ECM Records Wins Awards – The DownBeat Critics Poll has named ECM Records Label of the Year for 2008 and Manfred Eicher as Producer of the Year. Eicher, head of the Munich-based label, also was Producer of the Year in 1976 and ECM was Label of the Year in 1980. Other awards have been Classical Label of the Year from MIDEM, Jazz Label of the Year from the Jazz Journalists Association, and a Grammy to Eicher for Classical Producer of the Year in 2002.
Amazon Cuts Blu-Ray Pricing – For a limited time Amazon.com is offering price reductions on top Blu-ray movies to help spur the penetration of the new single HD format. For example, the five-disc edition of Blade Runner for $17, Fifth Element at $12 and I Am Legend at $16. (Netflix rents Blu-rays for $5 a month.)
Mitsubishi Introduces Simplified Home Theater – Mitsubishi says that less than 5% of the purchasers of large-panel TV displays in the U.S. buy additional audio gear. [Most discouraging! That means that 95% use only those cheap tiny speakers built into the screens. Or could it be some are adding better audio later? ..Ed.] To help correct the situation, Mitsubishi has launched a line of LCD TVs with 16 speakers designed to improve audio and deliver pseudo-surround effects. They claim their new ISP (Integrated Sound Projector) line comes as close to one-button home theater as possible. HD 52-inch and 46-inch sets will ship toward the end of this month. Pricing will be $3700 and $3300 respectively. [It seems to us that the price differential over a typical no-frills display would finance a quite good separate 5.1 audio system…Ed.]
LG Electronics and Honeywell to Collaborate – South Korea’s second-largest electronics company – LG Electronics – has signed an agreement with U.S. manufacturer Honeywell International Inc. to work together in the development of digital home networking services. The two companies will cooperate on sales, marketing, training and product development for the growing area of digital home entertainment.
Will Smith’s New Movie, Before You Can Rent It – Sony is doing an interesting experiment in offering movies over the Internet. The new Will Smith feature Hancock – which opened in theaters this week, but won’t be out on DVD for some time – is being offered exclusively to owners of Sony Bravia TVs who have paid the $299 extra for an Internet link. (There is also a fee for the movie rental, and it’s probably not 1080p HD.) If the idea works, Sony hopes to offer other films from their own studio and be a dominant player in home entertainment in the future.
