January 2010
16 posts
ProJo - Adam Short: The promise for R.I. of film... →
It struck me that the lessons and triumphs of New Zealand could be applied to Rhode Island in creating a vibrant film and digital-media industry. With dim economic prospects and a chronic “brain drain” of talent, it is imperative that Rhode Island foster new industries. Our lawmakers can incentivize small companies and entrepreneurs to locate here by easing their tax, regulatory, and fee...
China's Homegrown Movies Flourish
“Avatar” has been flying high in China, but Beijing is clipping its wings.
On Tuesday, cinemas confirmed that they have been ordered to pull two-dimensional editions of the Hollywood blockbuster as of Thursday to make way for a state-sponsored biography of the Chinese philosopher Confucius.
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Source: WSJ Online
Apple Sees New Money in Old Media
With the new tablet device that is debuting next week, Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobsis betting he can reshape businesses like textbooks, newspapers and television much the way his iPod revamped the music industry—and expand Apple’s influence and revenue as a content middleman.
In developing the device, Apple focused on the role the gadget could play in homes and in classrooms, say...
China pulls festival pix
The Chinese government has raised its profile on the fest circuit recently, most recently by canceling two Chinese entries in the Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival in protest over the inclusion of a film about Tibetan independence.
Chinese state-run producers were angered that “The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom,” which deals with the Dalai Lama, was part...
Eugene Hernandez: The Doctor Is In. →
Next Thursday, the 2010 Sundance Film Festival will kick-off in Utah, ushering in a new decade of American indie cinema. This week, before the fest begins, we’re going to spend some time pondering where we are and where we’ve been by looking at the current and recent state of the film scene.
For more than twenty years, the indie film community—the loosely connected network of filmmakers,...
More than Half of Consumers Utilize Mobile Phones... →
A recent Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) Enterprise Mobility Solutions annual research study of holiday shoppers identified that more than half (51 percent) of consumers across 11 countries used their mobile phones for in-store activities such as comparison shopping and getting peer feedback, product information and coupons, which signals the increasing importance for retailers to adopt mobile shopper...
CES: Netflix Friends Hollywood
While the tensions between rental rival Redbox and the studios have turned ugly, Hollywood executives have mostly tried to keep the peace with Netflix, a huge purchaser of DVDs from the studios. On Wednesday, Netflix announced a deal with one of its big studio partners, Warner Brothers, under which it agreed not to rent Warner movies for 28 days after their DVD release, an arrangement that could...
New TV Apps Borrow a Page From iPhone
A longtime quest to bring the Internet to the living room has entered a new phase, borrowing a page from Apple Inc. and its iPhone.
Companies are now racing to build marketplaces for TV programs that act much like iPhone apps, able to interact with social-networking services, play games, call up movies and other Web content—all using a remote control, rather than a computer equipped with...
WSJ Opinion: The Future on TV
This may not be the year America cuts the cable cord and drops its subscription to pay TV. But it will likely be a year of sublime creative destruction in the home-video entertainment business.
Comcast’s proposed acquisition of NBC has elicited the usual panic from the usual worrywarts wondering who will possibly be able to compete with the new cable-cum-programming giant.
A better...
Vimeo to Launch Support for 1080p →
In case 720p wasn’t enough for your gorgeous, transcendent works of motion picture art, Vimeo will begin hosting 1080p videos by the end of this month.
Unfortunately, that you’ll have to be a Plus member not just to upload these files but to view them as well. Plus members pay $60 per year or $10 per month — worth it if you’re a big fan of the sort of art-house fare that makes up Vimeos niche,...
CES2010: Sharp introduces quad-pixel series HDTVs →
shawlcrochet:
Today Sharp announced their new lineup of Sharp AQUOS HDTV’s, with innovating technology in display colour. Sharp has taken the leap forward from the traditional RBG primary colours, adding in yellow as the fourth primary colour (RBGY), in what they call, Quad-Pixel technology. The new series of Sharp AQUOS will be able to produce 1 trillion colours, from the standard 1 billion...
28 Days Later: Say Goodbye to the Netflix New... →
Today is sad day for Netflix customers. The online video rental supplier has just announced an agreement with Warner Bros. that will forever alter your online rental experience. Now should you wish to rent a Warner Bros. flick you’ll have to wait out a 28-day holding period after the film’s initial DVD release date.
Of course the partnership rooted in money-making greed — Warner Bros. wants you...
Mobile TV Gets Closer As Backers Cut a Path
Watching live television broadcasts on mobile devices is common in some countries, but not the U.S. A new effort is taking shape to change that.
A group of broadcasters plans to use this week’s Consumer Electronics Show to promote their plans to deliver news, sports, weather and other local content to users on the go. While cellphones are an obvious target, backers of the effort also...
Cinema Surpassed DVD Sales in 2009
Last year was the first since 2002 that U.S. consumers spent more money buying movie tickets than buying movies to watch at home, underscoring the changing economics of Hollywood.
According to new data from Adams Media Research, Americans spent $9.87 billion at the box office in 2009, 10% more than in 2008, according to a report Adams plans to release Tuesday. At the same time, sales in the...