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Kaleidescape gets in line behind RealDVD for rough treatment

by Steven Kim posted Aug 13th 2009 at 6:44PM

DVD lawsuitWhen it rains it pours -- right on the heels of the punishing blow dealt to RealDVD, the money-laden Kaleidescape crowd suffered its own setback at the hands of the law. You just know that the DVD CCA (Copy Control Association) appealed the 2007 ruling that allowed Kaleidescape owners to rip DVDs to their media servers, and yesterday a California Appeals Court overturned that ruling. Next stop -- the Santa Clara Superior Court, which could place an injunction on Kaleidescape if the appeal is upheld. It's not over yet, but we're prepping the soundboard with ominous music, boos and noisy hand-wringing. Whatever (and whenever) the outcome, we can only hope that Blu-ray's Managed Copy comes to the scene sooner rather than later and settles this issue for our beloved HD content

Court injunction puts sales of RealDVD on ice, hopes and dreams in purgatory

by Darren Murph posted Aug 12th 2009 at 2:02AM


Something tells us Kaleidescape has a man (or woman, to be fair) on the inside, else United States District Court Judge Marilyn Patel is just downright trifilin'. In every visible way, RealNetworks' proposed RealDVD player was exactly what Kaleidescape was, but for people with annual salaries far less than $9,854,392,220. Regardless of our opinion, a preliminary injunction has just been passed down from The Almighty in the robe, which blocks the sale of the RealDVD software here in the US. The six major movie studies filed the suit last September, alleging that it "illegally violated their right to restrict the use of their movies in digital form." Evidently those that matter agree. A RealNetworks spokesperson took the time to vent their feelings on the whole ordeal, and since we know you're curious, we've pasted it below for your convenience.
We are disappointed that a preliminary injunction has been placed on the sale of RealDVD. We have just received the Judge's detailed ruling and are reviewing it. After we have done so fully, we'll determine our course of action and will have more to say at that time.
[Via Electronista]

RealDVD ripping software heads to court, fair use advocates on pins and needles

by Darren Murph posted Apr 27th 2009 at 5:08AM


Let's face it -- quite a lot is resting on the outcome of this case. For months now, RealNetworks has been unable to legally sell its RealDVD movie ripping software after a court issued a temporary restraining order that remains valid until it's decided if the application violates the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Now, the software is finally having its day in court, and the outcome could shape the future of the DVD player (for better or worse). You see, Real has already assembled a prototype Facet device that hums along on Linux; essentially, this DVD playing machine would sell for around $300 and could store up to 70 movies internally. On the surface, this sounds entirely like a poor man's Kaleidescape, but only time will tell if The Man agrees. Cross your fingers folks, we get the feeling fair use advocates are going to need the luck.

DISH Network cans six retailers for sketchy behavior

by Darren Murph posted Nov 20th 2008 at 2:38AM


You can say whatever you please about DISH Network's service, but don't ever say it isn't guarding its reputation like a hawk. Just a month after the satcaster made known that a TV pirate went to the slammer for rebroadcasting its material, we see this: a notification that six retailers have been "terminated." Why, you ask? Because DISH was given reason to believe that the dirty (half) dozen had "engaged in illegal activity including fraud and misrepresentation when establishing customer accounts for DISH Network service." DISH goes on to proclaim that it "does not tolerate illegal activity and will take action against any retailer that it believes has engaged in any form of fraud or misrepresentation in its dealings with DISH Network," so if you've got a questionable deal lined up with one of the six outfits listed after the jump, we'd hop on the line and initiate a cancellation as quickly as possible.

[Image courtesy of DayLife]

Continue reading DISH Network cans six retailers for sketchy behavior

Warner Bros. ends home video / DVD business in South Korea, piracy to blame

by Darren Murph posted Nov 15th 2008 at 10:47PM

Those guys look pretty passionate, wouldn't you say? It's folks like that (we presume) that have forced Warner Brothers' hand, and now the studio will end its home video and DVD business in the nation of South Korea. According to an unnamed official at Warner Brothers Home Video Korea, "one of the reasons for the pullout is a slump in the video and DVD market, resulting from online piracy and illegal downloading," and amazingly enough, Warner Bros. is actually the last remaining Hollywood company to pull out of the region. Instead, the firm will focus on "digital distribution," and given that just about everyone and their grandmother has access to the internetz in South Korea, we'd say that's probably an intelligent move.

Larcenists get a cheap Blu-ray player (the illegal way)

by Darren Murph posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 12:17PM


Can't wait for Black Friday? Neither could two suspects in Virginia Beach. Reportedly, a crafty duo entered a local Walmart late last week, with one placing a Samsung Blu-ray player in her cart while the other placed a DVD / VCR combo unit in his cart. Once that was complete, the two met in the pet section, swapped the unwanted DVD / VCR unit out for a Blu-ray deck and proceeded to checkout. The cute couple paid for dog food and a rather inexpensive DVD / VCR player, yet arrived home with dog food and an improperly boxed Blu-ray player. Moral of the story? Blu-ray adoption would clearly soar if manufacturers would just price the players right. (We kid, we kid.)

[Via CDFreaks]

Resolute Wal-Mart shopper attempts to self-checkout $5 plasma

by Darren Murph posted Jun 30th 2007 at 10:41AM

While we've certainly seen more dramatic heists before, this particular run-in with the law melds cleverness and ignorance in perfect harmony. After conjuring up grandiose thoughts of subversion, a less-than-reasonable fellow managed to snag a 42-inch Sanyo plasma, replace the $984 pricetag with a slightly less burdensome $4.88 sticker, and carry it to the front where he utilized a self-checkout register to all but steal a brand new PDP. Presumably grinning from ear to ear just basking in the glory of his brilliance, we imagine the mood went south quite quickly after store officers approached the man and demanded a receipt. Of course, he attempted to sweet talk his way out of the predicament, but the end result landed him in handcuffs at the Ouachita Correctional Center. Can't blame a guy for tryin', eh?

[Via BoyGeniusReport, image courtesy of NACOP]

Time Warner gets fussy with DirecTV over NFL Network coverage

by Darren Murph posted Dec 16th 2006 at 9:26AM

There's nothing like a warm, heartfelt lawsuit to really spread that holiday cheer, and we've got yet another battle in the courtroom about to get cranked up, and this time it's between rivals DirecTV and Time Warner. While TWC still can't claim the ability to offer the fledgling NFL Network on its cable systems, DirecTV felt the need to boast not only about its "superior coverage," but to also rub a little salt in Time Warner's wound by informing folks in NFL towns that games shown on the NFL Network "couldn't be seen" on Time Warner. Although the claims seem somewhat legitimate, Time Warner insists that "all eight games featured on the NFL Network will also be available to local fans over broadcast networks," which apparently wasn't the message being conveyed to pigskin-loving consumers. Regardless, DirecTV dug its hole a tad deeper by hiring Jessica Simpson to state that the firm's HD quality "beats cable," which is quite the laughable statement to anyone familiar with "HD Lite." In the end, however, we're sure the ads will be removed (or at least reworded), and the two firms will continue to bicker in future bouts, but what fun would it be if these two actually decided to get along, right?

[Via MultiChannel]




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