2 Entertain

2 Entertain is a British video and music publisher formed by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004. Under CEO Richard Green, the company operated as a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and the Woolworths Group until BBC bought out Woolworths' share following the latter's administration in 2010.

History

BBC Video

BBC Video was established in 1980 as a division of BBC Enterprises (later BBC Worldwide) with John Ross Barnard as the head.

At launch, the BBC had no agreement with British talent unions such as Equity or the Musician's Union (MU), so BBC Video was limited in the television programming it could release. Initially, video cassette and laser-disc releases were either programmes with no Equity or MU involvement, such as natural history and other documentaries, or material licensed from third parties, including feature films such as High Noon and the first video release of Deep Purple's California Jam concert.

For the first few years, the BBC produced videotapes in both VHS and Beta-max formats. The company also worked with Philips on early Laserdisc releases, including a notable ornithology disc called British Garden Birds, presented by David Attenborough. This disc was published in 1982 and included digital data in the form of Teletext, which could be read by any suitably-equipped television. This pioneering use of a data channel on a consumer videotape led directly to the development of the BBC Domesday Project in 1984–1986. Since videos could have stereo soundtracks, BBC Video produced stereophonic versions of many programmes that had been broadcast in mono. These included The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (although release was delayed for lack of an Equity agreement) and the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer.

DVD

DVD ( "digital versatile disc" or "digital video disc") is a digital optical disc storage format invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. The medium can store any kind of digital data and is widely used for software and other computer files as well as video programs watched using DVD players. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than compact discs while having the same dimensions.

Pre-recorded DVDs are mass-produced using molding machines that physically stamp data onto the DVD. Such discs are a form of DVD-ROMs, because data can only be read and not written or erased. Blank recordable DVD discs (DVD-R and DVD+R) can be recorded once using a DVD recorder and then function as a DVD-ROM. Rewritable DVDs (DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM) can be recorded and erased many times.

DVDs are used in DVD-Video consumer digital video format and in DVD-Audio consumer digital audio format as well as for authoring DVD discs written in a special AVCHD format to hold high definition material (often in conjunction with AVCHD format camcorders). DVDs containing other types of information may be referred to as DVD data discs.

777 (DVD)

777 is the first DVD by American Christian metalcore band Underoath. It was released in the United States and other countries on July 17, 2007, with the intention of having the numbers of its release date coincide with the DVD title.

The DVD is split into three sections: "Moments Suspended in Time"; the "MySpace Secret Show", which was played in St. Petersburg, Florida; and a music video section. The three music videos included are the final products of Underoath's video shoot in Skellefteå, Sweden with Popcore Films. The making of the music video for "You're Ever So Inviting" is exclusively recorded on the DVD as well.

DVD track listing

Moments Suspended in Time

DVD43

DVD43 is a free DVD driver for 32 bit versions of Microsoft Windows. As the user guide states, "DVD43 stands for 'DVD For Free'". It acts as a driver for optical drives, disabling zone and copy protection information. It assists in the creation of backup copies of DVDs one legally owns and the use of DVDs outside of the original region of release. It can also be used to copy CDs. In addition it allows upscaling of protected DVDs on analogue monitors under Windows Vista. This product does not directly rip, copy, or convert any media; only assisting other copy and conversion software.

It also allows DVDs to be played over a network, meaning that small media centre PCs without optical drives can use the DVD drive on a server.

For technical reasons DVD43 only operates as a driver for 32 bit versions of Microsoft Windows, though it is supported as a plug-in for select programs operating on 64 bit versions of Windows.

See also

Nineteen Eighty-Four (TV programme)

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a British television adaptation of the novel of the same name by George Orwell, originally broadcast on BBC Television in December 1954. The production proved to be hugely controversial, with questions asked in Parliament and many viewer complaints over its supposed subversive nature and horrific content. In a 2000 poll of industry experts conducted by the British Film Institute to determine the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes of the 20th century, Nineteen Eighty-Four was ranked in seventy-third position.

Background

Orwell's novel was adapted for television by Nigel Kneale, one of the most prolific television scriptwriters of the time. The previous year he had created the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass for the popular science-fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment. The adaptation was produced and directed by the equally respected Rudolph Cartier, perhaps the BBC's best producer-director of the 1950s who was always adventurous artistically and technically. Cartier, a veteran of the UFA film studios in 1930s Germany who had fled the Nazi regime for Britain in 1936, had worked with Kneale the previous year on The Quatermass Experiment and was a veteran of many television drama productions.

Magna Carta Holy Grail

Magna Carta... Holy Grail (alternatively written as Magna Carta Holy Grail) is the twelfth studio album by American rapper Jay Z. It was made available for free digital download for Samsung customers via the Jay Z Magna Carta app on July 4, 2013. It was released for retail sale on July 8, 2013, by Roc-A-Fella and Roc Nation while being distributed by Universal. The album features guest appearances by Justin Timberlake, Nas, Rick Ross, Frank Ocean and Beyoncé. Most of the album was produced by Timbaland and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, while other producers included Boi-1da, Mike Will Made It, Hit-Boy, Mike Dean, No ID, The-Dream, Swizz Beatz, and Pharrell Williams among others. The album was promoted through various commercials presented by Samsung and was not preceded by any retail singles.

Upon its release, Magna Carta Holy Grail was met with mixed reviews from music critics. Some complimented the album's production and composition, while others were disappointed with its overall theme and found many songs repetitive. On the day of its physical release in the United States, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 1,000,000 copies. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 528,000 copies in its first week, making it Jay-Z's 13th consecutive studio album to top the chart. On September 2, 2013, it was announced that Magna Carta Holy Grail was certified double Platinum by the RIAA, for shipments of two million copies in the United States. The album was nominated in six categories at the 2014 Grammy Awards winning the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration trophy for "Holy Grail" featuring Justin Timberlake.

BBC-3

BBC-3 was a BBC television programme, devised and produced by Ned Sherrin and hosted by Robert Robinson, which aired for twenty-four hour-long editions during the winter of 1965–1966.

It was the third in a line of weekend satire-and-chat shows, successor to That Was The Week That Was and Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life, though David Frost did not participate in this series.

Regular performers included John Bird, Lynda Baron, David Batley, Roy Dotrice, Bill Oddie, and Leonard Rossiter. Guests included Millicent Martin and Alan Bennett. The musical director was Dave Lee.

Swearing

In the edition of 13 November 1965, during a discussion on theatre censorship in which Robert Robinson and Mary McCarthy also participated, Kenneth Tynan became the first person ever to say "fuck" on British television; he claimed, perhaps disingenuously, that the word no longer shocked anyone. The storm which resulted forced the BBC to make a public apology for Tynan's comments.

References

External links