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LONDON (Reuters) – The amazing eyes of a giant shrimp living on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could hold the key to developing a new type of super high-quality DVD player, British scientists said on Sunday. Mantis shrimps, dubbed "thumb splitters" by divers because of their vicious claws, have the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. They can see in 12 primary colors, four times as many as humans, and can also detect different kinds of light polarization -- the direction of oscillation in light waves.

To: Charlize Theron, Hugh Jackman, Seth Rogen, Tina Fey, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, every actor, actress, screenwriter, costumer, best boy, cameraman, set designer, makeup artist, and agent--plus anyone else who makes their living in the film industry. From: Greg Sandoval, CNET media reporter and film fan. Re: Your livelihood Cut your spending. Save your money. Many of the revenue streams that have gushed into your industry for decades, some for nearly a century, are about to dry up. This will likely mean a period of belt tightening like you've never seen before. The end is coming for DVDs, traditional movie...

Maybe DVD Sales Collapsed Because Movies SuckPosted By John Nolte On October 13, 2009 @ 2:31 pm In Entertainment, News | 163 Comments Everyone seems to have an opinion as to why DVD sales have cratered since hitting their peak in 2006, but no one’s looking at the obvious answer. Plunging sales have been blamed on piracy [1], competing technologies such as video games [2]and low-priced rental outlets like Redbox [3]… everything but the quality of the actual films. First and foremost, I’m a movie lover. Nothing competes for my attention in this regard, including dollar rentals and the like. But...

A recent shift in merchandising strategy by the world's largest retailer spells more trouble for DVD sales and the entertainment industry that depends on them for profits. As part of a larger effort to clean up its aisles and appeal to higher-end shoppers, Wal-Mart is doing away with display cases to promote the latest hot movie titles. The move comes as major film studios are reeling from declines in revenue from DVD sales as cash-strapped consumers turn to low-cost rental services and digital downloads for home movies. "We think the new strategy implies Wal-Mart no longer sees DVDs and Blu-ray...

I need to copy some DVDs of some lectures but have no software. What do you use? thanx

SAN FRANCISCO – DVD copying software sold by RealNetworks Inc. appears to be an illegal pirating tool, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in a legal battle that's been closely watched in Hollywood and elsewhere. The Seattle-based company's RealDVD software violates federal anti-piracy law and also goes against a contract RealNetworks signed to gain keys to unscramble DVDs, U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel said. DVDs are embedded with anti-piracy technology that prevents copying, Patel noted. "RealDVD products are designed primarily for circumvention of that technology," she wrote. "This unauthorized access infringes the Studios' rights because it entails accessing content...

A federal judge in San Francisco has sided with Hollywood studios and ruled against RealNetworks’ DVD-copying software saying RealDVD allows users to engage in copyright infringement. U.S. District Court Marilyn Patel, in an order issued late Aug. 11, wrote that RealDVD “circumvents a technological measure that effectively controls access to or copying of the studios’ copyrighted content on DVDs.” Patel’s order effectively bars RealNetworks from selling RealDVD in any form, including its Facet DVD player that can create and store DVD copies. Dan Glickman, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, said he was “very pleased” by...

A US startup has developed a new DVD-R technology that it claims will be readable for 1,000 years. Millenniata's tag line is "Write Once, Read Forever" - and if forever can be defined as 40 generations, that's exactly what its Millennial Disc Series promises. Millenniata president and CEO Henry O'Connell told The Reg that the Millennial Disc Series is designed to eliminate the need for governments, financial institutions, libraries, and others to regularly refresh and rotate their digital-data collections. "At the present time there is no digital media that can preserve data for more than a few years," said O'Connell....

LONDON -- Falling DVD purchases and rentals by consumers have contributed to a drop of more than $2.6 billion in the global video biz sector, according to the latest figures Monday from Screen Digest. Internationally, last year consumers spent $26.4 billion on video software, with $18.1 billion of that spent on buying DVD discs. The overall figure represents a 3.6% drop on 2007 spend and a 4.7% drop on disc sales alone, the research shows. Screen Digest says the sales figures are in line with the overall trend that saw consumer spending plateau between 2004 and 2007 and the North...

A Taiwanese carpenter who found out about his wife's affair when he spotted her starring in a pornographic film with his friend later stabbed him in a revenge attack. The man, known only as Lee, from Taipei, spotted his wife cavorting in a DVD called Affairs With Others' Wives which he had bought to watch at home. The encounter was apparently recorded on a hidden camera in a motel. As a result of seeing the film in 2002, Lee divorced his wife and the friend, a butcher, also from Taipei, fled to another city. However, the vengeful carpenter spotted him...

A Taiwanese carpenter who found out about his wife's affair when he spotted her starring in a pornographic film with his friend later stabbed him in a revenge attack. The man, known only as Lee, from Taipei, spotted his wife cavorting in a DVD called Affairs With Others' Wives which he had bought to watch at home. The encounter was apparently recorded on a hidden camera in a motel.

It's a first lady faux pas -- wearing expensive, high-fashion French designer sneakers to a food bank. Michelle Obama wore the sneakers, made by Lanvin, while helping feed the poor at a Washington food bank on Wednesday. The pricetag on the footwear? A cool $540. Keds, they're not. The sneakers, which come in denim and satin, are a favorite of comic Ellen DeGeneres and rapper Kanye West -- and they're "certainly not a reflection of the poor economy," said FOX News' Noelle Watters, host of iMag Style. "She paired the kicks with a much more reasonably priced cardigan from J....

Warner Bros. today will launch a service giving the public the opportunity to custom-order DVDs of films never before released via the medium. The move is seen as a response to dwindling DVD sales and also to customer demand for titles that while not totally obscure, didn't necessarily generate enough heat to merit a full-on DVD release. The Warner Archive Collection, available at WarnerArchive.com, includes films dating back to the silent age and for $19.95 per disc Warners will burn, package and ship for receipt within an estimated five days. Currently there are 150 titles available with for a total...

BEFORE the censors cracked down in mid-1934, Hollywood unleashed a flood of sexy, taboo-busting movies to lure audiences during the Great Depression. Six elusive titles -- most have never been shown on TV -- turn up in "The Pre-Code Hollywood Collection," out tomorrow, which vividly shows just how far the financially struggling studios were willing to push the envelope. Paramount especially seems to have gone out of its way to flout the Production Code Administration (PCA), whose myriad prohibitions weren't seriously enforced until Catholic groups threatened a boycott.

I never imagined I’d say it, but I’m beginning to identify with Barack Obama. I’m certainly not referring to his politics or his narcissism, but it seems that both of us really suck when it comes to gift giving. First, he gave Prime Minister Gordon Brown some DVDs that were incompatible with English electronics, and then he gave Queen Elizabeth an iPod that contained his speeches. Well, I hate to admit it, but I can empathize. Shopping for a prime minister has got to be hard enough, but trying to shop for a woman who has her own country would...

Poor old Gordon Brown. While he was being savaged in Strasbourg, the Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd was getting a terribly thoughtful present from President Barack Obama - a rare original printing of sheet music, the "Anacreontic Song", by John Smith, known these days as the "Star Spangled Banner". This was, as the Aussie press was not slow to point out, in stark contrast to "the lousy gift of DVDs Obama gave Brown" during his recent visit. Rudd had given Obama a personally signed and inscribed copy of Thomas Keneally's biography of Abraham Lincoln. Not bad, but not quite as...

A few years back, it emerged that US Senator Ted Stevens had been given an iPod by his daughter, and it had changed the way he saw the RIAA and the measures for which it lobbied. It's always seemed to me that once politicians -- at least those not beholden to the entertainment industry -- experienced the stupidity and frustration of the locks and controls that groups like the RIAA and MPAA put on content and want backed up by law, they'd realize they were little more than attempts to frustrate consumers and prop up outmoded business models. Maybe the...

Confirmed: DVDs that Obama gave Gordon Brown are the wrong format posted at 4:50 pm on March 19, 2009 by Allahpundit Send to a Friend | Share on Facebook | printer-friendly Via Media Blog, one final cringeworthy indignity from the gifts that keep on giving. Until now I thought Obama’s team had spent about five minutes brainstorming on what to get Brown. I was wrong. It was more like two minutes. What’s that term The One’s been using for his foreign policy? Ah, right. “Smart power.” Alas, when the PM settled down to begin watching them the other night, he...

One gets the vision of top level security men, clad in their black suits and matching sunglasses, earpieces in place, scanning the aisles from left to right as Obama rolls up his sleeves and gets elbow-deep in the ‘2 for $11’ DVD bin at Wal-mart.

British press aghast at 'cheap' Obama giftMarch 07, 2009 British newspapers are upset over what they see as rude treatment given to Prime Minister Gordon Brown by U.S. President Barack Obama this week, observers say. The London dailies criticized Obama's treatment of Brown during his state visit to Washington this week on several fronts, including alleged cheap gift-giving, the New York Daily News reported Saturday. President Obama has been rudeness personified toward Britain, The Daily Telegraph wrote Friday. His handling of the visit of the prime minister, Gordon Brown, to Washington was appalling. The main point of contention was an...

You can see the entire video in one video, and you can now purchase the DVD of the entire Rush CPAC speech at: http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=284357-3&showVid=true I just purchased it, since I rank this speech right up there with Reagan’s conservative speeches/writings. Maybe you can show this video/speech at rallies/tea parties, etc. Get the word out about how conservatism works for Americans. Tommy Miami, FL

Movie Studios Offer Consumers Win-Win Way to go Blu-ray By Jim Bray February 14, 2009 It looks as if there may be an outbreak of consumer-friendly common sense coming from a couple of the big Hollywood studios. This particular anomaly is a way to help people transition to the Blu-ray format by marketing "combination" disc packages that include both DVD and BD versions, so those who don't yet have a Blu-ray player (which is most people) can watch their favorite titles on DVD now, with the BD version waiting patiently in the package for the day when they do eventually...

AN old skeleton has emerged from Jane Fonda's closet to remind us of her traitorous embrace of the North Vietnamese, which got her dubbed "Hanoi Jane." Docudrama Films is re leasing on DVD a long-suppressed documentary called "FTA," a k a "[Bleep] the Army," which chroni cles the anti-war shows Fonda staged in front of GIs. The flick opened in theaters in 1972 the same week she flew to Hanoi and encouraged the Vietnamese com munists to fight "American impe rialists."

Of the Globe Award winners; Which SHOULD be seen on the Big Screen of a theater? Which will play as well on DVD?

There is no Hollywood ending in sight in 2009 for the entertainment industry, which along with the rest of the nation is experiencing its worst economic slump in decades. The fallout from declining local TV ad revenue, weakening DVD sales and diminishing sources of film financing will continue to pound Los Angeles' signature industry, which employs more than 200,000 people and pumps an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion into the local economy. Many expect that will trigger further layoffs at the studios, networks, independent production outfits and other media companies on top of the thousands of job losses that...

Pop culture is finally hitting the eject button on the VHS tape, the once-ubiquitous home-video format that will finish this month as a creaky ghost of Christmas past. After three decades of steady if unspectacular service, the spinning wheels of the home-entertainment stalwart are slowing to a halt at retail outlets. On a crisp Friday morning in October, the final truckload of VHS tapes rolled out of a Palm Harbor, Fla., warehouse run by Ryan J. Kugler, the last major supplier of the tapes. "It's dead, this is it, this is the last Christmas, without a doubt," said Kugler, 34,...

a weakening economy this holiday season, there are signs that many of the discounts will stick around through the end of the year. That means shoppers seeking a TV could have several extra weeks of lower-than-usual prices to find the right deal. The Black Friday discounts will be even heftier, according to estimates. A 32-inch LCD TV will be discounted 54% to an estimated $399 in limited quantities on Black Friday from an average $875 in October, according to iSuppli. If those prices don't spur sales over Thanksgiving weekend, Ms. Patel says, many of the discounts will continue in December....

Insiders are telling me that end-of-year stats regarding DVD sales of 2008's major movie titles are looking like a disaster areas. The guesstimates are that even blockbuster titles like Iron Man and Hancock will be down 30%. Interesting that studios which earlier claimed their film biz was near-recession proof are now blaming the economy rather than new digital media delivery options.

Every USA Church, Synagogue Gets Militant Islam DVD Over 325,000 rabbis and pastors Last update: 12:01 a.m. EDT Oct. 20, 2008 VISTA, Calif., Oct 20, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Over 325,000 rabbis, priests and pastors in every Jewish and Christian congregation in America just received the award-winning documentary Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West on DVD, according to the publisher of a new periodical for clerical leaders, The Judeo-Christian View, which included the film inside the first issue. .......... Although juxtaposing Bible passages with the two senators' policies, the multiracial signers of Dozier's new periodical reject "bigotry...

<p>DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- On a Sunday morning just weeks before the presidential election, Priscilla Linsley opened her local Denver newspaper and discovered a DVD inside.</p> <p>"I was shocked at the content and horrified that this had been in my Sunday paper," said Linsley, a 74-year-old Democrat, who watched about half of the video before throwing it in the trash.</p>

Keep in mind, the Jews are not allowed to express an opinion in this election, especially if they (Allah forbid) offend Muslims. From CNN. The hourlong film on DVD, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," was made by Israeli filmmaker Raphael Shore and shows disturbing, sometimes violent images. Rima Barakat Sinclair, who is Muslim and a Republican, was so angry she called her local lawmakers in Denver. Video Watch voters reaction to the DVD » "It is riddled not only with misleading facts but outright fabrication," said Barakat Sinclair. In September, some 28 million of the "Obsession" DVD's...

I have more than one dvd creating program on my computer. I purchased Nero a couple of years back to create slideshows with our photography, but it constantly seizes up and dies, and I have to start over. Does anyone have a suggestion for a freeware program that's easy to use and would allow me to add music? Does anyone know anything about Slideshow GUI? I downloaded a trial version of Pro Show Gold, and it's VERY easy to use - it's just that our main business is construction related, and well, you know....

Macho Putin in yet ANOTHER display of masculinity as he releases 'Let's learn judo with Vladimir' DVD By Mail Foreign Service Last updated at 5:51 PM on 07th October 2008 First we saw him shirtless while fishing. Then he was pictured at the wheel of a massive racing truck and shooting a tiger in the Siberian forest with a tranquiliser. He has also appeared operating a train, sailing on a submarine and co-piloting a fighter jet. Now Vladimir Putin - the world's most manly leader - has released yet another display of his own masculinity: a DVD entitled 'Let's learn...

Abdiamar Bare, 21, walks up to the nondescript mosque in Greeley for noon prayers and pauses a moment to talk about his faith. He is asked by a visitor if he's seen the DVD "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West." No, he says. He's asked if the principles of Islam allow other religions to coexist with it. "Every religion is the same. No religion is better than another religion," Bare says. "I believe in Islam. I like my religion, and I don't want it to interfere with other religions." Bare is one of about 120 Muslim workers recently fired...

I've been hearing about this DVD being mailed. The democrats are in a tizzy over it - they consider it a campaign mailing. Obama is losing with people concerned with the War on Terror and it definately hurts his vote with the Jews in Florida.

RealNetworks is putting its considerable prestige behind a DVD-copying Windows application, moving into territory hitherto occupied by illegal freeware. The $30 program called RealDVD will copy not only the main disc content but also the extras and art. In an interview with The New York Times, Real chief Robert Glaser calls it "a compelling and very responsible product" for making disc backups and transferring content to a laptop for viewing on the road. Expect Hollywood to erupt over this like a volcano. The studios have long litigated against companies making DVD ripping software, which circumvents the DVD Copy Control Association's...

Finally! Dark Night of the Scarecrow DVD! Now here's some truly great news. Deadpit.com's "Creepy Kentuckian" is reporting that the classic (and largely unseen by today's audiences) 1981 made-for-TV fright flick Dark Night of the Scarecrow is at long last getting the DVD and Blu-Ray treatment. About damn time! Dark Night of the Scarecrow is a genuinely creepy horror movie about a mentally handicapped young man (Larry Drake, Dr. Giggles) wrongfully accused of assaulting a young girl in a rural farm community who is then hunted down by a lynch mob led by legendary character actor Charles Durning. The frightened...

The cameraman for the underground Stop Snitching DVD that cast a national eye on witness intimidation in Baltimore was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in federal prison after a jury convicted him on drug and gun charges. Shortly before receiving his sentence, Akiba Matthews-Bey, 35, of West Baltimore, told a federal judge that he was being singled out by authorities because of his involvement with the DVD. Matthews-Bey said that the creators of Stop Snitching never thought it would become as significant as it did when it hit the streets four years ago and that because of its popularity, he...

Toshiba America Consumer Products has announced a new technology to upconvert standard DVDs to high-definition quality, according to the company. The XDE (eXtended Detail Enhancement) upconfirts from 480i/p to 1080p and also offers several picture enhancement modes that allow for greater detail, more vivid colors and stronger contrast, according to the Fort Wayne, N.J.-based subsidiary of Toshiba. "Consumers have embraced the DVD format like no other technology and invested in large libraries of their favorite movies. As the market moves towards high definition, XDE lets them experience their existing DVD library and the tens of thousands of DVD titles in...

Washington, D.C. (June 1, 2008) -- Toshiba will soon launch an upconverting DVD player that purports to offer a picture that will rival Blu-ray's high-def disc. That's according to a report from the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. Toshiba was the chief backer of HD DVD, the high-def disc rival to Blu-ray. But the company pulled the plug on HD DVD at the end of March due to disappointing sales and overwhelming studio support for Blu-ray. At the time of the exit announcement. Toshiba executives hinted that it would soon release a standard-def DVD player that could compete with Blu-ray rather...

Hey you guys! An old favorite is available on DVD and your child can learn to read with a little help from Morgan Freeman, Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno and a cast of funny and talented actors whose goals are to keep your children interested and teach them words and concepts without them realizing they're learning. That's right, "The Electric Company” is now available, and it actually works. Adults who grew up watching it on PBS will remember the classic songs, like "Hey Diddle Diddle,” "Knock Knock Rock” and "Whimper and Whine” (You know you've heard it: "We are the kids...

Hollywood, CA -- Readers of LifeNews.com had the opportunity to purchase a DVD copy of the heartwarming movie Bella weeks ago, and now the general public can purchase the film. Already, the pro-life themed movie is the most popular pre-sell DVD in its category at Amazon.com. LifeNews.com has been covering the progress of Bella since June 2006 when we received a private advanced screening of the unfinished, pre-edited movie. Full story at http://www.lifenews.com/nat3913.html To purchase a DVD copy of the movie, vist http://www.hh76.com/default.asp?r=275

Confirmed reports of the movie Bella so far saving at least 15 mothers and their babies from abortion has spurred its producers to recently launch their bella 10 campaign. The campaign is an unusual, grassroots targeted promotion strategy designed to give individual fans of the movie lots of practical advice and tools to convince 10 people to order a Bella DVD who would in turn convince 10 others to do the same. The campaign asks the rhetorical question, "Can a movie really save a child's life?" to emphasize that by promoting or even giving away purchased copies of the movie...

I'm puzzled. I just looked up the movie, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed", on Netflix. It was classified as "Availability unknown", but it also has a rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on opinions of 383 people who viewed the film. Has this been pulled by Netflix? Did someone get an injunction against it or something? How can over 300 people have viewed it and rated it, yet the movie is not currently available? Seems fishy to me. Anyone know what the deal is here?

Nikko R2–D2 DVD Projector Limited Edition. They’ve gone and updated the venerable R2–D2 home theater system and boy does it look cool. Check out the awesome video to set your saliva glands aglow. It now throws a 260 inch image onto your wall or screen, features 1800 lumens brightness and a whopping 1800:1 contrast ratio, and comes with the same gorgeously groovy stuff like iPod dock, memory card, USB drive and game console support and a built-in virtual surround 20W speaker system. The new model also features an FM transmitter out so you can beam sound to your Hi-Fi from anywhere in...

Seeing how I live in China and one of the main things I can do to kill the boredom is watch movies I have started a movie review section. However, this is China so the movies I buy are all pirated. Do I feel like a thief, hmm No not really. Do I feel a little guilty at all. NOPE not one bit. To tell the truth I enjoy the 5 rmb(75 cent) move purchase. So on to the first review. DVD Title: "The Golden Compass" Director: Chris Weitz Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards

Recently, I added a DVD-burner to my XP-based PC with no problem at all. My brother, however, in imitation, has gotten one of those no-name with no-software DVD-burners for his Win98SE machine, and has discovered the off-the-shelf burning software he bought gags and dies. he has a very fast (well, it was a few months ago) PC with 500+ meg memory.

NEW YORK — The HD DVD is now the Highly Dead DVD. Toshiba Corp., creator of the HD DVD, dropped out of the battle Tuesday over the next generation of movie-disc technology and conceded to the rival Blu-ray format from Sony. It was the biggest battle between two video formats since Betamax lost out to VHS in the 1980s. In the long run, the end of the latest format war is expected to be good for consumers, who will no longer have to agonize over which technology to choose for high-definition movies, and won't have to go to the trouble...

LUTHER, Okla. -- A local father has expressed concern over allegations that classes at his son's school have turned into Movie Appreciation 101. When Justin -- who asked not to be identified -- started asking his son for a list of lessons learned at Luther High School, his ninth-grader rattled off a list of new releases.

Look, it will play *something*, just buy it already. After the past week, it seems more and more likely that Blu-ray will be the movie disc format of the future. But with the exception of the Playstation 3, current Blu-ray disc players were built without future-compatibility capabilities, so come this October owners won't be able to take advantage of features like Internet connectivity or enhanced interactivity (whatever that means—details are sketchy). "One key Blu-ray developer told BetaNews that although he builds discs for studios including Fox and Lionsgate, he did not buy a Blu-ray player for personal use." Regarding current...