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News in Brief

NEW research from BroadStream Solutions reveals that despite the growth in TV viewing via PC, tablet and smartphones, 82% of Americans say they prefer to watch live television on a TV set, compared to only 14% who use a laptop, 10% a desktop, 8% a mobile phone and 7% a tablet. The survey also revealed that the majority of viewers (64%) still like to watch their favorite shows in groups i.e. families and friends sitting down together to watch. Comparable data from the UK, compiled by YouGov, reveals that 89% of Brits still regularly use the TV to watch their content live ? with 85% also stating that the TV is their preferred screen.

THE 35 MILLION US paid members who are using Netflix's streaming service contributed a profit of $227m in Q2 of this year to the company coffer. This compared to $92.8m contributed by a mere 6.3 million customers still using Netflix's DVD-by-mail service. Through a small and decreasing number, DVD members are important to Netflix's bottom line. In its latest quarterly report, the company says that while it lost 475,000 DVD memberships in Q2 2013, the number for this year's Q2 was 'only' 391,000 and it still expects a DVD contribution to profit of $90m for Q3. "DVD and Blu-ray offer amazing and comprehensive selection that keeps a core membership uniquely satisfied," says Netflix.

IN AUSTRALIA, a judge has jailed a DVD pirate for eight months saying the Melbourne man was motivated by "greed, not need" when he sold thousands of black-market films and computer games. Phong Ly, 34, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching Commonwealth copyright laws after police seized more than 61,000 counterfeit DVDs from his shops and home. His lawyers had told the Victorian County Court the crimes were committed out of financial need and in ignorance of Australia's copyright and trademark laws. Judge Richard Maidment disagreed.

FLORIDA-based venture capital firm Entevia, has launched new disc-by-mail service, Vidiux.com. It offers more than 7,000 DVDs and Blu-ray Discs for rent ($2.99 a week for DVDs, and $3.49 a week for Blu-ray) with no membership fees. Users pick the titles they want, have them shipped to their homes within 2-3 days, and return them with the enclosed return envelope by the end of the 7-day period. There is no 28-day delay to abide by for new releases, titles can be reserved, and titles that are out of stock are shipped once they become available. Each film has its own Web page with cover art, a detailed synopsis and a YouTube trailer, if available.

A MAN who, together with his son, ran one of the largest pirate DVD businesses in the UK, has failed to convince top judges to cut his crushing confiscation bill. James Sinclair was ordered to pay back £41,000 of his ill-gotten gains after thousands of copied films, CDs and computer games were found at his home. Representatives from the British Recorded Music Industry said the enterprise was one of the largest they had ever seen in the UK.

A 42-YEAR-OLD Missouri man has been sentenced to 13 months in US federal prison for selling thousands of counterfeit DVDs he bought from a distributor in China. He also was ordered to forfeit computers, cameras, cell phones, 15 gold coins, 240 silver coins, four baseball cards, the counterfeit DVDs and $5,300. The federal probe began after a shipment of counterfeit DVDs from Hong Kong addressed to a UPS store in Missouri was seized at JFK Airport in New York.

KALEIDESCAPE, renowned for its line of movie servers installed in home theaters around the world and who recently launched its Cinema One Movie player, has joined the One-Blue Blu-ray Disc product licensing programme as a licensee. Kaleidescape signed the Registration Agreement for BD Player/Recorder that grants the company access to important patents essential to the Blu-ray Disc standard from leading licensors.