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Warner Bros. offers the 'truth' about Blu-ray

In our recent review of the Panasonic DMP-BD55, we offered the view that Blu-ray has almost gotten its act together, after killing off HD DVD, getting more Profile 2.0 players on the market, and offering standalone players for less than $500. However, manufacturers are anxious to get more people on Blu-ray boat as quickly as possible, which is why we get e-mails from Warner Bros. attempting to clear up "confusion" about Blu-ray. According to the press release, the company did a survey of DVD owners that do not own Blu-ray players and found they have a "… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 825: Go toward the light...It's got Wi-Fi!

Apologies in advance for the slightly dirty word toward the end of the show. Now you'll all listen, won't you? In other news, Ford wants to make sure your kids don't speed, that they wear their seat belts, and that they intensely hate your guts. And Google wants to make sure you don't send mail when you're too drunk to do math. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 825

A.M.D. to split into two operations http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/technology/07chip.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10059766-92.html

Warner … Read more

Next 'Harry Potter' film delayed

Hogwarts fans looking for something to do this holiday season will have to settle for the December release of J.K. Rowling's Tales of Beedle the Bard.

Warner Bros. announced Thursday that it is delaying the release date for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until next summer. The film had been expected to be released later this year.

"Our reasons for shifting 'Half-Blood Prince' to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the … Read more

Warner Bros. moves against Web copies of 'Dark Knight'

Warner Bros. is going after the sites that posted pirated copies of the film The Dark Knight.

CNET News reported Monday that copies of the hit new Batman film could be found at several Web sites. Now, a spokesman for the studio said Warner Bros. is taking action.

"We actively search for these sites and services and have them taken down," said Craig Hoffman, a spokesman for Warner Bros.' worldwide antipiracy and technical operations. "While so far we have had compliance with our requests, we certainly reserve our rights to take whatever legal action necessary to protect … Read more

'Dark Knight' available online over opening weekend

Hollywood can celebrate that pirated copies of this year's hit films aren't showing up on major Internet sites.

Too bad for the studios' enforcement efforts that some can still be found on smaller sites.

At the same time that the new Batman film, The Dark Knight, was drawing record audiences (the movie is estimated to have earned more than $155 million over the weekend), several copies of the film was available online.

A half hour after returning home from watching the film on Saturday night, I got home to find my colleague, Elinor Mills, has sent me a … Read more

How TMZ uses tech to get in your face

Alec Baldwin, Lindsay Lohan, and Kramer from Seinfeld may despise TMZ.com, but that hasn't stopped the celebrity news site from bagging more blockbuster scoops the past two years than any competitor.

TMZ's growing reputation as Hollywood's in-the-know and in-your-face news agency was built by working the phones, developing sources and basically out hustling rivals, say executives. What isn't well-known, however, is that the company may also possess a technology edge.

TMZ, which launched as a Web site in 2005 and moved into TV last September, is among the first to build a tapeless, high-definition TV … Read more

'Buffy' and 'Gilmore Girls' to get video site play

As part of a comeback attempt by the WB Network, Warner Bros. Television Group has cut deals to distribute TV shows to TiVo, Veoh Networks, and other Web video sites.

The WB is the network made famous by such teen fare as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls. The network shut down in 2006, when Warner Bros. partnered with CBS to launch the CW Television Network.

Warner Bros. said in April that it would relaunch the network as an online-only play. The company said in a statement on Thursday that in September, Dailymotion, Joost, Sling Media, TiVo, and Veoh … Read more

Daily Debrief: Warner Bros.' film restoration technology

This fall, film enthusiasts will have the opportunity to watch an American classic like they've never seen it before. The Godfather trilogy has recently been digitally remastered to look cleaner, brighter, and as as fresh as its original release in 1972.

In Friday's Daily Debrief, I chat with CNET News.com's executive editor, Jim Kerstetter, who also happens to be the office film buff. He explains the painstaking process of the digital facelift and why the preservation of such classics is important for posterity. Also, hear what kind of directives director Francis Ford Coppola gave the technicians … Read more

A digital offer 'The Godfather' can't refuse

How's this for pressure? In the care of Daphne Dentz and her colleagues was a masterpiece of American filmmaking: The Godfather.

A year ago, Dentz was sitting in an editing bay with other members of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging (MPI). Also in the room was none other than the movie's director, Francis Ford Coppola. He was there to observe as they set about digitally restoring his 35-year-old classic.

On a bank of computer monitors, The Godfather's opening scene began to play; the melancholy trumpet; the now famous line: "I believe in America...," and slowly … Read more