archives

o House Less Favorable Toward Govt.-Mandated Copy-Protection
o Wireless Game Developer Sorrent Raises First Round Funds
o RIAA Responds to Congressman's Questioning of CD Copy-Protection
o Thomson Multimedia Acquires Grass Valley Group for $172 Million
o Kodak Developing Digital Cinema System
o Midbar to Add Copy-Protection to Japanese Market CDs
> Digital Media Wire Panel Discussion: Interactive Games -- S.F. | NYC
o Briefly Noted: RealNetworks - Intel, EarthLink - home networking -
Austin, Electronic Arts - Metromedia Fiber Network, SmallPlanet - Tiaxa,
Virage - NASCAR.com, NDS Group - UEC Technologies, Audible - Roxio, NCube, "The Music Industry's Web of Intrigue," Morpheus - Gnutella - Kazaa
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o House Less Favorable Toward Govt.-Mandated Copy-Protection

Washington -- Wired News reported on Monday that the U.S. House of
Representatives seems less in favor of putting government-mandated
copy-protection technology in most consumer electronics devices, an idea
proposed by Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) that was discussed in a Senate
Commerce Committee hearing last Thursday. "[Mr. Coble] is concerned that
this approach is too interventionist and could lead to standards which
favor certain brands of software over others, and which could quickly
become obsolete as technology improves or changes," a spokesman for Rep.
Howard Coble (R-N.C.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on
Intellectual Property, told Wired News. The article also proposes that the
riff between the House and Senate on this issue may be tied to the passage
of the Republican-backed Tauzin-Dingell broadband bill in the House, which
Sen. Hollings has said he would block in the Senate.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50784,00.html
_____________________________________________

o Wireless Game Developer Sorrent Raises First Round Funds

San Mateo, Calif. -- Sorrent, a developer and publisher of games for
wireless and Internet-connected devices, announced on Monday that it has
raised an undisclosed amount in its first round of funding. New Enterprise
Associates led the investment round; Sienna Ventures also participated.
San Mateo-based Sorrent develops single and multiplayer games in the
sports, game shows and action/adventure genres for devices including cell
phones, PCs and set-top boxes. The company claims it has distribution
partnerships with two major wireless network operators, and plans to roll
out others over the next few months.
http://www.sorrent.com/company/press/1.jsp
_____________________________________________

o RIAA Responds to Congressman's Questioning of CD Copy-Protection

Washington -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has
responded to a letter sent by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), concerning the
emergence of copy-protected CDs and how they might violate the Audio Home
Recording Act. In its return letter, signed by RIAA CEO Hilary Rosen, the
group representing major record labels argues that the law in question
doesn't guarantee consumers the right to make a copy of a CD they
purchase, and that the industry will continue to experiment with
copy-protected CDs. "If technology can be used to pirate copyrighted
content, shouldn't technology likewise be used to protect copyrighted
content?" Rosen wrote in the letter. "Isn't it incumbent on copyright
owners to do whatever they can to protect the economic value of their
works and the jobs and careers of the hundreds of thousands of individuals
who create, produce, market and distribute music?" According to the RIAA,
the only major label CD to be released in the U.S thus far with
copy-protection was Universal Music Group's "More Fast and Furious," which
contains technology developed by Israel-based Midbar.
http://www.riaa.org/pdf/Boucher_letter_2-28-02.pdf
http://www.house.gov/boucher/docs/riaaletter.htm
http://www.midbartech.com
_____________________________________________

o Thomson Multimedia Acquires Grass Valley Group for $172 Million

Paris -- Consumer electronics firm Thomson Multimedia announced on Monday
that it has completed its acquisition of the Grass Valley Group, a
provider of digital video storage and delivery technology for
broadcasters, in a transaction valued at $172 million. Thomson said it
will integrate the assets of Nevada City, Calif.-based Grass Valley Group
into its Broadcast Solutions business, a provider of digital content
creation, production, and distribution systems to news, information, and
entertainment companies.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020304/42413_1.html
http://www.grassvalleygroup.com/
http://www.thomson-multimedia.com
_____________________________________________

o Kodak Developing Digital Cinema System

Las Vegas -- Kodak announced on Monday that it is developing a digital
cinema system, which it expects to first install in a movie theater by the
first quarter of 2003. Competing with similar products such as Texas
Instruments' DLP Cinema, the system contains a high-quality projector and
cinema operating system, which includes the installation of a fiber-optic
network into movie theaters. The operating system receives encrypted or
unencrypted digital content via DVDs, satellites, or the fiber-optic
network and then can project the video content onto a movie theater's
screen. Kodak said the system will use the JVC D-ILA three million-pixel
chip, and will include watermarking security technology in the projector
that can provide information on where and when any pirated copies were
made.
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/digital/
_____________________________________________

o Midbar to Add Copy-Protection to Japanese Market CDs

Tel Aviv, Israel -- Midbar, a provider of CD copy-protection used by
record labels including Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group,
announced on Monday that its technology will be used on the first one
million copy-protected CDs released into the Japanese market. Tel
Aviv-based Midbar did not disclose which record label would use its
technology in Japan, or the names of any specific albums that would be
copy-protected. Midbar claims that its technology has so far been included
on over ten million CDs released worldwide.
http://www.midbartech.com/pr/04032002.html
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STREAMING MEDIA WEST 2002: April 23-26, Los Angeles Convention Center

Join us in LA for the World's Largest Digital Media Technology Event
featuring keynotes from Rob Koenen, President, M4IF, Mark Jarvis, SVP,
Oracle Corporation, Shelby Bonnie, Chairman/CEO, CNET Networks, Inc. and
Jonathan Taplin, CEO, Intertainer.

All Streaming Media West attendees are invited to attend these dynamic
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platforms.

For your FREE Exhibition pass or to save $200 on your full Conference pass
Visit http://www.streamingmedia.com/west
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_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Seattle) Media delivery technology provider RealNetworks announced on
Monday that chipmaker Intel will include the company's RealOne media
player on its newest desktop PC boards. In addition to playing audio and
video, Seattle-based RealNetworks' RealOne Player also offers a premium
content subscription service that currently claims 500,000 subscribers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020304/sfm058a_1.html
http://www.realnetworks.com/resources/realoneplayer/

(Atlanta) Internet access provider EarthLink announced on Monday the
launch of home networking services for all of its high-speed cable
subscribers, allowing them to share connections among multiple computers
and devices in the home, such as printers. The company also announced the
launch of high-speed cable services on Time Warner Cable's lines in
Austin, Texas.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020304/40039_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020304/40070_1.html

(Redwood City, Calif.) Game developer Electronic Arts said on Monday that
it has partnered with Metromedia Fiber Network to provide hosting and
delivery services for its online games in the Japanese market. Redwood
City-based Electronic Arts' "Ultima Online" is currently the most popular
online roleplaying game in Japan.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020304/42054_1.html
http://www.ea.com
http://www.mfn.com

(Miami) Wireless game developer SmallPlanet announced on Monday that it
has partnered with Tiaxa, a provider of wireless applications delivery
technology for network operators in Latin America. Finland-based
SmallPlanet said that Miami-based Tiaxa will re-sell its games for SMS,
J2ME, LBS and WAP networks in the Latin American market. SmallPlanet's
customers include McDonald's, Pepsi, Comedy Central and Virgin Mobile.
http://www.smallplanet.fi
http://www.tiaxa.com

(San Mateo, Calif.) Virage, a provider of video and rich media
communications software, said on Monday that it will provide Turner Sports
Interactive's NASCAR.com with event video content. Under the two-year
agreement, San Mateo-based Virage will enable users of the site to search
its video archive to find clips of their favorite drivers and races.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020304/sfm068_1.html
http://www.virage.com
http://www.nascar.com

(London) NDS Group, a subsidiary of News Corp. that develops interactive
TV technology, said on Monday that its personal video recorder technology
will be integrated into a set-top box manufactured by South Africa-based
UEC Technologies. London-based NDS Group says that its technology is
currently utilized on 27 million pay-TV subscribers' set-top boxes.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020304/42392_1.html
http://www.nds.com
http://www.uec.co.za

(Wayne, N.J.) Spoken word audio programming provide Audible said on Monday
that it has partnered with CD burning software provider Roxio to enable
Audible.com users to burn CDs of audio content on the site. Content
available from New Jersey-based Audible includes spoken word versions of
The New York Times, Scientific American, Forbes, and Fast Company as well
as audiobooks from leading authors.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020304/42047_1.html
http://www.audible.com
http://www.roxio.com

(Portland, Ore.) NCube, a provider of video-on-demand and digital ad
insertion technologies, announced on Monday that company president Michael
J. Pohl has been named to the additional position of CEO. Former CEO Larry
Ellison will remain with the company as chairman. Prior to joining
Oregon-based NCube in 1999, Pohl was CEO of cable TV ad insertion
technology firm SkyConnect.
http://www.ncube.com

(New York) A recent editorial from Billboard editor-in-chief Timothy White
entitled "The Music Industry's Web of Intrigue" focused on the poor return
on investment for recording industry firms on the Internet. White points
out that in developing legitimate download and subscription services such
as MusicNet and Pressplay, the industry has allocated and mostly spent $4
billion on a market that thus far has generated only $1 million.
http://www.billboard.com/billboard/musictomyears/index.jsp

(San Francisco) Wired News and CNET both reported on Monday on StreamCast
Networks, distributor of the Morpheus file-sharing software, as the
company switches from the FastTrack Network -- shared by the Kazaa and
Grokster file-sharing services -- to one based on the open source,
de-centralized Gnutella network. Morpheus stopped working for users last
Tuesday when Kazaa and Grokster upgraded their software, leaving Morpheus
users with an incompatible, older version. Kazaa, recently purchased by
Australia-based Sharman Networks, took advantage of the situation by
offering Morpheus users a way to switch to Kazaa while keeping their
usernames and media libraries intact, in addition to resuming any
uncompleted downloads.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,50788,00.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-849867.html
http://www.kazaa.com/en/m2k.htm
______________________

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> DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE PANEL DISCUSSION SERIES:
"Interactive Games on the Internet: Recent Developments and New Business
Opportunities"

SAN FRANCISCO: Tuesday, March 12, 2002, The City Club of San Francisco
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/SFgames2.html

MODERATOR:
Greg Kasavin, Executive Editor, GameSpot

PANELISTS:
Mark Blecher, Vice President, Electronic Arts
Alec Hogg, VP of Sales & Strategic Relationships, WildTangent
Chad Richard, CEO, NoizePlay
Mark Surfas, Founder, Chairman and CEO, GameSpy
John Welch, VP of Games and Product Development, Shockwave.com

For more information and to register for the San Francisco event:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/SFgames2.html

NEW YORK: Thursday, March 14, 2002, The Cornell Club of New York City
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/NYCgames2.html

MODERATOR:
Billy Pidgeon, Digital Media Analyst

PANELISTS:
Greg Costikyan, Founder and Chief Design Officer, Unplugged Games
Cort Fritz, Senior Consultant, Microsoft Media and Entertainment Group
Doug Lowenstein, President, Interactive Digital Software Association
Jim Schoenburg, Chief Operating Officer, BrandPlay Entertainment
Doug Wallace, VP of Business Development, WildTangent
Joseph Varet, VP of Business Development and Strategy, The Groove Alliance

For more information and to register for the New York event:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/NYCgames2.html

Sponsorships and Inquiries: Ned Sherman at 323/464.0793
or esherman@digitalmediawire.com
______________________

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Copyright 2002 Digital Media Wire