Best Buy Selling Musical Instruments – Due to the slowdown of the economy, the retail industry is trying to sell more different products in the stores they have not closed down. Retailers are asking “How can I sell more things to people already in my store?” Barnes & Noble started putting coffee shops in its books and CDs stores some time ago. Now the biggest consumer electronics outlet, Best Buy, has begun selling both musical instruments and music lessons at over 75 of its 965 stores around the U.S. They offer more than 1000 guitars, basses, drums, keyboards and recording equipment. Band instruments include trumpets, violins, clarinets, saxes and flutes – though some must be ordered online.
Onkyo Selects Third-Party Universal Remotes – Onkyo Corporation, producer of high quality home AV gear, has announced that many of the models in their product line will henceforth feature universal remote controls supplied by Universal Electronics Inc. UEI worked closely with Onkyo in creating a new design to reflect the ergonomics and fluid design of Onkyo’s products, using UEI’s universal infrared code library of over 350,000 functions for the broadest device compatibility. The remotes will operate Onkyo HT products as well as TV, cable, satellite, DVD, PVR/DVR, VCR and other system components, and will feature macros and learning ability.
Blu-ray Even Better Than Theater? – Rob Cohen, director of the current Mummy-franchise feature The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor says that when the Blu-ray of the film comes out it will be superior to the version now playing in theaters. Both the video and audio of the film will be maxed out on the Blu-ray even more so than for the theatrical film presentation. Post-production work on the digital print for the Blu-ray included sharpening of images, better-defined visual effects, better contrast and additional audio components for the home version. Blu-ray fans may skip the theater and wait for the Blu-ray release. (From the previews and reviews I’ve seen, I may choose to skip both…Ed.)
Movie Pirating in France – A seven-month study by the French Association Against Audiovisual Piracy (ALPA) analyzed internet traffic which originated in France. 100 of the most popular French and foreign movie titles were scrutinized, accounting for 90% of the total video piracy. It found that nearly 450,000 downloads of the titles occur daily, originating on French soil. U.S.-made films were not included in the file-sharing monitoring. The ALPA stated that their numbers may actually underestimate the illegal video downloading activities.
