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Your DVD might not be the first device that springs to mind as a channel for connecting your PC to your home entertainment system, but why not? DVD players can already handle some of the files stored on your PC: MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 movies and in many cases MP3s. And DVD players are already on good terms with your TV and your sound system. Add a PC card slot for wired or wireless networking; toss in support for WMA music, MPEG-4 video and JPEG still images; and you've got yourself a pretty good PC-to-entertainment-center bridge. As PC and consumer electronics vendors work to move digital media off your PC and into your living room, they're calling on a familiar favorite to lead the way: the DVD player. DVD players and recorders have a great advantage over many other approaches to creating a digital home: They are well-established living room products that connect to a TV, the traditional centerpiece of a home entertainment system. Another year of the Consumer Electronics Show unveils a new crop of portable DVD players with interesting features. Swivel screens, wireless headphones and tablet designs are just a few of the new portable DVD player ideas coming in 2005. Portable DVD players are hot items for those who want to take their DVDs with them on the road. Many manufacturers have put out portable DVD players which offer lots of cool features. New Wireless Home Solution Connects the Home Entertainment Center and Home Network Together for the Delivery of Internet and Digital Content. Linksys®, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc., and the leading global manufacturer of broadband, wireless, and networking hardware for home and Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) environments, today announced a new wireless multimedia product called the Linksys DVD Player with Wireless-G Media Link (WMLD54G) which includes a high-end progressive scan DVD player and the capability to wirelessly distribute digital video, music, and pictures stored on a PC to view and play on a TV and/or stereo system. Playing DVDs under GNU/Linux has not had the happiest of histories, what with the DeCSS debacle and subsequent legal battle. So you'd be forgiven for thinking that you will never be able to play your DVDs on your GNU/Linux system. Luckily, this is not the case, and there are several applications available for you to download and use. The issue with DeCSS is still with us but is slowly getting clearer. However, this has left some of the DVD players officially not supporting encrypted DVDs, although unofficially, playback is possible via third-party additions. Hewlett-Packard and Philips said that they have developed a content-protection system for DVDs, designed to protect users from burning "protected" DTV broadcasts. The encryption system will be built into next-generation DVD players as well as media. Without a player and disc using the new Video Content Protection Scheme (VCPS), DVD burners won't be able to record digital video under the new regulations. That will mean that the enormous installed base of DVD players and burners may be forced into obsolescence, executives said. Progressive scan is a cool feature that makes the picture quality of your DVDs look even better. It replaces the interlaced signal that is usually sent and processes each line in sequence, allowing for less flicker and ultimately an much smoother and clearer signal feed. You will definitely be able to tell the different on HDTVs, and even if your current TV does not support progressive scan playback, you are able to turn it off, allowing you to switch back when and if you upgrade your tele. Well, assuming you already have a TV and assuming that you might like to be able to move your DVD player around with a minimum of trouble, Sony has an affordable portable DVD player that you might want to check out. The PSYC, as Sony calls it, is a DVD player that can also play audio CDs as well as CD-R/CD-RW discs that are loaded with MP3s. The PSYC weighs less than three pounds and is quite compact when compared to the traditional rectangular stereo component shape of most DVD players. The PSYC is even able to be color matched to your room: the player comes with a silver background from the factory, but there are three color panels that you can insert to change its looks. Lindows.com, Inc. (www.lindows.com) today announced the release of Lindows DVD Player, a software application that joins a long line of Linux-based DVD player programs such as Xine, VideoLAN client, Mplayer, and Ogle. What makes the Lindows DVD player unique is its name and the fact that it costs money while the other applications don't. "In our continuing mission to give consumers choice, we're introducing this DVD player for Lindows," said Michael Robertson, Lindows CEO. "As I said, our goal is to give consumers choice, and that is what we have done." Group of Chinese DVD player manufacturers have filed a class action against the western consortium, 3C DVD Patent Group, who own most of the patents related to the DVD technology. The Chinese manufacturers behind the case include Wuxi Multimedia and Orient Power (Wuxi) Digital Technology. Patent issues have been a hot topic during the last couple of years; the big fight was launched by Philips back in 2002 when it took the matters to courts in the U.S. and in the European Union, threatening to ban imports of unlicensed DVD players from China. Chinese manufacturers, such as Apex, had already managed to take lion's share of global DVD player markets, but refused to pay licensing fees for western patent owners that include Philips, Sony and Pioneer.
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