If you have not yet seen this story. Best, Nan Rubin
Nan Rubin, Project Director Preserving Digital Public Television Thirteen 450 W. 33rd St. New York, NY 10001 212-560-2925 (direct line) 212-560-2833 fax rub...@thirteen.org www.ptvdigitalarchive.org * * * * * http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/technology/04video.html?8dpc January 4, 2010 Trying to Add Portability to Movie Files By BRAD STONE <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/brad_stone /index.html?inline=nyt-per> It is easy to take a DVD to a friend's house and watch it on his TV. But things are more complicated when digital video downloads are involved. A movie file bought from Blockbuster.com will not work on a Sony <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/sony_corporation/ index.html?inline=nyt-org> HDTV, for example, and videos from iTunes work only on devices with Apple <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/apple_computer_in c/index.html?inline=nyt-org> software. At the Consumer Electronics Show <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/internat ional_consumer_electronics_show_ces/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> , a big high-tech gathering that will begin Wednesday in Las Vegas, Hollywood studios and consumer electronics makers plan to lay out some steps they are taking to simplify this digital future - and perhaps stem the worrying decline in home entertainment sales. Hollywood and its high-tech partners are deeply concerned that their customers will rebel against some of the limitations taking shape as video moves away from physical discs. Consumers, the industry believes, could balk at buying digital movies and TV shows until they can bring their collections with them wherever they go - by and large the same freedom people have with DVDs. In the last year and a half, a broad alliance of high-tech companies and Hollywood studios has been trying to address this problem through an organization called the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, or DECE. Five of the six major Hollywood studios (Warner Brothers <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/warner_bros_enter tainment_inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org> , NBC Universal <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/nbc_universal/ind ex.html?inline=nyt-org> , Sony, Paramount and Fox, but not Walt Disney <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/disney_walt_compa ny/index.html?inline=nyt-org> ) are involved, with Microsoft <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/microsoft_corpora tion/index.html?inline=nyt-org> , Cisco Systems <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/cisco_systems_inc /index.html?inline=nyt-org> , Comcast <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/comcast_corporati on/index.html?inline=nyt-org> , Intel <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/intel_corporation /index.html?inline=nyt-org> and Best Buy <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/best_buy_company/ index.html?inline=nyt-org> . [more] VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
