Hollywood battles DVD chip makers
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Hollywood has made legal moves against two chip makers in its bid to combat DVD piracy.
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A patent dispute challenged Blockbusterâs entry into online DVD rental. The company also signaled that the new business was taking a toll on its finances.
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Consumers looking to upgrade their home theaters can now choose between two types of high-definition DVD players &#151; the confusing result of a long-running format war involving Hollywood studios and technology companies.
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Their sister unions might have abandoned the fight for higher DVD residuals, but Hollywood actors are pressing on, according to a negotiations preview sent to members of the Screen Actors Guild Tuesday.
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(InfoWorld) - The European Union's antitrust regulator has asked Hollywood studios to turn over information about their negotiations with the developers of high-definition DVD formats, giving them until the end of this week to respond. The European Commission is concerned that exclusive deals struck by some studios with the backers of either the HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc formats may be a sign of anticompetitive activity in the industry. HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc are competing for the attention of movie studios, which are increasingly releasing their films in high-definition format alongside the regular DVDs carrying standard-definition versions of the films. The Commission began looking for evidence of a possible infringement of E.U. antitrust regulations on its own initiative: there have been no complaints from companies in the industry, said Audrey Lemonnier, press officer for the cabinet of European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes. The Commission wrote to a number of major studios in the first half of June, asking them for information about their dealings with the technology developers, Lemonnier said Tuesday. She would not say which studios received the letters, or how many were sent. The studios have until Friday to respond, she said. If the studios' answers give the Commission cause for doubt, it may launch a full investigation, she said. Film studios Twentieth Century Fox and Walt Disney release their high-definition content exclusively on Blu-ray Disc, although another member of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), Warner Bros. Entertainment, has a foot in both camps: It also releases films on HD DVD. Blu-ray Disc also has the backing of Sony, which uses a Blu-ray Disc player in its PlayStation 3 game console, and computer makers such as Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. HD DVD has won the backing of Universal Studios, which releases high-definition movies exclusively in HD DVD format, and Microsoft, which uses it in its Xbox 360 game console. Over a million Blu-ray Discs have been sold to date, and 70 percent of high-definition video discs sold in the first quarter were in the Blu-ray format, according to the BDA. Anticompetitive activity can ultimately harm consumers, Lemonnier said. But consumers might prefer to see one format dominate the market, as VHS swept away videotape rival Betamax in an earlier battle over formats. As long as the two compete, and film studios choose one or the other, movie buffs are condemned to buy two players, or be unable to watch some films at home. Representatives for Blu-ray Disc backer Sony and HD DVD supporter Toshiba, and for the DVD Forum, which promotes the HD DVD format, all declined to comment on the Commission's action, saying that it was a matter for the Hollywood studios alone. The studios could not immediately be reached.
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Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Studios will be using the new 30 GB DVD disc format, created by the DVD Forum, an international group of hardware and software companies and content providers.
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Hollywoodâs squabble over which of two technologies will replace standard DVDs skewed in the direction of Sony Corporation on Friday, with Warner Brothers casting the deciding vote.
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LOS ANGELES - Hollywood is locked in a war of the &#39;toons, as two revolutionary animated films, &quot;The Polar Express&quot; and &quot;The Incredibles&quot;, battle to rival the success of the giant green ogre &quot;Shrek&quot;.
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The EU is concerned that deals struck by Hollywood studios with HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc backers involve anticompetitive activity.
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The HD DVD format has won a battle in its ongoing war with rival optical format Blu-ray with the announcement that Universal Pictures is backing the technology.
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Toshiba still says it will fight on in the high definition disc race. But campaign sources tell the Hollywood Reporter that it is preparing to accept that HD DVD simply canât win.
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TOKYO - Japanese electronics makers are engaged in a battle for shares of the new markets for digital home appliances, such as next-generation DVDs and cutting-edge television displays, aware that the winners in the initial stages will likely remain
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The popular video rental service casts its vote in the DVD format war.
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The unexpected windfall from DVD sales have become the wild card in HollywoodÂs negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild.
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Company is the latest to choose sides in the next-generation DVD format battle.
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THE fight over what&#39;s going to replace your DVDs has heated up as three major movie studios announce support for one of two competing next-generation formats.
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Three large Hollywood studios are throwing their weight behind one of two competing formats for the next generation of DVDs, citing in part the need to stem piracy.