Blu-ray Lawsuits – A consumer group and others have launched suits against Samsung and some other Blu-ray player manufacturers alleging that the companies have knowingly sold defective Blu-ray players since June 2006. Several Blu-ray titles are incompatible with some of the Blu-ray players. One plaintiff’s suit attributes the inability to play back certain Blu-ray movies to a “defective design and/or manufacture.” Older Blu-ray players all require firmware updates in order to be compatible with the features being added to newer movies releases. But in some cases the manufacturer refuses to provide firmware for updating their players – thus the classic action lawsuit against Samsung. The problems are like related the Digital Rights Management (DRM) – which is supposed to offer copy protection. One of the Blu-ray discs which refuses to play on some of the decks is Rise of the Silver Surfer, which uses an additional layer of copy protection called BD+ on top of the AACS copy protection already on all Blu-rays.
CEA Launches Digital Tips Website and Technology Blog – The Consumer Electronics Association has launched this week a consumer website called Digital Tips.org to provide a comprehensive guide to consumer electronics – from how to choose products to how to use them. Visitors can access tips and free buying guides for MP3 players, audio equipment, HDTVs, digital camcorders etc. The site is also a portal to other CEA consumer websites, including DTVTransition, Antenna Web, GreatAudio and TechHome. CEA has also launched a new technology blog providing analysis, news and debate for the CE industry and consumers with an interest in it. CEA staff and guest bloggers will engage in a dialog with readers about new technology, industry initiatives and policy issues. There will also be up-to-date information on new market research and consumer trends. The CEA Digital Dialogue blog can be accessed on the CEA website at www.CE.org.
