pictures

As if 240Hz, 1080p/24 compatibility and contrast ratios in the millions aren't confusing enough, get ready for more product differentiation in the LCD TV space: two different kinds of LED lighting schemes. On one hand are relatively tried-and-true "local dimming" LED-based LCDs, which generally give great picture. In the other are "edge-lit" LED-based LCDs, which if the new Sony KLV-40ZX1M ($3,999) is any indication, do not.

We're sure the distinction won't stop marketers from trying to equate the two, however, and simply call them all "LED TVs," expecting consumers to assume that all LED-based LCDs give great picture. In fact, one company, Samsung, has already said it wants to create a separate "LED TV" category to differentiate the more-expensive, higher-tech-sounding sets from their lowly fluorescent-backlit cousins.

Also, who knows, maybe Samsung's upcoming edge-lit models, namely the 6000, 7000, and 8000 series HDTVs announced at CES, will perform better than the Sony KLV-40ZX1M we just reviewed. Lighter black levels and imperfect uniformity hampered its picture--as you might expect, the edges of the picture were brighter than the middle (go figure!). It sure looks cool though.

Read the full review of the Sony KLV-40ZX1M.… Read more

Encrypting pictures and video to secure them from prying eyes is a simple process with this easy-to-use utility, but it didn't turn out to be as flexible as it claimed during our tests.

Picture and Video Encrypt launches a small, unadorned but functional and easy-to-comprehend interface that's mostly taken up by a pane for listing filenames. There's no detailed Help feature, but figuring out how to use this app is a simple matter: you just click Add, select a file, then click Protect (or Unprotect, if you're decrypting a file).

This app worked fine in our … Read more

Despite the fact that Pioneer has exited the HDTV business, we still consider its Elite Kuro plasma TVs, such as the PRO-111FD, the best-performing televisions we've ever tested. Now Panasonic has released a new lineup of so-called Premiere plasmas that takes direct aim at the Kuros. While they deliver a superb picture, they still fall a bit short of the mark.

We reviewed the 65-inch member of the series, model TH-65VX100U ($9,995 list), and there's a 50-inch version coming in late February, model TH-50VX100U ($4,995 list). Aside from their high price tags, these displays must overcome the fact that Panasonic announced a slew of new plasmas at CES that use the company's next-generation NEO PDP panels, which consume less power and deliver even deeper black levels, according to the company. Before somebody asks, no, the Premiere series does not use the new panels.

Still, there's a lot to like about these expensive displays. Picture quality is excellent, with deep black levels and superb shadow detail, although color accuracy (along with black level) didn't match the Kuro. The Premiere plasmas have the same build quality we lauded on Panasonic's standard professional monitors, like the TH-50PF11UK. They also share some of the same "professional" characteristics, such as the necessity to purchase a separate stand and speakers if you need them, and relatively sparse input selection.

Read the full review of the Panasonic TH-VX100U Premiere series.

… Read more

LOS ANGELES--Many of the major film studios have gone through a painful round of layoffs and now the industry's trade group is cutting staff, too.

The Motion Picture Association of America, much maligned by file sharers everywhere, has gone through a "significant" round of layoffs, according to a studio source. The source said the layoffs were well over 10 percent and more reductions are expected.

A spokeswoman for the MPAA confirmed the layoffs to CNET News, but declined to provide numbers or percentages. The group battles copyright infringement on behalf of the six largest film studios. How … Read more

Nearly a year since being ordered to pay the big film studios more than $100 million, TorrentSpy is launching a legal comeback.

On Tuesday evening, TorrentSpy filed an appeal to overturn a judgment issued by U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper. Last May, Cooper ordered TorrentSpy, which shut its doors as a result of the legal fight with the Motion Picture Association of America, to pay nearly $111 million in damages to the MPAA for infringing the copyright of thousands of films and TV shows.

TorrentSpy was a favorite tool for those seeking bootleg films, but site operators always insisted … Read more

Play With Pictures takes one of the most essential image editing features and expands it into an entire program. It is not a photo editor, at least not in the mold of Photoshop. Play With Pictures takes the cut-and-paste feature and simplifies the process while building out supplementary features for creating online avatars, greetings cards, and other projects that require image mash-ups.

The interface presents a re-imagining of the image editing toolset, gearing users towards projects instead of stand-alone edits. The left nav toolbar even notes the steps needed to take a user from start to finish. Tools are categorized … Read more

After two and a half years of development and a total investment of about $2 million, advertising start-up Big Moving Pictures was just about ready to start signing customers and generating revenue.

Then, in September of 2008, financial disaster struck Wall Street. It was right before the big unveiling of the company's product. BMP's potential customers--large consumer advertisers--lost their budgets. The best contacts at customer companies got laid off. The start-up found itself in a business wasteland. It was ready to go. But its pipeline to revenue had dried up.

It was a disaster for the company, but CEO David Knight (disclosure: a friend) didn't think it meant he had to fold up shop. To his mind, and those of his financial backers, the idea was sound; it's just that the timing had gone bad. Knight found his business in a unique situation that let him execute an unusual business maneuver: he put the company into hibernation.

Knight cut expenses to near-zero, convinced his creditors to cut the company a lot of slack, and stopped angling for new business. It was all to put the firm essentially into deep freeze while he waited for the economy to recover enough to be able to support his business.

BMP's business is placing ultra-large high-resolution video displays at airshows and similar events, and using those displays to show live footage from cameras mounted in and on the vehicles performing at the show (the ability to get permission to mount HD cameras on military aircraft is one of the company's competitive advantages). Wrapped around that unique video are interviews, pre-recorded features, and advertising, the source of BMP's revenues.

Before putting Big Moving Pictures on ice, Knight says he looked at the usual accepted alternatives, including raising money to bridge the recession. He said that would have been both difficult, dilutive to the employee shareholders, and pointless, since there was really nothing of additional value the company could accomplish without customers. He also looked at changing the business model radically into one that didn't rely on advertisers, but did not come up with a concept that made sense (although he is working on some ancillary video productions using his well-placed cameras).

How to put a business into suspended animation When companies start putting money back into advertising experiments, Knight is convinced, his business will again become viable. But as BMP was still pre-revenue before the market crash, he found himself able to simply turn off the lights without actually killing the possibility of turning them back on.

Here's how he did it. … Read more

Hollywood has gotten better at delaying pirates from posting illegal copies of Oscar-nominated films on the Internet. The bad news is that eventually a higher percentage of nominated films end up on the Web.

Andy Baio, an independent journalist and programmer, says he has tracked how quickly pirated copies of Oscar-nominated films appear on the Web for the past six years. He logs whether the copies were recorded with handheld cameras or copied from DVDs.

A spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the trade representing the largest film studios declined to comment directly on Baio's research. … Read more

Last October we told you about a successor to the DS Lite, the Nintendo DSi. The DSi features two larger screens, two 0.3-megapixel cameras, and an SD card storage slot. In addition, the new DSi will allow users to download software and add-ons over the Internet from a specially designed DSi store.

The editors at CNET sister-site GameSpot were able to get their hands on a DSi and performed an in-depth analysis of the device as well as a physical comparison to the DS Lite. Check out some select photos from their feature in our slideshow.

While the DSi … Read more