dvds

The CD may be on its way out, but music and concert DVDs are doing just fine, thank you very much! Late last year I wrote a feature for Home Entertainment magazine running down some of my favorite music DVDs of all time. They were all "live" recordings--there wasn't a single MTV style "music video" in the bunch. This is an abridged version of the article, check the Home Entertainment website to check out the complete article. Oh, and I've added a few DVDs that didn't make the article.

Led Zeppelin

With a … Read more

Internet-based copyright infringement is pretty much the only way people can keep track of TV and movies from abroad in Beijing. It's hard to even find legal DVDs, and if there aren't even illegal DVDs to buy, it's often trivially easy to find entire movies on Youku or Tudou.

Yesterday, a Chinese public-security ministry official asked for international help in copyright enforcement, noting that many infringers use Web sites hosted outside Chinese jurisdiction.

"Copyright infringements, by their very nature, are international crimes. To effectively curb such activities, (we) need enhanced international cooperation on law enforcement," … Read more

So you bit the high-def bullet and popped for a Blu-ray player--or an HD DVD player. Either way, it's time to start building your movie library.

Best Buy is currently offering buy-one-get-one-free deals on both Blu-ray and HD DVD movies. Free shipping, too!

What's the selection like? Better than you might expect. Available titles include 300, The Departed, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Ocean's Thirteen. (There are a couple turkeys, of course, like I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Are We Done Yet?.) Interestingly, all the Blu-ray flicks sell for $29.… Read more

Slowly but surely, prices are inching down on Blu-ray and HD DVD players. Today's deal to beat: Amazon has the Toshiba HD-A3 for $218.60 and the Samsung BD-P1400 for $269.98. The latter entitles you to five free movies, while the Toshiba nets you 10. Both players qualify for free shipping.

For the video purists out there, it's worth noting that the Toshiba player tops out at 1080i, while the Samsung can blast 1080p. My eyes can't tell a difference, but that's just me.

So, back to the big question: Is it time to pull … Read more

Ready to take the high-def DVD plunge? I wouldn't. I think most HDTV owners are better off with a decent (and inexpensive) upconverting DVD player, which makes existing DVDs look a helluva lot better and saves you from having to choose sides in the ridiculous Blu-ray versus HD DVD war.

On the other hand, if you're tired of waiting and want to enjoy every pixel of your 1080p TV right now, consider the Toshiba HD-A20 HD DVD player. Circuit City has it on clearance for $249.99--not quite the sub-$200 price point the players need to … Read more

Anti-piracy pooches are rushing to the MPAA's rescue.

Two specially trained Labradors recently uncovered thousands of bootlegged DVDs during police raids in Queens, NY., according to the Motion Picture Assoc. of America. In addition to the scores of bogus films, the raids netted three arrests.

Three-year-olds, Lucky and Flo, are believed to be the first dogs trained to recognize the polycarbonate scent of optical discs, according to the Motion Picture Assoc. of America.

To teach the dogs to track down the discs, the polycarbonate scent was placed on tennis balls, which were then hidden. The dogs were taught to … Read more

At this week's Print 2.0 conference in New York, HP's Digital Entertainment Services group announced a new program called NextDayTV, which will make local TV coverage, events, broadcast programs, and televised sports games available on DVD soon after their original air dates. The inaugural partnership for the program is a deal with Major League Baseball, and you can now purchase a DVD of the game in which Barry Bonds hit his legendary 756th home run at San Francisco Giants Dugout stores as well as online at the Wal-Mart, Major League Baseball, FYE, and Suncoast Web sites.

Still … Read more

Last week I took a look at TextBookFlix, an invite-only service that ships loaner text books at a sizable discount to cash-strapped college students. This week I've been browsing BookSwim, a similar service that's been around a little longer, and is open to everyone.

BookSwim makes strong self-comparisons to Netflix, with its own books-by-mail turnaround service that lets you keep anywhere from 3 to 11 titles out at a time with five different subscription plans ranging from $20, all the way up to $36 per month. Like Netflix, BookSwim gives each user a queue of books, and will … Read more

Update: Representatives from Netflix have let us know these lower-priced plans are part of a test for selected Netflix subscribers, and the current prices that were lowered last month remain for new and existing customers.

Netflix is cutting the price of two of its most popular plans by $1 today, less than a month after its last cut in July. The pricing hasn't been changed on Netflix's rates page, but the company has been sending out rounds of e-mails to its customers about the change since last night, and made an announcement about it earlier this morning. The … Read more