Les Paul Dies at 94 – Virtuoso guitarist, inventor of the solid-body electric guitar and multi-track recording Les Paul died this week at age 94. His innovations in recording studio technology changed the course of popular music and recordings in the 20th century. His many recordings made with his wife Mary Ford and homemade gear are still regarded as technical and musical milestones. He had seriously fractured his arm at one point and had to have it set in a right-angle suitable to his continuing to play the guitar. Until recently he performed once a week at a New York City jazz club.
30 New Foxtel TV Channels Possible – Fox has announced that if a new Optus satellite launch on August 22 is successful, they will be using six transponders to deliver 20 new standard-def channels and ten new HdD channels, all pay-TV. Catch-up TV for download to PCs will be included in the package, along with a redo of Foxtel’s TV guide, and a bigger addition in October when TV and movie downloads from the Foxtel website are launched. Some Foxtel customers are reporting problems with the current offerings, including constant failure of hard drives in their new HD set-top boxes and the inability to add additional storage devices when users find the supplied 400GB too small for HD recordings, which tend to fill up the space quickly. Foxtel has not said if it will offer a new set-top box.
RealNetworks Loses Rights for DVD-Copying Software – We reported on the legal action by the Hollywood studios against RealNetworks two months ago, and now a U.S. judge has denied the firm the rights to sell their DVD-copying technology called RealDVD. The judge’s injunction could be in place for some time, stopping RealNetworks from selling the software, pending a full trial on the issue. This was a blow to those wanting to make back-up copies of their purchased content. The studios are concerned that the software could erode their DVD revenue thru making it easier to make copies, violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Kaleidescape Loses Rights for DVD Storage Technology – Only hours after the RealNetworks decision, Kaleidescape – who make high-capacity DVD home video servers – had an earlier favorable ruling overturned by a California court of appeal. The question is whether the $8,000-on-up Kaleidescape machines circumvent the DVD Copy Control encryption when they copy DVDs to a server. Of course the Hollywood studios say it does. Kaleidescape says it is a breach of contract case in which the DVD CCA claims Kaleidescape breached their CSS License Agreement.
Onkyo Mid-Price AV Receiver Integrates Four Internet Radio Services – The new Onkyo TX-NR807 Receiver, with seven channels of 135W power, offers a number of firsts. To serve the growing market for advanced Internet radio services, it can stream Sirius Internet Radio, Pandora, Rhapsody and vTuner – the latter a netcaster service that furnishes schedules and often song titles and artist information for over 7000 worldwide stations. The receiver can also access most types of digital audio files from any computer or networked storage device, has six HDMI 1.3a inputs, 1080p video upscaling of all video sources using a Faroudja chip, processing for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, both MM and MC phono cartridge imputs, both of the new vertical-height-capable audio processors: Dolby ProLogic IIz and Audyssey DSX, and has a universal port for connection of either an iPod dock or HD Radio tuner. Onkyo’s Bi-Directional Preprogrammed RI remote control eases the programming of commands for other components. The user selects from an on-screen list of compatible products, which then automatically transmits the codes from the receiver to the remote control. It also has four macro programs to activate multiple components simultaneously. The NR807 retails for $1,099 and a second AV receiver, the SR707, was released for $899 at the same time; it reduces the seven powered channels to 100W each, uses a standard remote control, and lacks the networking capabilities.
