Entertainment

Dolby does digital TV

CHIBA, Japan--Dolby, the sound company, is getting into TVs.

The company is at Ceatec, the large Japanese trade show taking place here this week, to promote Dolby Contrast and Dolby Vision, two technologies (one currently real, one on the drawing board) to extend its reach into digital TV and cinema.

Both Dolby Contrast and Dolby Vision are essentially ways to apply the dimmer switch concept to light emitting diodes. LEDs are being increasingly used as the backlight in flat panel LCD TVs. Dolby Contrast allows the TV to dynamically adjust. One LED could go completely black while its neighbor could … Read more

Viacom chief: We're sticking with DRM

WASHINGTON--Content creators and their digital distributors must unite against piracy by installing more "safeguards," Viacom's CEO said Tuesday.

Through more widespread adoption of copy-protection features and filtering tools like watermarking, "we will usher in an unprecedented period of creative output across the globe," Philippe Dauman told a few hundred attendees at the first day of an antipiracy summit hosted here by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a pro-business lobbying group.

Dauman lamented that "all manner of intellectual property" can now be reproduced more easily than ever "at the click of the … Read more

Panasonic touts TV time, but researchers fret over it

This week, it's medicine vs. Madison Avenue.

On Monday, Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health announced study results that for children aged 2.5 to 5.5, watching more than 2 hours of TV a day can lead to behavioral problems and poor social skills. A day later, Panasonic announced its "Bring Back Family Time" advertising campaign that promotes its high-definition TV products as a way to get families to spend more quality time together.

Quotations from the respective announcements couldn't contrast more sharply. Can you match which came from Kamila Mistry, lead … Read more

Blue Monster Reserve: It's how Steve Ballmer gets plastered

The more Microsoft events CNET sends me to around New York (the Windows Vista launch weekend, Halo 3's raucous little debutante ball), the more I realize one thing: No matter how much Gates, Ballmer, & Co. seem to always have issues (like that "Zune" debacle), that company knows how to throw one hell of a party. I'm not kidding. It even has its own wine now.

Created by South African winery Stormhoek especially for Microsoft, the "Blue Monster Reserve" sauvignon blanc is accompanied by the tagline "change the world or go home." … Read more

Game in style with...vinyl?

Gelaskins may offer vinyl to dress up your iPods, but what about your gaming devices?

It seems like Colorforms, while in a different form, are back for our generation. Only this time, instead of applying them to a stick-it board or fridge, you use them to adorn your high-tech toys.

iStyles offers art and patterned vinyl skins for stylizing your Wii, Apple TV, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iPod and portable gaming devices.

Prices range from $5 for a Wii nunchuk/remote skin set to $6 for an iPod nano skin to $25 to cover your entire Xbox.

The iStyles come … Read more

Robot report: i-Sobot, ElmoSapien, and robo-boredom

It's only Monday, but the robot news has been coming fast and furious of late. Fast like turbo robot.

Tomy launches U.S. version of i-Sobot site: The English version of the Web site for Tomy's $300 robot is now live, just in time for its late October launch. According to Waziwazi, i-Sobot will hit the shelves of Sharper Image and Toys R Us on Halloween day. Waziwazi also has a hands-on review of the robot, along with some good video footage. Tomy and the Guinness Book of World Records claim i-Sobot is the world's smallest commercial … Read more

Hot deal: Harman Multimedia SoundSticks II for $135 shipped

If you're like a lot of urbanites, your PC or laptop is also your media center, home theater, and audio system. If your apartment is 120 square feet and you're paying $1300 a month in rent (hello San Francisco!), you want to save space and dollars, so an array of conventional speakers may not be an option for full-on audiophilic indulgence.

Harman Kardon to the rescue. The HK SoundSticks are legendary among computerists, design fans, and aficionados of ultraclear sound. And with this "II" version, they work equally well with a PC or a Mac. You'… Read more

Sexy Unilever promos push envelope on Web advertising

The online video sector appears stumped by the question of how to advertise to viewers without alienating them. Some say ads that run prior to the start of a video are the answer. Others, such as YouTube, are experimenting with ads that briefly appear at the bottom of a video while it plays.

Unilever, the maker of Axe men's personal-care products, isn't waiting around for popular video sites to figure it out. They are taking to the Web with attempts at cutting-edge humor and storytelling to create spots that are entertaining enough to attract their own viewers. The … Read more

Vote: Nonviolent robot championship game!

Voting is now closed! See the exciting conclusion of the Nonviolent Robot Tournament right here.

The nonviolent robotic cream has risen to the top. Figuratively.

All this week, Honda's Asimo and Star Trek: The Next Generation's Commander Data will be hitting the hardwood and competing for your votes. The robot with the most votes will take its place among the pantheon of greats, immortalized as the champion of all nonviolent robots.

It's been a long, crazy tournament (get the brackets here). For the round-by-round results, visit the links below. Or just click here for the championship scouting reports … Read more