ZDNet’s Tech Bits is declaring Blu-Ray dead: Blu-ray is in a death spiral. 12 months from now Blu-ray will be a videophile niche, not a mass market product. With only a 4% share of US movie disc sales and HD download capability arriving, the Blu-ray disc Association (BDA) is still smoking dope. Even $150 Blu-ray […]

Apple today announced that all four of the major networks are offering primetime programs in high definition on the iTunes Store. Apple still provides no ad-supported streaming offering, which has opened the door for Hulu and others to target the huge audience for free streaming Internet television. The list of HD programs now available on the iTunes […]

PBS has announced that it will launch a broad selection of full-length PBS television shows for download on Xbox LIVE, the online games and entertainment network for the Xbox 360. Included on Xbox LIVE are: WIRED SCIENCE CARRIER SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS NOVA Ken Burns’ Jazz Ken Burns’ America Ken Burns’ American Lives “Our commitment is […]

Michael Moore appears to be using bootlegging to ensure distribution of his latest film, Slacker Uprising, outside the US and Canada.  Torrentfreak reports that the film is actively being shared on bitTorrent around the world, despite only being freely available from the official source to people in the US and Canada. “What do you think I’m up to? […]

Want to know why Steve Jobs is still calling Apple TV his “hobby”? New research by The NPD Group offers an explanation: 41 percent of dollars budgeted for movies and video is spent on DVD movie purchases; 11 percent for purchases of TV programs on DVD; 29 percent on DVD rentals including Netflix and other […]

Toshiba Corporation today announced that it is killing off HD DVD. “We carefully assessed the long-term impact of continuing the so-called ‘next-generation format war’ and concluded that a swift decision will best help the market develop,” said Atsutoshi Nishida, President and CEO of Toshiba Corporation. “While we are disappointed for the company and more importantly, […]

Apple held a special event today to introduce an updated iPod lineup and a new version of iTunes. The introductions were evolutionary updates to existing products instead of revolutionary ones. The iPod shuffle is now smaller, but still not edible; Apple iTunes 7 adds movie downloads; Apple has a deal with the NFL to deliver […]

Apple today introduced the new iPod. While the new iPod features a larger hard drive and brighter screen than earlier models, it doesn’t have the touch-sensitive widescreen display many had anticipated, making it an evolutionary update rather than a revolutionary one. The new iPod features a 60 percent brighter and more vibrant 2.5-inch color display. […]

The National Football League (NFL) and Apple today announced that they will bring 2006 NFL regular season action to the iTunes Store, offering video downloads of highlights from individual NFL games the day after they are played. Fans will be able to download highlights of each NFL regular season game for $1.99 per game. Fans […]

Apple today announced iTunes 7, which they are calling the most significant enhancement since it debuted in 2001. iTunes 7 adds new album and Cover Flow views of music, TV shows and movies, letting users to quickly find titles in their library as well as casually browse through titles they already own. The iTunes Store […]