Friday, March 10, 2006World Championship Sports Network Closes Series BSanta Monica-based World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) has raised a new round of funding. The firm, which is a new broadcast network focused on major international sports competitions, said that it raised the new round of funding from Polaris Venture Partners and Pisces Fund. The company has also received strategic investment from Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) in December. Michael Hirshland of Polaris joins the company's board.
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Amazon Looks At DVD Download ServiceThe New York Times is reporting that Amazon.com is in talks with three Hollywood studios to start a movie download and DVD burning service. The Times says that Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, and Warner Brothers have reportedly engaged in talks with Amazon to develop a service that would allow consumers to buy movie and TV titles and burn them to DVD. The Times compared the service to Burbank-based MovieBeam, Santa Monica-based MovieLink, and cited the prominence of movie-related searches (More info...)
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Xingtone Partners With ZangoLos Angeles-based Xingtone has signed a partnership with Zango, a Bellevue-Washington based service that allows web publishers to publish games, video, audio, and software from its network. xingtone will provide free trial access to its content to users of Zango. Xingtone is a publisher of mobile content, including music, images, and videos, for wireless phones. Xingtone said that the free trial will help it drive traffic to its paid services. Zango is operated by 180solutions.
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Clean Technology Investments Rise in 2005The Cleantech Venture Network is reporting at clean technology investments hit $1.6B in 2005, and reported a record $502M in venture capital investments during Q4. The surge in investment for the fourth quarter was a 59.8% increase over the prior year, and included 73 separate deals. For the year, investments were up 34.9% over 2004. The numbers indicate the sudden interest of investors in the clean energy field, as energy prices rise and alternative energy has once again become popular. The Cle (More info...)
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Conexant Announces Reference Platform For Satellite VideoNewport Beach-based Conexant Systems has announced a new, reference design for satellite television reception of the new DVB-S2 digital video broadcast standard. The semiconductor manufacturer said that the new reference design is targeted at manufacturers developign products that allow subscribers to watch, record, and replay satellite broadcast programs on their PC. The solution includes two Conexant set-top box devices and one PC video device. The company is making the reference design to acc (More info...)
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Interlink Enhances Signature PadCamarillo-based Interlink Electronics has added a new, enhanced version of its signature capture devices. The firm said this week that its new ePad-ink Pro LCD signature device adds better signature data encryption and increased pad surface durability. The new device is compatible with existing products, and also includes a field-replacable protective screen. The company said that it is working with NCR on the encryption capability.
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Real D Adds ExecutiveLos Angeles-based REAL D, a provider of digital cinema products, said that it has added Matthew Cowan as Chief Scientific Officer. Cowan is chair of the Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers (SMPTE) working group on Stereoscopic Digital Cinema, and was most recently at Entertainment Technology Consultants. REAL D has been developing digital 3-D cinema systems, which was used in Disney's Chicken Little release last year.
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