Paramount Joins ZillionTV, But Does That Mean It's Thriving?

November, 09, 2009 3:11 pm | Comments On #Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, NBC Universal, Paramount, ZillionTV
Is ZillionTV -- a fledgling Internet-based TV service with more than $18 million in funding -- barely surviving? Or is it thriving?
The company announced today that Paramount has joined as a new equity partner, offering a slate of films that customers will be able to watch using a variety of payment models. Recently, Lionsgate also made an equity investment. Other equity partners include Disney, Fox, NBC Universal, Visa, and Warner Bros.
Yet at least one skeptic argues that the service is not doing well. The company recently laid off a significant portion of its staff, pushed its launch date back by one year, altered its marketing strategy, and brought in a new CEO. The company  will not say whether that equity...
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Let There Be (Cheap) Light

May, 04, 2009 3:32 pm | Comments On #

For years, Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium was a premiere venue for classical music. But there’s no question that the building’s exterior design is dated, to say the least.

Replace the soaring, ‘60s-style white columns that unfortunately bring to mind shopping malls of the same period? That’s a nonstarter. But as with aging movie stars, there’s little that can’t be improved by a dash of color.

That’s what Richard Brown, a leading TV and commercial lighting designer in Los Angeles, had in mind when he recently demonstrated how advanced LED lighting could completely change and update an environment that’s showing its age.

A few television stations have started to make the move toward replacing their studio lighting with...

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LEDs Light the Way to Cost Savings for Studios

March, 23, 2009 1:43 pm | Comments On #Eric Taub, LED, lighting, Movies, Warner Brothers TV

Incandescent bulbs are dead.

CFLs, as they're known, will be replaced by something better: bright, longer lasting and better-looking bulbs using light emitting diodes (LED) as a light source.

I regularly write about LEDs for the New York Times, and my articles generate some very intense interest and debate.

Some of the more vociferous critics of LEDS say that the excitement that the lighting industry is showering on the product is fantasy, that LEDs will never become cheap or bright enough. Instead, they argue, LEDs will remain useful only as Christmas bulbs. So it's fitting that one of the first practical uses of the light source is in the entertainment industry, which thrives on make-believe.

A few television stations have started to make the move toward replacing their studio lighting with LEDs, and they're saving a ton of money in the process.

...

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Eric Taub has covered the intersection of technology and entertainment for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications for more than 15 years. A former pay TV analyst for Paul Kagan Associates, Eric has written two books, including "Gaffers, Grips, and Best Boys: Who Does What in the Making of a Motion Picture." He produced the first-ever pay-per-view concert, and worked for 12 years as an independent overseas feature film distributor.

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Paramount Joins ZillionTV, But Does That Mean It's Thriving?
Let There Be (Cheap) Light
LEDs Light the Way to Cost Savings for Studios
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