisted from Nasdaq
o Briefly Noted: BMG MusicSearch, OpenTV - World Cup, Philips - DirecTV,
MSN - "Access Hollywood" - "The Tonight Show," CenterSpan, Sonicblue -
Samsung, Openwave - Telefonica Moviles, Springtoys - 23rd Floor, WorldGate
- Liberty Cablevision, Son Heavy - Olympics.com, Alliance Entertainment -
QVC, Oddcast, SmartRipper
_____________________________________________

o Electronic Ink Developer E Ink Gets $25 Million from Toppan Printing

Cambridge, Mass. -- E Ink, a developer and marketer of electronic ink
technology for paper-like displays, announced on Monday that Japanese
printing technology developer Toppan Printing has invested an additional
$25 million in the company. Toppan previously invested $5 million in E
Ink's Series E round of funding, announced in May 2001. Toppan has also
agreed to manufacture front plane laminate (FPL) products for E Ink's
active matrix graphical displays business using electronic ink supplied by
E Ink, and will become E Ink's distributor of the FPL products in Japan.
Massachusetts-based E Ink's other investors include Motorola, Hearst
Corporation and Havas. The company's technology is being developed for
electronic paper advertising displays and for e-book devices.
http://www.eink.com
http://www.toppan.co.jp/english
_____________________________________________

o Microsoft, ContentFilm Screen Movie in Theaters Using Windows Media

Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft announced on Monday that it has partnered with
ContentFilm and Magnolia Pictures to screen a feature-length film in
theaters using its Windows Media format. Moviegoers in Seattle and Dallas
will be shown the Magnolia Pictures release "Wendigo" in the Windows Media
format, while the film will be screened in traditional 35mm format in New
York and Los Angeles. Microsoft is releasing the film using "Corona," a
preview of the upcoming version of its Windows Media Audio and Video
technologies. "Traditional film mastering and release prints are expensive
and fairly inflexible," said John Schmidt, co-founder of ContentFilm.
"ContentFilm is committed to a mode of digital production and distribution
that will greatly reduce these costs, take advantage of ancillary online
distribution and promotional outlets, and have the flexibility to respond
immediately to split-second market changes." Digital Cinema Solutions
(DCS) will provide infrastructure and technology services to support the
release of "Wendigo" in Windows Media format in Seattle on March 1 and in
Dallas on March 15.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020204/sfm069_1.html
http://www.thewendigo.com/
_____________________________________________

o SEC Investigating Online Ad Firm L90; Sale to EUniverse Delayed

Los Angeles -- Online advertising firm L90 said on Monday that it has
received notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that an
investigation has been launched to review its financial records. The
company's vice president of finance resigned on Friday. The SEC
investigation will delay the previously announced sale of Los
Angeles-based L90 to entertainment-related website and newsletter provider
EUniverse. "Despite the delay, we continue to be excited about the
opportunity to acquire L90," EUniverse CEO Brad Greenspan said, in a
statement.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020204/lam065_1.html
http://www.l90.com
http://www.euniverse.com
_____________________________________________

o Report: U.S. Web Penetration Climbs to 54%

New York -- A Dept. of Commerce report slated for release on Tuesday shows
that the number of Americans using the Internet topped 50 percent for the
first time ever in 2001, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The
report will show that 143 million Americans -- or 54 percent of the
population -- went online in 2001, up 26 percent from the previous year.
The Commerce Dept.'s figures rank somewhat higher than those provided by
companies such as Nielsen/NetRatings, which reported 115 million Americans
online as of October 2001.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/699335.asp?0dm=C13QT
http://www.doc.gov
_____________________________________________

o Pressplay Adds Britney Spears, Boy Bands Through Deal With Zomba

Los Angeles -- Pressplay, an online music subscription service joint
venture between Sony Music and Universal Music Group, announced on Monday
that it has added songs controlled by the Zomba Recording Corporation to
its service. Labels owned by Zomba include Silvertone, Verity and Jive
Records, which is home to artists including Britney Spears, Backstreet
Boys and NSync. The Pressplay service -- where users pay to download and
stream a limited amount of songs to their PCs each month -- is available
through distribution partners such as MSN, Yahoo, Roxio and MP3.com.
http://www.pressplay.com/pressroom/pr_20020204.html
_____________________________________________

o Latin Portal StarMedia Network Delisted from Nasdaq

New York -- StarMedia Network, a Latin American Web portal, announced that
it has been delisted from the Nasdaq National Market as of last Friday.
The Nasdaq said that New York-based StarMedia failed to file its fiscal
results for the quarter that ended on Sept. 30. Several class action suits
have recently been filed against StarMedia, in connection with alleged
inflated earnings reports filed by its Mexican subsidiaries. In the past
several months, StarMedia's chairman, chief financial officer and general
counsel have all left the company.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020115/nytu101_1.html
http://www.starmedia.com
_____________________________________________

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Lots of companies have announced subscription models, but only a few have
delivered. Would you like to know why?

Deciding to sell by subscription is the easy part, making it happen is a
different story. The complexities of subscription management are putting
development projects behind schedule. Some companies have even scrapped
their subscription plans altogether. Don't fall into the same trap trying
to build a system in-house.

Sandlot Corporation and its partners have the subscription solutions you
need to succeed in the e-content marketplace. We have been doing it for
over a decade. Call Sandlot today or visit our Web site and start selling
by subscription sooner.

Contact: (801) 373-2246
http://www.sandlot.com

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Executive Management for Media Processor Startup

SkyMoon Ventures just seeded a company that is pioneering technology for
the emerging HDTV delivery and display industries. We are looking for
Executives who have been involved in the development of compression tools,
DSP, or video editing and DVD post-production software and have excellent
business relationships in the Hollywood studios.

Contact: kbretz@skymoonventures.com
URL: http://www.skymoonventures.com

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(New York) BMG Music Publishing, a division of German media firm
Bertelsmann, has launched a site that will allow industry professionals to
search for and request licenses online to use both popular and production
music in film, television and advertising. The BMG MusicSearch site was
developed by New York-based Dotted Eye.
http://www.bmgmusicsearch.com
http://www.dottedeye.com

(Mountain View, Calif.) OpenTV, a developer of interactive TV technology,
announced on Monday that it has created new interactive sports services
that broadcasters can use to offer enhanced broadcasts of World Cup soccer
matches. The added features will let broadcasters interactively enhance
several soccer matches being played simultaneously, allowing viewers to
choose between a number of video feeds relating to each individual match.
It also provides more detailed text information in real time, including
exhaustive match statistics, player histories and details about the
stadium, spectators and referees. Via Digital in Spain and Multichoice
Hellas in Greece have already implemented Mountain View-based OpenTV's
interactive soccer broadcast technology.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020204/40247_1.html
http://www.opentv.com

(Sunnyvale, Calif.) Consumer electronics manufacturer Philips announced on
Monday that satellite TV provider DirecTV has named the company a
preferred supplier of DirecTV receivers for direct sales and marketing
initiatives for 2002. Financial and volume details of the agreement were
not disclosed.
http://www.philips.com/InformationCenter/Global/FPressRelease.asp?lArticleId=1890&lNodeId=343
http://www.directv.com

(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft said on Monday that its MSN network of Internet
services has partnered with NBC and will now produce the websites for the
NBC programs "Access Hollywood" and "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." The
two companies will cross-promote the sites, with links being placed
throughout the MSN network, and viewers of the programs being directed to
explore the MSN-produced sites. The new site for "The Tonight Show With
Jay Leno" will be available in the spring.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020204/sfm063_1.html
http://accesshollywood.msn.com/

(Hillsboro, Ore.) CenterSpan Communications, a provider of peer-to-peer
content delivery services based on technology acquired from the
now-defunct Scour, announced on Monday the release of version 2.0 of its
software. The software is targeted at media, entertainment, communications
and other companies that wish to securely and cost-effectively deliver
high-quality streaming and downloadable audio, video and other digital
files. Oregon-based CenterSpan's content delivery network uses Microsoft's
Windows Media technology to secure and deliver media to end-users.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020204/42127_1.html
http://www.centerspan.com

(Santa Clara, Calif.) Consumer electronics manufacturer Sonicblue
announced on Monday that it has licensed its Dual-Deck technology to
Samsung for use in that company's DVD/VCR combination products. Santa
Clara-based Sonicblue's Dual-Deck patents cover a range of device
combinations, including VCR/VCR, DVD/VCR and a combination DVD player and digital video recorder currently in development.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020204/40013_1.html
http://www.sonicblue.com

(Redwood City, Calif.) Openwave Systems, a developer of communication
infrastructure software, said on Monday that it has partnered with Spanish
wireless operator Telefonica Moviles to offer a rich multimedia download
service for subscribers of Telefonica's E-Mocion wireless Internet
service. Redwood City-based Openwave and Telefonica have already developed
and are in the process of launching the service, which will give users the
ability to download and listen to music, view color pictures and graphics
and play polyphonic ring tones.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020204/sfm042_1.html
http://www.openwave.com
http://www.movistar.com/inicio.htm

(Helsinki, Finland) Wireless game developer Springtoys said on Monday that
it will provide a number of games to 23rd Floor, the wireless
entertainment website offered by wireless operator BT Cellnet in the U.K.
The deal brings three single and multiplayer SMS games developed by
Helsinki-based Springtoys to BT Cellnet's 11 million users.
http://www.springtoys.com/news/releases/release16.htm
http://www.cellnet.co.uk

(Trevose, Pa.) WorldGate, a provider of interactive television technology
to the cable TV industry, announced on Monday that it will provide
interactive services to Puerto Rico-based Liberty Cablevision's digital
cable subscribers. Pennsylvania-based WorldGate will provide viewers the
ability to send email, chat and surf the Web on their TVs. The deployment
to Liberty Cablevision's 125,000 subscribers is scheduled for the second
quarter of 2002 and will utilize Motorola's DCT-1000 platform for
interactive TV.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020204/phm005_1.html
http://www.wgate.com
http://www.libertycablevision.com/english/index.htm

(San Rafael, Calif.) Son Heavy Industries, a producer of digital media for
websites, said on Monday that it created a wealth of content that is
featured on the official website for the 2002 Winter Olympics. San
Rafael-based Son Heavy's "FeaturedEvents" content on the websites includes
3-D site models, course details, points of interest and interactive venue
maps.
http://www.sonheavy.com
http://www.olympics.com

(Coral Springs, Fla.) Alliance Entertainment said on Friday that it will
serve as the primary provider of CDs, cassettes, VHS and DVDs for cable TV
shopping network QVC's online division, QVC.com. Florida-based Alliance
will provide e-commerce fulfillment and other services to QVC.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/220350131&ticker=
http://www.aent.com
http://www.qvc.com

(New York) Oddcast, a developer of interactive media applications,
announced on Monday that it has appointed Sandy Smallens as president and
chief operating officer. Most recently, Smallens served as executive vice
president, programming and content for GetMusic, a division of Vivendi
Universal Net USA. New York-based Oddcast has developed Web-based karaoke applications for MTV, Universal and others that let users create and share
their versions of popular songs over the Internet.
http://www.oddcast.com

(San Francisco) CNET reported on Monday on a new software tool called
SmartRipper, which can be used to transfer DVDs to a hard drive and then
copy the movies using a DVD burner. The article also outlines the motion
picture industry's current efforts to increase the sophistication of the
technology it uses to protect DVDs against copying. The industry's current
CSS (content scramble system) can be cracked with code known as DeCSS --
the subject of a number of ongoing lawsuits.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-828449.html?tag=cd_mh
______________________

> Digital Media Wire Panel Discussion: Interactive Games on the Internet
Recent Developments and New Business Opportunities

Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Location: Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills

MODERATOR:
- Victor Hwang, COO of LARTA (the regional technology alliance for
Southern California)

PANELISTS:
- Tracy Fullerton, President of Spiderdance
- Chris Kantrowitz, Co-Founder of The Groove Alliance and
President of 7ate9 Productions
- Mark Kapczynski, Principal Consultant, Microsoft
*Other panelists to be announced.