Word-miner, watching iChange since '99.
World-class film resource library IMDb.com has launched a German language version of its website, www.imdb.de, promising to open up in more languages in future.
Like its parent site IMDb.com, IMDb.de offers information about 1.3 million titles, including 35,000 German titles and 2.7 million celebrities.
OK, so news in from the really rather obvious department, consultancy firm Detica has put out a passionate appeal for the entertainment industry to collaborate against piracy with help from the ISPs.
Detica insists that stronger collaboration between Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and the entertainment industry is the only way to make it easier for consumers to download music and films legally whilst providing ‘fair trade’ for artists.
The crunch is beginning to impact the DVD movie market, as consumers turn to online services, spurn luxury items as recession bites and thoughts turn to Christmas, with some optimistic the fall in demand for pre-recorded DVD titles (films) suggests a move to Blu-ray (it won’t).
Taiwan’s pre-recorded DVD manufacturers have revealed orders for DVD films have fallen, “short of their expectations by 30-40%”, a report explains.
Tivo and Netflix have joined forces in another stab at keeping the Apple TV and iTunes out of the digital den.
The companies will give subscribers to both services the chance to stream thousands of movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly to the TV using TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and HD XL digital video recorders.
Adobe is likely in hot water this weekend, with news that a security hole in Flash means users can get free access to record and copy video and movies made available using the software.
Amazon.com’s online movie service is apparently affected, meaning users can easily grab a copy of films – even those theoretically protected against such use.
Apparently, the flaw lies in the Flash video servers. “The software doesn’t encrypt online content, but only orders sent to a video player such as start and stop play. To boost download speeds, Adobe dropped a stringent security feature that protects the connection between the Adobe software and its players,” Reuters explains.
“The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is on a fast-track process as rich nations hope to wrap it up by the end of the year. Unfortunately for everyone who cares about the outcome, it’s midway through September, and no draft text has yet emerged,” Ars Technica reports.
“The secrecy and the delay have inspired many conspiracy theories, none helped by leaked sets of corporate “wish lists” and public comments making outrageous demands.”
Leaked documents suggest the treaty could require Internet service providers to monitor all consumers’ Internet communications, interfere with fair use of copyrighted materials, and criminalize peer-to-peer electronic file sharing.
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20th Century Fox has begun selling DVD’s equipped with a technology called Digital Copy for iTunes in the UK.
Introduced in January 2008 at an Apple trade event and until now only available on some titles sold in the USA, the first such title being, ‘Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest’.
What the move means is UK and US customers who purchase a DVD also get an additional Digital Copy of the movie which can be popped inside iTunes, and then played back on the computer or Apple’s range of digital devices.
The first film including the feature to reach the US is the ‘What Happens in Vegas’, movie starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher. However, each DVD will only transfer its iTunes Digital Copy to one iTunes library.
“One of the most requested features DVD buyers have been asking for is the ability to get the movies they bought into their iTunes library,” said Jim Gianopulos, chairman and chief executive officer of Fox Filmed Entertainment.
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So pleased there’s visionaries on our planet – in this video you’ll meet one
Brewster Kahle, who is attempting to build this vast digital library containing every book ever published, every movie ever released, all the strata of web history …and all for free and public use.
Thanks to Gerd Leonhard and Ted.com
Giant UK high street retailer, Tesco, has its sights on the online media market, with its Tesco Digital arm in talks with the BBC, ITV and Fremantle Media to offer TV shows and films through its store.
The company hopes to rival iTunes with its service, which it hopes to launch before Christmas.
Content providers are understood to be interested in the plan, partially because Tesco is such a major UK retailer with a proven ability to sell that it could have a huge impact on the emerging online video market.
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Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger today called on ISPs to ban people who illegally download content.
Disney owns US network ABC and produces a range of hit shows including Desperate Housewives and Lost. Iger was speaking in London.
Iger was referring to the recently-announced deal under which six of the UK’s biggest ISPs will begin sending warning letters to customers that copyright bodies claim have downloaded content.
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