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Apple, Hollywood go toe-to-toe on movie downloads
Not surprisingly, Apple is facing heat from Hollywood companies that want to sell their movies on iTunes, but don't want to play by all of Apple's rules. The big issue is whether or not Apple will restrict the number of devices that can play a film bought from iTunes; Universal, 20th Century Fox, Paramount and Warner Bros. are rightfully concerned with rampant digital piracy and how iTunes might help inadvertently contribute to that. Of course, Hollywood could go the Wal-Mart or Amazon Unbox route if Apple won't back down, but then those studios would miss out on some of that big Apple halo action. Still, if Disney and the soon-to-be-added Lions Gate are already at the iTunes party, it seems unlikely that the rest of Hollywood could stay away much longer. [Via Apple Insider]
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PS3 to put bigger focus on Blu-ray
We've all debated the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray topic to death, so we'll try our best to keep this post, this blog as it were, this entry, journal, whatever you want to call it, away from any sort of comparisons or snide comments. No promises, but we'll try. We'll just present the material as presented by one of the top execs at News Corp, Peter Chernin. He believes that the PS3 will provide the market with a nice push towards the Blu-ray format, but at the same time, admits that "I don't think there's likely to be a quick resolution, I think the resolution, if it comes, is likely to be driven by the marketplace." Which makes incredibly intuitive, logical sense. If the PS3 sells, Blu-ray will probably sell. And the PS3 will sell. They just need the damn supply.But you've also got to keep in mind, News Corp. is 20th Century Fox -- a company that has only been releasing on the Blu-ray format anyway. There aren't many players for either the HD-DVD or Blu-ray format and "most of the HD-DVD players are at the US$1,000 range and you're going to see a huge number of Blu-ray players entering the marketplace through PlayStation 3." So what we've got to look out for, at long last, is the market's move towards or away from Blu-ray. If market demands the PS3, it will give incentive for companies to demand Blu-ray support. I think that was fairly unbiased... just presenting the info. Leave your thoughts, predictions, etc. Cookies for the best argument!
More networks suing Cablevision over networked DVR
Trouble is brewing in TV land, and the stakes couldn't be higher for consumers, as a lawsuit filed by many of your favorite content providers against industry giant Cablevision could determine the future of networked DVR services. Two Time Warner networks (disclaimer: Engadget's parent company's parent company's parent company is Time Warner), CNN and Cartoon Network, have joined Disney, Universal, Paramount, and 20th Century Fox in fighting Cablevision's plan to offer subscribers the option of recording their programming to the company's servers, arguing that allowing at-will remote access to stored content constitutes a re-transmission, and therefore violates copyright agreements. What makes Time Warner's entry into the fray particularly interesting is the fact that another one of its divisions, Time Warner Cable, has publicly expressed interest in the concept of networked DVR, meaning that either outcome of the lawsuit would be potentially beneficial to the company. Way to go guys, you can never go wrong playing both sides of the fence.
