Predicted influx this 4th quarter of fairly low-cost DVD/PVR combos appears to have hit roadblock over inclusion of electronic programming guides (EPGs). Which type of EPG and at what cost are among issues hardware manufacturers are grappling with, according to software company PlanetWeb, which supplies enabling technology for DVD/PVR combos. “Our software is ready to go,” said Jeff Blanc, PlanetWeb vp-strategic planning: “The sticking point is the OEMs. They're still struggling with the patent issues.”
The FCC should move quickly to adopt the industry agreement on cable compatibility, the NCTA said in the latest round of comments to the Commission, and objections by the MPAA and others should be dismissed because the proposed rules were modeled on those already developed for secure digital connectors and agreed to by MPAA studios and others. The CEA and the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition agreed, but MPAA and others said hasty Commission action would be harmful and unnecessary.
Of reams of first-round comments filed with FCC in proposed rulemaking on plug-and-play agreement (CED Dec 20 p1, April 1 p1), none cast “appreciable doubt” on Commission’s jurisdiction to enact cable-CE interoperability deal, CEA and Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition (CERC) said in replies filed Mon. CEA and CERC said they were “relieved to conclude” that nothing in voluminous comments on plug-and-play “undermines or casts any doubt on the strong, imperative, fundamental case for expeditious and affirmative action by the Commission.” Groups urged FCC again to implement measures quickly “so as to serve consumers, enable competition and move the DTV and HDTV transitions forward.”
Mythic Entertainment said it plans in mid-June to release downloadable expansion for its massively multiplayer online role- playing game Dark Age of Camelot that will be free to all subscribers. Company said it will be first of 3 such expansions to be released this year. Game maker said title had attracted “more than 220,000 paying subscribers” to date and “more than 600,000 people have played Dark Age of Camelot worldwide since its release in October 2001.” At “peak times,” company said, “more than 60,000 people play simultaneously.” In other online game news, South China Morning Post reported that “safeguards may be built into online games sold in Hong Kong to help tackle the problem of young people becoming addicted to them.” Report said initiative by manufacturers and Consumer Council arrived amid surge in popularity of online games. Newspaper said recent study “found there were 400,000 players aged 10 to 29 in Hong Kong, spending an average 10 hours a week online” while “medical experts have warned obsessive play can result in wrist pain, back injuries, physical exhaustion and convulsions.” Report also said “at least 3 young cyber-addicts have died playing computer games.” Consumer Council spokesman said group was worried situation would worsen with schools suspended because of SARS outbreak. As result, report said, Council asked online game industry to modify games to reduce obsessive play. One recommendation was to install automatic pause function that would log player off after certain number of hours. Council also suggested manufacturers put message box on screen to remind players they should take break. It asked makers to submit games for classification voluntarily and to put any necessary parental warnings on packaging, report said. Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Assn. told Council it believed suggestions were workable and would ask its members to consider them when making games, report said.
If the FCC is going to mandate broadcast flag technology it better find a way to do it without altering copyright law, members of the House Judiciary Courts, Internet & Intellectual Property Subcommittee told FCC Media Bureau Chief Kenneth Ferree Thurs. “I hope it is clear to you,” Chmn. Smith (R-Tex.) told Ferree at the end of the hearing, “that there is a bipartisan consensus about the FCC’s infringement on the jurisdiction of this committee… [Regulating] transmission is one thing, use is another.” When Ferree said he would “endeavor” not to enter the subcommittee’s jurisdictional bounds with the FCC’s proposed rulemaking, Smith replied: “I hope you won’t just endeavor.”
If FCC is going to mandate broadcast flag technology it better find way to do it without altering copyright law, members of House Judiciary Courts, Internet & Intellectual Property Subcommittee told FCC Media Bureau Chief Kenneth Ferree Thurs. “I hope it is clear to you,” Chmn. Smith (R-Tex.) told Ferree at end of hearing, “that there is a bipartisan consensus about the FCC’s infringement on the jurisdiction of this committee… [Regulating] transmission is one thing, use is another.” When Ferree said he would “endeavor” not to enter subcommittee’s jurisdictional bounds with FCC’s proposed rulemaking, Smith replied: “I hope you won’t just endeavor.”
About dozen stations nationally were operating digital in- band, on-channel (IBOC) HD Radio as of mid-Feb. So said licensor iBiquity Digital in comments filed with FCC opposing petition by Amherst Alliance and others to reconsider Commission’s Oct. 2002 report and order approving HD Radio as IBOC digital AM and FM system (CED Oct 11 p1).
LodgeNet CEO Scott Petersen told CIBC Gaming, Lodging & Leisure Conference in N.Y. Tues. that his company still expected to report revenue of $58-$61 million, EBITDA of $19.5-$21 million and loss per share of 61-73? in its first quarter. Company provides on-demand movies, music and Nintendo videogames to lodging industry. Petersen said: “Since introducing the industry’s only interactive digital platform that incorporates both a satellite distribution network and On-Screen Controls (e.g., pause, skip and save), we have executed long-term contracts with over 1,800 lodging properties having more than 340,000 rooms for the provision of our digital interactive TV services… It is generating per-room revenues that are 37% greater than our traditional analog platform -- a factor that will drive increasing revenue and cash flow for our company over the next several years. Today, we offer digital entertainment services in 30% of our room base. We expect that will grow to more than 55% by the end of 2004… During the year, we will be improving our interactive TV offering… We have launched a new sales strategy [that] will allow us to move away from the ‘one- size-fits-all’ approach… We will be releasing a new system configuration midyear that will reduce our per-room capital investment by 5 to 10%. Both factors should make the cost of installing an average new digital room comparable to the traditional tape-based systems we stopped installing 2 years ago, but with 37% greater revenue.”
Magnavox brand will be wedge used to drive DVD recording into mass market in spring when parent Philips extends DVD+R/RW recorder line to selective national accounts, officials said. Magnavox deck will hit $499 sweet spot at discounters and chains, while more feature-laden models under Philips marque continue penetration through upmarket regional selling floors, Philips executives told us Thurs. Meanwhile, gloves have come off in rivalry among recordable DVD formats after Panasonic’s DVD-RAM seminars in London this week attacking DVD+R/RW system.
“Rising costs” of bringing videogames to market are forcing publishers and developers to “find ways to trim expenses,” Gerard Klauer Mattison (GKM) analyst Edward Williams said Mon. in research report. He reacted with little surprise to announcement by Midway Games that it planned to take $14 million charge for restructuring of its Milpitas, Cal., development studio to cut costs by consolidating R&D.