May 28, 2008

Set-Tops Begin Long Goodbye

Tru2way-based TV manufacturing takes leap forward, Japan at work on Internet TVs that may change entire telecommunications game and more news.

By Steve Goldstein

News Briefing for Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Cable360 newsroom is down to its last While You Were Out pad. It's the end of an era. Happy Wednesday.

Sony’s deal with cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Charter, Cablevision and Bright House Networks to develop tru2way-based plug-and-play televisions is expected to eliminate the need for set-top boxes and make the relationship between consumers and operators stress-free technologically, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s also expected to narrow any technological edge the telcos and satellite distributors might have over cable. [Wall Street Journal] 

Japanese electronics companies are developing Internet-connected televisions that will stream high-speed video content accessed by a remote control. This technology could cast the familiar TV experience into a telecommunications stone age, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. [Sydney Morning Herald]

TiVo has formed a partnership with the Chicago Tribune in which the company’s digital video recorders will automatically store programs selected by Tribune critic Maureen Ryan. [New York Times]

Google has claimed that the $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit Viacom has filed over YouTube file sharing will ruin everyone’s good time on the Internet. [Variety]

Movie rental competitors Netflix and Blockbuster are both making presentations to investors today. [Reuters]

Earle H. Hagen, composer of the theme songs for The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Danny Thomas Show, I Spy, That Girl and The Mod Squad, among others, passed away. [Variety]

Kellogg Co. is reviving the Oreo rival, Hydrox. Contrary to popular belief, the Hydrox cookie predated the Oreo. [Wall Street Journal]

Tuesday's Top Stories

Time's running out to nominate companies for CableFAX: The Magazine's Top 10 Places to Work in Cable. Complete our online nomination form by June 9 and let us know why your employer is tops. 

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