Sony may soon offer an affordable alternative for transitioning from paper notebooks and textbooks to digital solutions. According to a Japanese press release, the company is developing a 13.3-inch flexible e-reader called Digital Paper. Designed for use in classrooms, the grayscale reader weighs about 0.78 pounds, is a mere 7mm thick, features a touch capable 1,200 x 1,600 pixel display and includes Wi-Fi, 4GB of internal memory and a microSD card slot. Continue reading Digital Paper: Sony Announces Ultra-Thin Flexible E-Reader

The Entertainment Technology Center presented longtime Warner Bros. exec Chuck Dages with the Bob Lambert Technology Leadership Award during an industry gathering at USC’s Town & Gown Wednesday evening. The event also celebrated the first 20 years of ETC@USC and featured a studio technology leaders panel, during which execs discussed production and distribution challenges emerging from an evolving digital landscape. Continue reading Technology Leadership Award: ETC Honors Chuck Dages

Home entertainment server maker Kaleidescape opened its own download store for HD movies this week. This new system lets users download “Blu-ray quality” versions of movies that can then be played through Kaleidescape or on the Web and through mobile devices via UltraViolet. However, there is a concern regarding the amount of data each download will consume, as each movie can average around 50GB. Continue reading Kaleidescape Launches Download Store for HD Movies

Amazon reportedly has plans to launch a television set-top box that would stream video over the Internet to televisions and provide access to the company’s expanding video services, including the Amazon Video on Demand store. The new device, expected as early as sometime this year, would compete with Apple’s set-top box, Apple TV, in addition to video-delivery products from Roku, Boxee, Microsoft and Sony. Continue reading Could Amazon Set-Top Box be an All-In-One Media Center?

Microsoft announced this week that it has scheduled a special Xbox event to be held May 21 at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington. The company is expected to unveil its next-generation Xbox videogame console during the event, and is believed to be prepping the new console for a holiday release to compete with Sony’s anticipated PlayStation 4. Continue reading Microsoft Plans Event to Unveil Next-Gen Xbox Console

Popular band OK Go traveled to the Arctic Circle in Northern Sweden to capture the “sound” of the Aurora Borealis, better known as the Northern Lights. As part of a new collaboration with Sony, the band used a variety of Sony electronic devices to record the natural phenomenon for a music video and Sony advertising campaign. The video is scheduled to launch in May of this year. Continue reading Sony and OK Go Record Sounds of the Northern Lights

Sony Pictures Television has announced the fall 2013 debut of getTV, a new digital broadcast network that will specialize in classic movies. The network is Sony’s third branded channel in the U.S. and will initially be offered on digital subchannels for Univision-owned affiliates. Sony is reportedly pursuing additional station partners before getTV’s official launch. Continue reading Sony Readies Launch of New Classic Movies Network

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was once again the best-selling game console in March, marking its 27th consecutive month topping the sales charts, according to The NPD Group. Microsoft reports that 261,000 Xbox 360s were sold last month in the U.S., while spending on related hardware, software and accessories totaled $402 million. While the Xbox beat Nintendo’s Wii U and Sony’s PlayStation 3, hardware sales were down from the previous year. Continue reading Xbox 360 Tops Sales Charts for 27th Consecutive Month

During last week’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Sony announced that its Digital Cinema Solutions Group is beginning customer trials that will test its “xMassif” Web-based, content exchange platform. According to the company release: “This online marketplace creates a new model for increasing access to alternative, independent and repertory content among content owners, exhibitors and promoters, in an easy-to-use and secure environment.” Continue reading Sony Launches Pilot Program for Content Exchange Platform

A surprisingly large number of people, at times as many as 100, stayed at NAB through Thursday afternoon to attend the 2-day Disruptive Media Conference produced by Ned Sherman and Digital Media Wire. Executives from companies such as Sony, Adobe, Rentrak, Scripps, StumbleUpon, nScreenMedia and others discussed the current impact of disruptive media and what they anticipate for the future. Continue reading NAB 2013: Conference Notes – The State of Disruption

Microsoft is planning to reveal the details of its new Xbox gaming console during an event on May 21, several weeks before the E3 video game conference. The console, code-named Durango, reportedly features a processor from chipmaker AMD along with new graphics enhancements. As part of its initiative to make the Xbox a hub for all entertainment, the company plans to sell its Mediaroom IPTV business to Ericsson. Continue reading Details for New Xbox to be Revealed at Microsoft Event

In a room at the back of the Cisco NAB booth (North Hall, A113), and in a few session presentations by UK VP of technology Simon Parnall, Cisco is showing its vision of the next generation of in-home audiovisual experiences. The company has prototyped a system that allows browsers to work among multiple tiled screens, seamlessly joined in any configuration, and built into walls in the home. Continue reading NAB 2013: Cisco Unveils Vision of its Second Screen 2.0

A recent eMarketer survey was conducted to analyze how American Internet users are viewing TV shows. Participants were also asked how they would feel about replacing their televisions with streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. A surprising 80 percent of users said that they would consider the option. The research firm estimates significant growth in the number of viewers consuming digital TV over the Internet within the next four years. Continue reading Increasing Number of Viewers Turning to Streaming TV

While 4K Ultra High Definition TV has yet to make it into the living room, the industry is moving forward with new cameras, evolving standards and early television production. Sony Pictures Television, for example, is producing select pilots with digital cinema cameras, while 3Net is forging ahead with its Total D strategy that includes producing versions of programs in both 2D and 3D at multiple resolutions. Initial tests for broadcasting sports in 4K are just around the corner. Continue reading NAB 2013: TV Industry Moves Toward 4K Ultra HD Format

Sony announced it has entered the cloud-based services market with the launch of a new set of tools intended to help creative professionals such as production studios, filmmakers, producers, broadcasters and marketing teams work with various media applications online. The Ci scalable cloud platform features a “fast and secure” collection of tools for collecting, producing, sharing and archiving high-quality media content. Continue reading NAB 2013: Sony Announces New Scalable Cloud Platform