As reported in recent weeks, Macrovision has secretly inserted copy-protection distortion onto thousands of CDs, while BMG is privately testing SunnComm's MediaCloQ approach. Latest to publicly announce copy-protection exploits is Midbar Tech, which…
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While Napster was thriving a few short months ago, the music business was noisily seething and quietly plotting. How could they put the digital audio genie back into the content-control bottle? Although Napster has since been gutted, the labels have identified the unprotected CD as the source of their woes, and now it's payback time.
Home Entertainment 2002 is set to open to the public as planned, May 31–June 2, 2002, at the Hilton New York & Towers Hotel in New York City. Show attendees will be treated to numerous free educational seminars and musical performances from a dozen popular jazz, classical, and contemporary recording artists.
Classical music devotees can enjoy performances by pianists Hyperion Knight and Robert Silverman and violinist Arturo Delmoni, while jazz lovers can jive with the John Pizzarelli Trio and the Atkinson/Perkins/Reina/Stewart Jazz Quartet, which features Stereophile magazine's own…
It would seem almost reasonable to imagine that your next stereo receiver or preamp could have an "intel inside" sticker on the front. Last week, software company Be made several announcements that it hopes will not only bring such a future to consumers, but also place itself at the center of the Internet-connected home-entertainment equipment market.
Be says that it and Intel will partner to design an Internet audio device intended for consumers, which will then be licensed to a variety of hardware manufacturers. Be has also announced a recent deal it has arranged with Hitachi's Digital…
Love it or loathe it, Internet music is here to stay.
Universal Music Group acknowledged this reality July 9 with an agreement to make approximately 1000 albums available through EMusic's downloadable music service. The albums represent a "cross-section of UMG's back catalog," according to a joint press release, and will beef up EMusic's library of more than 225,000 tracks from more than 900 independent labels. Both partners are units of Vivendi Universal SA, the Franco-American media conglomerate much in the news of late due to its cloudy financial picture and the departure of several…
The new year ushered in several significant personnel changes for the audio industry.
On January 21, Snell Acoustics announced the appointment of Dr. Joseph D'Appolito as chief engineer. He assumes the technical helm at the Haverhill, MA–based loudspeaker manufacturer at "a time of intense development," according to Snell, which is pushing product development in high-resolution two-channel and multichannel systems as well as in the custom installation arena.
Only the fourth head of the company’s technical division in its 25-year history—founder Peter Snell was the first— D'Appolito…
Paul Bolin reviews the EgglestonWorks Andra II loudspeaker, noting, "It's always tough to follow an award-winning act." Bolin listens carefully to determine if "the lofty ambitions of the Andra II project" have made significant and meaningful improvements to the original design.
Next, Larry Greenhill files his report on the Quad ESL-989 electrostatic loudspeaker, the fourth and latest incarnation in the product's 45-year history. As LG explains, "owning a pair of [the original] ESL-57s required dedication and a generous masochistic streak." Greenhill determines whether the new '989 answers…
What ails the music business? Stereophile reader Jim Steel, in an online poll last year, opined, "Most of today's pop and metal is lifeless, heartless, and crude. Over-produced, synthetic, and the core product (songs) are mind-numbingly dull and without imagination."
Another reader, Chris, added, "What music? Give me a break . . . the recording industry is wondering why people are refusing to pay for the overpriced, overhyped garbage they ceaselessly pour out. I'd almost rather drink from an open sewer line than submit myself to a couple of hours of the latest offerings from the likes of…
Last week, e.Digital announced a licensing agreement to incorporate Sony's ATRAC3 sound-compression technology into e.Digital's portable Internet music-player designs. e.Digital claims that its multi-codec platform, including ATRAC3 support, can be incorporated into a variety of products including portable digital music players, home and automotive stereos, and functionally enhanced wireless phones.
Last month, Sony had announced that they were collaborating with Sonic Solutions to integrate Sony's ATRAC3 into iMaster, Sonic's suite of tools for the preparation of compressed audio for…
The first half of the fiscal year has been generally kind to many Japanese electronics manufacturers, most of whom released financial reports at the end of October.
Hitachi's global sales were up 3% for the first six months, to $4.9 billion compared to $4.8 billion during the same period a year earlier. Strong product categories included plasma televisions and optical storage products; Hitachi's Maxell division reported a continuing decline in demand for audio- and videotape. Hitachi posted $47 million in operating income for the six months ended September 30, compared with a loss of $49…
Last week, Cello Technologies (formerly Cello Music & Film Systems) announced that it had acquired San Francisco Bay area custom installer and retailer The Audible Difference. According to a statement issued by Cello, The Audible Difference was founded in Palo Alto in 1976 and serves over 10,000 clients in the Silicon Valley area, and has 30 employees, "all focusing on audio design and home-systems design engineering, integration, and automation technologies."
Cello says that the retail store will operate independently as a subsidiary of Cello and will continue to do business as The…