sony

Ah, the emails and voice mails were flying fast and furious yesterday after Paramount and DreamWorks made their little announcement about going HD DVD exclusive. At just after 4 p.m. in New York, Fox and MGM put out a press release saying they were unveiling "an aggressive global Blu-ray Disc release strategy, including 29 new release and 'must-have' catalog titles that runs through the end of the 2007 calendar year."

The release went on to say that Fox intends to put out "at least one state-of-the-art title per month featuring numerous BD 'firsts'" and highlighted the fact that "Blu-ray was out-performing HD DVD 2-to-1 at retail in 2007." Among the 29 new releases, my eye was drawn to Master & Commander, Ronin, Cast Away, Independence Day, A Bridge Too Far, 28 Days Later, The Day After Tomorrow, and the Die Hard trilogy.

After the email went out, the phone started ringing: All the CNET the home-theater editors were contacted, so the PR folks at GCI Group in LA were working overtime, trying to do a little damage control. The basic message was, they may have this, but we have a whole more of that. And, did you hear that the Paramount deal doesn't include any of Spielberg's movies and that the deal only ran for 18 months? Tit for tat. Tat for tit. The war was raging.

Then, thanks to a New York Times article, word got out this morning that indeed (as I suspected), someone was getting paid off. The article noted that, "Paramount and DreamWorks Animation together will receive about $150 million in financial incentives for their commitment to HD DVD, according to two Viacom executives with knowledge of the deal but who asked not to be identified." Microsoft denied paying anything, but wouldn't rule it out as a tactic in the future. There was no word on who might be paying Universal for its exclusive HD DVD agreement, but you gotta think there's a pretty sweet deal in place there, too.

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Sony announced a 12.7-megapixel sensor Monday for SLR cameras, the IMX021 built with a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) manufacturing process.

The company will sell the sensor to others as well as "promoting its use within Sony," so don't be surprised to see some 12.7-megapixel SLRs coming soon. Sony has promised an advanced amateur SLR this year and a professional model next year, and there are indications that Sony's advanced amateur model will arrive soon.

The sensor can produce up to 10.4 frames per second, a high rate indeed, assuming that camera makers … Read more

For all the clout and brand-recognition that accompanies names like Sony and Samsung, it was Vizio, a virtual unknown a year ago, that topped all LCD TV makers in the second quarter of this year.

Vizio sold 606,402 TVs in North America in the second quarter, a 76 percent jump from the previous quarter, according to a report by iSuppli released Monday. That brings the low-price TV seller's market share to 14.5 percent, up from 9.4 percent.

Former market-share leader Samsung dropped to second place, shipping 467,210 units compared with 445,683 the previous quarter. … Read more

I first heard of Christian alt-rock band Switchfoot in late 2005, when Sony Music came under fire for including a copy-protection technology on some CDs.

The issue wasn't so much the copy-protection itself, but rather that the software installed itself surreptitiously, hid itself from view, and usurped user control of some OS functions (qualities that led security experts to call this software a "rootkit"). In theory, malicious software (viruses, spyware) could attach itself to this copy-protection software, making it extremely difficult to detect and remove the malicious software.

At any rate, Switchfoot's CD Nothing Is Sound (… Read more

As expected, Sony is selling exclusive models of its LCD televisions through discount retailer Target right now.

Though not available in stores until mid-September, Target.com shows a 26-inch and 32-inch Bravia 720p LCD on its site right now for $799 and $899, respectively. Both are significantly cheaper (and smaller) than the other Sony TVs Target carries.

Walmart.com is next, followed by availability in Wal-Mart Stores next month, according to a Sony representative.

The electronics maker revealed its discount retailer plan in June. Randy Waynick, senior vice president of marketing, said Sony would supply a unique series of models … Read more

Alas, this is what happens when you play with your PSP too long and too vigorously. After several hours and running my virtual doppelg?nger, Dave Carnasty (now ranked 35th in the world), around the court in Smashcourt Tennis 3, the analog stick on my PSP literally snapped off. We're not talking just the button--which is removable--but the whole post detached from the unit.

I've seen lots of reports online about PSP analog stick problems, but it always hurts to experience them firsthand. I put in a call to Sony's PSP PR team, asking whether Sony has … Read more

The subject of Sony remotes is a painful experience for some of us at Crave. Ever since we purchased what was touted as an uber-remote nearly a decade ago (the "Commander"), we've been scarred ever since. In addition to finding it virtually impossible to program, it has an exceedingly uncomfortable box-like form--it's like carrying around a small answering machine instead of a remote.

So it is with some trepidation that we view this new model on the Japanese market, a table remote that takes another squarish form at 3.8 by 5 inches. Unlike the Commander, … Read more

August is here and like clockwork the cell phone manufacturers start spewing out a host of new models. It's not just Motorola, LG and Helio for today in London Sony Ericsson announced its new K770i Cybershot phone. Also called the "Victoria" (we're not really sure why) the K770i sports the familiar Sony Ericsson candy design but with a 0.57 inch (14.5 mm) profile. As you'd expect from a Cybershot model the features are heavy on photography. There's a 3.2 megapixel camera with a 3x zoom, an auto focus, a lens cover … Read more

Fans of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) media device must continue to wait for a download store, a feature that experts have said is a must if the player is ever to launch a significant challenge to the iPod.

Sony representatives, which have been holding press gatherings in major cities in preparation for the September launch of the upgraded PSP, refused on Tuesday to set a launch date for the download store.

They did reveal that the store will launch with "short-form" games. Whether music and movies will be available at rollout is "still unclear," said John … Read more