IP: TV 'TIME MACHINE' SPARKS CONTROVERSY

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
>
> TV 'TIME MACHINE' SPARKS CONTROVERSY
>
> A machine that "squeezes" television programming so that broadcasters can
> fit in extra commercials is stirring controversy in the industry. The Time
> Machine is being marketed by Prime Image for $93,000 and so far, 120 have
> been sold to local stations in the U.S., with another 70 going to stations
> in Mexico. The patented technology shears seconds off of programming by
> editing out repetitive video frames in real time. With most TV shows
> running at 30 frames per second, a missing frame here or there is
> undetectable to viewers, but the accumulated time enables a station to
> insert an addition 20- to 30-second commercial. People in the TV industry
> say there is nothing controversial about using such a device during a local
> news show, for instance, but the problem arises when the station is airing
> programming from an outside source, such as a professional sports
> organization, that has strict limits on local commercials. Many Hollywood
> execs aren't happy with the Time Machine's ability to tinker with content
> in order to beef up advertising. "Adding more commercials that take away
> from content is the wrong direction for the industry to go," says Gary
> Newman, president of News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox Television. (Wall Street
> Journal 14 Nov 2001)
>
> <http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB1005695943407459080.htm>


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