AV zombie

American comic book characters may well be stoking box-office fires, but the art form itself struggles to find readers. In Japan however, manga continues to reach an audience. According to data from the Research Institute for Publications, comic books represent over 30 per cent of the Japanese magazine industry. But while the art form remains […]

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The UK broadcast landscape changes again today with the official unveiling of Freesat, the BBC/ITV joint venture that aims to bring redefine standard and high definition TV services. Unlike Sky, once installed Freesat viewers will have unlimited access to around 80 free-to-air channels. This number is expected to double by the end of the year.
From […]

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After a string of romances, Hollywood now seems content to cement its marriage with Video On Demand. Market major Warner says it will release all of its US titles day and date on DVD and VOD from April 30, for the rest of the year. Superior margins on titles proffered for VOD prompted Warner […]

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Sony has entered into a merger agreement with Gracenote, the online digital content and media service. Sony’s Tim Schaaff says: “We see tremendous growth potential in developing Gracenote as a separately run business unit, and by broadly embracing Gracenote’s platforms, Sony expects to significantly enhance and accelerate its own digital content, service and device initiatives.”

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Copy protection giant Macrovision will acquire the original electronics TV listings company  Gemstar-TV Guide International on May 2. Macrovision arranged 650 million dollars in debt financing to finance the deal.
Macrovision has its routes in the original DRM system for VHS video tape movie releases. Gemstar has a comparable heritage, as the originator of VCR timer […]

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