- RealNetworks' RealPlayer G2 will be included in the Philips cable-TV
set-top boxes being made for MediaOne.
- Intel is investing in Skystream, which uses null-packet optimization
technology to squeeze data into 5-10% of a DTV bitstream.
- The August issue of the SMPTE Journal will feature, among others, the
following papers from last fall's conference:
- "Contemporary DTV Acquisition -- Some Perspectives on the Related
Standards, the Technologies, and the Creative," by Larry Thorpe
- "Fast Transcoding of Compressed Bitstreams by Raising Incoming
Motion Vectors," by Stuart Golin
- "Factors to Consider When Choosing an MPEG-2 Encoder," by Neil
Brydon
- DirecTV's own HD channel (expected to begin in October, two months
after their HD HBO launch) will offer pay-per-view movies from
Dreamworks as well as New Line Cinema, and they would like to add more
Hollywood studios. I find this interesting because of the supposed fear
at the studios of HD digital copies somehow getting out. Maybe
Dreamworks and New Line don't care. Besides pay-per-view movies, the
channel may also feature HD material from BBC America, Discovery, and
PBS.
According to a story in Multichannel News online, DirecTV hasn't
yet decided whether to charge more for HD pay-per-view than for SD, but
Dreamworks doesn't require them to charge more. HDTVs with built-in
DirecTV HD receivers are supposed to be available to consumers this
summer.
From Marks Monday memo.
digitaltelevision.com |
