Obama Asks Congress to Delay Feb. 17 Analog Cutoff – High-ranking Democrats and several of the TV networks are pushing to have the switch to all-digital TV transmission delayed due to the coupon program having run out of money and there being thousands of confused viewers. Over a million coupon requests are on a waiting list, some coupons have expired without being used to purchase a converter box for over-the-air analog TVs, and there are hundreds of thousands of requests for coupons daily – which could overwhelm the National TV and Information Administration which is running the program. [See? We told you to get those coupons early on!] Obama’s team said that congressional funding to support the changeover is “woefully inadequate,” and a proposed stimulus package would include money to address the problems. There are other confusions tied in with the switch over in some parts of the country, caused by local TV cable services forcing subscribers to switch from analog to digital set-top boxes (although the extra cost is minimal). Those with the most basic cable plan – receiving primarily just local TV stations and some educational cable channels – are exempt from the changeover, but those usually constitute a small percentage of subscribers.
DGG and Cleveland Orchestra Agreement – An indication that perhaps the big European classical labels are again taking an interest in American orchestras is a new agreement signed between Deutsche Grammophon and The Cleveland Orchestra for a series of commercial recordings to be released internationally on CD and as Internet downloads. In 2007 DGG released a recording of Beethoven’s Ninth with the orchestra led by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. The first recording of the new series will be an all-Wagner disc, with recording beginning in Severance Hall on January 8th. The first disc is scheduled for release in autumn of 2010. The second release in the new series will be an all-Ravel program conducted by Pierre Boulez, with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard performing the Concerto in G Major and the Concerto for the Left Hand. The CD will also include Ravel’s Miriors for solo piano. Two additional recordings will be announced later. The orchestra’s Executive Director Gary Hanson said, “It is almost unprecedented in this decade to announce a four-CD commitment between a distinguished international label and a major American orchestra.”
VIZIO Introduces Wireless Internet Connection for HDTV Displays – VIZIO’s “Connected HDTV” platform, announced at the current CES in Las Vegas, will provide both built-in wired and wireless Wi-Fi networking for their displays having the feature. At a touch of a remote control viewers can access Internet content or content from their home computers, without interruption of HDTV viewing. Personalized entertainment, information, gaming, and social networking content will be available from a wide range of popular content providers and services such as Blockbuster, Adobe, Flickr, Netflix, Yahoo!, Pandora and Rhapsody. Users will be able to download movies, still photos, digital music, games and a new class of interactive applications called TV Widgets. Connected HDTV will first be available in VIZIO’s XTV line and later in all their displays starting the Fall of 2009.
DGG and Cleveland Orchestra Agreement – An indication that perhaps the big European classical labels are again taking an interest in American orchestras is a new agreement signed between Deutsche Grammophon and The Cleveland Orchestra for a series of commercial recordings to be released internationally on CD and as Internet downloads. In 2007 DGG released a recording of Beethoven’s Ninth with the orchestra led by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. The first recording of the new series will be an all-Wagner disc, with recording beginning in Severance Hall on January 8th. The first disc is scheduled for release in autumn of 2010. The second release in the new series will be an all-Ravel program conducted by Pierre Boulez, with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard performing the Concerto in G Major and the Concerto for the Left Hand. The CD will also include Ravel’s Miriors for solo piano. Two additional recordings will be announced later. The orchestra’s Executive Director Gary Hanson said, “It is almost unprecedented in this decade to announce a four-CD commitment between a distinguished international label and a major American orchestra.”
VIZIO Introduces Wireless Internet Connection for HDTV Displays – VIZIO’s “Connected HDTV” platform, announced at the current CES in Las Vegas, will provide both built-in wired and wireless Wi-Fi networking for their displays having the feature. At a touch of a remote control viewers can access Internet content or content from their home computers, without interruption of HDTV viewing. Personalized entertainment, information, gaming, and social networking content will be available from a wide range of popular content providers and services such as Blockbuster, Adobe, Flickr, Netflix, Yahoo!, Pandora and Rhapsody. Users will be able to download movies, still photos, digital music, games and a new class of interactive applications called TV Widgets. Connected HDTV will first be available in VIZIO’s XTV line and later in all their displays starting the Fall of 2009.
