Virgin Entertainment Group selected IBM NetVista Kiosk for new in-store digital preview system. Online system enables Virgin Megastore customers to preview more than 250,000 CDs, 11,000 DVDs and 7,000 console videogames before deciding what to buy. Preview is initiated by customer by scanning product’s bar code at Web-enabled kiosk. Virgin said it developed new system in-house with touch screen kiosk technology from IBM, along with server and client software technology from Microsoft and entertainment data from Muze and Video Pipeline. Remote ordering and access to exclusive Virgin content and products will be added to kiosk functionality “soon,” Virgin said. Company said it was setting up 20 of new kiosks at its Times Sq. Megastore in N.Y. and 15 in Boston Newbury location. Virgin said MegaPlay system “was piloted in Dallas and Los Angeles over the summer with astounding success.” Company said research “revealed that the kiosks developed in-house were occupied almost 2/3 of the time and we were getting 32,000 page views a week.” N. America Virgin Entertainment Group Information Technology Vp Jan De Jong said system was “first stage in an ongoing initiative to integrate” company’s “Click and Bricks” operations.
Even as Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.) has indefinitely postponed his hearing on notion of federal govt.’s mandating that all CE devices carry digital copyright protection, hardware manufacturers argued Mon. that no federal intervention was necessary. Govt. standards would “degrade product performance and freeze technology in place,” Computer Systems Policy Project Exec. Dir. Ken Kay said at Mon. news briefing in Washington opposing Hollings’s proposed legislation. Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) Pres. Rhett Dawson called industry-authored DVD copyright protection system “my poster child,” saying that DVD was fastest-selling CE device in history while still providing content providers with copyright protection.
Jay Samit, senior vp for new media, EMI Recorded Music, named keynoter for Surround 2001 conference, Dec. 7-8, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills.
Differences and similarities abound between Matsushita HDTV- caliber dual-layer recordable disc proposal that starred at recent CEATEC show in suburban Tokyo and rival DVR-Blue system showcased at same event year ago.
Samsung will ship plasma display panels for consumer market starting with 42W in first quarter 2002, Mktg. Dir. James Sanduski said. PDP, price for which hasn’t been set, will be followed by 50W, he said. New 42W and 50W monitors, which already are shipping for professional applications, have 852x480 and 1,366x768 resolutions, respectively. Monitors will have connections on back, but require separate TV tuner. Samsung also will weigh 63W for consumer applications, but $30,000 price is likely to prove formidable barrier, Sanduski said. “We offer it first in the commercial market and we're studying whether we can fit those in on the consumer side as well,” he said. At same time, Samsung has halted shipments of 50W rear-projection set based on Displaytech’s 0.78” ferroelectric LCD microdisplays. “The quality is there, but the question is consistency,” Sanduski said. “Being a semiconductor you should have very good consistency in overall performance characteristics from sample to sample, but that hasn’t been the case with the panels themselves.” Samsung had planned also to ship 43W, but shelved that product in favor of 50W. Samsung shipped limited quantities of 50W this summer before stopping shipments in Aug. and plans to resume delivery in 2002, Sanduski said.
Hasbro returned to profitability in its 3rd quarter ended Sept. 30, game and toy maker said Mon. as it posted $50.6 million (29? per share) net income. Company earned $13.8 million (8?) in same quarter year ago before going on to finish 2000 with $23 million loss for year and $58.4 million loss before charges for 4th quarter. Hasbro started major restructuring process but still posted losses for first 2 quarters of this year. Hasbro Chmn. Alan Hassenfeld said his company was “very pleased that we achieved our goal of cumulative profitability for 2001 by the end of the 3rd quarter and we continue to believe we are on track to be profitable this year.” He said Hasbro’s “strategy of focusing on expense reductions and growing our core brands is continuing to pay dividends.” COO Alfred Verrecchia said cost savings in quarter were “primarily attributable to” company’s current “cost reduction program and the sale of Hasbro Interactive and Games.com.” But revenue in 3rd quarter decreased to $893.4 million from $1.1 billion year ago. Company’s strongest selling products in quarter included Dusty My Talking Tool Bench and Disney Monopoly. Hasbro also said it “had good initial response to Harry Potter trading card games, E-Kara -- hand-held karaoke system -- and Monsters, Inc. products.
U.K. court denied CD counterfeiter’s appeal for reduction of 30-month prison term. Appeals court said sentence was appropriate in case of John Gleeson, convicted on 19 counts of unauthorized possession of trademarked goods under 1994 Trademarks Act for producing copies of commercially available CDs.
THQ began shipping PC game Rugrats: All Growed Up at $29.99. Calabasas Hills, Cal., game maker said that in E-rated adventure game, Rugrats characters appeared as preteens for first time. Title was based on recent 2-part episode of TV animated show Rugrats.
Downloadable plug-ins for Microsoft’s Windows XP will permit PC users to play DVDs and copy MP3 files to blank CDs with Windows Media Player, developer InterVideo said Tues. Xpacks are available for online purchase at www.intervideo.com.
PC game Zoo Tycoon from Microsoft started shipping at $29.99. E-rated (Everyone) simulation-style title, developed by Blue Fang Games, challenges players to turn bunch of animals into money-making machine by building profitable animal park. Microsoft PC Games Div. Gen. Mgr. Stuart Moulder said company expected game to be one of its biggest titles this holiday season. After buying game, players can download new content including completed zoos and new animals via Zoo Tycoon Web site, www.microsoft.com/games/zootycoon/.